Season 6 Spoilers Thread

[evaba]

I loved the huntress episodes for what they were it just sucks that we were expected to "forget about her" after she went to jail because the actress suddenly became unavailable. At the time I really was hoping that bringing her into Arrow now was a slow backdoor pilot/intro into Birds of Prey 2.0.

In fact my only complaint with the Huntress episodes were that I think they wrote her to be a bit over the top when it came to her vengeful side and her quest for revenge. The minute her father took over her motives she just became too one dimentional in a "been there, done that" kind of way (especially since I grew up watching the likes of Xena). During the brief moments she was actually working WITH Oliver were gold.

I totally agree about Helena/Huntress being over the top in her lust for revenge. In her initial scenes with Oliver she did show a very human side, and it's a pity that the writers turned her into a caricature in her later appearances.

However, ever since I witnessed the reveal and development of Olicity, I can't help but feel at the same time that Huntress might of dodged the metaphorical bullet as is. I'm sure that if she had stuck around to threaten Olicitiy and Oliver's love for dearest Felicity she would've been killed off too sweet with her final words to Oliver begging him to end up married to the hacker or something equally revolting.

Yeah, shipping Olicity seems to be the inevitable fate of both the villains and the "good" characters on "Arrow". For a romance that is hailed as the most epic, chemistry-laden, organic love story ever to appear on the small screen (both by fans and TPTB), it sure seems to need a lot of in-show propping and shilling! It seems as though Chase was spared the infamy of having to praise Felicity and ship Olicity, although I did notice that the writers had him especially mention Felicity several times, so that we wouldn't forget that she is Oliver's Most Beloved...They're not exactly subtle, are they?

[BkWurm1]

The Huntress has been a "dangling thread" for 3 years now, but I never saw any urgency to bring her back. Maybe if her storyline was tied to Felicity (as opposed to, say, Laurel), they might have...

Felicity should hardly be blamed for the actress portraying the Huntress repeatedly being unavailable when the show runners wanted to do something with her character.

This is not a hearing at court. I don't accuse Felicity of anything. I just want her to confront her own mistakes and learn from them. Cooper should have taught her that not every hacker is a no-threat person. Now she was confronted with a whole gang of hackers with unknown goals and clearly fishy means - and she never seemed to even consider that she might make the same mistake as with Cooper.

And just because the Huntress went REALLY wrong, Oliver didn't refuse ever trust another vigilante again.
Felicity did not give Helix access to the same mega program she'd created that Cooper stole. She traded favors for essential answers. I just don't believe she was as trusting as you imply.

I don't think Oliver really minded her decision. He was irritated with her before that, for not researching into Barry when he appeared, for not researching into Barry when she developed feelings for him. Oliver had to tell Diggle to do Felicity's homework. There are different jobs in a team and Felicity's is is the information and she didn't do it.

The team did not typically question and research every police official they worked with. She was working not as Team Arrow, but as a representative of Queen Inc. The police didn't have any hang ups about Barry and the only reason Oliver did was because he was jealous and WANTED to find something off. He had Diggle do the digging because he wanted it done behind Felicity's back, not that she was shirking her duty. And what he found only proved that Barry was doing what he was doing on his personal time, not that he wasn't trustworthy and Oliver apologized for overreacting by bringing Barry to the mansion as Felicity's date. Oliver was just being a jealous, control freak.

That is no excuse. It is like saying: okay I drove the car while being drunk but nothing happened so I was right to do so.

No, Felicity trusting Barry was like her believing him when he said he'd only had a couple beers all evening and then finding out instead he'd only had a couple glasses of wine and then he drove home from the bar and Oliver assumed he was drunk but when he took the breath test, it proved he was well below the legally allowed limit. Barry was fine because Felicity AND Diggle are good judge of character. Oliver would have probably felt the same way if he'd not been so upset over seeing Felicity smile at someone else.

In the second season he still was. He had still Moira and Thea to protect

. And Diggle had his nephew and sister in law in season one. Felicity had a mother in Las Vegas, not local but still someone that could be used against her to hurt her if she trusted the wrong person. Oliver was never the only one with people at risk.

.

IMO, Oliver was right to be angry with Felicity for not doing her job once a fishy Barry Allen appeared.
But of course HOW he did it was not okay.

