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Loved It? Hated It? What did you think of "The Secret Origin of Felicity Smoak?"

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  • #31
    I really really doubt Roy will be the Sara's killer. Hear my theory out, due the Sara's death scene, there was a clear sound effect of someone drawing the bow, the same sound effect any archer has before shooting. Now Roy was specifically seen 'throwing' the arrows, which wouldn't result in the same sound effect. These guys had been producing this show with pretty fine detail so I don't think they will make a mistake like this.

    My theory on Roy's nightmare is that this is some form of memory implanting/repressed, or maybe even going the Young Justice route, that Roy is actually a clone and has been mind controlled by Vandal Savage. I'm hoping for the latter

    As for the episode, this feels like a heavy setup episode for future arcs, brother eye with the OMAC from previous episode. I kept wondering when Felicity asked Ray about his inventions, with regards to her own Brother Eye virus and that Ray thinks they are the best ones. Do you think he is referring to OMAC himself? Maybe when Ray wasn't a billionaire yet, he had to invent robotics for QC but it turns out they can do great evil, now he is back to destroy those inventions?

    Rest of the episode was meh, it was nicely produced, but the writing, continuity with the season just doesn't seem to be there. The references I mentioned before, if true, could've been done in many storyline. Do I feel different about Felicity as a character? Not really, not compare to other flashbacks done for other characters, which I come out feeling the character has evolved or had a clearer understanding of.

    I actually prefer the speedy progress of Laurel, I have seen Arrow, Canary, and their journey/crucible, and they are actually quite familiar to each other in a thematical sense. So unless they do something different with Laurel's journey, like maybe spin-off with flashbacks to Sara doing her training in LoA and draw a parallel to Laurel's training. Basically what I'm saying is, if you can't do something interesting, don't drag it out please.

    As I said, a heavy setup episode, maybe it is needed, for Brother Eye, linking to OMAC, maybe Felicity's father is related to HIVE, or Vandal Savage

    7.5/10 - for the sheer hope that these setups are needed.

    EDIT: Also I find it interesting that they are calling Brother Eye a virus, which in the comics is actually more of an AI satellite created by Batman, which controls and commands OMAC, which is created from a human by injecting a virus into them. Also the forgettable villain was working with the government, maybe Checkmate? or ARGUS? was related to him?
    Last edited by Superboy1991; 11-06-2014, 11:02 PM.

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    • #32
      I would say Felicity needed an ep like this last season just for the sake of more character development. Did we really have to wait until S3 to see that she has a place/life outside of Team Arrow's orbit? But having said that, I did like this ep on the whole. She has become a more important character since S1 and I don't begrudge TPTB for giving Felicity an ep that was frankly a season overdue.

      I'd agree with some the the previous comments about some of her OOC behaviour in the past. What I found not as easy to swallow was Cooper's conversion from hacktivist to just another robber. I can't believe his NSA servitude erased all of his principles. Without these motives, it's only ... greed? ... that now drives him

      We'd also have to suspend disbelief that Felicity mentioned nothing about her past/origins, etc to Ollie in the past two seasons -- hence the need for this ep. to give her some much needed depth. If anything, the ep. confirms that she's not a bit player. She was in S1 but this changed in S2 ... but they didn't give her enough character development to match her changed status. Now they have given us at least something more substantial to chew on. This is sorely needed for many secondary characters (and villains) on Arrow. And, sorry to say, Felicity was part of this under-developed group or hovering around its edges until this ep. I don't think it will make much difference re: S3 Olicity, as they played that card (forcibly) and temporarily withdrew it early on this season. It depends if it has any impact on their relationship going forward. It still looks and feels like the friend-zone to me.

      Some of the best "character-focused" (as opposed to plot-focused) scenes in the ep. were those with Donna and Felicity. It could have been a weepy, shout-heavy melodramatic mess re: Donna, Felicity and the appreciation issue. Both of them played it understated in their spat and it worked better than if they went with the CW formula: slamming of doors and tantrums [eg. SV Clark arriving at the Luthor mansion many times, unannounced, flinging accusations aplenty and Lex giving him an audience to do so Call security Lex. Throw him out, problem solved. If only.].

