Overutilized Plot Device: When Arrow premiered, we were told the flashbacks would tell a tale symbiotically with the present day and when played alone, their story would stand on their own. That's all well and good when they don't impede the action in the present. As Season 3 progressed, the flashbacks got downright distracting.
When they actually broke away from Oliver and Felicity making love to tear into a flashback only to bring us back to a the action when it was all over? Hell, even the least die-hard Olicity fan could scream foul on that one. Timing is everything, people!!
Make them count in Season 4, and if that means a single flashback at the beginning or the end, then so be it. Don't cut away from the intensity of any given moment for needless flashbacks that could have been explained with one short scene elsewhere. (You know what nobody makes GIFs of? Flashbacks!! Unless they're Felicity Smoak.)