I was rolling my eyes throughout that sex scene, though. That was about the most fan service-y thing in the history of fan service. I was okay with it, because . . . well, Rickards is awfully attractive, but still. You could practically hear a million tumblr gifsets being made at once.

That opening scene was really impressive, especially on Amell's part. I joke about how he can't bring himself to actually cry, but you really felt his pain throughout that sequence.

"The multiple closeup quick shots at the end of Oliver putting on his LoA garb, reminded me of the bizarre shots from Batman & Robin, of them putting their suits on."

I kinda loved it. This episode definitely asked the most of its actors out of almost any this show has had- Stephen Amell had to come slightly closer to actually crying. (I am actually being partially serious though, this episode definitely stretched every muscle its cast had to work with.)

Lance really is ridiculous, honestly. It's rough on Paul Blackthorne, who has to try and make probably the most immature and inconsistent character on the show seem believable.
I appreciate how this show has handled Oliver/Ray/Felicity. It's surprisingly subtle about it, for what it is.
Also, I'm kinda hoping Thea isn't…

I don't mind. I appreciate Arrow for what it is, which is still very different from what DD is.

It's comparable to Arrow, but it's so different from Flash in every way as to not even merit comparison if you ask me. Yes, Flash is corny, but Flash is supposed to be corny. That's just in his DNA. If Flash was a Netflix show it would be just as terrible as if Daredevil were a CW show.

I mean, Ollie is by far the most experienced character, so it stands to reason he'd be the best. It also stands to reason that characters with absolutely no experience would be terrible.

You call it plot contrivance, I call it foreshadowing.

Yeah, it's greatest weakness is probably just how perfectly it captures the unrelenting despair and misery that basically defined Daredevil until Mark Waid took it over. I still greatly enjoy it, but I imagine a lot of people are put off because of that.

That may be the best brawl scene ever, honestly. The realism (and the ability to make something completely absurd look so believable), but also the amount of acting that's taking place there. The way he just slumps up against a wall until a guy is just a couple feet from him and completely kicks his ass while still…

That . . . doesn't really change my point. He clearly wasn't acting in his right mind or out of a desire to protect anybody. He was just jealous and was willing to kill his friend to get what he wanted.

Heart conditions are miraculously cured by a new drug called Plot Contrivance.

This idea worked so well for a while- but then this episode was just like "nope, he's just an idiot."

They're kind of screwed by the fact that Amell is visibly older than he was when the show started and doesn't look at all like the younger guy flashback Ollie is supposed to. That wig just looks faker every episode.

I'll give Blackthorne this- he is like the Liam Neeson of this show. Nobody else has to do so much with so little. I mean, Katie Cassidy put up with a lot of garbage for a few seasons, but even she got a break. Captain Lance is just the receptacle for all this show's soapy tendencies, yet he still has to find a way to…

Because it and the Flash are the only other shows I watch.
And because I think it's true.

I get what you're saying. And don't get me wrong, I love Arrow, and I even enjoy reading these reviews. But it feels like the end result is that the less effort a show puts into its characters, the easier time it has getting taken seriously because it comes with lower expectations. A character arc like Sasha's on TWD…

The more I read these reviews, the more hilarious I find it that AV Club as a whole basically thinks Arrow has more emotional depth and skillful acting than The Walking Dead. I suppose that says more about the individual reviewers than it does anything else, but it's pretty ridiculous.

He said it had been a while since he'd seen anybody worth bringing in, if I remember correctly.