He wasn't angry though at her for not researching Barry. He was angry at Barry after they'd researched Barry but both Dig and Felicity were not happy with how he handled it and after he'd realized he'd overreacted, Oliver decided that he could trust Barry to be who he said he was even if it turned out he wasn't there because of a similar case in Central City. And then after that, when Oliver STUPIDLY went to fight the guy they all knew (including him) he couldn't beat, his team in order to save Oliver's life and preserve his secret from being publicly exposed (which is what taking him to the hospital would have meant) they tapped the only person with they trusted with the knowledge base they needed to save Oliver.

And again, both Felicity and Diggle made that choice. But Oliver only yelled at Felicity because really it was never about trusting Barry or doing his homework, it was about him not wanting Barry to be in the inner circle because he was jealous. He wasn't being logical. He was just lashing out cause he was upset.

Yes, but at least he seems to learn from that. He accepted that he was wrong about the Huntress for example. Felicity does not accept her mistakes and even attacks Oliver when he points them out.

So the apology she made over letting her need to get Chase at any cost doesn't count?

The outcome is not the issue here.

Yes, it was. Your point was that due to Malcolm being able to tell Felicity was in his computers, the team wasn't able to stop the earthquake bombs, I pointed out why that was not true.

The issue is that Felicity does not control herself. She is not aware of her deeds. She does not reflect on her decisions. She does not criticise herself. She has the intelligence but she does not use it. Whenever she does something she should at least consider what could go wrong. She should have considered Malcom finding out about her virus (or whatever she left in his computer). She might have still made the same decision but then she should have developed plan B, C, and D in case Malcom finds out.

Clearly we will not agree. When something works, great, when something doesn't, she adjusts for that. Her plan B, C and D is everything that she did afterward to try and stop the bomb. And they did. Only, no one on the team knew there were TWO earthquake machines. You can't put that on Felicity alone. Even Moira didn't know.


You keep coming back to why Felicity trusted Helix. Well, the answer is that she only had limited trust and only did she take the risk when she thought it was worth what she'd get in return. And why was she willing to risk trusting them when she didn't have all the info? Because she was in a darker place and was willing to risk making a mistake in trusting them if they gave her what she needed right then and there. That was the part of her soul she was willing to risk.

In the past, Felicity has reflected on her failings many times, questioning her skills, what she brings to the team, her mistakes, her fears and most of the back half of season five was about her deciding to take more risks if it meant getting the job done. And then in 520, she realized that attitude was a mistake and apologized for it. I just don't think your premise of Felicity blindly trusting everyone and never learning from mistakes or even acknowledging them is true.

[costas22]

It seems as though quite a few fans didn't like the Huntress or the Huntress episodes, but I really enjoyed the two Helena/Huntress eps in season one, as well as "Birds of Prey" in season two. But you are right....unless a character is tied to Felicity Smoak, s/he doesn't stand much chance to reappear, not with the inexplicable love jones that Guggenheim/Mericle seem to have for their OC. As for HELIX, I hope and pray (in vain it seems!) that it won't rear its ugly head again, because that motley crew of college-age hacktivists was so ludicrous that I have a hard time picturing them as some kind of nefarious organization! I'd much rather see Roy again, but maybe he's too GA "canon" to fit in with #OTA and their supporting characters...

I was also fond of the Huntress. She veered on the melodramatic at times, but the story of how she became a vigilante was told fairly well. Especially in light of how some future characters got to become vigilantes overnight...

Annyway, I think we are stuck with Helix for the time being. As history has shown, it takes the show a long while to figure out that delving deeper into Felicity and her background doesn't bode well. Just look at Donna... I just hope Helix won't be the big bads of season 6.

[Freawaru]

Annyway, I think we are stuck with Helix for the time being. As history has shown, it takes the show a long while to figure out that delving deeper into Felicity and her background doesn't bode well. Just look at Donna... I just hope Helix won't be the big bads of season 6.

I hope Helix will be at least one bad in season 6. Just as I hope that they will develop Diggle, confronting him with his authority problem and solve his marital issues, I hope they will develop Felicity more - and Helix could be a good way to do this.

[Freawaru]

Felicity should hardly be blamed for the actress portraying the Huntress repeatedly being unavailable when the show runners wanted to do something with her character.

I agree.

And just because the Huntress went REALLY wrong, Oliver didn't refuse ever trust another vigilante again.

At least he was much more careful afterwards.

