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warehouse13pod · 5 years

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Show Notes 104 "Claudia"

Knock, Knock, Agents.

At long last, Claudia has joined the Warehouse!

To listen to this weeks episode, click here or click play on the embedded player below.

Let’s kick things off! We started out this week with shout outs to our Patreon supporters. You could get a shout out too, if you support us on Patreon. Check out our Patreon here. (How many times can I type out Patreon before you click on our Patreon link? …Patreon)

P.S. We’re considering adding sending you actual fudge as a reward tier! Let us know in the comments if you’d be interested in that!

We also talk about seeing young Artie. Miranda questioned the darkness and bushiness of Saul’s eyebrows in the flashback scenes and thought they were, perhaps, a bit overdone. Turns out nothing could be further from the truth!

Check out those brows on young Saul Rubinek!!!!

I haven’t read any fanfic about the moment of glorious off-screen storytelling that was The Monkey Mission, so I can’t recommend any. But if anybody knows any good fanfic on the subject matter, I’m happy to update this post so I can link to it. Because, honestly, it’s one of the funniest moments of the show so far.

Anyway, on to the truly important stuff:

CLAUDIA IS HERE!

For those tracking our color theory of orange vs. purple, we did mention that there was a subversion in that, for the first time, something that seemed dangerous (Claudia’s handcuffs) glowed purple instead of orange, and it made us question whether or not Claudia was a “bad guy.” Spoiler: She’s not a bad guy.

Here’s a screengrab of that moment.

Miranda (and Eddie McClintock) gave us an amazing Actor’s Spotlight on Allison Scagliotti. She mentioned that she first saw Scagliotti as the character of Mindy Crenshaw on the Nickelodeon series, Drake & Josh. (For listeners and readers in countries outside of the United States, we discussed the enduring influence of Nickelodeon on mine and Miranda’s childhoods in the show notes for 103 “Magnetism”).

Here’s a younger Scagliotti as Mindy:

Miranda mentioned getting the proper pronunciation of Scagliotti’s name from Episode 21 of the podcast Let’s Talk About Me, Baby. That’s also where she learned that one of Scagliotti’s many artistic endeavors was time in the band Nice Enough People. She noted that Scagliotti had a starring role in the show, Stitchers and also that her work as guest starring roles in various TV shows goes under appreciated. We talked about the show Person of Interest in the show notes for our Surprise Interview with Eddie McClintock. Remember? That guy who is such a deep, intensely dark character that he even makes the lighting dark? You know, this guy:

Scagliotti guest stars on the 20th Episode of Season 2 of the show, titled “In Extremis” and does a really remarkable job. Here’s a screengrab of her in that role.

In the episode, Miranda and I also talk about how we were the exact same age as Allison Scagliotti when the episode aired. Here’s a pick of Miranda and I at that age making goofy faces for reasons neither of us remembers.

Moving on a bit, we talked about how cool the durational spectrometer was!!!!! For more information on real life spectrometers and what they’re used for, click here.

In that same scene, we learn that Pete’s sister is deaf, and that’s why Pete knows how to read lips. If you’re looking to learn how to lip read, here’s a website devoted to it.

We also talked a lot about the discussion of mental health in this episode. Miranda mentioned that young women in the Victorian era were often institutionalized for things that were incredibly absurd. She shared this list of actual reasons that women were institutionalized in the 19th century on Twitter.

Miranda got this list from here.

We’ve also mentioned in these show notes, several times, the Audible original podcast Stephen Fry’s Victorian Secrets. The podcast continues to be relevant to our own, as Episode 9 of the podcast focuses on the history of Victorian asylums.

We also wanted to be sure to mention that while we don’t know the statistics of how many people are voluntarily vs. involuntarily committed to mental hospitals, we do know that voluntarily committing yourself is a massive sign of personal strength and nothing to be ashamed of. Content warning for suicidal ideation, but here is a powerful first person account of a person who chose to check themselves into a psychiatric hospital that is well worth the read. Around the same time, we also discussed the well-documented fact that people who live with mental illness are much more likely to be the victims of crime than they are to commit crimes.