      Ollie and Thea seem to be dancing around the inevitable trust issue. Ollie's being selective about what truths he's prepared to reveal -- so is Thea. And it looks like Malcolm wants it to be this way for a reason/strategy only known to him. This is going to be one of the main mysteries this season -- to what end will Malcolm allow Ollie and Thea to hover around and sidestep the uncomfortable truths that could destroy their bond if they came to light?

      I think all the training sequences had a part in putting the subplots into context. Roy seemed to be off his game in his own training session with Ollie. The final scene would explain why. He is either still suffering after-effects of the mirakuru and is getting nightmares or hallucinations -- or one of the mirakuru side-effects is some sort of trance state that permits someone to influence him or his actions. He's either imagining he's at fault in Sara's death -- or he actually is guilty and he's experiencing Jason Bourne-like amnesia and will need time to piece together his fractured memories about Sara's death.

      As for Laurel's sparring with Ted, she was flailing about with no direction or control and Ted called her out on it. She wasn't being upfront about her motives for wanting to learn how to fight. As acting D.A., she was also flailing about trying to impose order/control on a fluid situation at the bank. Once she was upfront about her trauma over Sara's death, Ted now knows what is driving her and what he'll need to do to properly train her. I am beyond pleased that their relationship is platonic. I really really hope it stays this way.

      We all like DC comics references, so invoking Brother Eye comes with a legacy. I'm hoping it's not going to be a one-off easter egg with no further development re: OMACs etc.

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      • #33
        i actually though that this was an awesome episode and thoroughly enjoyed it overall, but i have to critique it badly in some way, so i was a little annoyed on how underused and pointless the 'villian of the week' was and i reckon we all knew that the hacker was Felicity's old ex boyfriend... he sounded soo menacing and it could've been played much better, it actually felt like a season finale when the city was going crazy chaotic and wild but he was too underplayed.

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        • #34
          Originally posted by Fletching
          Regarding the Roy nightmare: I'm reminded of a scene in "Sara" where Roy is in the Foundry looking intently at the arrow that killed her. He may have suspected something at that time and it could be a clue. Anybody else recall that scene?
          I kind of remember that. I wonder if they tried to trace the arrows like they did in season 1.

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          • #35
            Originally posted by Fletching
            And while we're at it, does anyone else have a problem with the way the passage of time is represented - not only this episode, but others in Arrow-land? It felt like the first Brother Eye attack was on one day and the second on the following day, but Mama Smoak was in the same outfit?
            This have been a problem for me too, especially in 3x01. We have to guess the timeline from people's outfit.

            I loved this episode, I was waiting for it for so long and I'm not disappointed. Because I love it so much I forgive all the inconstancies, what I was unable to do in the first 3 episodes of the season.

            The opening sequence was incredible, and when we see Felicity trying so hard to do abs exercises it was . With this scene I was relieved about what they wanted to do with the character. Because I always wanted her to be the "normal" one and I was afraid that they try to turn her into a more "fighting" character like Laurel or Thea (but I was very happy with her hitting Cooper ).

            The mother/daughter argument was so realistic ! the two actresses were great (Donna : "work, work work ..).

            The action scenes were few but very well done and even funny with Roy.

            Thea's apartment is GREAT. We can already imagine all the LOA breaking in by all the windows.

            It seems to me that in Roy's "dream" the arrows he throws to sara are not in the same place that the ones that killed her so maybe it's a hint.

            It seems to me that the season began at last.
            Last edited by like a bird; 11-10-2014, 05:06 AM.

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            • #36
              I freely admit that I like anything that's about Felicity (IMO her appearance on The Flash's latest ep was the best one for that show yet). But I'm getting a tad worn out by what Malcom calls the "Dr. Phil" speeches. Arrow's always been a bit too soapy for me, but that's just me--obviously it's not hurting their ratings.The thing that somewhat dulled this ep for me is that apparently you can spend like six months in a dojo and come out ready to be a costumed crime fighter. At least, that seems to be where we're headed. I have a bit of experience with martial arts, enough to know that it takes years to get good enough at it to use it in a real fight. Ok, we should "suspend our disbelief" for a series with a heavy dose of fantasy in it, and I'm as willing to do that as the next guy. But there are limits to anything. The characters' actions and motivations need to be solid, eh?

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