Felicity did not give Helix access to the same mega program she'd created that Cooper stole. She traded favors for essential answers. I just don't believe she was as trusting as you imply.

That is possible but it was not shown. We only saw her being delighted by being among her own kind again. At least that is how it felt to me and I though that Oliver was spot on with his remark about it.

The team did not typically question and research every police official they worked with.

Ah, come on. They have this completely new but lethal situation, nobody has any idea what is going on, and then out of the blue this kid appears claims to be send by his superior instead of a seasoned scientist and asks for sensitive intel. They should at least have confirmed his identity and order before letting him into the crime scene. Lance was too dumbfounded to think straight except for wanting the Hood being a part of the investigation. Oliver allowed him, likely thinking that he could kill him if necessary - so it was up to Felicity. But maybe I simply overestimate her intelligence.

The police didn't have any hang ups about Barry and the only reason Oliver did was because he was jealous and WANTED to find something off. He had Diggle do the digging because he wanted it done behind Felicity's back, not that she was shirking her duty.

No, Oliver was already irritated by his age. He was not trusting Barry from the beginning and it even took Diggle to point out that there was something going on between Barry and Felicity. I agree that THEN Oliver was probably jealous, too, but he was wary and distrusting before that.

And what he found only proved that Barry was doing what he was doing on his personal time, not that he wasn't trustworthy and Oliver apologized for overreacting by bringing Barry to the mansion as Felicity's date. Oliver was just being a jealous, control freak.

He couldn't have been THAT jealous if he brought Barry, right? But I agree about the control freak part. That is how he is after his five years "on the island": careful. And again, just because Diggle didn't find anything bad about Barry does not mean his looking into Barry's background was wrong to do.

No, Felicity trusting Barry was like her believing him when he said he'd only had a couple beers all evening and then finding out instead he'd only had a couple glasses of wine and then he drove home from the bar and Oliver assumed he was drunk but when he took the breath test, it proved he was well below the legally allowed limit.

We have to agree to disagree on this.

And Diggle had his nephew and sister in law in season one. Felicity had a mother in Las Vegas, not local but still someone that could be used against her to hurt her if she trusted the wrong person. Oliver was never the only one with people at risk.

He was the Hood. Yes, Diggle and Felicity had people to worry about, too, and that was actually a theme in season one. Whom to let into the secret was a theme in season one, too, Diggle was quite angry with Oliver to let the Huntress into their secret for example. So I say it again, Oliver's argument was not that letting people in into their secret was wrong in itself. When Felicity asked that he let Diggle into it, when he had been shot by Deadshot, and her when he was shot by his mother, so why telling Barry had been different, Oliver told her that he had made the decision to be able to trust them before that, because he had done his homework on them. This had been his issue with her all along. And if she didn't do her homework, then it was not her decision.

And then after that, when Oliver STUPIDLY went to fight the guy they all knew (including him) he couldn't beat,

Yep, Oliver was really stupid here.

his team in order to save Oliver's life and preserve his secret from being publicly exposed (which is what taking him to the hospital would have meant) they tapped the only person with they trusted with the knowledge base they needed to save Oliver.

Well, they COULD have asked ARGUS. It was their building after all.

And again, both Felicity and Diggle made that choice. But Oliver only yelled at Felicity because really it was never about trusting Barry or doing his homework, it was about him not wanting Barry to be in the inner circle because he was jealous. He wasn't being logical. He was just lashing out cause he was upset.

I agree about Oliver not being logical and lashing out at times, but I still think the main issue was Felicity not doing her homework.

So the apology she made over letting her need to get Chase at any cost doesn't count?

On the contrary it does. That is why I like the direction they develop Felicity. I am just irritated about her remark regarding this guy they saved from Argus being "just a hacker" (or something).

Yes, it was. Your point was that due to Malcolm being able to tell Felicity was in his computers, the team wasn't able to stop the earthquake bombs, I pointed out why that was not true.

You misunderstood me. My point was that she didn't know beforehand. She just installed the program because that is what she always does, building a backdoor or something like that. It is what hackers do. She didn't consider what might happen. This is a behaviour that does not bode well for the future.

Clearly we will not agree. When something works, great, when something doesn't, she adjusts for that. Her plan B, C and D is everything that she did afterwards to try and stop the bomb.

