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Summer fandoms
So I have a very long list of awesome shows people tell me that I need to watch (Orphan Black, Hannibal, The Fosters are the top three right now), shows I need to catch up on (Nikita, Teen Wolf), and even some shows that have ended and I still haven't finished (sorry, Fringe).
Instead,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
inmyriadbits and I started watching Arrow.
It's not the smartest show, but sometimes summer hiatus means wanting a damaged superhero who likes to walk around shirtless and have traumatic flashbacks involving a shipwreck, torture, and getting locked in a cage, and his crime-fighting partners who like to call him on his bullshit.
(also, he's a morally ambiguous vigilante with trust issues, and an archer: both things I am super easy for.)
THANK GOD Felicity found out -- and was clearly on to them for ages. I'm blonde, but not *that* blonde, indeed. She's hilarious and a much-needed breath of fresh air, and if I wasn't already in love with her for her gift of babble, the argument at the beginning of 1x15 sealed it. Oliver was being a tunnel-visioned jerk and looming, and Felicity (who is over half a foot shorter) got right the fuck up in his face and told him off. And then kept poking him and Diggle for the rest of the ep, and helped save the day while strapped into a bomb collar. ♥
Overall, the show's a bit uneven: plenty of clunky writing, the usual spread of CW guest stars ranging from awesome to shitty, and they have a tendency to anvil things over and over and over. But I do like that they're not afraid of the gray areas. The antagonists mostly have dimension and motivation and are not always bad guys, Oliver himself is weaving back and forth over the morality line despite Diggle (and now Felicity)'s best efforts, and there are messy complicated relationships all over the place.
Speaking of, Tommy and Laurel are adorable and I'm so glad they moved past the Laurel/Oliver thing. They have good actor chemistry but not the romantic kind, and it was clearly such an awful idea for both of them as characters.
The island flashbacks are getting progressively more WTF, but in a fun way. Slade is great, though I keep expecting him to double-cross Oliver, because *Slade*. They're also making me genuinely respect Stephen Amell, because he's notably different playing past!Oliver in his voice and physicality, and does a good in the present storyline code-switching between his various roles. He may suck at actually coming up with cover stories, but he's disturbingly good at making the people who used to know him see that person instead. Poor puppy, I hope he gets less lonely with two people who know his secret now. (well, three. I'm guessing Helena shows up again in 118 since it's titled The Huntress Returns. Subtle, show.)
Also, calling it now that McKenna is evil. Her double-take when Oliver brought up the Count that first time? And all the convenient CI intel? And the show persisting in their relationship despite a complete lack of chemistry? Totally evil.
Instead,
inmyriadbits and I started watching Arrow.It's not the smartest show, but sometimes summer hiatus means wanting a damaged superhero who likes to walk around shirtless and have traumatic flashbacks involving a shipwreck, torture, and getting locked in a cage, and his crime-fighting partners who like to call him on his bullshit.
(also, he's a morally ambiguous vigilante with trust issues, and an archer: both things I am super easy for.)
THANK GOD Felicity found out -- and was clearly on to them for ages. I'm blonde, but not *that* blonde, indeed. She's hilarious and a much-needed breath of fresh air, and if I wasn't already in love with her for her gift of babble, the argument at the beginning of 1x15 sealed it. Oliver was being a tunnel-visioned jerk and looming, and Felicity (who is over half a foot shorter) got right the fuck up in his face and told him off. And then kept poking him and Diggle for the rest of the ep, and helped save the day while strapped into a bomb collar. ♥
Overall, the show's a bit uneven: plenty of clunky writing, the usual spread of CW guest stars ranging from awesome to shitty, and they have a tendency to anvil things over and over and over. But I do like that they're not afraid of the gray areas. The antagonists mostly have dimension and motivation and are not always bad guys, Oliver himself is weaving back and forth over the morality line despite Diggle (and now Felicity)'s best efforts, and there are messy complicated relationships all over the place.
Speaking of, Tommy and Laurel are adorable and I'm so glad they moved past the Laurel/Oliver thing. They have good actor chemistry but not the romantic kind, and it was clearly such an awful idea for both of them as characters.
The island flashbacks are getting progressively more WTF, but in a fun way. Slade is great, though I keep expecting him to double-cross Oliver, because *Slade*. They're also making me genuinely respect Stephen Amell, because he's notably different playing past!Oliver in his voice and physicality, and does a good in the present storyline code-switching between his various roles. He may suck at actually coming up with cover stories, but he's disturbingly good at making the people who used to know him see that person instead. Poor puppy, I hope he gets less lonely with two people who know his secret now. (well, three. I'm guessing Helena shows up again in 118 since it's titled The Huntress Returns. Subtle, show.)
Also, calling it now that McKenna is evil. Her double-take when Oliver brought up the Count that first time? And all the convenient CI intel? And the show persisting in their relationship despite a complete lack of chemistry? Totally evil.