Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Arrow S04 E15: Taken

Since watching the short animated series on CW Seed, I have been wondering how they would show Vixen's powers in live-action. When Oliver calls on her to help locate Damien Darhk, I guess we'll find out.

First things first, we get diversions. Felicity is in therapy trying to relearn to walk now that the yet-to-be Mr. Terrific magic technology has been implanted in her spine. And then there's some of the usual nonsense from Flashback Island, and then just when we thought we were never going to get to the point, you know, live-action Vixen, they throw the real curve.

Darhk comes out of the shadows and confronts Oliver and Felicity, and basically tells Oliver to drop out of the mayoral race or his son William gets it. And as usual, Felicity is the last to know, only just engaged and in need of marriage counseling. When Samantha, William's mom shows up, it gets obviously worse. I find it ironic and hilarious that Oliver keeps saying he's changed when he obviously hasn't. Actions not words, Ollie, actions not words.

Seeking help for this dilemma, Diggle suggests John Constantine, but Oliver counters that he's in Hell - literally in Hell. Perhaps that answers the questions I had about going to him for help with Thea a few episodes back, but will we see him again? Perhaps a resolution to this Hell thing? Or maybe an explanation to how Oliver even knows this?

Then Vixen's name comes up. No words are spoken but the looks on the faces of Team Arrow, especially after the Constantine in Hell comment, convey the same thought - "what the heck, something else you're keeping from us???"

Cut to Detroit, bad guys on the run, with a growling unseen force in pursuit. Soon Vixen, portrayed by Megalyn Ann Echikunwoke, the same actress who voiced her in the CW Seed animated series, makes her appearance. She's perfect, and the CGI effect to show her powers is amazing. I couldn't ask for a better comics to TV, or animated to live-action transition.

Vixen mixed in with Team Arrow fairly well, although it seemed like she and Laurel knew each other. Have they met? I loved Oliver's comment about his 'animated encounter' with Vixen last year. To find William, Vixen uses one of the boy's favorite toys, a Flash action figure. Mari jokes to Oliver about not telling Barry. Is everyone so fast and loose with secret identities? Couldn't Samantha just put two and two together and realize the cop she met, Barry, is the Flash? And what was with Mari's disappearing and reappearing lipstick?

Speaking of secret identities, how is it that after several close encounters with both Oliver Queen and the Green Arrow (tricks aside), and all that hocus pocus at his disposal, Darhk isn't sure Oliver is Arrow? It's obvious.

I did like the first fight between Darhk and Vixen and Green Arrow. Speedy had some rather cool stunts this time. The end bit with William seemed both sad and a little too convenient. Felicity on the other hand has had enough of Oliver's crap. There's a momentary miracle of her legs finally kicking in, and she uses them to walk away. Good on her.

For my other reviews of the entire "Arrow" series, click here. And if you'd like to discuss this episode and anything else in the Arrowverse, please join the Arrow Discussion Group on Facebook.

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Vixen on CW Seed

Having an adult animated series about a super-heroine of color is a wonderful thing, if only more folks knew about it. The genius mix of James Tucker and Greg Berlanti at the helm, along with setting it in the loose Arrowverse, that also features The Flash, Constantine, Arrow, and yes, even Supergirl, makes Vixen a truly hidden gem.

And hidden it is, on the CW Seed application for your phone or mobile device. This app also features the 1990s CBS television of "The Flash" starring John Wesley Shipp. There's other stuff but I can't remember what else, so it's not really even genre specific, or even a lot. This would a great place to put "Constantine," again provided the CW let anyone know about it.

Like most most comic readers, my first introduction to the Vixen character was in the ill-conceived, much-maligned, and underestimated critical failure known as 'Justice League Detroit.' In a deconstruction of the classic team, Aquaman disbanded the Justice League then rebuilt it using heroes who could give their time 24/7. A similar concept was done in Avengers in the 1960s when that team became 'Cap's Kooky Quartet,' basically Captain America and three former villains - they had to prove themselves the Avengers. Same thing here, mostly unknowns, including Vixen, and they were headquartered in Detroit.

This was where I first read Vixen, I'm sure she was around before that, in ads at least, before the infamous DC Implosion that cut production on much of the DC Comics line. Vixen may have even made an appearance or two but her advertised solo title never happened. Bad planning and bad economy killed a lot of good ideas that year, Vixen was only one of them.

