And speaking of fun, let's dust off the standard warnings… always
keep drinks safely away from the computer/device/screen when reading. Be
prepared for snarky commentary and foul language. When I get excited or upset
about something, the four letter words fly. (And okay, sometimes more than four
letters and occasionally completely made up to fit the mood words, too. LOL)
I'm not always on the same page as the rest of the world so off the wall
opinions, observations, and over the top ramblings are pretty much standard.
Spoilers and speculation will abound. If you haven't seen the episode and want
to stay spoiler free, please back away slowly and look the other way.
As always, keep your hands and feet inside the roller
coaster at all times. Safety first, people.
And here we go…
Pilot (aka the Introduction to Oliver's Abs of Wonderment)
Ready…
Go…
First of all…the camera-work in the very opening scene?
Reminded me so much of BSG I kind of decided I was a goner from the first
frame. LOL And ouch… running through all that brush and then over the rocks had
to be murder on Ollie's feet. And yeah, that has to be Oliver Queen buried
underneath all that stringy, straggly hair and the green leather hood. What
kind of animal is green? Wait… maybe I should just handwave the color, right?
Yeah, let's focus on the wicked ass knife he just stuck in stone and the form
he uses to launch the flaming arrow.
Ready…
Aim…
And BOOM!!! We're off to a flaming start…if you'll excuse
the pun. :P
The voiceover goes like this:
The name of the island
they found me on is Lian Yu. It's Mandarin for purgatory.
[Please note the mask with the arrow through it…it's gonna
be important, methinks]
I've been stranded
here for five years. I've dreamt of my rescue every cold, black night since
then. For five years I've had only one thought. One goal. Survive. Survive and
one day return home.
And wow… our castaway certainly looks worse for the wear. I
can't wait to see what kind of battle he had to win (see above note about the
mask) to be able to light that flaming arrow.
The island held many
dangers. To live, I had to make myself more than what I was. To forge myself
into a weapon. I am returning. Not the boy who was shipwrecked. But the man who
will bring justice to those who have poisoned my city.
My name is Oliver
Queen…
Cue intro music… with this cool shot:
Oliver Queen is alive.
Key factoids revealed by the newscaster:
—The fishermen in the North China Sea found Oliver five days
ago
—Oliver's fashion sense sucked balls five years
ago…according to the footage provided by the WEBG file footage.
—Acquitted of assault charges after a highly publicized
drunken altercation with paparazzi.
—Wow… they chose a great actor to play Ollie's dad. Very
similar looking.
Key factoids revealed by Dr. Lamb:
—20% of Ollie's body is covered in scar tissue.
—Second degree burns on his back and arms.
—At least 12 fractures that never properly healed.
Seriously… ouch. And let me take a moment to say, read over
that list again, people. Think about the physical damage he suffered. Makes you
wonder about the possible mental strain he lived with, yeah?
So damn right the Oliver his mom lost might not be the one
they found. With that kind of damage how could he be, right? But what a lovely
reunion…
And wow… what a gorgeous home. Then again, billionaires
wouldn't have anything less, right?
And please… hands off the green case. Oliver's got it.
Heh… 'Oliver, it's damn good to see you.' Who else loved the
whole vibe of that intro? Oliver greets the housekeeper, Raisa, with more
warmth. And then he sees Thea and awww…
"You were with me the whole time." *sigh*
Here, have another pretty picture.
Brief pause for initial thoughts.
I'm sort of loving the tone and vibe of the show. Right now
it's very quiet, which given the hardships I imagine Oliver faced makes all
kinds of sense. But… there's an intensity to Oliver that hovers over
everything. He's sort of withdrawn, but look at the contrast to how he greets
his mom and Walter to when he sees the housekeeper and Thea. It's almost
jarring. He's so subdued with Moira but with Thea his face lights up. I love
it.
Back to recappage…
And change scene to introduce Laurel.
Key factoids:
—She's a lawyer (not a miracle worker)… but if they can't
win a class action suit against a guy who's swindled a shit ton of people out
of their homes and life savings, they suck at their jobs.
