Arrow (Season One)

Zach Goodier

Arrow is a CW show centered around the exploits of Oliver Queen, known in comic-land as the Green Arrow. The show starts us with his return from the dead, having been believed lost at sea for 5 years. As he secretly begins to take on his new persona and fight crime in Starling City, we are gradually given glimpses into his experiences over the last 5 years, starting with him being shipwrecked on a island whose only inhabitants are ruthless mercenaries and an old man trying to survive on his own. What follows is a story of Oliver’s return to society, as he struggles to right the wrongs of his father, and atone for his own past in the process.

Meet Oliver Queen, AKA "The Vigiliante," or "The Green Arrow."

From the get-go, this show takes on a somewhat darker tone that most comic-fans might be used to in the TV adaptation. Oliver’s hero is called the “the Vigilante” among the media and by the city’s inhabitants, and the name “Green Arrow” is quickly laughed off, for humor and as an attempt to make this show feel more mature than the comic it is based off of, apparently. This hero has no issue with killing people, as he quickly stacks up a body count of thugs and villains who are plaguing the city.

Flashbacks throughout the episodes give glimpses into how Oliver became the hardened, scarred man he is in the present. 

The story is a little melodramatic for my liking, with a lot of drama being drudged up through Oliver and his family drama, including a bratty little sister named Thea, and his mother,  Moira. While it is obviously an emotion first couple of episodes as everyone adjusts to Oliver’s return, it quickly turns into an overdramatic cycle of people confronting Oliver about keeping secrets (because hooded vigilantes can’t stay in every night), which spawns a repetitive cycle of his family grilling him about his absence from home and social functions, and not telling them about his experiences on the island. From there, the drama finds new ways to pop back up, making me wish they could find new ways of moving things forward.

Oliver tries to find others who can help him save the city, but not everyone shares his enthusiasm.

On the up side, Dark Archer is the main villain of the story arch, even if he doesn’t appear until later in the season. He does a great job of capturing a great anti-villain feel, and has a charismatic aura that makes him a character you hate to love. His ruthless dedication and advanced skills make him a dangerous opponent for our Vigilante. The fights between these two are amazing and really make it hard to tear yourself away.

Dark Archer is trained by the League of Shadows, and has plans for the future of Starling City.

There are appearances by other comic characters, and they help add some depth to the series, but they often spawn more drama as they become involved in Oliver’s life, both as a hero, and as a person. This always finds a way to impact his family and/or friends in a way that spawns more drama as they argue over whatever reasons the writers managed to dig up to make things tense. Characters like Laurel and Tommy provide some side-story and give Oliver friends, but they also tend to add to the drama by creating a love-triangle, the likes of which you’d expect from a teen anime.

There's a lot of foreshadowing for the main villain of season 2.

Overall, this show is great when it gets down to business and has the showdowns between skillful and dangerous characters, and a few supporting characters really carry their weight well throughout the season. However, there is also a lot holding this show down, like overusing drama to add tension, making things feel too much like a soap-opera, and some poorly written characters that just annoyed me… Still, very much like a soap-opera. Perhaps some of the writers only have experience on soaps, because whenever Oliver isn’t wearing his quiver, that’s the general feel this show gives off sometimes. It’s not like Game of Thrones, which is a character-driven dramatic story, this feels like a series with drama-driven characters, who are almost forced via writing, to find reasons to keep secrets and betray each other’s trust, and then resent each other for it.

Good:

- Quality action.

- Dark Archer is well-written and a worthy arch-villain.

- Elements of back-story are slowly revealed as they are relevant to the current plot.

Bad:

- SO. MUCH. DRAMA.

Scully Rating: 6.0 out of 10