Vixen had a sort of resurgence in the DC Animated Universe, appearing in "Justice League Unlimited" and later "Batman: The Brave and the Bold" before becoming part of the Brad Meltzer 'big guns' Justice League of America team in the comics. Now with her entry into the Arrowverse as the first animated series on CW Seed, she'll finally get the attention she deserves.

In the comics, model Mari McCabe is in possession of the Tantu Totem that allows her to access the abilities of certain animals for herself. With powers similar to Animal Man, but not quite, she is a terrific but criminally underused character. I'm happy to see her animated.

In the CW Seed series, in animation close to that television/anime style of the recent DC direct-to-DVD projects, we see her origins in the Arrowverse. Vixen's story is very good, but her first encounter with the Flash and Arrow is rather forced and weak, especially Cisco's naming of the character. It was kinda cool however seeing the two, hell, three heroes animated. And Mari's path of discovery to becoming a heroine is fascinating. I can't wait to see this animated Vixen come to life on "Arrow" this season.

Monday, March 21, 2016

DC's Legends of Tomorrow S01 E06: Star City 2046

I reviewed the two-part pilot for "DC's Legends of Tomorrow" over at Biff Bam Pop! right here. There was a lot to like, so many heroes, time travel, it was a bit like being a fanboy let loose in a comic shop. Two problems persisted, and continue to persist as the show keeps going. It's predictable, and has far too many characters, forcing the stories to split teams and only concentrate on a few at a time.

However, it has its good points as well. Victor Garber as Professor Stein, and especially Wentworth Miller III as Captain Cold are gold, and the latter is perfect in the role and damned fun to watch. Miller alone as Cold makes the show worth watching. So when a Green Arrow-centric episode came along, seeing as I review "Arrow," I figured I'd write about it.

The concept is time traveler from the future Rip Hunter recruited Hawkgirl, the Atom, White Canary, Firestorm, Captain Cold, and Heat Wave to save the future by fighting Vandal Savage in the past. In mid-mission they crashland in Star City in the year 2046 and need parts for repairs. Star City is under siege however by Grant Wilson, the son of Deathstroke, and his army. The city's only defense is a new Green Arrow named Connor Hawke.

And this is why time travel, mixed with arbitrary TV changes, makes my head hurt. In the comics, Deathstroke did have a son by that name who died on his first mission at the hands of the New Teen Titans. Connor Hawke, in the comics at least, is in fact Oliver Queen's son, by Shado, who's dead on the television series.

Soon it's revealed that Connor Hawke is only the name that John Diggle Jr. took when he became the Green Arrow. Oliver Queen lost an arm when the new Deathstroke took over and quit. Stephen Amell makes a couple cameos as the three decades older Queen. His return is triumphant, and predictable.

As always, and it's a good thing, Cold steals the show clashing with his partner Heat Wave. In this future Star City, the hot tempered criminal could have been a king, but Cold is too invested in stopping Vandal Savage. This is a turning point in the characters and the partnership that will change this dynamic forever. Notably in the comics, Captain Cold and Heat Wave are enemies and grudging colleagues.

Another tidbit from the comics is that this isn't the first time Oliver Queen has lost an arm in the future. He's also in this state in the future of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. See you back in 2016, on "Arrow."

For my other reviews of the entire "Arrow" series, click here. And if you'd like to discuss this episode and anything else in the Arrowverse, please join the Arrow Discussion Group on Facebook.

Friday, March 18, 2016

Jessica Jones S01 E04: AKA 99 Friends

Producer/writer Hilly Hicks Jr., late of "The Big C" and a show that didn't get enough of a chance, "Kidnapped," wrote this one, with David Petrarca directing. Petrarca's resume includes "Boardwalk Empire," and "Game of Thrones," among others. That Marvel can command such talent amazes me. Comics have truly grown up.

As we open Jessica is pondering the eyes of the Purple Man. They're everywhere. Anyone could be in his thrall, watching her, taking pictures of her. It's maddening, and a lesser person would break. Jessica, she goes to work, and finds a new case on her doorstep.

Standard stuff - mad wife needs in flagrante photos of her philandering husband for the divorce, but it's the reference that's fishy. Paranoia's gonna getcha to paraphrase the Kinks. Once bitten, twice shy, to quote Ian Hunter. Jessica is remembering the Hope case from "AKA Ladies Night," which Kilgrave sent to her door.