—Ohh, she's feisty. She and her BFF, legal aide attorneys,
against an army of corporate lawyers ready to bury them are great odds. I like
her already.
—Oops, she's a little less than thrilled to find out
Oliver's alive… and her sister is… not. Hello awkward. (And very cool way to
drop that little detail in).
—The guy she's trying to take down, Hunt, is the guy who
played Agent Durham in Caprica… and a commander in Blood and Chrome. Dude gets
around.
Sorry… need a moment. Ollie in a towel sorta just fried my
brain. Here, have a look while I compose myself.
Okay… moment over. (For now.)
After five years, everything familiar is now unrecognizable.
The face Ollie sees in the mirror belongs to a stranger.
Is it a stranger… or someone he's become very familiar with?
Ohhh. Flashback.
Random Factoids:
—Wicked ass storm. Category two according to the crewman,
who is played by one of my geeky fandom connections. See end of recap. J
—Apparently a bottle opener takes importance over the raging
storm. Bonus points for making it Buckets of Awkward when asking where it is
clad only in a slinky robe in front of Ollie's dad.
—Hell no, it's not gonna finish well. Ollie's being a very
bad boy. But kudos for dropping the Anvil of Obvious, right? LOL
Okay, before getting the next Buckets of Awkward moment
during dinner, we get to meet Tommy Merlyn. Now this could be an interesting
character if you follow the comics. Green Arrow has an arch enemy named Merlyn,
a supremo archer. But... let's not get ahead of things, here. First, I get all
the various versions of the comics all mixed up anyway, and second, I have no
idea how the CW will interpret all the lore. So… moving on. (For now. :P)
Just prior to meeting Tommy… we see some subtle contrast in
context from Oliver. He's not quite ready to be back yet, or maybe it's more
he's waiting for something or someone to come at him.
Anyhoo… Awkward Dinner is Awkward
Random Factoids:
—Tommy definitely has his thumb on the pulse of pop culture.
Then again, Oliver DID miss a lot while stuck on the island… we think. :P
—Thea asks a loaded question. I could like that about her. And
who didn't love everyone's reactions?
Also… loved Oliver's response to 'What was it like there?'
Cold. (And let's not forget lonely, even if he might not have been alone.)
—Oliver is not only super quick and coordinated; he
apparently speaks Russian and proves to be a keen observer. The 'friend from
the company' is sleeping with Moira. Sorry, dude, it's more than that… they
happen to be married.
But you know what… crazypants as that moment is, I kind of
love it. And the way Oliver asks to be excused afterwards is kind of great… mainly
because it underscores the change he's undergone without being overt. Moira had
a moment there… like his request caught her off guard. Very nice.
Ohhh. Another flashback. And I love the way it's
superimposed with the present timeline. Oliver has some adjustment issues… serious
ones. I mean he's sprawled on the floor in front of an open window in the
middle of a raging storm. But, I digress, let's hit the key points of the
flashback first.
—They found a bottle opener. LOL
—Oliver knows science… in particular, biology. *eye roll*
—Laurel is going to kill Sarah. Um, okay, if Sarah knows
this… why is she on a boat with Oliver? See… I get that he's quite the specimen
of manhood, but I can't wait to see what kind of relationship Laurel and Sarah
actually had.
—Oh, Oliver. Not even you really believe Laurel will never
know, right? I'd lay money you're hoping she'll deffo find out.
Okay, seriously, never, NEVER say 'we're going to be fine'.
It's always the precursor to something truly horrible. In this case… the yacht
breaks apart and Sarah gets sucked into the water. Ouch.
And kudos to Ollie for at least being freaked out and
concerned. Maybe the start to or the reveal of a deeper guy?
But… coming back to present time, almost taking his mom out
probably isn't going to earn him any points. I love the way Stephen plays this.
The freak out is more profound and mortification over his instinctive reaction
is all over his face.
Oliver might be home, but he's still back on the island,
too.
Okay, the green box has my interest. Did Oliver take up
woodshop on the island? Or metal forging? Looking forward to finding out how he
came to possess the box.