Miranda also talked about how Claudia’s bloody nose is similar to the one Willow from Buffy the Vampire Slayer used to get from using too much magic.

She also theorized that this occurs in science fiction when a character becomes physically involved with a force beyond their control.

Our awesome guest, Dr. Kathleen Crowther—who is also a fan of Warehouse 13, gave us some amazing information on Rheticus. She mentioned that he wrote poetry and had read one of his about the Beer of Breslau. You can find that poem and its translation here. She also said that his poetry could get quite racy and was based on or inspired by Ovid’s Art of Love. She also mentioned that Rheticus was a student of Nicolaus Copernicus and that they both believed in a heliocentric rather than geocentric model of the solar system. Revolutionary stuff! Get it? REVOLUTION-ary!?!?!?

Anyway, here’s some more information about Rheticus.

Miranda also gave a shout out to the person in charge of hair and makeup for this episode. That person is actually two people. Susan Exton-Stranks was in charge of hair and Marie Nardella was in charge of makeup. They both did an excellent job!

We also talked about how powerful it was that Drew Z. Greenberg—the focus of our Writer’s Appreciation Corner for the week—worked a beautiful story of same-sex love into the story which featured a real queer man from history (Rheticus) at a time when gay marriage wasn’t even legal in the United States yet! He talked a bit about his commitment to queer representation here.

Dr. Crowther also mentioned that the picture used to signify Rheticus in the episode was actually a picture of his contemporary Philip Melanchthon., who was one of Rheticus’ mentors and teachers at the University of Wittenberg. Also, related to his representation of a queer man of history, Crowther told us that one of his friends and, likely, lovers was Heinrich Zell, a German (Prussian?) painter and cartographer.

Then we talked about the heartbreaking scene where Claudia talks about her brother staying up to read her Maria Looney on the Red Planet. This is especially sweet, not just for the reasons we talked about in the podcast, but also because further research on the subject revealed that the Maria Looney book series was a spinoff of the Matthew Looney series which focused on Maria’s brother. So the strong brother-sister connection was present down to the subtext and research. It’s just so sweet.

We also talked about how we finally got to see Artie’s nice car, which friend of the show, @ElZilcho on Twitter pointed out was “Jaguar XK150” and adds that “The XK150 ran for four years, 1957-61” and was an interesting and offbeat choice. El Zilcho also was kind enough to include that they got this information (and the picture we shared below of Artie’s car) from the Internet Movie Cars Database, which is a wonderful database that I would never have even known exists otherwise! Thanks, El Zilcho!

We also mentioned that giving Artie a nice red car was an excellent nod to Giles doing the same thing for himself in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Artie’s Car:

Giles’ car was a similar red car. It is a Red 1987 BMW 325i Convertible that Buffy affectionately calls a “little two-door tramp.”

Picture of Giles’ car for comparison:

We talked about seeing Mrs. Frederic WALK THROUGH AN ACTUAL DOOR THIS EPISODE!

Alas, alack! I was unable to find a gif of this historic moment. She probably ordered Claudia to delete all evidence of this from the internet.

We talked a bit about the show framing Ben Franklin’s lightning rod as an artifact. Learn more about Franklin’s lighting rod here.

We also talked about how Mrs. Frederic uses the word “glean,” which Pete finds weird. I, personally, didn’t find the word that strange. But what do you think? Try incorporating it into your vocabulary. Here’s the definition of “glean” from Merriam-Webster.

We also talked a little bit about how sweet and vulnerable Artie was with Claudia. He immediately goes into Dad-mode and lets his guard down with her. It’s the first time we truly see Artie showing how much he cares about other people.

Later in the episode, Miranda changed my life by helping me realize that Rheticus’ compass is A PORTKEY!

That’s all I have for this week.

Hope you gleaned what needed to be gleaned from these show notes, Agents!

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jbuffyangel · 7 years

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Who Is Prometheus?

It's been awhile since I've done this, but I thought I'd dive back into the world of spec. Bear with me. We might be rusty, but this is a natural byproduct of talking Arrow with @callistawolf for over an hour. The brain swims with possibilities.

I've made no secret about my frustration over the Prometheus storyline.