But that was a reaction not a plan B. Okay, let me explain what I mean: think of Chase - what made him so dangerous was that he acted, not reacted. He had plans for all of Oliver's possible reactions, even before getting Oliver into the situation to react. That is why Chase was "10 steps ahead". Now, Oliver is not the one with the IQ in the team - that is Felicity. Usually Oliver has the right amount of paranoia to survive all those dangerous stuff he does, but he does not have the IQ to consider all the possibilities and build plan B, C, and D. Plan B at time he has, but most of the time he just reacts to the situation at hand. Using her IQ to consider possibilities is Felicity's job, IMO.

I just don't think your premise of Felicity blindly trusting everyone and never learning from mistakes or even acknowledging them is true.

As I said, end of season five is a good beginning.

[President_Luthor]

Not being too serious here, Oliver should have contingencies for Barry / Team Flash, considering Barry's questionable judgment with timeline tampering of late and with one of their own actually turning heel for bit. And let's not get started on the de facto temporal outlaws in this universe: the LoT crew. If this were the comics, the GL Corps would be assembling to take them down by now.

As for the Huntress situation, I feel the only true culprit here is timing. The actress got a lead role in a series on another network at the time, so I don't fault her at all for picking that over the uncertainties of a p/t Arrow gig that may or may not materialize. The ball still lands ultimately with TPTB. If they wanted to do more with Huntress... they should have done so, when they still had her.

For what it's worth, I didn't mind her appearances on Arrow. Wasn't a fan of Oliver hooking up with her, but this was during the era where the show still viewed Oliver as a player. In terms of comics canon, Helena's evolution was largely spot-on, they did their homework. She was always a bit of a loose cannon.

[BkWurm1]

So I say it again, Oliver's argument was not that letting people in into their secret was wrong in itself. When Felicity asked that he let Diggle into it, when he had been shot by Deadshot, and her when he was shot by his mother, so why telling Barry had been different, Oliver told her that he had made the decision to be able to trust them before that, because he had done his homework on them. This had been his issue with her all along. And if she didn't do her homework, then it was not her decision.

And I say the bigger issue is that Oliver wasn't the one that got to make the decision and he was irrationally looking for reasons to be upset. They did have info on Barry but no, they didn't have weeks for that info to marinate in Oliver's gut before he felt confident he could trust Barry. On the other hand both Felicity and Diggle were able to trust their gut and make a much faster judgement and they were both right.

This isn't like Susan Williams who Oliver trusted despite there being no reason for him to trust her. Oliver got lucky trusting a woman that had history being two faced when she double crossed his sister, raised the hackles of Lance to the point where both he and Thea were warning him off, who with duplicitous intent cultivated a personal relationship with Oliver while the whole time digging up his secrets behind his back. Oliver being right to trust her was pure luck (especially since after Thea got her fired, Susan kept complaining how now no one would believe her if she told anyone that he was the Green Arrow, not usually what one whines about if they never had the intent to spill the secret.)

Barry on the other hand, made one mistake, pretending he was there in official capacity, but nothing about his actions or inquiries ever were aimed at harming the team. He offered no threat to them and had only been a repeated source of accurate info and needed help.

And when they found out he was only there on personal reasons, what they were only made him more trustworthy since now it meant he wasn't just doing a job, but had a deep and meaningful personal reason to back up his actions and beliefs. One NOT in conflict with the team.

So they DID know who Barry was, and had done enough research, it's just that Oliver for once wasn't the one that got to call the shots (since he was busy dying) and he freaked out. And of course Barry being the guy Oliver had already made an arse of himself over with his unjustified jealousy (hence why he brought him back as Felicity's date to apologize) just made Oliver's control issues flare up even more. But Dig and Felicity were right about Barry and it wasn't just a random guess. It was based on both gut and fact.

Argus wasn't an option since they were breaking into Argus at the time and despite Lyla having been helpful in the past, they did not have a relationship with ARGUS that they could turn to without assuming they'd stick Oliver in a cell, that is if they didn't just let him rot and die in the first place.

The team had no reason to think that Waller would already know about Oliver's identity and beyond that, Oliver only went to Waller in absolute desperation at the end of season two and even then it was with a great deal of distrust that proved reasonable when her solution to the mirikuru soldiers was to just kill everyone in the city. No, I think even Oliver would have preferred Barry over Waller and ARGUS at that time.