Random factoids:
—Thea's got some secrets and looks to be dabbling with some
drugs. Maybe the Speedy nickname will play very differently in the TV version.
—Heh, again with Oliver's keen observational skills.
—Aw. Nice moment with the hozen.
—Interesting side eye from Tommy to Thea. I'm liking the
possibilities they might be keeping some secrets.
—Hmm. Okay, Tommy, probably a smart move to not notice how
hot Thea is now. LOL If Tommy is snarktastic all the time, he'll soon be one of
my fave characters.
Ohh. Music choice: C'mon Doll by My Goodness.
Okay… according to Tommy, the city has gone to hell. Maybe
his super hero alter ego is going to be Exposition Man! Seriously, though,
using Tommy to foreshadow isn't a bad choice because it does two things. Sets
up the reunion between Oliver and Laurel AND it shows us what Oliver will use
as his base of operations.
Speaking of reunions… when Tommy wonders what Oliver missed
the most and his quick, definitive answer is Laurel… I may have had a heart
stoppy moment. But Tommy kinda destroyed the sweet. I do love how Oliver just
shrugged, still determined to see Laurel… even if she's the only person on the
planet who's not happy Ollie's alive and well. (Which she isn't… but we'll get
to that.)
Okay… blah, blah, change of venue, Hunt financed the new
judge's campaign… I may work at the municipal level, but yeah, I hear enough of
this stuff at work. But… there is an important bit here: We don't have to go
outside the law to find justice. This is Laurel's dad's favorite jingle. It'll
be important later…
Until then, bring on the angstfest.
Hello, Laurel
And angst-o-rama is probably a little harsh because there's
an awful lot of poignancy in the scene, too. Yes, Laurel lets Oliver have it
with both barrels, proving she can probably take Alan Hunt on without a
problem, but she deserves to have that moment. And Oliver deserves to hear it,
even if it's pretty clear he's probably said the same things to himself a
million times over. But I kind of feel for her when she can't be angry at Sarah
for doing the same thing Laurel did, but she can't grieve because she was so
angry. How much would that suck?
Something else I love? The difference between the Oliver in
the flashbacks with Sarah (and to an extent the one from the news file) and the
one who's speaking to Laurel. The man who returned from the island is much more
subdued and controlled, IMO.
Laurel's parting shot to Tommy about how he expected that to
go piqued my interest. But only for a moment because holy shit things go fubar
in a big hurry when Oliver and Tommy are attacked on the way back to Tommy's
car. I guess the neighborhood really did go to shit.
Maybe next time, Tommy should consider not driving a
Mercedes to the roughest part of town, yeah?
Anyhoo… on the way back to the car Oliver and Tommy feel the
sting of being in the bad part of the city, complete with Creepy Mask Dudes,
tranq darts and a barrage of gunfire. Fun times.
And we learn more interesting details about Oliver. First,
it takes him quite a bit longer to go down so he witnesses the killing of the
shop owner. It also gives us another…
FLASHBACK
With just a smidgen of insight. Robert didn't help build the
city, he failed it. This is going to be important later.
Back to Present.
Creepy Mask Leader is all up in Ollie's face about whether
Robert survived the accident. He asks the questions and Oliver answers them. I
kind like how he looks to his Creepy Mask Henchmen when Oliver doesn't
immediately spill his guts. And dude, seriously, methinks tasing Ollie is not
gonna go well for you. Just saying.
Anyway, my point is proven beautifully when Ollie finally
tells Creepy Mask Leader what his father said. (And please note how Oliver
checks to make sure Tommy is still out cold. Nice touch) "He told me I'm
gonna kill you."
And, hello! Kick Ass Oliver enters the scene and takes out
Creepy Mask Leader and his two Henchmen with lots of awesome action.
Interesting wrinkle with him deliberately killing the last one. I'm looking
forward to seeing how that plays out.
So… did Tommy see anything or not? Please discuss.