Primarily because A) we didn't get a reveal in the midseason finale and B) the back story on Prometheus was, in my opinion, spectacularly lame.

My reasons are thus: The Big Bad is always a crucial element in Arrow's season arc. He/She is the dark half of Oliver's hero's journey for that season. It is monumentally important that the audience connect to the Big Bad. It is monumentally important that we are allowed to get to know him or her, so we can understand his or her motivations. This ultimately leads to a greater understanding of where Oliver needs to go in his overall evolution.

Not revealing who Prometheus is essentially keeps a wall between him and the audience. His more of an archetype. A voice box, with a skill level to match Oliver, who's more of an omnipresent figure than an actual "face to face" opponent. He's the Arrow equivalent of the Boogey Man. We saw some of this with Ra's Al Ghul in Season 3 and Slade in Season 2, but Arrow revealed their characters in both mid seasons finale to allow the audience to connect to the them and move beyond the omnipresent archetype. They have not done that with Prometheus us and failing to reveal his identity simply prolongs this disconnect.

Arrow then tries to temper this disconnect by providing us with some information about Prometheus. He is the son of Claybourne, a man who was on Robert Queen's list. A villain Oliver killed in Season 1. I had both my mother and husband, both ardent casual viewers, ask me if Claybourne was someone we knew about in Season 1. Nope. Never heard of him. They just plucked a name from obscurity. The connection to Season 1 is... thin. Even, Diggle's "you're killing can lead to unforeseen consequences" statement was so heavy handed it was cringe worthy. This all just feels plopped in.

And that's my beef. We've been told over and over and over again how Prometheus is a villain they had to wait FIVE YEARS to do. This places some mythological like level to S5′s Big Bad, like he's been lying in wait and Arrow has just been waiting for the right time to pull the trigger. So this all boils down to Prometheus needed five years to train? Eh.

Then, of course, there's how Team Arrow discovered Prometheus was Claybourne's son. They only discovered this information because Prometheus wanted them to.

It was like a play. He set up the scene and Oliver was merely an actor in the show Prometheus was directing. None of it felt real and yet... Oliver and team believed it hook line and sinker. Prometheus reenacts a kill from Season 1. He provides a baby photo and Claybourne's ashes and TA DA! We have the identity of our bad guy. There wasn't a lot of critical thinking from Team Arrow. This was all handed to them at a very specific time and in a very specific way. And everyone's just all, "Cool. Makes sense."

WHAT??? Where's my beloved Scooby Gang? Where's the examination? WHERE'S THE DISTRUST OLIVER? At the very least I'd expect that from you, but homeboy is "Prometheus is, above all things, an honest foe."

MADNESS I TELLL YOU. MADNESS. Hence the screaming and throwing things at my television. Then there's the overly dramatic, almost Greek like tragedy way, Prometheus orchestrated Billy's death.

True to his name! Dude is a Drama Queen. He's not particularly concerned with killing Oliver at the moment, but he's going to make his life a soap opera. Why? THE FUN.

So, I'm calm now. We've watched the aftermath of Billy's death. We're seeing the path Felicity is going down.

There's been some incredibly telling things revealed about that journey. So, instead of accepting Prometheus at face value (as Arrow so desperately wants us to do), I decided to actually acknowledge the man for who he is... a Puppet Master. This is all one, big, massive misdirect. It is elegant. It is cunning. It is twisted. And it will touch everyone in Oliver's life.

The reason why Arrow didn't reveal Prometheus' identity is because this is the season long mystery. The identity reveal is their big card. It's the "Who's in the grave?" reveal. It's the "What is the Undertaking?" reveal. They aren't letting us connect to the Big Bad because WE ALREADY KNOW HIM. And when he is revealed it will be a light bulb moment. A moment worth five years waiting for.

A lot of this has been theorized by many other people for many other months. I’ve seen so many specs I can’t remember them all, but this was the most recent. Added a layer to the Prometheus myth I missed and I loved it. However, I think Calli and I have pieced together a couple of the holes that were hanging us up on a few items. So, let's dig in...

