Arrow – What Was That?!

The costume is neat, but…

So, Arrow is back on our TV screens once again for a fourth season. While I like the show, I did not feel that Season 3 was up to the standard that was set by the first two years of the show. Now that it’s back on the air, I thought I would take the time to go back and see what is happening in Star City with the team, especially after the excellent premiere of The Flash yesterday.

The result? Oh dear, do I have a lot to say about this show.

The Relationship Between Oliver and Felicity Has Become Distracting.

I didn’t want to post any of the actual images because they might annoy you to death.

Let the record show that I am okay with heroes having romantic relationships in a piece of entertainment, especially since I wrote one into my own work as a means of growing the characters. However, there is a big difference between writing a romance that flows naturally with a story and the way it was written here. Long story short, I would argue that writing an extended scene of Oliver and Felicity and having it cut together with action scenes from Speedy and the Black Canary (Katie Cassidy) is a huge no-no. It killed the tension and gave the entire show a “get the hell on with this” kind of vibe, even though I get that they were trying to make the relationship be a driving force behind why Oliver becomes a better hero in the form of the Green Arrow.

Once The Plot Got Going, Though…

At least he’s got a Robocop thing going?

It still felt kind of silly because Diggle held a grudge towards Oliver for kidnapping his wife near the end of Season 3. I get why he would, but it rings kind of hollow when he is still doing things for the team even after Oliver comes back. It’s almost as if nothing ever really happened except for the fact that the character likes to have hissy fits to try to kill time until the next action sequence. It’s almost as if the writers made it go like this again and again throughout the story:

• Diggle: “I don’t go into battle with people I don’t trust.”
• Five Seconds Later.
• “Let’s move. Although, I am going to have to tuck in my daughter instead of figuring out what to do next… even though I’ve been fine with doing that for the past six months. I DON’T LIKE YOU, OLIVER!”

Repeat as needed until Diggle eventually comes around.

It’s Not All Bad, Though.

Thea is fun to watch, at least.

Neal McDonough is awesome as Damien Darhk and brings a lot of his natural badassery to the role. I like the fact that they portrayed him as a force to be reckoned with early on, especially since he seems to be a person with mystically based powers. I liked that Captain Lance has found himself on his side as well, which adds a little bit of mystery to how they came to know each other and what Darhk might be holding over Lance’s head.

Willa Holland is also doing a great job as Thea/Speedy. I liked the fact that she is still a little bit rough around the edges and is getting involved on patrols with the Black Canary. She seems like she has become a bit of an adrenaline junkie because of the rush of combat, which would be a nice arc to explore if it weren’t for the fact that they already did it with Roy Harper/Arsenal in the previous seasons. I hope that the writers progress her in a different direction than just having Oliver help her control it.

It’s also nice to see that the writers are committed to maintaining the connection between Arrow and The Flash with the appearance of Barry Allen (Grant Gustin). However, that leads to the most serious issue with the show.

Death Does Not Matter Anymore.

My money is on this guy, but still, it’s pointless.

The grave scene where Oliver and Barry are reflecting on an unnamed dead person is a huge issue because of the entirety of Season 3, destroying any reason to care about who dies because you could just ask one simple question:

Why didn’t they just use the Lazarus Pit?

Don’t get me wrong. I could understand it if they gave some sort of lasting trauma to Thea when it was used upon her last season, but there was nothing of the sort after a brief period of aggressive behavior. All she apparently did was move out of the apartment where Ra’s stabbed her to death, but she still seems to be exactly the same character. Therefore, there are no established consequences to using it on whoever died. They could just have Barry run over to Nanda Parbat, dunk the body, and be home in time for morning coffee.

Now, you could be saying that Ra’s used it and went insane, but you are forgetting that he had to be a certain brand of psychopath anyway to get inducted into the league and rise to his position. Therefore, we didn’t have any contrast to his character to demonstrate the effects of the pit. You could also say that Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman) could prevent them from using it, but why would he do that for one person and not for someone else that is now in Legends of Tomorrow?

The only reason that could happen is because plot, which is no reason at all.