Meanwhile Patsy, I mean Trish calls. The cop who tried to kill her last episode is back, and it's Jessica to the rescue. Trish isn't in danger; the cop is out of Kilgrave's power and now worried he had killed her. Jessica talks him down, her cover is blown, and now this cop knows more than she wants him to, but she calms him down.

While this could be a lesson in the scope of the Purple Man's powers and what happens to the people he throws away, there's a little more to this. We will see this guy again, I think. The cop was identified as Will Simpson, former special forces, and that matches up to something in the comics… Nuke. That Will Simpson was subjected to the same super soldier programs that created Captain America and Wolverine, became a cyborg, tattooed an American flag on his face, and fought Daredevil while rampaging through Hell's Kitchen.

Back on the case, Jessica, thinking Kilgrave is behind it, follows the wife not the husband. She sees her practicing her gun skills, and when Jessica is sure she's not mind controlled finally follows the husband. Like Admiral Ackbar always says, it's a trap, and not by the Purple Man, by the wife. She lost her mother in the Battle of New York, and blames superheroes. Learning that Jessica is 'special' and 'gifted,' she went after her. Big mistake.

Also in this episode we had the intriguing concept of a support group for Kilgrave's victims, a slowly growing at gunpoint friendship/relationship between Trish and Will, and the revelation of who's been following and taking pictures of Jessica. The Trish and Will thing is a bit creepy, and by the middle of this one I knew Malcolm was the spy.

Despite the twists and turns in this episode, and the lack of Kilgrave's physical presence, I dug this episode quite a bit, and I was relieved the Purple Man was not the major villain of the piece. The only letdown was the Hogarth divorce, which was as interesting as watching Diggle just stand around and do nothing on "Arrow."

Thursday, March 17, 2016

Arrow S04 E14: Code of Silence

Just when you thought you'd seen it all when it comes to political debates, "Arrow" gives the concept a bit more bang for its buck. Preceding the big mayoral debate between Oliver Queen and Ruve Adams (the wife of Damien Darhk), Team Arrow and H.I.V.E. have a throwdown. Way to keep things friendly.

H.I.V.E. leadership is beginning to get a face, or faces, now. It seems that both Malcolm Merlin and Milo Armitage, from waaay back in "Tremors," are part of it now. There's some great team action with Team Arrow, brief as it is. It looks like Spartan has had a helmet upgrade, perhaps saving the T for Mr. Terrific when he finally shows up.

The soap is wide and deep this episode, what with the wedding planning, Oliver's illegitimate son, and Quentin breaking up with Donna in order to keep her safe. Wouldn't it be wiser to keep her closer to protect her? Sometimes the cliches fly as hard as the soap in the show.

Speaking of cliches, the villains of the week are the Demolition Team, some lame baddies who fought Green Lantern back in the 1980s. Basically mercenaries with demolition tools, these Wrecking Crew wannabes basically cause collateral damage, more pests than villains. They get a slight realistic, and ridiculous, upgrade here on "Arrow" working for H.I.V.E.

And then there's Curtis curing Felicity's spinal injury. Things like this are always dicey in superhero universes. One wonders if there are metahumans, alien civilizations, and satellite headquarters - why can't they cure cancer? Here's why. Will everyone get the benefit of this cure, or just Felicity? Still it was nice to at least hear Curtis called terrific.

Next: Vixen!

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Arrow S04 E13: Sins of the Father

Per last episode's cliffhanger, Thea is dying because she won't succumb to the Lazarus Pit's bloodlust hangover. Rather than just calling John Constantine - who saved the similarly afflicted Sara, and thrilled viewers with his appearance - Oliver has, as he always does, decided to do things the hard way. Nyssa has a cure called the Lotus, which she will only surrender if Oliver kills Malcolm Merlin. Tired yet? We haven't even started.

Nyssa keeps bringing up that Oliver is her husband, almost to the point of nagging. It makes me wonder how legally binding such a marriage would be. Should Felicity be worried? Should she ask Laurel if she knows a good lawyer? Both Jean Loring and Kate Spencer are dead, so I suspect it's dangerous for lawyers in Star City. A side note should be mentioned here that in the Arrowverse, as shown on a recent episode of "DC's Legends of Tomorrow," Jean is the mother of Anna, Ray Palmer's late fiancée. In the comics, Jean was his wife.