The Facts

Here's what we know about Prometheus. He's male, in his thirties, trained by Talia Al Ghul and Oliver Queen is the villain of his story. Those are the only facts Arrow has put forth that I am willing to stipulate as true.

It's almost like Team Arrow is being led by the hand and they are completely unaware of it. At first, Prometheus started out small.

He tried to frame Lance, but it was a pretty lame attempt. Nobody was going to actually believe that Lance was the Throwing Star Killer. However, this was Prometheus' first shot across the bow. It was the warning shot to Oliver. A signal that he's not just coming for him, but he's coming for anyone Oliver cares about. He's coming for anyone who has helped The Hood.

Prometheus had Evelyn infiltrate Team Arrow. This was a signal to Oliver that he can get to his inner circle. Prometheus is telling Oliver that he can corrupt those on Oliver's side because, in Prometheus' mind, Oliver is the villain. It is HIS darkness that is propelling force of evil. Prometheus feels he's doing good. He's revealing the truth of Oliver Queen to everyone, but primarily to Oliver himself.

Then, Prometheus kicked it up a notch to illustrate the depth in which Oliver's darkness is destructive. He wrote and directed the Greek tragedy known as "Billy Malone's Death." He used all of Oliver's instincts against him. He made Oliver believe what he was seeing was the truth, when in fact, it was all a mirage. And that's the game. Prometheus is five steps ahead of everyone. This is a long, methodical, chess match.

Now, he's moved onto Felicity. The NSA file Felicity needs is just out of her reach. Really? Felicity can't get to something on a computer? Since when? Then, the data plops into her hands at the exact moment she needs it, with a kicker added in. A sea of corruption just waiting to be revealed. It's tailored made for her. An ex hacktivist looking to do good in the world. But Helix skirts the law. They use immoral means to serve justice. Isn't this exactly the problem Prometheus has with Oliver? He touts himself as a hero when in reality, Prometheus views Oliver's actions as anything but heroic. And why? Because those actions destroyed Prometheus' life.

Felicity is essentially becoming Season 1 Oliver. That's her journey this year and Prometheus wants that to be her journey, so Oliver can see the worst of himself reflected in the person he loves the most. In Prometheus' eyes, that's Oliver's true legacy. Oliver doesn't inspire... he corrupts.

It's also important to note that Diggle launches Felicity's relationship with Helix. Diggle specifically asked Oliver how Prometheus faked Lyla's voice to get him into that apartment to be arrested. Can you see the strings? It's all there. It's almost like Team Arrow are dominoes and Prometheus is setting them up to knock them down.

Not going to lie, when Prometheus' name was announced I did a quick scan around Greek mythology. Titan, made humans, stole fire, yada yada yada.

Truthfully I didn't give much credence to the name. Arrow chooses names all the time that don't have an significance to actual PLOT.

But then Pandora's name popped up and @callistawolf rightly pointed out that there is a connection between Pandora and Prometheus.

Now, that's too much to be a coincidence in my opinion. The Pandora myth I knew, but I didn't remember any connection to Prometheus. So I circled back and sure enough...

Now, this will be a repeat for anyone who read my 5x11 review, but I know lots of people skipped the episode so, I'm going to rewrite it.

Pandora was the first human. She had many gifts given to her by the Gods, but one was curiosity. She opened a jar or box containing death and other evils and released it upon the world. She hastened to close the box , but all the contents escaped except for one…

Hope.

Felicity will open her version of Pandora's box, primarily because she's curious (and Prometheus knows this). She's also prepared to "vigilante" in her own way, even if it's a darker path to justice. Prometheus intent is to corrupt Felicity and, while she still is making a choice, he's leading the horse to water. What Pandora unleashes remains to be seen, but with the name Pandora, we can assume it won't be good.

Prometheus was a Titan charged with creating human kind. Prometheus was a trickster and grew displeased that the Gods had more than man, so he stole fire from Zeus. (It is always a supremely bad idea to piss off the Gods). So, Zeus ordered the God of Fire Hephaestus to create Pandora, the first human. Zeus gifted Pandora the jar from which she would unleash all the world’s evils, to punish man and Prometheus for his betrayal.

