My biggest issue with this season, apart from Diaz’s continued existence, is Laurel’s “redemption” arc. I’m not a fan of the way it’s been handled via a friendship with Felicity. Everything has been so very easy for her so far. She’s fit into E-1 Laurel’s life seamlessly, she’s faked her way as a lawyer seamlessly (to…

Oh yeah. I don’t know what will actually become of the flash forwards, but the show runner said at the beginning of the season that they are fixed and that they will be a part of the show for the remainder of it. So that’s the plan, at least. 

The show runner says that it’s fixed, which makes sense - they plan on keeping the flash forwards throughout the remainder of the series.

I didn’t like this episode.

He looks a little bit like the stuffy TA I had a crush on in college, and I’m not mad at it.

The Jake/Amy/Holt honeymoon is - IMO - the best and funniest storyline this show has done to date. I loved everything about it. I’m so glad NBC brought this show back. 

I need to come and work in your office. Mine is full of Trump-loving republicans. I can’t wait to hear them explain away how fine they are with him freezing our pay. It’s sad and frustrating.

I work for an affected agency and Republicans are by far the majority in my group. They are all staunch supporters as well, and it would genuinely surprise me if this shutdown changes how they feel about him even a little bit.

Nah, she’s fine if you consider the repeated bullsh*t she’s reacting to most of the time. Her reactions are what always seem to get harped on, instead of the absolute idiocy that generates said reactions.

After Diggle’s prolonged hissy fit over not getting to be Green Arrow last season, and his not seeming to care much about Oliver being in prison this year, I don’t think that foundation is all that sturdy anymore. 

The Oliver and Felicity drama was especially weak here, especially considering they had to retcon Iris into knowing something was up immediately because of “lover’s intuition” just to make Felicity feel bad when that’s...not even remotely what happened (to a maddening degree).

I mean, I guess that’s why they couldn’t call her - the crossover would be resolved in an episode! 

I can’t believe that someone’s first thought wasn’t, “Tell us something only Barry would know.” It took SO ACHINGLY LONG to get there, my god.

And didn’t Barry do something similar to Oliver when he went into the speed force without telling her he was doing it? I could be mistaken because I watch this show very, very irregularly - if at all.

I really wanted to like this more than I did, but I found it really nonsensical even by Arrowverse standards. I hope there’s less dumbing down to prolong the plot in future episodes, and for god’s sake will someone please call Felicity or Diggle or...someone from Star City?

1. D’Arcy Carden is amazing.

She’s directing episode 18.

I think she has those plans because she was working on a way to stop them, and I will not believe anything the show tries to tell me otherwise.

They showed her suiting up as the Green Arrow at the beginning of the episode.

I think that now that Felicity’s “darkness”—which will never stop making me laugh, considering all she’s been trying to do is defend herself and her family, and reasonably so!—is being addressed in the present that they’ll start unraveling it in the future, showing that maybe she’s not as bad as she seemed, and that…