As a self-professed Geek of the highest order, when I heard that a new show was in development that would be based on the fictional superhero Green Arrow, a costumed crime-fighter who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, I had my reservations. There had been many such shows that had gone into development in the past (a show based on Aquaman, one on Wonder Woman, Dick Grayson, even an attempt at Green Arrow - to name a few) only to fail. In fact the only on to remotely succeed was Smallville, based on the origins of Superman. It's safe to say I watched this show with expecting to be slightly disappointed.
Arrow is an American action-adventure television series developed by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, and Andrew Kreisberg for The CW network. To quickly summarise the premise of the comics and the show, it follows billionaire playboy Oliver Queen, who, after five years of being stranded on a hostile island, returns home to fight crime and corruption as a secret vigilante whose weapon of choice is a bow and arrows. So, if you've seen the show and want to see my views on it or if you haven't and don't care about spoilers, then read on!
In a slight break from tradition, I'll start my review with what I felt was the lowest points of the show, and then steadily work my way up to the high. When the show began I couldn't help but feel that the acting from many of the shows actors seemed unsettled, almost as if they were unsure how they wanted to portray their characters. Lets start with the lead of the show. Stephen Amell plays Oliver Queen, both in present-day setting of Starling City and the flashback scenes from Lian Yu, the island he was stranded on, and the differences between the character in these two settings weren't very noticeable at first. He also struggled in showing the differences between a convincing vigilante who occasionally murdered his targets and the fun loving playboy charm that was Oliver Queen.
However, as the character progressed through the series he began to summon the presence needed to show both the subtle and distinguishing differences between his alter-egos, to a level that even matched the physique that perfectly mirrored what we expected from Oliver Queen (an aspect of the show that they never failed to over-exploit). On top of that, the difference in character development between past and present Ollie eventually became probably the most interesting aspects of the character.
While with other characters in the show I felt it was more a question of story progression that held them back. I felt this was especially so in the case of Tommy Merlyn (Colin Donnell), who by the end of the season, I felt was perhaps one of the most emotionally strong performances of the entire season. Though in my opinion Malcolm Merlyn (played by John Barrowman), though inconsistently in and out of the show and only a supporting character for most of it, was an outstanding, vital and driving performance throughout the entire season; perhaps even the shows saving grace, in many ways.
Other characters, such as John Diggle (David Ramsey), Oliver's personal bodyguard and ally, were notably added to the Green Arrow mythos, with elements from the comics being altered slightly to better suit the theme and style of the show. More often than not a loner in the comics, the character quickly develops in the show and realises the strengths found in small group of allies, such as Diggle. Their developing relationship in the show ended up being a key factor for both characters, and with each occasion that Diggle helped Ollie with his vigilante duties it became more and more interesting - though not nearly as interesting than when it made them clash.
Grounding the season were the flashbacks to Ollie's five year period on the island and the events that transpired there that turned him into the man we now see him as. As mentioned before, I found these scenes some of the more interesting ones of the entire show, often preferring them to that of the ones in the present with Ollie as the vigilante. The flashbacks started as early as the pilot episode, with Ollie being rescue from the island and a few exciting glimpses of what happened during his time there (such as the disregarded mask of Deathstroke, mounted on a stick with an arrow through it's right eye-socket), but it isn't until they go back to the beginning and we start to see how the selfish playboy began his journey towards the selfless hero, that it truly finds its strength.
Surprising twists and plot reveals throughout these flashbacks show just how unexpectedly complicated his experiences were on the island, both mentally and physically (I loved how Ollie was visibly scared across his body as a result of his experiences). Over the course of his time on the island Ollie teams up with Slade Wilson (Manu Bennett) and Shado (Celina Jade), in what ends up being a guerilla war against mercenaries lead by Edward Fyers (Sebastian Dunn). Ollies surprise bonding with Slade further showed the shows writers ability to push well-known characters away from the canon that we all know them for, surprisingly drastically improving the show in the process. Truth be told I would have happily watched an entire series just based on Ollie's time on the island.
In a very "Sam Raimi's Green Goblin/Spider-Man" way, the main antagonist of the season ended up being the father of Ollie's best friend, Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman), who was not only the mysterious Dark Archer but also the kingpin behind "The Undertaking", a plot that would completely destroy the Glades, the crime ridden area of Starling City. All of which came to an excited head in the two-parter season final. Mirroring this, flashback-Ollie and his companions are also attempting to stop Fyers from starting an international incident on the island. This action packed end to the season was perfectly complimented with emotional scenes between key characters, with shocking twists and an even more shocking end result.
All in all Arrow was a surprisingly strong Superhero show, which only gained in strength as the season progressed to the end of its 24 episode run. Early worries surrounding the show aimlessly treading the same old ground that we've seen many similar shows cover in the past, were quickly put to rest. However, there's still plenty of room for improvements to be made in the recently renewed second season.
Some of the villains were far too underdeveloped, even well known Canon ones from the comics, which left me disappointed and feeling that they need to focus more attention on them in the future. The same could be said with other interesting minor characters of the show, such as Roy Harper (Colton Haynes), who have some real potential to be developed much further. I also feel that their attempt to make the Green Arrow darker and gritter, much akin to the Nolan Batman universe, took some of the more wittier and comical aspects of the Green Arrow character, which I would personally like to see steadily introduced to the character in future seasons. Additionally, I don't see the need for these type of shows to refrain from calling their heroes by their comic book names, the producers of the show already claiming he will never be known as 'Green Arrow'; Smallville was also guilty of this.
Taking a somewhat minor character (in comparison to the likes of Batman or Superman) and creating such a well structured show will hopefully prompt Warner Brothers to branch out and perhaps follow through with television adaptations based on some of DC's other heroes, rather than dropping them from production before they really begin. But with all that said and done, what was my final impression of Arrow?
4 Rebel symbols out of 5!
A promising start to a show that varies between brave new ground and canon material. The show develops along with the characters throughout the series, becoming something quite special by the end. Can't wait for season 2!
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