Arrow: Vendetta

This episode wasn't much better than the previous episode. It's very frustrating. I have actually flip-flopped on two new series. I loved Arrow when it first premiered, and I did not like Beauty and the Beast. Now, I don't like Arrow very much, and Beauty and the Beast is really growing on me. Go figure.

Observations:

I still do not like Helena.

It's funny that when Oliver asks Helena to let him show her how he deals out justice, he takes her to the Big Belly Burger joint. No better way to discuss justice than over a burger and fries.

Oliver says he only kills people when it's absolutely necessary; it's not his opening move. That so annoys me. What gives him the right to decide when it's absolutely necessary to kill someone. Helena would probably say that when she kills it's absolutely necessary too. That's the problem - they treat it like the people they kill don't matter; only their reasons matter.

Helena tells Oliver that she's sorry about what she did to Oliver's mother - for putting her in harm's way when she was dishing out her revenge - that it was an accident. I'm still wondering why Oliver likes this girl. Why isn't he angry at what she did to his mother?

Helena says she's not "getting back" at her father, she's "stripping away at everything that has meaning to him," just like he did to her when he had her fiance killed. Uh, isn't that just another way of saying, "I'm getting back at him"?

Oliver needs to listen to Diggle about Helena. He knows what he's talking about.

Why doesn't Walter ask Moira why she salvaged the yacht? Or did he already ask her in a past episode? I don't remember. Or maybe I've come to the point where I just don't care.

It's been a while since we've heard about Sarah.

It's come to the point where the serious scenes just make me roll my eyes. It's probably a combination of the lines, the acting, and the fact that I don't like Helena.

Oliver finally has some kind of personality when he's showing Helena how to shoot an arrow. Why can't he be this loose and interesting all of the time?

Oliver gives Helena a crossbow in a velvet case. Merry Christmas.

Helena got to say, "You have failed this city." Oliver must really like this girl, and he's nothing if not generous to give her his "calling card" line.

How many people have a copy of "The List," and who created it? Hmm.

Laurel is spoiled when she complains that they're not getting seated quickly enough at the restaurant. When there's a long list of people on the list, you wait your turn. I thought she didn't care about Tommy's money, and the little perks she could get from it. Maybe she's just dated too many rich kids who could give the hostess a big tip and just get in, and she thought she shouldn't have to wait for a table.

The problem with most of the characters in this show is that they're all so self-centered.

If Helena isn't going to work with Oliver, she shouldn't be wearing the "superhero" outfit that Oliver gave her. *wink*

If Helena hates her father so much, and knows that the Triad will go after him and kill him, why doesn't she just kill him herself before this time.

How did Helena get to be almost as strong as Oliver? Just because you want revenge on someone doesn't automatically make you a good fighter.

Quotes:

Helena: I have weakened my father's organization to the point where there is no way he can survive [the Triad's] onslaught.

Oliver: What, and then you have your revenge?

Helena: Then I have justice for what he did to Michael and me. (Side note: Yay! She used the correct pronoun in that sentence! *wink*)

Oliver: It's not justice.

Helena: And what you do is?

Oliver: Would you let me show you?

Diggle: I don't know where the next Olympics are at, but you might want to think about signing yourself up.

Helena: Was I not clear that I wasn't interested in talking?

Oliver: You don't have to talk.

Oliver: Back then I did not do "serious" well.

Helena: This is a waste of time.

Oliver: I'm trying to teach you something.

Helena: What? The least effective way to shoot people?

Oliver: No. Control.

Oliver: Diggle, this is Helena. Diggle is my... associate.

Helena: Wow, any associate of Oliver's --

Diggle: Is absolutely nothing to you, Ma'am.

Diggle: Oliver, what you do is dangerous, and getting confused about who's good and who's bad is a good way to get yourself dead.

Oliver: You done?

Diggle: With this, yes. Everything else, I don't know. I don't know, Oliver. You tell me.

Felicity (to Walter): How was your trip to Australia? I've always wanted to go "down unda." It's just... I have this thing about kangaroos. More of a phobia. They wig me out. They look evil, and I'm sure there are pictures on, like, everything in that country.

Felicity: The money your wife withdrew from the company - I wasn't the only one who tracked it. She was being shadowed by another entity, and whoever it is, they were good. NSA good. But, as you know, I'm good too.

Moira: I don't know much about art, but I do know how to pay for it.

Tommy: Hey, Oliver! And... someone.

Helena (to Laurel): So, you two were together, and now you're dating his best friend?

Tommy: Yea, we're just prime for a reality show, apparently.

Laurel (to Tommy): I never cared about the money, and truth be told, "billionaire" was your least attractive quality.

Helena: I don't speak Chinese, so I'm just going to assume you said, "goodbye."

Felicity: I hate mysteries. They bug me. They need to be solved.

Diggle: Chili cheese fries with jalapenos? That's a cry for help if I've ever seen one.

Oliver: My trust fund is your trust fund.

Tommy: No, that's the easy answer, and believe me, I have loved easy answers.

Tommy: Will I be getting dental? This smile wasn't cheap.

Oliver: I'll look into that.