Speaking of Felicity, she has her own problems, and her own subplot this episode. Not only is her estranged father the Calculator, but he confessed to it in order to win her love back. Her mom insists that he can't change, of course conjuring parallels to Oliver, but Felicity wants to try anyway. I was okay with Felicity and dad going for coffee, but I think bringing him to Palmer Tech and letting him see a T-sphere was a bit much. Good thing it was only a test.

Although Oliver tries to negotiate, Nyssa and Malcolm go to war. Again, distance and logistics are a problem. The League of Assassins is headquartered in Pakistan and Star City is on the US west coast, and yet the war is in the streets of Star City? How many times do members of Team Arrow and other cast go back and forth in what seems like no time at all??

Dr. Lamb, the Queen family doctor dating back to the first episode, gets a callback in this one. I did some Google fu thinking the name rang a bell and was maybe some forgotten evil scientist from Green Arrow's past, but he's not. I was however reminded of Green Arrow for Dr. Davis again. Wasn't there a Davis on The List? Could our campaign manager be related?

In the end, the villains were all wrapped up far too nicely and quickly I thought. How long really will the Calculator remain behind bars or the League of Assassins remain disbanded? And there are a hundred different hand jokes, with and without "Doctor Who" and "Torchwood" references, that I could make about Malcolm, but I won't. I'm just sad that we're obviously in for more Darhk, the story arc that never ends…

Next: Code of Silence!

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

The Lost World

The Lost World ~ I first saw this 1960 update of Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World on the afternoon movie when I was maybe five or so. I had seen excerpts on the Gene London show early Saturday morning and then the whole thing later that afternoon. Maybe a year later I saw it again on a weekday afternoon with my big sister and her then boyfriend/now husband as she made a home cooked meal for them while they watched. Yeah, I was the annoying baby brother, but still the film holds good memories.

The Lost World was an early work of Irwin Allen, who besides creating some wonderful scifi television like "Lost in Space," "Land of the Giants," and "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea," later pioneered the disaster film with The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno. He was campy cool and to a five year old, a film genius. Heck, I still dig his stuff at fifty-one. Allen produced, directed, and co-wrote this one.

The bearded Claude Rains is protagonist Professor Challenger, who with Michael Rennie, David Hedison (of the aforementioned "Voyage" and Felix Leiter in two James Bond flicks), Fernando Lamas, and the very young token female Jill St. John in tow, takes a trip to a lost plateau in Venezuela where dinosaurs still exist (yeah, the same one from Up). Rains is quite fun, Hedison overshadows Rennie sadly, and St. John plays the even sadder dual role of independent woman and damsel in distress. All that said, the cast's chemistry is tight and entertaining.

The updating of the story is well done except for the special effects, which might really tick the folks at PETA off in this day and age. One of the things that stands out most about this movie are the 'dinosaurs.' While Allen originally wanted to use stop motion for the dinosaurs, budget constraints led to iguanas, crocodiles, and monitor lizards with horns and fins attached. Yeah, I know.

This was waaay old school, a practice dating back to the Flash Gordon serials and cruel treatment of the animals, especially when they are made to fight each other. It's also quite distracting and takes the viewer out of the movie when Challenger calls a beast a brontosaurus and one can see it's obviously a monitor lizard. Some of this 'giant' reptilian footage was recycled for some of Allen's TV shows.

All things considered, this is a great traditional adventure with a wonderful pulp flavor - fun, thrills, and Jill St. John in tight pink pants - well worth seeing. Irwin Allen at his campy best, and still as good as it was when I was five.

Monday, March 14, 2016

Arrow S04 E12: Unchained

The Calculator is one of my favorite DC Comics super-villains, mostly because his existence runs between the utterly silly to the downright sinister. In any incarnation however, the Calculator is fun. And on television, he may yet be...

In his first appearances in the back-up stories of late 1970s Detective Comics, he wore a costume resembling a calculator and had the uncanny ability to only be beaten by a specific hero once. He fought and was defeated by Green Arrow, the Atom, Black Canary, the Elongated Man, and Hawkman. Once encountered, said heroes could never win again against him. When the storyline moved to the front of the comic, Batman finally found a way to take the Calculator down with those heroes' help.

