I think given how much Alie swallowed everyone's free will, it's fair to say his judgment was clouded and his actions can't entirely be attributed to himself. I mean, we the audience are all pretty forgiving of Kane and Abby for being under the chip.

That would be my guess. After three seasons of being the bad guy in one for or another, having a clean-cut Ward (that's hopefully less boring than he was in first season) could be very entertaining.

Because Curtis demanded it? I kind of get the impression he's more of a Felicity problem, and Oliver lets her worry about it. (Though that could just be me fanwanking it.)

Yeah, I think that's a big part of it! If she's just framed as an easy villain, then it undermines the moral complexity of what Thea did to her.

But that's not what I'm asking for here. I want to know definitively Susan's perspective and motives here, and that needs to come from the character herself.

I dunno, I still feel like it would be more valuable if we knew of a certainty how the writers want us to feel about her.

But from a guy who spent "five years in hell" and came back with major trust issues?

I was worried he would be resistant to another person becoming Black Canaray, so I'm glad he was the one encouraging her to take up the mantle.

Because Oliver had history with Laurel and saw she was an inept fighter and worried for her well-being.

How do you know she would've gotten fired for it, though? That's pure speculation. What we do know is that she was fired for Thea planting evidence that she was committing plagiarism where she wasn't.

"A lot of people seem to have been sucked into Thea's point of view because she's a Good Guy."

Okay, but what I'm taking issue with is your statement that, essentially, there's almost no moral line she could cross that you wouldn't be okay with.

Kill Jasper! Kill Jasper! Kill Jasper!

Seasons 1 and 2 both took their time to reveal the Big Bad's ultimate plan, so I think they still have some breathing room here.

Fair arguments.

Yeah…that's not a good thing. I find it troubling when people love a character so blindly that they'll become apologists for bad behavior.

That's fair. There's definitely argument to be made that it could be executed with more deft; but I still think the underlying conceit has value within the context of this season's goals.

So say the audience hadn't seen Susan doing unethical things in her relationship. For all intents and purposes, she was clean-cut with nothing but noble intentions. And as part of those noble intentions, she ends up learning the fact that the man she's in a relationship with is also a vigilante. As she would feel a…

Dude, get help.

"It's just that I love Thea too much that I'd probably let it slide whatever villainy she does. Not all, but most."