Okay, I find it VERY interesting that Oliver is the one who
gave the description of, well his alter ego, to the police. And again, I'm
wondering if Tommy saw anything. There seems to be a moment between him and
Oliver when the detective asks if Tommy saw the Hood Guy. I do have a quibble
with the statement about Oliver being back one day and already someone is after
him. He's been back longer than that… just not at home.
Anyway… since we don't know who the detective is yet, his
buttloads of attitude is all we have to base opinions on. A parent would do
anything to keep their child safe is a clue, but not fleshed out here. And the
parting shot about Oliver's luck not running out hints at more, but again, no
details. Just more kind of weird undertones with Tommy and Oliver instead.
I kind of question this. Why wait to reveal who the
detective is? Eh… probably me overthinking shit as usual. LOL
Back to action.
Aww. Oliver is researching the Hunt guy. But did you notice
what he has close at hand? Here…
You know what I find interesting? Look at Oliver's hair in
the picture. Now, granted this could have been taken at any time, but in all
the flashbacks and the news file footage, he's got longer hair with the floppy
bang thing going on. Not so much in the photo with Laurel.
What? I notice weird things. What can I say. LOL
Aww. I hope we see more of Raisa interacting with Oliver.
And there's some good stuff here mixed in with friendly chatter. Like how
Oliver seems to be more himself with the housekeeper than anyone else. I love
her saying he has a good heart and his very quiet response that he hopes so and
he wants to be the person she always told him he could be. Will be sorely
disappointed if we don't see more with them.
LOL. Oh, the next part is great. Way to go Walter… trying to
sort of stick up for Oliver. But Moira squashes that idea. SHE needs Oliver to
have someone with him. Intro John Diggle, body guard.
Key Factoids:
—Diggle's good. Digg if Oliver wants.
—Ex military. 105th Airborne. Private sector for
a little over four years.
—His ability to keep Oliver from harm will outweigh his
comfort. (I LOVE THAT LINE)
—Um, no… they do not have an agreement. LOL
Oh… I can already tell the relationship here will be fun to
watch. :D
Hmm. Apparently Oliver had a bunch of stuff stashed to take
to his dad's old factory. And he switched coats, too. Not a stupid move
considering the attack in the same neighborhood earlier. :D
Nice. So, voice over exposition. The abduction forced Oliver
to move up his plans. But the man in the green hood was in the warehouse… and
he's just beginning.
OHHH. Picspam introduction to the Oliver's Lair.
Oliver's AOW... Swoon!
Whew. For those of us who watched BSG, we all knew arrows
could be extremely hot, right? *fans self* Let's take a brief pause to cool
down a little shall we?
Okay… everyone semi-normal now? Good.
So… it looks like Laurel is going to get some assistance
from Oliver's alter ego. And bonus! Adam Hunt is in the book.
Two birds, one arrow. Convenient, no?
Pertinent Factoids:
—Hunt's crimes go deeper than fraud and theft.
—Hunt likes to bully, bribe, or kill anyone who gets in his
way.
—He hasn't met Oliver yet.
Hunt better get ready for some serious ass kicking if the
arsenal Ollie has is any indication.
And of course there's the Hood.
And look… Green Arrows. How awesome is that?
Hunt plans to turn the judge into a cautionary tale if he
doesn't rule in his favor. Fun dialog is always a bonus for me when watching
great shows. LOL
His meeting with his goons (nicely dressed ones, but still
goons) is interrupted by Oliver. And dude… telling Goon One to handle the
Laurel Lance dealio is not your smartest idea. Why? Here… I'll show you.
Seriously, the look on Hunt's face when Oliver takes his
goons out is hilarious. And holy shit, I'd love to know how Ollie gets him to
fly out of the car… but really? Who cares? It looks awesome. LOL
I also love how Hunt's all 'Wait, wait. What do you want?'
Too bad he's not smart enough to actually listen to Oliver's demand for him to
transfer $40 mil to a Starling bank account. And I'm pretty sure he doesn't
like how Oliver takes it.
