Loved it? Hated it? What did you think of Sara?

[superhippie2000]

What did you think?

[Haggard01]

Ok. The emotional scenes between all of the characters involved was well emotional. Oliver at the end of the episode saying that he didn't want to die alone in the basement was a amount of progression ever since the first episode of season 1. Felicity wanting more is very well needed. Finally she gets a live outside of Oliver. Laurel was enjoyable and that's saying a lot which hopefully it only gets better from here. Diggle coming back was not a big surprise. Finally Roy comes clean to Oliver which I guess we will see how that goes down in the next episode.

Ok they made a big deal out of Tommy in the flashbacks and what was the point of the flashback this time. I don't get it besides Oliver not wanting to kill his best friend. Also I was kind of let down Laurel didn't tell Lance the truth. So it was a ok episode I guess.

[Halberdier17]

I think the reason for the flashback was that Ollie had to deal with letting go everything that made him Oliver Queen by convincing Tommy that Ollie is dead.

I can see why Laurel didn't tell Lance even though it would have been better for his health if he found out now instead of later. Laurel didn't want to tell Lance because he is taking medicine for his heart condition.

[Haggard01]

I think the reason for the flashback was that Ollie had to deal with letting go everything that made him Oliver Queen by convincing Tommy that Ollie is dead.

I can see why Laurel didn't tell Lance even though it would have been better for his health if he found out now instead of later. Laurel didn't want to tell Lance because he is taking medicine for his heart condition.

Thanks Halberdier. It clears up some things.

[Arrowaddict22]

Nice tie in to the pilot when Oliver said to Tommy "if I were you I would just be happy to be alive."

[DigificWriter]

My review (cross-posted):
With this episode, the people behind Arrow have officially created one of the best examples of how to handle death and grief on an 'action drama' since Joss Whedon did it twice with "The Body" and "The Gift" during the 5th season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, taking the pathos of the former and fusing it with the frenetic action of the latter to create a phenomenal package that is far and away the best episode this series has produced to date.

From the official opening scene of the episode - where we see Sara's death again - to the last shot of Thea Queen-Merlyn training, the writers of tonight's episode were firing on all cylinders, giving practically every single one of the major characters something meaningful to do and showing just how deeply Sara was connected to most of them. We also got some nice developments for Oliver, Laurel, and Felicity that not only followed up on their individual stories from "The Calm", but also set the table for future storylines.

Laurel's reaction to her sister's senseless death really helped put her on the path towards eventually taking up Sara's legacy as the (Black) Canary, and also helped teach her the lesson that acting out of rage is always going to lead to problems even if you think it'll help. The only thing I didn't like about her involvement in this episode is that she chickened out of telling her dad about Sara's death. That's only going to lead to (unnecessary) angst, and I'm not sure that's an angle they need to be taking. I did like the montage bit of her at the end of the episode holding that stuffed shark and then lifting up Sara's black leather jacket, especially because the latter action serves as a nice piece of foreshadowing for where her story is eventually going to be heading.

Felicity and Oliver had some nice moments in this episode, with Felicity really earning her archetypal status as Oliver's "female confidante", what with her taking Oliver to task for seemingly being all stoic and hard when she felt that the best - and most appropriate - response to Sara's murder was to grieve. I also like that her reaction to Oliver's declaration that he can't let himself grieve was to move on and accept Ray Palmer's job offer, although I'm not sure it's going to turn out well in the end for either her, Ray, or Oliver.

I really liked Komodo as an 'antagonist of the week', and would like to see more of him. His fights with Oliver were really well-choreographed, particularly the motorcycle 'joust'. I would've liked to have found out who hired him, but sometimes a little bit of mystery is good.

I spent most of the episode wondering how John Barroman's Malcolm Merlyn was going to make his presence known, and the final scene was a great (re)introduction for both him and Willa Holland's Thea, particularly since it opens a lot of different story possibilities since she seems to have fully embraced her relationship with him, something that you can bet he's going to take full advantage of.

When I found out that Colin Donnell was going to be showing up in a flashback to Oliver's time in Hong Kong, I found myself more than a bit concerned as to how they were going to make it work without irreparably compromising the integrity of previous events, and I'm happy to say that they handled that particular subplot perfectly, with Oliver demonstrating some of the subterfuge and misdirection tactics that he used to great effect during Season 1.

Even if the producers hadn't said that Sara's death was going to serve as a catalyst for Diggle rejoining Team Arrow, it's something that that seems like it would've been inevitable just because Diggle really isn't the kind of character who could remain on the sidelines for very long even if he and Oliver both thought it was prudent for him to do so.

It was a really nice gesture of Diggle to tell Laurel that he and Lyla were naming their daughter after Sara, and that scene of him watching her in her crib added even more poignancy to what was already a really poignant episode, so kudos to the writers for that.