Now, Oliver is not the one with the IQ in the team - that is Felicity. Usually Oliver has the right amount of paranoia to survive all those dangerous stuff he does, but he does not have the IQ to consider all the possibilities and build plan B, C, and D. Plan B at time he has, but most of the time he just reacts to the situation at hand. Using her IQ to consider possibilities is Felicity's job, IMO

. And i don't think you give Oliver enough credit. Oliver has in the past ALWAYS been the key strategic thinker on the team. That's the big thing he brings, otherwise he's just muscle. Not much more special than Wild Dog.

Felicity is brilliant and can come up with technical solutions and find the obscure answers and I agree that she's shown a few hints of growing into a solid strategic thinker by making a lot of contingency plans in the form of working around problems, finding new solutions, and thinking outside of the box, but Oliver in the past has always been the one that comes up with the sneaky plan to beat the enemy. He's the one that assesses the threat and plans around it.

Felicity has often pep talked him into figuring it out the plan, but Oliver was the one that finds the other way to keep going.

Now, I'll grant you, this season the show did not allow Oliver to be much of a strategic thinker to the point where he looked pretty dumb a number of times but I'll chalk that up to a combo of things. One being emotional exhaustion. The other being PLOT!!!

Frankly, even before Chase started messing with him, Oliver seemed depressed so it's not surprising he was not making the sharpest choices. Plus they were so busy making Chase look unstoppable that they HAD to dial back Oliver's cleverness. They did leave him mostly reactionary this year, but that was part of the reason I felt such a disconnect from his character. They just ignored part of his characterization.

Oliver doesn't have the highest IQ on the team, but he had his own kind of smarts that made them equals. And Diggle as well. He brought with him a human understanding, wisdom and patience that neither Felicity and Oliver had. How the three all had their own equally important but different strengths, that was one of the things I loved about Arrow. It's part of why I do still find those three in particular important.

But before I prompt the whole thread to get bogged down in posts about why others couldn't care less about my three favorites, could we all agree that it would be nice at least for the show to let Oliver be a smart and clever planner again? I really miss thinking of Oliver smart, not just lucky.

[Freawaru]

Argus wasn't an option since they were breaking into Argus at the time and despite Lyla having been helpful in the past, they did not have a relationship with ARGUS that they could turn to without assuming they'd stick Oliver in a cell, that is if they didn't just let him rot and die in the first place.

They only were breaking into Argus to stop Cyrus Gold. Of course, they could have simply told Lyla about the break in, but as Oliver still made the decision to go there alone (one of his more stupid decisions, I agree), and HE knew about his past with Argus, they didn't. Still, Argus would have been the obvious choice in their situation, because they would have known exactly what poison was inside Oliver. No need to make tests and speculations. Antidote would have been ready. Also, Argus already knew about Oliver being the Hood, and at least Diggle knew that Argus knew. So the chance that Waller would stick Oliver into a cell just for breaking into their warehouse to stop Cyrus Gold from stealing something was rather small. Barry they had to drug and kidnap, wait for him to wake up again and hope he could analyse fast enough (without proper equipment at that) and find a cure fast enough (again without proper equipment) for Oliver to survive. I can understand Diggle's decision, he has this subconscious distrust of authorities, but why didn't Felicity even consider it?

The team had no reason to think that Waller would already know about Oliver's identity

Waller TOLD Diggle she knew. In the episode where they go to Russia to free Lyla. Argus kidnaps Diggle and Waller tells him that Lyla is missing and that she expects him to find her. He asks why him, and she says something like "because I know how you spend your nights with Oliver Queen".

And i don't think you give Oliver enough credit. Oliver has in the past ALWAYS been the key strategic thinker on the team. That's the big thing he brings, otherwise he's just muscle. Not much more special than Wild Dog.

Maybe I do. I saw him more a strategic thinker when it comes to breaking and entering and stuff like that. But never the big plans. The one's that have to anticipate your adversary's reactions. I mean, even his big plan of returning to Starling City was not that well thought through. Him being kidnapped on his first day back almost blew everything. He had to improvise and he is good at that. So I see Oliver as being good at small strategies and improvisation but not more than that.

but Oliver in the past has always been the one that comes up with the sneaky plan to beat the enemy. He's the one that assesses the threat and plans around it.

Yes, because he is the one with the training and experience. But both Slade and Chase easily beat him at the bigger view.