Prometheus is using Felicity to punish Oliver in the same way Zeus used Pandora to punish Prometheus. But the real villain in Prometheus' story isn't Zeus. It's his brother Epimetheus. He also was charged with making earthly creations. Epimetheus made animals, while Prometheus made humans. Epimetheus’ gave all of Zeus’ gifts to the animals and there was nothing left for the humans. They were shivering and starving. So, Prometheus asked Zeus for the gift of fire, but Zeus refused. Angry, Prometheus stole fire from Zeus to help the humans, even though he knew it would enrage him.

Yes, Zeus was angry and he got his revenge. The jar was a wedding gift to Pandora from Zeus. Who was she marrying? Prometheus’ foolish younger brother, Epimetheus. Prometheus warned Epimetheus not to trust any gifts from Zeus. He warned his brother not to marry Pandora, but Epimetheus loved her and ignored his brothers wishes. As a result, all of humanity paid for Epimetheus’ (and Pandora’s) sins.

The key take away from Pandora’s story is that hope is not lost when she opens the box and Epimetheus loved her regardless of her mistake. Felicity cannot see the evil Pandora will unleash. In the end, Oliver will be the hope that Felicity finds after she releases Pandora and the darkness spins out of control. He will help her find the path to redemption, her second chance, just as Felicity will be Oliver’s. All roads lead back to one another.

Pandora = Felicity

Epimetheus = Oliver

Prometheus = ????

It begs the question who is Prometheus? If Oliver is Epimetheus then it stands to reason that Prometheus is someone very close to Oliver. Someone Oliver knows very well. Almost like a brother. Of course, we know he’s not John Diggle. There’s only one other man who was like a brother to Oliver Queen. Someone who’s a brother to his sister. Someone who goes back all the way to Season 1.

Tommy Merlyn.

Why Tommy?

There have been threads of Tommy's potential return in nearly every season. First off, when Colin signed with Arrow he anticipated a five year job. The fact that Arrow killed Tommy off was quite a shock to him and the audience. Especially given the direction Tommy was going in the final episodes of Season 1.

He'd broken up with Laurel because of who Oliver truly was. Tommy knew Laurel wouldn't choose him if she knew the truth.

He discovered Oliver and Laurel slept together and was furious with Oliver's betrayal.

He quit the club and began working with his father, the S1 Big Bad, at Merlyn Global. Tommy was furious Oliver lied to him about being The Hood and was disgusted that Oliver was a killer. Tommy didn't view Oliver's mission as moral.

In the comics, Tommy Merlyn is actually the Dark Archer. So, the expectation was this was all set up for Tommy to go evil, but then... he died.

Game over. Or maybe not. Perhaps, Oliver wasn't the only origin story that began in Season 1.

Essentially, the Season 1 battle was about Robert Queen and Malcolm Merlyn's opposing views of The Glades. Oliver took up the mission in his father's name and that led him to battling Merlyn, the Dark Archer. Robert Queen was the catalyst for Oliver's mask. Perhaps, Malcolm Merlyn is the catalyst for Tommy's. It would create a parallel between father and son. This entire season is progressing Oliver to the point to where he’ll finally be the man he needs to be to fulfill his promise to Robert Queen. Prometheus is the dark half of Oliver. If Oliver/Robert is the light then Merlyn/Tommy could be the dark. Merlyn always viewed himself as the real hero, and that his mission to destroy the Glades, was always more moral than Oliver's was to save it.

The Unanswered Questions

But Jen, that doesn't make any sense. Tommy died. He apologized to Oliver. He tried to stop his father. He saved Laurel. Tommy died a hero. He died a good man.

Yes, this is true, but if Tommy is alive then the only way that could happen is the Lazarus Pit. We know when a person is brought back to life, or from the brink of death, it changes them in their soul. The bloodlust corrupts them. There's an urge to kill.

We've seen Sara struggle with her bloodlust. In fact, when Sara came back she was dead for so long that the Pit claimed her soul. Oliver and Laurel had to retrieve it.

Even after Sara's soul was reclaimed, she still struggled with the bloodlust. Sara has to fight it.

She has to make the choice to be good and a strong motivating factor in that decision was the love Laurel had for her.

