I find the idea of Thomas the Tank Engine Expert delightfully charming.

The phone! The phone is ring-ing!

Good point, I forgot.

Because the commercial pretends he's an Average American.

It helps that Rick Cosnett is a very charismatic guy.

Winning debates on the internet is nearly impossible. I take criticism at face value as a rule and then change my behavior if it's accurate and ignoring it if it's not. Arguing with an anonymous stranger you won't ever see in real life who doesn't actually care about you is just a waste of time, IMO.*

It's Flash vs. Arrow in a microcosm.

I was laughing so hard at half the people in that room leaving before even getting a slice. I like to think when Eddie was off camera he was going to town on that.

We're all young once.

Then that line of reasoning should have been in the episode.

I was thinking punch cards.

Advice #2: Quit while you're ahead. Ever heard of "the lady doth protest too much"?

My parents watch this show and not Arrow, and though I have to field a lot of questions after each of these episodes, they still seem to really enjoy it. They like the hints of a larger world too.

It would have been bizarre, gross, and out of character if it actually was.

Hannibal Bates is lovely blunt villain name.

He's the one who keeps insisting on it, and reminding Eddie to do it, etc. The idea that Barry needs to keep his powers secret from Iris is an idea Barry invented. Since we have no evidence it's actually keeping her safe, it makes Barry look like an idiot.

I don't think you're sexist, and if you're concerned about sounding that way try blaming the male writers rather than the characters. I had this problem too in the past w/ TV criticism, and realized that by doing that it made my points come across cleaner.

There were so many little stupid moments like this.

Holy shit, it was two innocuous scenes, calm your hate boner for one second.

Maybe, but unless the new showrunners really shit the bed it would be bad form to boot them after only a season.