I liked that Roy was worried that Oliver was going to be pissed off at him for not sharing the note he had from Thea, and it was a nice bit of characterization for Oliver that his only response was a muted 'Okay'. I'm really interested in seeing what Oliver (and possibly Roy) is going to do when he finds Thea next week), and whether or not it'll come out what she's really doing.

Sara's funeral scene was one of the most moving things I've seen on TV in a long while, and was perfectly handled. I do kind of wish we'd seen Diggle, Roy, and Laurel follow Felicity and Oliver's lead in tossing dirt onto her re-opened grave, but it was probably 'too much' for them to process.

I'm giving this thing an enthusiastic 10 out of 10, and can't wait to see what the fallout from tonight's events is going to be both in next week's episode and in weeks to come.

[Majin Wilson]

watched for the Arrow/Arsenal/Komodo fight, was not disappointed.....and also answered something i've been wondering about for a while (can Oliver Queen catch arrows?)

[PHOENIXZERO]

Should've known better than to assume they would telegraph Sara's killer's identity so blatantly by the casting announcement and featuring him in the preview. The episode is what it needed to be and I thought they did a really, really good job with it over all.

[DoubleDevil]

Sara's killer might not have been telegraphed but it has been narrowed down considerably. Komodo was in Bludhaven and from the looks of things Malcolm and Thea were in Corto Maltese, doesn't leave many known enemies with the skill as well as the shock effect we saw on Sara. I was pleased with the "Olicity moments" they stuck very well to the storyline and seemed much more genuine than in episode 1 this season. I can understand Laurel's desire for revenge, especially this soon after Sara's death, but I still don't see it as a lasting motivator into a life as a vigilante/heroine for her (Black Canary is one of the most forgiving heroes). I was VERY pleased with nearly everyone voicing how much a part of their lives Sara had become, something that was missing with Moira's death.

[costas22]

Not much of an improvement from last week. The showrunners talked about a tearjerker, but for whatever reason, the emotional scenes just didn't click. The only actors who really gave those scenes the proper gravitas, were Katie Cassidy and David Ramsey. The rest either overacted (Emily) or just came off too stiff (Amell and Colton). The other thing I didn't like was how Sara's death was made mostly about Felicity and her inevitable dilemma between Oliver and Palmer. Just a general observation, but there seems to be a lot more Felicity than there needs to be in these opening episodes.

Anyway, there were also some positives in this episode. The fight scenes, Oliver showing a few tricks (re-enacting the kill, catching an arrow) the scenes with the Lances and the flashbacks. As a matter of fact, the Honk Kong scenes were my favorite. It was really nice to see Colin Donnell back and Amell's acting (at least in those scenes) was fantastic.

6/10. Hope it starts to improve at a better rate now that Papa Merlyn is back.

[evaba]

Not much of an improvement from last week. The showrunners talked about a tearjerker, but for whatever reason, the emotional scenes just didn't click. The only actors who really gave those scenes the proper gravitas, were Katie Cassidy and David Ramsey. The rest either overacted (Emily) or just came off too stiff (Amell and Colton). The other thing I didn't like was how Sara's death was made mostly about Felicity and her inevitable dilemma between Oliver and Palmer. Just a general observation, but there seems to be a lot more Felicity than there needs to be in these opening episodes.

Spot on! I don't like to critique actors, because I know that it won't be taken lightly by those who like them. However, in my opinion emotional scenes are not Emily's forte, and her lack of acting experience becomes all the more obvious the more dramatic/heavy scenes she gets. I also agree that there has been an imbalance among the characters in the opening episodes, with Felicity getting more screen time than necessary. She is a very popular character with a very active an loud fanbase, whose members are drowning social media in tweets and FB comments and I think the writers and producers have been a bit lured by this fan popularity. It's a bit like the "Urkel-effect"...if you have a really popular character you think you need to give him/her as much screen time/story involvement as possible to please the viewers. The truth is that what the general viewer wants is a well-written, well-balanced ensemble show, because s/he is not as attached to one specific character as the Felicity/Olicity shipper fanbase is, and it is the general viewer that she show should be directed to. Felicity really needs backstory and character development, but it should be in story-lines that pertain to her. She hadn't known Sara long enough to grieve her like Laurel or Oliver, and therefore I understand why you thought it was odd that Sara's death was made to look so important to Felicity. Anyway, I'll come back with my own review later on!