It was the same with Thea. She also struggled with the rage of the bloodlust. The urge to kill.

In fact, Thea refused to kill and eventually it almost killed her. They had to retrieve the Lotus Flower to cure the bloodlust and there's only one shot at that.

But what if Thea or Sara didn't have the help of their loved ones? Worse, what if the only help Thea had was Malcolm Merlyn? What would she have become?

Arrow has left some rather frustrating unanswered questioned since Season 1 in regards to Merlyn.

Oliver killed Merlyn on the roof. We were never given an explanation for how he survived other than the necklace with the green Lazarus Pit water around his neck.

Where was Malcom from 1x23-2x23? That's an entire year unaccounted for. What was he doing?

Merlyn never acknowledged he killed Tommy. In fact, Merlyn barely mentions Tommy's name. When he confronted Thea in 2x23, to recruit her, he said he "lost" Tommy. That's easily leaves room for Tommy to come back. When Oliver lists all the things he can't forgive Merlyn for in 3x23, Tommy's name never comes up. In fact, we often grow frustrated because Merlyn acts like he never killed Tommy. Well... maybe he really didn't.

When Oliver wants to resurrect Thea with the Pit, Merlyn is adamantly against it. He knows what with happen to Thea even though he doesn't give Oliver the specifics. How does Merlyn know this? Certainly, it could be something he's seen in the League or even a reference to his own resurrection/healing. Or could it be because this is something Merlyn has tried himself and witnessed disastrous consequences?

Merlyn knows exactly how Thea must control her bloodlust, with killing. Again, this could be knowledge he picked up via the League. He was Ra's at the time. Or maybe, again, he's seen how the bloodlust is controlled via a more personal experience.

Merlyn didn't know the Lotus Flower existed. When Oliver offered it as a cure for Thea's bloodlust, Merlyn didn't believe the elixir would work. He believed the effects of the bloodlust were permanent. This could explain why he believed Tommy was a lost cause and focuses so strongly on controlling Thea.

Merlyn was adamant that if he could save Thea he absolutely would. Are we to expect that Merlyn wouldn't feel the same about Tommy? Yes, they had their differences, but Merlyn did love Tommy in his way. Of course, we don't know what access Merlyn had to the Pit, especially since he was an enemy of the League. But that could be easily explained away. Merlyn certainly had enough access to the Pit to resurrect/heal himself.

While resurrecting Sara's soul, Constantine made a remark that he'd only performed a restoration once. A year ago. So this would be around Season 3. It was an odd remark primarily because he didn't specify who and nobody asked. Could be nothing. Maybe it even happened on Constantine's show (I didn't watch). Or... it could be a thread Arrow plans on revisiting.

There's been an uptick in Tommy mentions this season. Specifically, by Merlyn. Merlyn tells everyone that Tommy is a doctor in Chicago during the 100th episode. There's a scene with Sara on Legends of Tomorrow. Malcolm admits he's the reason the Queen's Gambit sank. He offers Sara the chance to get those 9 years back and reverse time, so they can all get a fresh start.

Merlyn: That was the day everything changed for you Sara. Hundreds of dominoes toppling. Dr. Ivo, Slade Wilson, the League of Assassins. Losing your sister.

Sara: And you losing your son.

Merlyn: We both get clean slates.

And that brings us to... what about Malcolm? He's busy on Legends of Tomorrow, but everyone is wondering where he's at with Arrow. The guest contract for John Barrowman works well. They can't have him hanging around Arrow, that's too much of a red flag for Tommy because they know fans will be hot for this theory. So, they let him spend some time over on Legends until they are able to bring him back closer to the Tommy reveal.

The Interviews

Marc has repeatedly said over the years that if they ever wanted to bring Tommy back he's always known how he would do it. Really? How so sir? There's a plan for that? WHY???

Adrian Chase

The big sticking point with me on this Tommy theory was always Adrian Chase. How does he fit into all of this?

Adrian Chase's comic book counterpart is The Vigilante. So, we know he's The Vigilante running around Star City doing his own brand of justice. I believe Marc said they'd be sticking pretty close to the comic book character with their version of Adrian. The dark twist about Adrian Chase is that his secret identity is revealed and he ultimately commits suicide.

