It re-establishes their television presence after Smallville finally ended, drawing a distinct line between its predecessor with a much different interpretation of the character.
Frankly, the company really needed a winner here – we’re not even going to touch on their recent blunders with the comics themselves – and despite some growing pains, Arrow comes through with flying colors. You’re pretty much set for the long haul.įor DC watchers, it comes as a big relief after Birds of Preycrashed and burned over a decade ago (to say nothing of the stillborn Aquaman and Wonder Woman pilots). That allows it to find the sweet spot between satisfying long-time fans and earning new ones at the same time. To that, they and a terrific sense of action, capturing the four-color thrills of comic books without falling into unnecessary pastiche. In addition, the showrunners respond to the sudsy subplots with a remarkable amount of thoughtfulness, eschewing blow-you-away revelations in favor of a subtler and more mature story arc. The grim dynamic is starting to get a little old – do we really need another brooding loner superhero? – but Arrow keeps it from getting too far out of hand with the careful addition of quiet humor. Arrow’s nemesis Merlyn shows up in altered form, as does the aforementioned Deathstroke, but it’s more mobsters and assassins than maniacal masterminds with death rays. While the tone clings a bit too close to Nolan (no super-powered figures here) the show runners hit their own stride fairly quickly.
The premise is solid: local-boy-makes-good tempered with plenty of regrets and mistakes to correct. When he returns home, he sets out to right his family’s considerable wrongs as the city’s new vigilante, the green-clad Arrow. Queen arrives back in Starling City after five years on that desert island, learning survival skills with Slade “Deathstroke” Wilson ( Manu Bennett) and growing a conscience in the process. Shirtless hunks abound, starting with Stephen Amell as bad-boy billionaire Oliver Queen, but they’re married to a fine sense of action and a real appreciation for the characters. It gets stronger as the season goes on, with the actors finding their rhythm and the show developing its own sense of identity. And it takes its time getting going (I actually gave up on it after a few episodes the first time it ran, though I’m glad the Blu-ray helped me realize the error of my ways). Granted, it’s not a groundbreaking trendsetter, sticking as close as possible to previously established models without the bold steps that might really help it. The character definitely has a dark side – drug-addicted prostitutes anyone? – and the show manages to find that darkness without compromising the more teen-friendly vibes that made Smallville such a hit. Naturally, it contains more than its share of soapy moments, while simultaneously hoping to emulate the success of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy by presenting a dark, gritty version of DC’s swashbuckling Robin Hood clone.
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