But… I'm getting ahead of myself. First, more Detective
Lance snark. I love how much he's an equal opportunity snark specialist. Well,
thank you for your statement. I'll be an ABP out on…Robin Hood. Bwhahahahahahahaha
Who else thinks Ollie and Drake Conley are gonna have a
wicked cool battle? Head of security for Mr. I Go to the Front of the Line
Hunt. Should be worth watching, no?
Hee. I think I'm gonna love Digg. Something tells me Oliver
will still end up ditching him before the night is over.
Gotta say, love the music choices. Oliver's party is off to
a rip roaring good time. Tommy is very good at the throwing celebrations thing,
no? Lots going on, though, both behind the scenes and out in party central.
Pertinent Information:
—9:07. Shit is going down in the very near future. What? You
don't really think Hunt is going to deposit that money, right?
—So, Oliver missed tequila. Doesn't seem to be having a hard
time downing a shot. Interesting.
—9:25. Hunt is sucking down alcohol, too. And gearing up for…
geez… a full on war it looks like. LOL
—HA! Oliver's party is conveniently right next door to
Hunt's office. Oh, Oliver… not sure that's the smartest move you could make.
Love how pop culture references are thrown in. And the snark
that goes with them. And yeah, so much going on. Miss Thea seems to have a wee
tiny habit that doesn't make big bro very happy. This could prove very
interesting down the road.
Gotta say, Thea has some interesting baggage. Big problems
with Oliver judging her when she's acting just like him. I kinda love what
she's saying. Hello… you were dead, now you're not, and I can't just forget
that last five years. As a side note, this is one of those spots were I love
how Stephen plays the scene. He's not really in Thea's face and so much of what
he's feeling is subtle. Willa on the other hand, kinda goes over the top, IMO.
But she is playing 17 so yeah, probably explains it.
—Score one for big bro! The stash is now in the trash. Nice
exchange of glances with Digg.
—And hello, Laurel. Someplace quieter to talk? Sure… why
not. (Ohh… is that a jealous glance from Tommy?)
This next scene hits a couple of high notes for me. Laurel's
apology and almost reconnection with Oliver over talking about Sarah just
worked, IMO. Laurel's vulnerability and reluctance came through and Oliver's
genuine desire to right a wrong takes on a rough edge when his deadline is
missed and his mission rears its ugly head. They're this close to having a
meaningful moment and Oliver literally pauses to come up with a reason to shut
Laurel down. And the stupid thing? (Okay, maybe it's kind of awesome, too) His
mission directly affects Laurel. So the whole 'sorry, babe, the island didn't change
me' bullshit is exactly that… but he can't (read won't) let her know. GAH!
Remember the dealio about keeping your hands and feet inside the rollercoaster?
Gonna be a requirement with this one I think. LOL
Seriously though, here are Ollie's exact words:
Laurel. (Nice long pause) You always saw the best in me.
Right now, that's what you're doing. You're looking at me and you're wondering
if that island changed me somehow, if it made me a better person. It didn't.
Stay away from me. Otherwise, I'm just gonna hurt you again. This time it'll be
worse.
GAH! OLLIE!!!
And of course, he turns the asshat on, but Laurel calls him
on it. The time on the island did change him… at least now he's honest.
Oh, Laurel… if you only knew, sweetie. But… Oliver has important
shit to take care of, so yeah…
But the poor guy has another brick wall in the form of John
Diggle to get through. So far, I really, really love Digg. He'd believe Oliver
if he wasn't so full of crap. Score!
Damn. Rule number one. Do NOT get in Oliver's way when he
has a mission. Wonder how the hell Diggle will work around the latest escape
move. Wounded pride can quickly turn into majorly pissed off, right?
Rule number two… never say Oliver isn't getting in somewhere.
The man will prove you wrong. J
In a really big way. And take out like half a dozen goons in the process.
But you know what's really kinda cool? He can still get his
ass handed to him. I like that. At least the head of security is actually semi-competent.
It always pisses me off when they're stupid, you know?
Important info:
—Oliver didn't miss. Pay close attention there people.
—For a TV show, the fight scenes kick ass. Major.