Many have theorized that Adrian could also be Prometheus. I always had an issue with Arrow double dipping in this regard, but I had to admit, Adrian fits the profile. All thirty something males, who are new characters, have to be considered.

The only lead Team Arrow has to go on (or at least that's what they think) is Claybourne, Prometheus' father, who is dead. So now they are searching for Prometheus' mother. I believe a spoiler leaked that they've cast Adrian Chases' mother. So, the natural conclusion is he is Prometheus.

Not so fast. We have to accept Prometheus for who he is presenting himself to be. A trickster. A master manipulator. Nothing is what it seems with Prometheus: Evelyn, Billy's death, Diggle's arrest, and Felicity's access to Pandora. Prometheus has already tried to set up one person to take the fall for him - Lance. But it was a pretty poor effort. Prometheus knows he has to give Oliver someone. So, he creates a poorly constructed set up with Lance, so the REAL set up looks more believable.

Adrian Chase.

What if Claybourne's son isn't Prometheus, but is really Adrian Chase? The baby picture and Claybourne's ashes are all true. It's just that the connection isn't too Prometheus. He's not the baby.

Instead of becoming the super villain, Adrian took his father's criminal past as a motivator to becoming something better. He became a District Attorney. However, he's disillusioned with the system, like all vigilantes are. So he takes matters into his own hands. His brand of vigilantism is even darker than Oliver's in Season 1, which would connect the differences in their father/son origin story. Robert Queen, a more moral man than Claybourne, launches a more moral mission with his son Oliver. Claybourne, as a bad guy, launches a mission for Adrian, but it's a darker path. As it seems clear with Vigilante, he lost someone. Prometheus constructs this image that he’s doing this because he lost his father, but maybe, he’s using Adrian’s story as a misdirect.

The one thing that seems clear is that Prometheus is not a fan of vigilantes. He's targeting anyone who is one. Anyone who has been inspired by Oliver Queen's methods. The Vigilante is such a person. He has been inspired by The Green Arrow, although his methods are darker. So, setting Adrian up to take the fall for Prometheus is killing several birds with one stone. One, it distracts Oliver from his real identity. Two, Prometheus is able to punish Adrian for his vigilantism and three, Prometheus is able to prove that Oliver ultimately corrupts all those he claims to inspire. His darkness is an infection.

This also could lead to Adrian's identity being revealed. Perhaps, Susan is a pawn in Prometheus' game as well. She chooses to release Adrian's identity because perhaps she protects Oliver's secret about Russia. Susan may be feel she's not really doing her job and Adrian presents an opportunity to correct that error without punishing the man she cares for.

One thing Tommy hated was Oliver's lie about his identity. It deeply hurt him that Oliver never planned on telling him. This season is all about Oliver finally reconciling his two selves, the man and the hood. IF Adrian Chase is revealed to be Vigilante and IF Arrow sticks to his suicide storyline from the comics, he could be a cautionary tale about where secrets can lead Oliver. He's seen what secrets did with his relationship with Felicity and Oliver is trying to live a more truthful life. If Oliver is shown that Adrian's secret identity is ultimately his undoing, the monster ultimately conquers the man, that could be motivation for Oliver to reveal his true identity to Star City.

One, it is an absolute reboot for the series. Two, it is something that does eventually happen in the comics. Three, it is a fantastic parallel to Oliver's arrival home five years ago, beginning his journey in the hood. Four, it is living in the light completely. No more secrets. Prometheus' believes Oliver is a hypocrite. How can he be an honorable man when he's a liar? This could be where both Prometheus and Adrian chase are pushing Oliver to.

Logistics

Yes, I know Colin Donnell is a series regular on Chicago Med. Logistically it's tricky and I've been saying it's tricky for awhile. However, it is NOT impossible.

First, Chicago Med is an assemble cast. It is possible for Colin to miss an episode. There's plenty of cast members to pick up the slack.

Second, the longer they drag out this mystery of who Prometheus is, the longer he'll be masked. It means fewer episodes Colin actually has to film anything. If this is true, holding off on the reveal for as long as possible makes a lot more sense. Arrow could even whittle this down to one episode if necessary.