Now, I'll grant you, this season the show did not allow Oliver to be much of a strategic thinker to the point where he looked pretty dumb a number of times but I'll chalk that up to a combo of things. One being emotional exhaustion. The other being PLOT!!!

Looking dumb and being dumb at times always was part of his personality. I just say Isabel Rochev - she was ON THE LIST. In season one he would have put an arrow into her - in season two he sleeps with her because he had too much Vodka. Seriously! Who drinks that much vodka with an enemy like her?

Oliver doesn't have the highest IQ on the team, but he had his own kind of smarts that made them equals. And Diggle as well. He brought with him a human understanding, wisdom and patience that neither Felicity and Oliver had. How the three all had their own equally important but different strengths, that was one of the things I loved about Arrow. It's part of why I do still find those three in particular important.

I agree, though I really love it when they develop other characters, too.

But before I prompt the whole thread to get bogged down in posts about why others couldn't care less about my three favorites, could we all agree that it would be nice at least for the show to let Oliver be a smart and clever planner again? I really miss thinking of Oliver smart, not just lucky.

I actually though bringing the Bratva into the Game with Chase quite smart. Oliver just (again) had not anticipated that Anatoly's status inside the Bratva was not as secure as it should be and that Anatoly had developed into the opposite direction as Oliver himself. And of course he should have anticipated that his team would go on without him - the did it before after all.

[Freawaru]

A few speculations about how it goes on:

If I understand correctly, we will join our heroes in season six some weeks or months after "Lian Yu". And Helix will play a part in season six. So what might have happened in the meantime?

My speculations: Oliver and William were taken prisoner by Talia. Talia and her students had left Lian Yu on a ship before it blew up. Talia is still angry with Oliver for killing her father - and maybe also for not taking his place as he should have according to the League's laws and prophesy. What she wants with William I have no clue... anybody an idea?

Team Arrow and associates (like Slade) have managed to find a safe spot during the explosions and Lyla send a rescuing team. Since then they were busy trying to find Oliver and William without much success and struggling with the Bratva branch in Star City. The Bratva has managed to control the crime scene in Star City while Team Arrow was busy looking for Oliver and William, and Team Mayor Queen was not at it's highest, too. Helix has infiltrated and hacked most governments, armies, and intelligence all around the world by now and starts it's plan for World Domination.

Slade went to look for his son - without success, and now tries to find Oliver, too. He teams up with Nyssa for it because they both have a hunch that Talia has Oliver.

[BkWurm1]

Waller TOLD Diggle she knew. In the episode where they go to Russia to free Lyla. Argus kidnaps Diggle and Waller tells him that Lyla is missing and that she expects him to find her. He asks why him, and she says something like "because I know how you spend your nights with Oliver Queen".

Ok, but Diggle didn't even tell the team Lyla was his exwife until there got there. I know there wasn't a scene where Diggle told Felicity the Argus knew about Oliver. In the episode when Oliver was hurt, she talks about not being able to hack the answers they need fast enough so I think that backs up her not thinking they were an option and I'll take Diggle's general distrust of Argus as good enough reason not to tap them. Plus they didn't have time to convince Waller they were there in her best interests. As it was, Oliver failed to stop Cyrus so Waller just as likely would have been pissed they didn't let her know so ARGUS could have handled it.

[BkWurm1]

A few speculations about how it goes on:

If I understand correctly, we will join our heroes in season six some weeks or months after "Lian Yu". And Helix will play a part in season six. So what might have happened in the meantime?

My speculations: Oliver and William were taken prisoner by Talia. Talia and her students had left Lian Yu on a ship before it blew up. Talia is still angry with Oliver for killing her father - and maybe also for not taking his place as he should have according to the League's laws and prophesy. What she wants with William I have no clue... anybody an idea?

Team Arrow and associates (like Slade) have managed to find a safe spot during the explosions and Lyla send a rescuing team. Since then they were busy trying to find Oliver and William without much success and struggling with the Bratva branch in Star City. The Bratva has managed to control the crime scene in Star City while Team Arrow was busy looking for Oliver and William, and Team Mayor Queen was not at it's highest, too. Helix has infiltrated and hacked most governments, armies, and intelligence all around the world by now and starts it's plan for World Domination.

Slade went to look for his son - without success, and now tries to find Oliver, too. He teams up with Nyssa for it because they both have a hunch that Talia has Oliver.

