➵ Blast Radius ❥ We need you here ♡ I rely on you ♡ You're my Partner ❥

I will try to keep my calm while writing this as... OMG! 

Yes, this is about Arrow. 2x10. Blast Radius. The first episode after the annoying winter hiatus. I could try to write what I thought (every fecking feeling in the book) but I seriously can't do that, it´s impossible to do without me sounding like a complete idiot (a fangirling idiot)...



 ...but then again, that wouldn´t be a surprise for you peeps, would it? Anyway.

This little summary of the episode that An Extrardinary Muse wrote on Tumblr, it sums it up pretty good.

At the end of this entry, I´ve listed a lot of gifs from tumblr. I might as well warn you if you haven´t seen the episode: spoiler alert!

On Arrow episode 2x10

Because apparently I was standing in the “blast radius”.

But seriously, this show just continues to blow me away.

Heh, okay okay, I’m done making terrible jokes. Could they be considered dad jokes? Man that would make me proud, since I’m a woman in my late twenties. 

All rambling aside, that was a great episode. The thing I found most creepy about the villain - aside from his monologues, which, wow - was that he worked in a toy store. And how nice he was to that lady, whom he knew by name (and her son’s name and what she was there for). There really are people like that in the world, and that is just terrifying.

Laurel had some good stuff this episode, but does anyone else feel like she is scary thin? Like, is Katie Cassidy doing that for a reason (to show Laurel’s decline and drug use?) or has she just lost that much weight? Because it worries me. 

John Diggle, I love you. You, sir, are the absolute shit. Everything about him, from his little “hey, man, this isn’t my thing” when he’s trying to work Felicity’s computers, to the way he oh so succinctly calls Oliver out on his jealous bullshit. Oh yeah, and taking a fucking bullet - holy shit, bro. And then at the end, when he totally understood that Oliver was asking for some privacy with Felicity (without Oliver ever actually saying that) and the knowing little nod he gives his friend as he walks off. John Diggle, you beautiful son of a bitch, c’mere and lemme kiss you.

Olicity. 

Olicity olicity olicity.

Hot damn. I’ll start by saying that I actually enjoyed seeing Oliver’s asshole side come out. Why? Because he is, in many ways, an asshole - and I’m glad that the writers don’t let us forget that. I’m also glad that Felicity gets to see that, and experience it first hand, because in order to really know him she needs to see every side of him. That’s one of the biggest draws of their relationship for me: how well they know each other. And I loved the way we were shown that Felicity is not cowed or any way daunted by his harshness: she (rather calmly, considering) gives it right back, and demands that he just out and out says whatever is bothering him. 

Which brings me to my next interesting point: I find it very interesting the way Oliver and Felicity are continuously presented to us. Oliver is, in many ways, a very angry person - and he’s aggressive about it. Not necessarily with people (although sometimes that’s the case), but he’s the type to overturn tables or punch things when he needs an outlet for his anger. And then we have Felicity, who, we are discovering, is more passive aggressive. She doesn’t yell in the face of Oliver’s tirade; she lets him know that he’s being a dick and she’s not gonna stand for it, and then she walks away. But we get a lot of little, snarky, passive aggressive barbs thrown at him throughout the episode, which I loved - it’s a very realistic reaction from someone who deals with the conflict the way Felicity does. How do I know that? Because I, and many other passive aggressive people I know, do the same thing. 

And then the apology. Character development, Oliver Queen; Oliver Queen, character development. You’re about to be best friends. That was a big step for the man who let Diggle walk away and then waited days to track him down and apologize for leaving him hanging (and at the continued behest of a third party). But here? Oliver didn’t need to be prodded to offer up that apology. Sure, Digg called him out, and Felicity didn’t let him forget that he was a dick, but no one said anything about apologizing. And I think it was more powerful because of that; he knew that he was wrong, and he fixed it.

But my favorite part of the entire episode was after that, when Oliver openly, vocally acknowledged that he considers Felicity his partner. Not his employee, but an equal. I think he’s considered her as such for a while, but she needed to hear it, because as much as I love Oliver, he doesn’t always act like she is. And I think he realized it this episode, in her absence - he realized just how much he really does need her, and how much she does for him, and that’s a big deal for dear Oliver. And then that hesitant - intimate - longing shoulder touch. Gah. 

No, you know what? That wasn’t a shoulder touch.

That was a fucking caress. 

His movement is slow and his hand gentle when it comes in contact with her shoulder, and then his chin dips down a little … your body language is giving you away, Oliver. You’ve already established an emotional connection, but you go one step further and go for a physical one as well. You may not realize it yet, but you’re battleship has totally been sunk. 

Don’t worry, though - your secret is not at all safe with us.

I told you it was well written and I agree to 100%. I will watch the episode tonight, again.

Slán!