Three, if they had this storyline in mind for awhile (which I believe they have), then logistically speaking it's not that difficult to book Colin for a Season 5 finale filming time frame if he's given enough advance notice.

Four, right around the time one would think this advance notice would be necessary, Colin started popping up at HVFF conventions. I found that... interesting. Coincidental? Sure, but not necessarily.

Fifth, Arrow premiered almost two weeks later than Chicago Med. Chicago Med could be wrapped for the season by the time Arrow needs Colin to film.

Fifth, David Ramsey does guest spots on Blue Bloods still and they make it work with scheduling. This is possible to do.

Tommy's motivation

Why in sweet holy Moses would Tommy attack Oliver like this? Well, bloodlust is a significant factor. He be crazy. This is not the Tommy we remembered. That Tommy is gone.

I also think there's potential Tommy is angry Laurel died. Remember, Prometheus is showing up very soon after her death. Arrow is focusing A LOT on how Oliver is feeling guilty for Laurel's death. While Sara was her primary motivating factor for becoming BC, the entire reason anyone ever wears a mask on Arrow is because Oliver Queen started all of this. So, he could be blaming Oliver for the way Laurel dead... hence now is the time to spring his attack.

I’ve said Laurel is essentially Tommy 2.0. Her death is to motivation Oliver to become a better hero, like Tommy’s did. Here’s what I’ve been thinking lately though. Does Oliver really need BOTH of them to do that? Especially now that he’s killing again. He vowed to stop killing to honor Tommy, but he’s really not doing that anymore because he thinks that belief got Laurel killed.

It’s a little bit like the reverse of Sara and Laurel. Sara’s resurrection eradicated Laurel’s catalyctic event. She didn’t have a strong motivation factor to be BC. You don’t need Tommy to inspire as much because now Oliver has Laurel’s death to do that. Lord, knows they’ve been inflating her importance to make that happen. So, this conceivably opens the door for Tommy’s return.

In the end, I think Tommy's reason could be very simple. Oliver's war with his father, his vigilantism, the way he went about justice, took his life. It sent Tommy down this dark path, one he's never been able to recover from, and one he blames Oliver for. In Tommy's mind... Oliver is the villain of his story.

When Tommy told Oliver he was a hero that was in Oliver's mind. It was a manifestation of Oliver's guilt and what Oliver needed to hear in order to keep fighting. But that doesn't mean that's what Tommy really believes, especially if he's alive.

Why it should be Tommy

THIS is an elegant reveal. What better way to connect Oliver's five year journey than to return to Tommy's Season 1 death?

Tommy is the reason Oliver chose to stop killing in the first place. What a horrific choice he'd be faced with if he must decide to kill his best friend. This could be the final push Oliver needs to reach the higher moral ground and hold to it permanently. I don't believe Oliver will kill Prometheus. We believe we're headed back to Lian Yu and that is where Oliver will imprison his enemies from now on, with Slade. He will take the risk they can escape, because the unforeseen consequences of killing are more of a risk.

Other Possibilities

The only other possibility that makes sense to me, if it's not Tommy, is Billy. Maybe he's really not dead. The Claybourne back story is real and he faked his death.

Here's the problem with that. Arrow has very much focused on Oliver Queen this season. This is the conclusion of his five year journey. The identity of the Big Bad, I believe, should be primarily connected to Oliver. Billy is primarily connected to Felicity. While, he does have the father/son parallel with Oliver I love, Billy doesn't pack anywhere near enough punch for me to be a season's long mystery. His function seems to be a pawn in Prometheus much larger game and to launch Felicity's long awaited and needed dark arc. That feels more true to the character we spent 10 minutes of screen time with.

So that's it. We're going all in on Tommy. We're probably wrong, but at this point y'all are probably use to that. We shall go down in a blaze of glory my friends!

#arrow #arrow spoilers #spoiler theoretical #tommy merlyn #prometheus #adrian chase #tommy merlyn meta #anti laurel lance #anti laurel lance meta #malcolm merlyn #malcolm merlyn meta #colin donnell

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