You think these are bad, you should check out my 3,000-word Doctor Who reviews!

It's less that I want to believe any particular thing and more that I felt the storytelling was leading me to believe a whole bunch of different things. But yeah, that's also inflected by the viewing biases I'm bringing to the table, which I guess I try to be up front about. This episode is more just confusing than…

So, as a general rule, I try to go by what I see on the screen and nothing else — if the episode can't make it clear a character is really dead, then I shouldn't have to go read an interview to have it confirmed. (Especially since producers lie all the damn time.) I can't make that argument quite as forcefully as I…

The charisma gap between Stephen Amell and Oliver Queen is concerning. They need to find some way to make Ollie fun again.

Diggle could leave the show, but I don't want a guy with a baby at home to die just to, like, further Oliver's journey, or whatever.

You have no idea how bad I want Stardust to be the big bad of Arrow season 5…

If Diggle dies, we riot.

Twitter doesn't count unless I'm annoying my followers by tweeting about Monday Night Raw.

Yep, I got that bit wrong, and I'm an idiot. I have altered the review, as I still think a lot of my argument holds in terms of the overall storytelling, but now the focus is on the cutaway instead of the thing in the pocket. But, again, I'm an idiot.

You're totally right. I got that wrong. The review has been edited accordingly.

Yep, I'm an idiot! I still find that cutaway from their conversation weird though. I've edited the review and apologize for the oversight. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go put some pills in some jellybeans.

Yeah, I just rewatched it, and I think you're right. But that cutaway is still odd. I'm tweaking the review and acknowledging my idiocy.

The problem is the only earth-shaking death I think they really could have pulled the trigger on is Diggle. And I'm fine with them not killing off the show's only black character.

I lost interest in Thrones midway through season 2, so I don't know precisely what you're referring to, but that show is at least hellishly complicated, with a lot of stuff that could be considered "nuanced" in its telling, at least compared with Arrow. Here, it's just: "Don't introduce some previously unmentioned…

That … I do not think is going to happen. I could certainly see this setting up Cassidy's exit from the show on a permanent basis, even if she's alive somewhere. It can be a rite of passage for Team Arrow to fake their deaths whenever they're ready to ship out!

Yeah, but (a) that's an out-of-universe proclamation, which (especially as a Doctor Who fan) I know are worth less than nothing and (b) the setup here is for a faked death, which means time travel and Lazarus are unnecessary, and there's not technically anything to come back from.

I mean, I get that making TV is complicated and mistakes happen, but I just have no idea how you write, shoot, and edit the end of this episode and say, "Yep, that's even remotely accomplishing what we want it do, which is to convey that Laurel is absolutely, definitely dead."

My Arrow "Don't Kill!" rankings would have Thea at #1, then some mess of Diggle, Laurel, and Lance. Only then would Oliver slot in at #5, because his death would shake up the show and shoot it into unchartered territory, which I'd be *fascinated* to see. Then Felicity, I guess. I don't mind Felicity the way some…

-It's clear from the big conference call Guggenheim did that they didn't shoot the Oliver/Laurel scene clearly enough. She's def gone, it's just not shot that way.

I mean, I legit just don't understand the appeal of reality/reality-ish competition shows *at all*. I find shows like Idol akin to staring into the void. Which is why you will never, *ever* see me review a reality show, because I know I'm wholly unqualified to do so, and why I generally don't bring this up, because…