The Calculator was around for a while after that, eventually fading into obscurity. When he reemerged, he was more in the shadows, and inspired by an urban legend that the super-villain underground had only begun to become aware of - Oracle. The heroes had some off-site source feeding them info and coordinating them. The Calculator became just that for the forces of evil, Oracle's opposite number.

We open this episode at Nanda Parbat, the citadel built into the side of a cliff in Pakistan that serves as the headquarters of the League of Assassins and the current R'as al Ghul, Malcolm Merlin. Don't think for a second I wasn't amused that our break from the-storyline-that-wouldn't-end this season (Damien Darhk) is provided by the-storyline-that-wouldn't-end last season (R'as al Ghul). Note to showrunners, the story arcs on "Arrow" need to be shorter.

I suppose I should have some reaction that Nyssa has escaped and taken over the citadel, but I'll be honest, I've already checked out. And I'm just as uninterested in the Thea subplot. And if John Constantine was able to fix the bloodlust in Sara, why not contact him again regarding Thea? Seriously, if aspirin works on a headache, why would you have to find another solution when a second headache comes along? Call John!

Then there's Roy Harper who's returned to Star City as a tech thief. The two companies he initially steals from have history in the DC Comics Universe, but not from the usual corners that "Arrow" borrows from. AmerTek hounded Steel for years and released the lethal Toastmaster guns on Metropolis. Cadmus is also based in Metropolis, specializing in alien DNA among other things. Roy had been hiding out in Hub City, home of the Question, when the Calculator blackmailed him into committing these thefts.

The Calculator's plan, surprisingly assisted by H.I.V.E., is to use a 'web nuke' to crash Star City, killing thousands. I think that's rather pedestrian and anarchist for a villain with so much potential, despite the lame codename. He is, in the end, more a foe of Felicity than anyone else, which makes the reveal at the end that he's Felicity's dad all the more shocking. So is computer hacking genetic?

Seeing Katana, if only momentarily, was a nice surprise. I hope we get more than that though. And it's always nice to see John Barrowman even if he always seems out of place when he appears. And I can't express how much I hated the dream within a flashback. Darhk's wife running for mayor seems a bit ridiculous to me however. Wasn't her husband outted as a super-villain a few episodes back?

For my other reviews of the entire "Arrow" series, click here. And if you'd like to discuss this episode and anything else in the Arrowverse, please join the Arrow Discussion Group on Facebook.

Friday, March 11, 2016

Jessica Jones S01 E03: AKA It's Called Whiskey

For the longest time, superhero sex has been a verboten topic. It's rarely brought up out of immature puberty, Mad magazine, or Kevin Smith movies. There is that great Larry Niven essay "Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex," Superman II, and in recent years the seen-but-not-spoken-of red solar lamp in Lois and Clark's bedroom... but for the most part, beyond innuendo, not much else. And yes, I am completely ignoring the Hank and Jan incident in Geoff Johns' Avengers.

In the last episode of "Jessica Jones," when our heroine and Luke Cage realize how strong and durable they both are, of course they have sex. Their first time in "AKA Ladies Night" was full of tentativeness and gentility, and remarks about not breaking each other. This time they can really cut loose, aware that 'normal' boundaries are no longer in the mix. They can relax and go with instinct and not hurt anyone - at least physically.

Just when I was going to make a comment about how Krysten Ritter and Mike Colter might only have chemistry when loving or brawling, I'm proven wrong by a post-coital coffee talk about their powers. It took three episodes, but the two have finally clicked. Colter was always good as Cage, but Sweet Christmas, Ritter finally caught up. I did dislike the idea that their destinies are intertwined however. Cage's wife being killed by a Kilgraved Jessica is a bit much, even for the funny pages.

With Jeri defending Hope, Jessica needs to turn public opinion regarding the case so she asks Trish out to lunch. Maybe some "Trish Talk" might sway some folks about the case. That's when we get a bit of explanation about Trish's training. She's doing Krav Maga, making sure she can defend herself now that Jessica isn't her roommate any more. That's why the training, the bruises, and the bloody nose. And then there's also her mysterious abusive mother. There's a lot more to Rachael Taylor's Trish Walker than at first meets the eye.

Patsy Walker is one of my favorite comic book characters, and not just because she has a cool last name. She first appeared in Miss America Magazine #2 as a romance/comedy feature in 1944, when Marvel Comics was known as Timely Comics. Think Betty and Veronica with cooler adventures. There's a very short list of characters who have been around non-stop since their beginnings in the Golden Age, and Patsy is one of them.

