Arrow: A.W.O.L.

February 1, 2016 1:02 AM - Season 4, Episode 11

Diggle must go to his brother for information when a criminal organization called Shadowspire comes to Starling City. Meanwhile, Felicity hallucinates a version of her old, gothy self.
posted by brundlefly (15 comments total)

C'mon, Felicity! There's nothing wrong with being a black-clad radical! It's a good look!
posted by brundlefly at 1:03 AM on February 1, 2016

Felicity was apparently a big Gaiman fan. In the photograph she showed Oliver she was even wearing Death's ankh pendant.
posted by Justinian at 2:10 AM on February 1, 2016 [1 favorite]

I don't know if Oliver could handle her ever going back to that goth look.
posted by Roger Pittman at 3:40 AM on February 1, 2016

For the record, Shadowspire was a criminal conspiracy opposed by comics-Deathstroke in his 1990s anti-heroic phase; it turned out to be led by a Nazi villain called, of course, Baron Blitzkrieg.*

*Blitzkrieg was introduced back in the 1970s, when there was an odd little burst of retcon WWII superhero comics at both DC and Marvel.
posted by kewb at 3:57 AM on February 1, 2016

Worst Amanda Waller ever. There’s NO WAY that The Wall would be killed by such a third-rate villain. CCH Pounder would have had him curled up on the floor whimpering like a little baby-man after ten minutes.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 5:00 AM on February 1, 2016

1970s Antihero: "Worst Amanda Waller ever. There’s NO WAY that The Wall would be killed by such a third-rate villain. CCH Pounder would have had him curled up on the floor whimpering like a little baby-man after ten minutes."

Not exactly digging the lithe, taut Waller. I kinda like big, bad The Wall, because her fucks given = 0.
posted by Samizdata at 5:59 AM on February 1, 2016 [2 favorites]

The height between Diggle and his brother was so stark that we just started calling them Biggle and Liggle.

Shepherd posited that with killing off this version of the DCverse's Waller and Deadshot, if they're just not clearing the decks for the Suicide Squad movie coming out this year. Can't have two extras running around on TV, I suppose.
posted by Kitteh at 8:13 AM on February 1, 2016 [3 favorites]

RIP Skinny Waller! I look forward to Viola Davis' Amanda Waller in the upcoming Suicide Squad movie, who surely would've kicked this one's ass all the way to Lian Yu and back without even snagging her pantyhose.

No amount of sneering or monotone speeches gave that Waller any emotional weight -- pun intended.

I really dislike the way hallucinations play out on this show... so cheesy. I too liked GothLicity, she needs to quit hating on herself. Besides, she apparently has access to infinity new leather jackets and accessories, because this show's wardrobe dept. is on point.

Couldn't Ray take a sabbatical from time-traveling for a couple weeks and build Felicity robot legs? I realize that's a shitty cop-out and it's probably a good opportunity to show that physical disabilities don't have to derail your life if Felicity stays in the chair, but I just can't picture her giving up the rainbow of bodycon dresses and heels that have been her "signature look" for the entire series run because of one accident. Pantsuit Felicity might have more gravitas, but the Lair needs a little bit of levity and her clothing was often a nice "set brightener" for Team Arrow scenes.
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 8:16 AM on February 1, 2016

At least Deadshot's death was in-character and earned (he's the one member of Suicide Squad that really does have a death wish).

Katana has been showing up in the previews. They're probably bringing her back just to kill her off, too.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 10:14 AM on February 1, 2016 [1 favorite]

bodycon... this means? body conforming?
posted by Justinian at 11:46 AM on February 1, 2016

bodycon = body-conscious, aka form-fitting and/or stretchy. This is something women are used to seeing, but possibly not men (as stores/online shops will divide their dresses by categories, one of which is body-conscious styles).
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 11:48 AM on February 1, 2016

Ah, like Herve Leger.
posted by Justinian at 12:14 PM on February 1, 2016

I am cranky at the abrupt, ignoble end for Waller. Not even killed by a named villain! Just a random greedy merc! I'm still pissed at the DC-mandated removal of Deadshot that spelled the end of both a fun character and the storyline tension between Deadshot, Diggle, and HIVE. CW Waller wasn't the middle-aged chessmaster we all wanted, but she brought an ongoing pragmatic menace to the series nonetheless. One of my favorite subplots from last season was Waller manipulating Flashback Oliver into becoming a torture technician: a mode of thinking that he still hasn't completely dropped even though he admits it destroys him emotionally.

I'm a little heartbroken that TV Tatsu is inevitably going to show up just to make way for Movie Katana, who is a walking stereotype wearing a flag on her head. I was deeply fond of Tatsu in the Hong Kong flashbacks last season for being one of the few people immediately Not Interested In Oliver's Bullshit, and when she made it through season 3 without getting fridged it felt like a miracle. And like my sigh of relief when badass bisexual Sara lived through season 2, my relief was too soon. I wish TV Tatsu had never put on the ridiculous-looking flag mask: then DC and CW could quietly downplay any connection between the movie and TV characters. It's not like Katana the Magical Samurai Bodyguard will have enough onscreen characterization in Suicide Squad to give her Tatsu's backstory anyway.

Stop fucking around with the Flarrowverse, DC! No takebacks on a given character once you've given the okay!

Maybe the reason The Flash series has started name-dropping basically every single DC speedster on the show is so they can fall back on [insert name here] for speedster stuff once DC goes "we're doing a Flash movie in two years, so no more Eobard Thawne / Wally West / Jessie Quick for YOU!"
posted by nicebookrack at 3:21 PM on February 1, 2016

Not exactly digging the lithe, taut Waller. I kinda like big, bad The Wall, because her fucks given = 0.

Ditto. Classic comic Waller always seemed to me to have that same physical gravitas that Kingpin did over on Marvel. I'm sure that wasn't entirely coincidental, given the ascendency of Frank Miller's depictions of Kingpin around the same time Waller was all over DC.

I agree this was a shitty way to get rid of her. I'm very okay with showing the randomness of death in this sort of world but this had no weight.
posted by phearlez at 10:12 AM on February 5, 2016

I gotta kinda concur with Oliver that in a world where people fly and come back from the dead, "paralyzed forever" may not just be the case.
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:39 PM on February 6, 2016