Arrow "Kapushion"

I finally got around to watching the episode and I have to say that I liked it as a whole, although it absolutely does bring up some rather questionable things. First of all, I really enjoyed the focus on Oliver and Adrian in the present segment. I've never cared much about the team - no matter the composition - in the first place, so leaving them out for one episode was really an interesting experience. I also have to admit once again how much I like Adrian. Ohhh, how clever he was here! That trick with Evelyn?! Kudos, dude, I did not see that coming! For a moment I did think it was a bit weird that they had apparently had a falling out, but both characters really sold the whole thing so well I didn't suspect anything. 

I do, however, kinda feel like patting myself on the back on another issue, because "I like killing!" was literally the very first thing on my mind when Adrian asked for Oliver's secret. Proves just how much the show has in fact gone in circles over the past few years, that they keep dragging that same issue up over and over again. The flashback scenes were really... drastic in that regard. Who knew Oliver took an internship with Ramsay Bolton at some point? I do have to sorta disagree with polgara here, though, because while Oliver's actions here do seem more horrible than in the first season (not so much the killing, but definitely the torture), they really managed to take me back to that time and my opinion of the character back then. It's been a few years by now, but I still distinctly remember that when I started watching Arrow, my impression of Oliver over the first few weeks (if not most of the first season) was precisely "why the hell am I supposed to be rooting for this guy?". S1 Oliver was killing bad guys left and right, without any distinction. He didn't care if someone was merely a guard or the crime boss in charge of whole operations. Even when he finally did consider the idea of not killing his opponents, he would still slaughter his way past ten security guys, only to then face a moral struggle when it was time to take out the real villain. It was so stupid and horrible that it was almost hilarious!

My point is, S1 Oliver Queen was not a good guy, not by any standards, and while I'm willing to put that aside to enjoy a (mostly) decent story and some cool fight scenes, I actually think it's a good thing that other characters are not ignoring it any longer. 

Really? No, I didn't know, as I don't follow that fandom at all. I used to look into the imdb board every now and again, but since that's gone, I haven't had the urge to find another source for information.

That's really cool, though. I always liked Laurel and I've adored Katie since her time on Supernatural, so it's great to have her back. I do have the feeling, though, that they're trying to give Quentin another heart attack!


As for the current plot, I agree that making Adrian less of a psycho would have even increased the point he is trying to make, but then again, he's still the villain and Oliver is still supposed to be the hero, no matter how messed up he is/was. So unless they were planning on renaming the show "Prometheus" next season, they still had to make some distinction here. I guess adding just a slight touch of insanity was the easiest way to have Adrian be able to justify his own action to himself. How else could he live with killing his wife, or even killing Felicity's new boyfriend only to hurt Oliver? I think we already talked about how similar his motives are to Slade, right? Blaming Oliver for his actions, but wanting to make all the people in his life pay for that. It certainly does sound familiar.