Arrow Round Table: "Burned"
Carla Day
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The lives of Laurel and Oliver get intertwined when she reached out to Arrow for help last week, as her request got Oliver out of his post-injury funk, but also provided her father access to the vigilante.
Our Arrow Round Table this week includes staff writers Carla Day and Kate Brooks, along with Laurel Brown from BuddyTV, as they meet to discuss the aftermath of the Dark Archer's attack, Quentin's betrayal of his daughter, when Tommy will figure out the truth and whether or not the flashbacks are necessary.
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What was your favorite moment in "Burned?"
Kate: When Oliver got his balls back and was Arrow again.
Laurel: Oddly, the moment that sticks out for me is toward the end when Oliver -- full of renewed passion for vigilantism -- turns to Diggle with glee and talks about going hunting. A show as dark and as grim as Arrow needs to take pleasure in itself sometimes.
Carla: Oliver's renewed purposed was a great moment. I also enjoyed the interactions between Arrow and Laurel. It's fun to see Oliver try to make sure she doesn't figure out it's him.
Did you appreciate seeing a vulnerable side to Oliver? Do you think that the Dark Archer's beating will stick with him?
Kate: Yes and no. At first it was different to see that but it became old fairly quickly. I appreciated it more at the end when he revealed the reason why he was acting that way. It's not that he is scared it's that he had something to lose.
Kate: As both he should have. Arrow has taken an interest in Laurel and as a father it concerns him. At the same time Arrow is a vigilante, so he is a target for the police. I think he has the right to do so - that doesn't mean I like it.
Carla: Tough call. He did it for the right reasons, but it's not going to be an easy decision to explain when Laurel finds out. Unless of course, it saves her life at some point.
With the lair underneath the nightclub, how long until Tommy suspects or figures out what's going on?
Laurel: Tommy isn't an idiot. Everyone else may be willing to believe in "Old Oliver," but I've never gotten the impression that Tommy buys it. Assuming there's a good story to go along with it, I think Tommy finding the lair would make for an excellent season finale.
Carla: I'm not entirely sure that Tommy doesn't already know or at least have suspicions. In the pilot, it appeared he may have seen Oliver. If nothing else, I think he subconsciously is aware that Oliver could be the vigilante.
Do you find the flashbacks are enhancing the story? If yes, how? If not, should they be used less frequently or go away entirely?
Laurel: Most of the flashbacks have been great -- figuring out exactly what happened to Oliver on the island informs his present activities. That said, it can be overused. In "Burned," for example, what did we learn from the flashback? That Oliver accidentally killed a guy and stole his clothes? We need to learn more if Arrow is going to devote time to the flashbacks.
Carla: For the first time, I didn't really find the flashbacks of interest in "Burned." If we are going to see what happened on the island, it should only be useful information that informs on the what and why of the Oliver today.
Carla Day is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter and on Google+.