I think Helix will show up eventually but I don't think they or the Bratva will have any part of the first episode back. The Bratva really isn't in Star City any more and I really don't think they'd help Oliver cover up freeing Chase.

I also really don't think Talia will capture Oliver and William. More likely that we don't see her at all and her fate is left up in the air. Basically anyone they can't get back as a guest star likely will have the hmm, are they alive? Unless they toss in "we got a message that Nyssa is fine"

I think you are right about the team finding some safe space. Maybe the underground caves? The bunker seems like it would be too far away but maybe that was just the supply ship.

[TyrantLord]

I totally agree about Helena/Huntress being over the top in her lust for revenge. In her initial scenes with Oliver she did show a very human side, and it's a pity that the writers turned her into a caricature in her later appearances.

Yeah, that does seem to be a problem with the CW's DC shows...they have a hard time finding the "happy medium" between realistic and over the top fantasy/camp in personalities. Personal experience tells me that Flash and LOT are the closest to getting that right, but still have a bit to go.

Yeah, shipping Olicity seems to be the inevitable fate of both the villains and the "good" characters on "Arrow". For a romance that is hailed as the most epic, chemistry-laden, organic love story ever to appear on the small screen (both by fans and TPTB), it sure seems to need a lot of in-show propping and shilling! It seems as though Chase was spared the infamy of having to praise Felicity and ship Olicity, although I did notice that the writers had him especially mention Felicity several times, so that we wouldn't forget that she is Oliver's Most Beloved...They're not exactly subtle, are they?

Wouldn't know, I stopped watching after the killed the real Black Canary. Everything now I know from the show is through reading reviews or forum threads. But to answer you question...no. No they aren't subtle. Not since they decided to make Felicity their main "end game" for Oliver instead of Laurel. Once they pulled their trigger on that, all other female characters be damned (except Thea since she's his sister) because they could threaten said relationship. Don't be surprised if Rent-a-Black-Canary doesn't get much screen time if she doesn't ship Olicity. Black Siren will probably be used to praise her good work and keep her on the team, but that's it. Don't expect much.

[BkWurm1]

Black Siren will probably be used to praise her good work and keep her on the team, but that's it. Don't expect much.

I'd be surprised if they really interacted again. Felicity already got to knock her out in 510. If mentioned, I'm sure both would continue to throw shade but really I think BS will be a character for Dinah or Quentin to deal with.

[Eowin]

I am now wondering if they will go the route of Samantha being injured (in a coma) or something instead of killing her off. They would be able to explore Oliver as a father for a while then, but it wouldn't be a permanent decision for the show. Aunt Thea better be ready to babysit.

[evaba]

Wouldn't know, I stopped watching after the killed the real Black Canary. Everything now I know from the show is through reading reviews or forum threads. But to answer you question...no. No they aren't subtle. Not since they decided to make Felicity their main "end game" for Oliver instead of Laurel. Once they pulled their trigger on that, all other female characters be damned (except Thea since she's his sister) because they could threaten said relationship. Don't be surprised if Rent-a-Black-Canary doesn't get much screen time if she doesn't ship Olicity. Black Siren will probably be used to praise her good work and keep her on the team, but that's it. Don't expect much.

Oh, believe me, after the dismal seasons three and four, my expectations are very low! Season five was a surprisingly decent attempt to focus on other things/characters/storylines than Felicity or the Oliver/Felicity romance/relationship drama....and to introduce a few new and fresh characters, rather than rehashing the same ole same #OTA "dynamics".

I would really like for Dinah to get meatier storylines and more REAL interaction with Oliver and the other main characters in season six, rather than being treated like a bit player. Juliana Harkavy is an accomplished actress, who might actually shine with more substantial scenes, that deal with HER circumstances or HER relationship, with e.g. Oliver. Of course, if the producers/writers continue with the "all lights on Felicity" policy (especially when it comes to other female characters' interaction with Oliver), both Dinah and Juliana's talent will be wasted. I mean, her introduction was so rushed and forced that she needs more screen time and more individual storylines to become a character that I could care for. Anyway, I don't expect much in season six ...I'd be content if "Arrow" remains a entertaining action/adventure/drama show that I can watch without cringing too much, or wanting to throw something at my telly (as I sometimes wanted to do in season four!).