I was introduced to her when she popped into Avengers in the 1970s as a subplot that wouldn't go away. When the opportunity arose for Patsy to put on the powered costume of The Cat and join the Avengers in superheroing, she jumped at the chance, rechristening herself as the Hellcat, a more fitting name for this feisty redhead. She's floated around the Marvel Universe ever since, as an Avenger and as a Defender.

Seeing as the Defenders is the endgame for these first four Netflix series, I'm not the only one hoping Rachael Taylor will be donning a catsuit sooner or later. Also notably this is not Taylor's first foray into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as she was also in 2005's Man-Thing.

In this episode, in an attempt to defend Hope, Jeri tricks Trish into putting it all out there on the air of her radio show about Kilgrave and mind control. Of course it tempts the Purple Man out of the shadows and he calls. Was I the only one watching with a stone in my stomach worried he might give a command to the entire listening public? I think not. Later as Jessica and Trish leave the studio they have an encounter with a fan who they suspect is an assassin sent from Kilgrave. The fan says he misses Trish's red hair and has a Patsy Walker comic book for her to sign.

When the real assassin does come in the form of a police officer, Trish does fight like a hellcat, but it's not quite good enough. Good thing Jessica comes to the rescue. And again, she fights with her wits as well as her fists. She follows the assailant back to Kilgrave and we finally get a look at him. He escapes and leaves Jessica in a room walled with images of her. He's been watching and he can be anywhere all the time. The eyes of New York are essentially his eyes...

See you later.

Thursday, March 10, 2016

Arrow S04 E11: A.W.O.L.

As Felicity returns to work with Team Arrow, conjuring more than a passing resemblance to Oracle, and meeting the goth ghost of times past, the team goes up against a new threat, Shadowspire. I'm just thankful it's not Damien Darhk and H.I.V.E. And while the Arrowverse does seem to have appropriated most of the Batman mythos, Oliver admits that the name 'Oracle' is already taken so gives Felicity the codename Overwatch. Awkward, but it'll do in a pinch.

Because this is a John Diggle-centric episode (usually not a good thing), instead of Flashback Island, we get Flashback Afghanistan where the Diggle brothers went to war and first encountered Shadowspire. Here in the Arrowverse, the group are just military war profiteers, but in the comics they were a bit more super-villainous, using biological warfare and running afoul of our old friend Deathstroke among others. They were also led by Baron Blitzkrieg AKA Reiter from Flashback Island, a bit later verified in this episode.

Felicity is hallucinating due to her pain meds and is taunted by her brunette goth self from college. She's like an evil twin saying all the things Felicity can't say out loud herself - or more accurately she's saying the things we viewers yell at the screen for the last few years. And have I not been paying attention, or is this the first time John Diggle's superhero name Spartan been referenced?

Speaking of references, Shadowspire is seemingly looking to steal a shipment of railguns from Kord Industries. It's a decoy of course to keep Team Arrow away from their real target, A.R.G.U.S. Black Canary asks what Shadowspire would want with railguns. My question is different. What the hell is Kord Industries doing making railguns?? And will we ever see Ted Kord or Blue Beetle? I know that the Atom was supposed to originally be Blue Beetle on the show, so with Ray Palmer off time traveling with the "Legends of Tomorrow," can we finally get the real Blue Beetle?

Now my first thought when A.R.G.U.S. and Amanda Waller showed up in this episode was one of surprise. With a DC Comics Cinematic Universe film version of Suicide Squad coming this summer and Deadshot, in particular, dead in the Arrowverse, I figured we were done with this little corner of the DC TV universe. While Felicity and the Diggle brothers saved the day, halfway through the episode, something shocking happened - Amanda Waller was shot dead.

Now it's not her in the grave, and all she gets is a glass of wine remembrance. I have to wonder how this changes the Arrowverse. It's one thing to ignore characters, but it's a whole 'nother kettle of fish to kill them. I wonder what kind of repercussions this will have. And there's also the mention by Oliver of the Flash's ability to change the past. How permanent is Felicity's paralysis, and what would the repercussions of that change be?

For my other reviews of the entire "Arrow" series, click here. And if you'd like to discuss this episode and anything else in the Arrowverse, please join the Arrow Discussion Group on Facebook.