As the comic book bubble continues to grow, the CW television network has brought Green Arrow to the small screen with the semi-new series Arrow. This move could in fact pop that proverbial bubble and introduce the DC Universe to cable with a series of interconnected shows.
Arrow, now in its second season, follows the crime-fighting exploits of Oliver Queen (Stephan Amell) as the vigilante of Starling City. Queen was a drunken, spoiled playboy who was thought to be dead after he goes on a trip with his father, Robert Queen, and their yacht gets lost at sea.
When their yacht goes down, Robert sacrifices his life so that there will be enough emergency rations for Oliver to survive. Oliver spends the next five years on the uncharted island of Lian Yu and returns home a changed man.
Early into his stay on Lian Yu, Oliver learns that he is not alone on the island. The plot slowly details Oliver’s time on Lian Yu and the experiences and people that played a role in him becoming a vigilante. Oliver learns how to survive and also gains the tools necessary to fight the forces destroying Starling City.
Oliver returns to Starling City as a vigilante to fight corruption with a bow and arrow while wearing the hood of one of his mentors from Lian Yu. Oliver does not operate under the name “Green Arrow” but instead is referred to as “The Hood” during the first season, and in the second they simply call him Arrow.
In the upcoming episode of Arrow,Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) will join the ranks of Team Arrow. It was recently revealed that the idea is to introduce Gustin as Allen, eventually giving him his own television show in which he will be become the Flash, the superhero known as “The fastest man alive.”
Initially, I wasn’t a fan of the show. I watched one episode and thought that it was nothing like the character that I had known for years and that it was a poorly done television adaptation of Batman Begins, but obviously with a different hero. It wasn’t until I binged half a season in one night that I realized I was hooked.
The version of Oliver Queen in Arrow is a great character but one entirely different from the Oliver Queen I knew from the comics growing up. Queen used to be an old-school hero who couldn’t stand technology and longed for simpler times.
In the older comics, Queen was known for saying things such as “Aww, crap” when something went wrong; he was a lighthearted character and often risked his life to help the little guy. Though Arrow does feature an Oliver Queen that stands up for the underdog he is a much more serious character than what I, or fans of the original comics, was used to.
The first few episodes are just bad. From there the episodes get slightly better until I found myself liking it. Though I am a fan of the show, I still cannot say that each character delivers a convincing and meaningful performance. The two biggest culprits are Willa Holland and Katie Cassidy.
Holland played Thea Queen, Oliver’s younger sister, and while I like the character, there are moments where her performance seems so awkward it breaks the flow of the episode. Holland’s portrayal of Thea Queen improves in the second season as the character becomes more mature, but those awkward moments in season one make the show difficult to get into.
Cassidy plays Laurel Lance, an attorney and Oliver’s ex-girlfriend. My main issue with Cassidy’s performance on Arrow is her crying scenes; they are painfully uncomfortable and unconvincing.
One factor that contributed to the rough few episodes was the “villain of the week” format. Arrow used a villain of the week to provide weekly content and slowly craft an over-arching plot that would last the entire season.
The brief glimpses into Oliver’s time on Lian Yu are one of the strongest points of the show. Slowly watching Oliver Queen transform is a great way to balance his present day exploits. This transformation helps humanize Oliver.
Though Amell is not the greatest actor, I think he was the right choice for the role. Arrow features a different Oliver Queen than most are used to and Amell does a good job of playing both versions of Oliver, the playboy struggling to survive and the serious vigilante trying to save his city.
Perhaps the best parts of Amell’s performance are his feats of strength. The Green Arrow doesn’t have powers so it’s necessary to show how a person can fight crime with his bare hands and several instances portray Amell’s raw strength.
Overall, Arrow is a risky move and has its awkward moments, but it’s a good enough show that it could be the starting point for the DC Television Universe.
