I didn’t want to fall for another TV show. I have too many as it is and I suffer from DVR guilt every time I look at the backlog of shows on it. It’s actually social media’s fault that I even became curious about Arrow. (Mo-ooommmm, Twitter made me do it!) Stephen Amell has a certain presence there:

I was intrigued. OK, I started following him because he’s palsies with Jared Padalecki and I’m that kind of Supernatural fan, but that is neither here nor there. It started innocently enough. A few Tweets. I may have liked a status or two on Facebook. Seen a few GIFs on Tumblr. When summer came around and I wanted something to watch while everything else was in reruns, I moseyed over to Netflix and began streaming Arrow episodes. You know. Just casually. Three weeks later, I’d finished marathoning the first two seasons and had fallen hopelessly in fandom.

Arrow, it turns out, is exactly my kind of escapism. Heroic heroes! Villainy villains! Dramatic lighting! Leather pants! Bring. It. On. But also, and most importantly, I was engaged with these larger than life characters. Amell’s acting was, I’m embarrassed to admit, a surprising bonus, considering he could probably keep doing that salmon ladder shirtless once an episode and the show would be renewed. I’m kidding. Settle down. I know pretty is not enough to keep fans coming back for more. You have to have quality writing and acting. Remember, I said I was a Supernatural fan. (10 seasons, baby!) But more salmon ladder wouldn’t go amiss. *koff*

I found that the reason I bought into the fantastical comic book hero world is that the relationships were so appealing. The friendships: Oliver and Tommy; Oliver and Diggle; Oliver and Ray. The family: Oliver and Moira, Oliver and Thea. The sex and romance: Oliver and, well, everybody; Oliver and Laurel; Oliver and Sarah. The chosen family: Oliver and Team Arrow. And, of course, love: Oliver and Felicity.

So, basically, I failed to empty my DVR and one of the main reasons is that I was busy becoming obsessed with Arrow, and then I waited, like all the other loyal fans (and wow, are there a lot of them), in breathless anticipation for season 3 to begin. The premiere episode did not disappoint.

10 Great Moments From Arrow’s Season 3 Premiere:

1. Rampant, unashamed Olicity, right from the get go.

Thank you, Arrow writers, for not making the season 2 finale into a cheap emotional manipulation.

1 Arrow Felicity he took the wrong woman

2 Arrow Oliver Queen Felicity do you understand

I thank you, and my TV, which remains intact because no one hurled anything at it, also thanks you. We got:

Adorable innuendo and longing glances:

4 Arrow Oliver Felicity you should buy me a bed

5 Arrow Felicity looks back

6 Arrow Olicity Oliver smirking at Felicity

The awkward ask-out and Oliver grin:

8 Arrow Olicity Oliver Felicity will you go to dinner with me

9 Arrow Olicity Oliver Felicity says yes to dinner

The moment when Felicity brought all the noise and the funk:

12 Arrow Felicity Emily Bett Rickards red dress first date with Oliver

13 Arrow Stephen Amell Oliver date first look at Felicity

Oliver: “You were the first person I could see as a . . . person. There was just something about you.”
Felicity: “Yeah, I was chewing on a pen.”
Oliver: “It was red.”

2. This moment in the opening sequence:

3 Arrow Stephen Amell you have failed this city

Someone around here may have cheered. Loudly. In a room by herself. Just saying.

3. Oliver making Diggle’s baby the most precious, pointy, choking hazard necklace ever:

7 Arrow Oliver Diggle baby necklace

Arrow heads? Note to Diggle: “Fun” Uncle Oliver may not babysit unsupervised.

4. Felicity is part of the Nerd Herd works at a computer store and still runs badass intel for Team Arrow:

10 Arrow Felicity computer store

5. Ray Palmer! His character eventually becomes The Atom, so this could be a huge development. Plus, he is so delightfully smarmy, and Brandon Routh plays really well off of Emily Bett Rickards. Resident fanboy Greg Joseph also hopes this could mean more Deadshot, Bronze Tiger and company, which, please, oh, please, could lead to the reveal of the only hinted-at with-one-line-behind-a-door Harlequin.

11 Arrow Brandon Routh Ray Palmer

6. Roy is officially the Red Arrow now:

14 Arrow Roy Red Arrow

7. Diggle is a daddy!

15 Arrow John Diggle baby girl

A bonus moment is Oliver’s clear envy as he looks at Diggle and his family, and then at Felicity.

17 Arrow Felicity Diggle baby

16 Arrow Stephen Amell Oliver a life I can't have

8. Sure, you’ve got your Olicity front and center, but let’s not forget about the original bromance: Quiggle. Quiggle? Joliver? Hug it out, boys.

18 Arrow John Diggle Oliver Queen hug bromance_edited-1

9. The return of Caity Lotz as The Canary:

19 Arrow Caity Lotz Canary

Ok, it didn’t turn out so well, but there is now the intriguing possibility that someone else (Laurel?) will take up her mantle.

20 Caity Lotz Canary death

10. Once again, the Olicity. Sure, it’s a little heart-stompy, but you knew it was gonna be, right?

21 Arrow Olicity Oliver Felicity kiss

22 Olicity Oliver Felicity kiss don't ask me to say that I don't love you

23 Arrow Oliver empty hands

Right in the feels! Can’t wait for the next episode. Maybe we’ll find out what Thea has been up to, besides refusing to text her bro pics from the Amalfi coast. Stay tuned.

 

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