[costas22]

Spot on! I don't like to critique actors, because I know that it won't be taken lightly by those who like them. However, in my opinion emotional scenes are not Emily's forte, and her lack of acting experience becomes all the more obvious the more dramatic/heavy scenes she gets. I also agree that there has been an imbalance among the characters in the opening episodes, with Felicity getting more screen time than necessary. She is a very popular character with a very active an loud fanbase, whose members are drowning social media in tweets and FB comments and I think the writers and producers have been a bit lured by this fan popularity. It's a bit like the "Urkel-effect"...if you have a really popular character you think you need to give him/her as much screen time/story involvement as possible to please the viewers. The truth is that what the general viewer wants is a well-written, well-balanced ensemble show, because s/he is not as attached to one specific character as the Felicity/Olicity shipper fanbase is, and it is the general viewer that she show should be directed to. Felicity really needs backstory and character development, but it should be in story-lines that pertain to her. She hadn't known Sara long enough to grieve her like Laurel or Oliver, and therefore I understand why you thought it was odd that Sara's death was made to look so important to Felicity. Anyway, I'll come back with my own review later on!

Actually I get why Felicity, Roy and Diggle would be distraught about Sara, given that she was a fellow soldier, so to speak. I just felt that the show didn't do a good job of actually conveying that to the audience. Maybe it was the acting. Or the directing. But the mourning scenes in particular just didn't do it for me.

Anyway, the bold part is definitely true. I think this trend began slowly last season and it's really been more evident in Season 3. IMO the Felicity character worked best in Season 1. A bit part character with the right comedic timing and drama free compared to the other characters. That was when I liked her best and I had no personal desire to see her as the focal point of any storylines. Because she's deviating more and more from what endeared her (to me anyway) in Season 1. And on top of that, the whole subplot of her wanting more and then accepting Palmer's offer was badly drama driven. Pretty similar to Thea's decision at Unthinkable: "Someone close to me disappointed me, so I'll join up with the person I despise". Meh.

[President_Luthor]

In one sense, this was a necessary episode to have -- the team members remembering a fallen friend/comrade/sister (where was this for Moira?) and everyone has different means of grieving. I am expecting that Ollie himself will have a moment, and it had better be on-screen and not some off-the-cuff 'I was away for a few days. To grieve.' etc.

Ollie steered Laurel away from embracing revenge as a means of coping, a lesson he learned all too well in the past two seasons. As for Felicity (and Olicity), it was more of an A to B to C situation: they needed to cauterize wounded Olicity for the time being in order to set up Felicity's entry into "Her Life Outside the Arrow Cave" story arc and it just happened that Sara's death brought it to the fore. We could argue that Felicity could have had this realization without Sara's death, as Ollie has had many brushes with death, but in this moment she may have felt that Ollie was either reverting to S1 Ollie (obsessed with retribution) or becoming too-consumed with his Arrow identity (which is more in line with the S3 theme: is he more Oliver Queen, or more Arrow). And, it being the CW, Ray is there to provide an out -- and a new ship. Routh has not dropped the ball and it'll be interesting to see what he'll do this season

It was a good episode (surprise Tommy appearance!), largely due to it setting the stage for S3 and the various characters "moving on", narratively speaking, post-Sara. The hunt for Sara's killer was secondary to this. Loved the ending sequence with Thea training with Malcolm.

[Arrowaddict22]

I agree and disagree on what people are saying about Felicity. Her role in the show is growing quickly this season. However, the show cannot only be about Oliver, and him chasing bad guys and protecting the city. the show would become boring very quickly.

[super_j_man]

Emotionally I thought the episode was fine. I don't think Felicity overreacted, I think it's been clear before that Felicity can be a very emotional character and would react the way she did. Oliver IMO was not stiff because as he said he didn't have the luxury of falling apart. Everyone processes emotions differently and in a way Oliver WAS much affected by Sara's death in this episode. ANYWHO...

My biggest issue with this episode (and last) is how Ray Palmer is being portrayed. I feel like he's being shoved into the story and into Felicity's path. It's almost as if the writers want us to like him by his fancy speeches and but the fact that he's pretty much stalking Felicity and throwing money at her is a sign of his own arrogance. If Palmer is supposed to be a good guy, I want more from him other than stalking Felicity. It's getting borderline creepy...

Other points:
*I hope this is not the last we see of Komodo. With both Arrow and Flash, I'm getting annoyed at how underdeveloped some of the one episode villains are.
*The lighting was really dark in the Arrow vs Komodo motorcycle showdown. I was getting really confused at who was who. Dark green when not in the light looks like black.
*Loved the reveal on Thea. Should be an interesting change for her character!
*I want to like Laurel and I have high hopes for her this season, but we just need some consistency with her. This episode portrayed her as a very "tough" character which is not really consistent with the way she's been in the past. There have been times where she's "kicked butt" before but there have been a lot of times (especially last season) where she's written as fragile or weak.
*I liked the Hong Kong stuff, but we need some answers as to what Waller's plans are. Why does she want Olliver so bad? What does a ship-wrecked playboy billionaire who is thought to be dead matter to her so much?

All in all, a great episode but we need some answers and clarifications on the Hong Kong plot if we want to care about it. Also, give Ray Palmer something to do besides give fancy speeches and stalk Felicity.

8/10