—As noted, Oliver isn't invincible, but he's damn smart. Exit
plan rocks.
Ha! Wow. Lance doesn't like Tommy, yeah? Did you rufie
anyone special tonight? Yeesh. And hello… the burns keep on coming. But Oliver
is rather good at deflecting the insults by offering a reward for anyone who can
find a nutbar in a green hood. Two million bucks. Not bad, right?
Side Note:
I really, really loved the way Stephen played the scene
after Lance asks him if he even tried to save Sarah. Seeing the effect on him
followed by his 'billionaire brat' routine makes him shine. Hard to pull off
the many facets, but he does it.
Ohhh… I love the interplay between Tommy and Oliver. Does
Tommy know more than he's letting on? It's like he's connecting the dots,
noticing the coincidence of Oliver having his party right next door to Hunt's
office and Hunt being attacked by the same guy who saved their lives.
"What happened to
you on that island?"
"A lot"
No shit.
See… while Hunt is having a stroke over his missing forty
million dollars and wondering how Oliver did it… we get to see his nifty techno
arrow draining Hunt's account and loading up the ones of the people he bilked.
Nice!!
And strike one name from the list.
FLASHBACK
Remember when I said the dealio about failing the city would
be important later… strap in, folks. This is a BIG BOFFO MOMENT…
The trio on the life boat is about to become a singular
person, and here's why…
There's not enough for all of them. Oliver wants his dad to
save his strength. But Robert has something else in mind. Oliver can survive.
Make it home. Make it better. Right Robert's wrongs. But… he has to live first.
Definitely doesn't need to nod off and fall asleep.
Roberts persists. Can Oliver hear him? Just rest, Dad. Um,
no. BAM!! Down goes the crew dude. Robert's got Oliver's attention now. DAD??
Survive. Gun to the head and NO!!!!
Back to present…
Somber moment for Oliver in his dad's old factory. Alone.
But he survived.
Key information:
—if, hypothetically, fifty grand magically appears in a bank
account, don't speak about it, yeah? To anyone. Ever.
—Starling City has a guardian angel… in the form of a
vigilante. I like the contrast. J
Heh… Laurel's cute friend, Tommy, has a couple of concerns.
No, she and Oliver didn't go mono y mono. There's nothing between them. But…
and here's where things get really interesting… Tommy thought the only thing
between Laurel and Oliver was THEM. Well, hello wrinkly plot twist. But it's
one I kinda love, especially since Tommy acts very smitten, but guilty. I have
a feeling he doesn't want Oliver to know.
Too bad Oliver is directly above them… and knows.
Voiceover (with FLASHBACK):
She said the island changed me. She has no idea how much.
There are many more names on the list. Those who rule my city through
intimidation and fear. Every last one of them will wish I had died on that
island.
Cut scene:
Well holy shit. Another big wrinkly plot twist. Moira had
Oliver kidnapped. But another abduction isn't necessary… there are other ways
to find out what her son knows…
Fade to Arrow
Well, now. Can't wait for the next episode to see how all
this stuff shakes out. J
Seriously, this show had me from the opening frame. It might
be my former days as a diehard DC Comics fangirl, but honestly, I think it's
just how much and how many of my personal kinks get pinged. Definitely on the
must watch list for me.
Until next week… ponder the following…
Geeky Fan Connections
Walter: Doug Greer (LOUK), Dr. Moon from Doctor Who, David
Tyrel (Hex), Charles Robinson (Bond Movies, Brosnan era)
Lamb: Cyrus Xander (Caprica) and geez, a million other genre
shows
Hunt: Agent Durham (Caprica), Commander Nash (Blood &
Chrome), Addison (Sanctuary)
Detective Lance: Harry Dresden (Dresden Files), Larry
(Warehouse 13 Xmas ep)
Detective Hilton: Joshua (First Wave), Travis (Continuum)
Crewman: Coker (Blood & Chrome), Kavanaugh (Stargate:
Atlantis), Herrick (Reise)
Know of any others? Fill me in!!
That's if fangirls and boys. Stay tuned!
Sky
