Buckle up. This needs to be said.
If you’re familiar with the DC Comics Universe on television, you are no doubt aware that their flagship shows are Arrow, The Flash, and Legends of Tomorrow. Along with the upcoming crossovers with Supergirl, these shows form the core of what has come to be known as the Arrowverse. While I was initially fond of the idea of more superhero shows, the franchise has arguably begun to age to the point where lapses in quality and creative storytelling have become increasingly noticeable.
Without further ado, here are a few that deserve a great deal of attention.
5. Did You Hear That? That Is The Sound Of Predictability.
I’m sure that this won’t be totally resolved by the end of the episode, right?
It is often said that nothing ever happens in superhero shows, but nowhere is that stereotype more apparent than in the Arrowverse. While there are running storylines in all three of these shows, a combination of iffy writing and an inability to challenge the traditional way that television is made is what separates these properties from an Agents of SHIELD or Daredevil.
I believe that the primary issue is the format and the fandom, especially since all three shows are on the CW. There is not a lot of room for creative risk or serialization when these shows seem to be wholly dependent on fan fiction writers, shippers, and other types of viewers that do not have considerable weight on cable or the other networks.
With this in mind, what do we get for our trouble? An easily digestible set of dramas that have a bit of action, a few interesting ideas, an easy ending where the status quo is restored, and some of the most cringe-worthy dialogue on network television.
Speaking of which…
4. Is This A Superhero Show Or A Soap Opera?
No! What are you doing?! We don’t care about this! Stop it!
The strangest thing about the Arrowverse is that it doesn’t know what it wants to do with itself. While Oliver Queen does shoot arrows and apprehend the bad guys sometimes, Arrow as a whole has moved from a drama about what it means to be a hero to an over-complicated mess of relationships, political stuff, and all kinds of other storylines that no one seems to care about.
To a lesser extent, this can be said about The Flash as well. The writers have pulled off concepts like putting Barry and Patty together, but it still has to have these scenes where the plot turns one member of the main cast against another. We all know by now that these quarrels are going to be resolved by the end of the episode, so they are effectively eating screen time that could be used to make things interesting.
Not even Legends of Tomorrow can escape the horror of melodrama that didn’t need to be there, but the writers largely fixed that problem by having Hawkman and Hawkgirl leave the team at the end of Season 1. It allowed their characters to have a clean exit, but it also eliminated the chance of any more stilted dialogue from Ray about how he thought that he and Kendra were in love.
So, what was the result of that? At this moment, Season Two is a fun action-adventure romp through history with a lot of interesting possibilities.
Well, there is one other problem that might hold such ideas back.
3. It Criminally Wastes Its’ Finest Actors And Actresses.
Our Lady of Badassery needs more juicy material and she needs it yesterday!
Quick. If you jumped into Legends of Tomorrow from the beginning and knew nothing else, what could you tell me about Sara Lance?
- Is she arguably the Captain Jack Harkness of the Arrowverse? Yes.
- Does she kick serious ass as a former assassin? Sure!
- Does she have a dead sister and a grudge against Damien Darkh? You bet.
- Did she have rage issues after being resurrected from the dead? Why wouldn’t she?
With that said, what else do we know about her? What is she fighting for? What places in history would she want to visit? I’d love to tell you, but the writers never bothered to give Caity Lotz the proper material even though she has the skill to pull it off.
While one might say that we are supposed to watch Arrow for that story, the White Canary is now on Legends and needs a way to flourish on that show. And by the way, the same could be said for Paul Blackthorne, Wentworth Miller, Arthur Darvill, John Barrowman, Tom Cavanagh, and Jesse Martin in their own areas of the ‘verse.
2. The Moral Lessons Are Ridiculous.
You’re totally unqualified for this life right now, so let’s take it easy! What could possibly go wrong?
Comics often come with some sort of ideal or theme attached to them. Their film and television adaptations are no different, but the Arrowverse is a special case where the lessons of the show seem to fall apart when you look at them closely enough. As an example, let’s look at recent episodes of Arrow and the scenes where Oliver tries to train his new recruits.
Apparently, Felicity and the recruits don’t like the fact that Oliver uses extremely difficult exercises to demonstrate how hard it would be to survive as a vigilante in this world. Sure, Oliver may have transformed himself over ten years (at this point) from a spoiled rich kid into a battle-hardened warrior, but these kiddies don’t trust him at all because he’s just a big meanie head!
Instead of telling Felicity to get back to work and finding new recruits, he decides to let them out into the field for, you know, reasons. And by some miracle, they work so flawlessly together that it’s almost like they read a script to a television show!
1. Olicity.
Just say no to garbage writing!
There’s a lot that could be said about the Arrowverse, but nothing compares to this utter disaster of a relationship that sunk Seasons 3 and 4 of Arrow harder and faster than the Titanic. It’s not only the definition of cringe and idiocy, but it could be considered to be one of the most emotionally abusive relationships on television. Think about it for a moment.
Have you ever heard of a healthy romantic relationship where one side was always wrong to the point where it devolved into hysterical arguments, constant insults, or emotional manipulation? You may be thinking that Marc Guggenheim and the writers are not talented enough to do that, but they unwittingly stumbled into it with this embarrassment to the superhero genre. The best example that I can think of is when Oliver figures out that he has a son named William.
Since Oliver is a reasonably good guy, he abides by his pledge not to tell anyone and tries to be a father figure. Yet as we all knew, this weakness was bound to leak out sooner or later to heighten the drama. After a while, Malcolm Merlyn & Damien Darkh figure out this weakness and kidnap the boy. With everything out in the open, what was Felicity’s reaction to the fact that Oliver was sworn to secrecy? She has an emotional meltdown and acts like a monster.
Oliver rescues his son, but has to give him up to protect him. With his campaign destroyed and another loss on his mind, she chastises him for keeping secrets like an entitled brat and acts like it he should have consulted her. Marriage is about being open and honest, even though she lied to Oliver earlier in Season 4 and forgave her mother for lying to the point where she ended up hating her own father.
Hypocrisy, thy name is Felicity Smoak.
The tragic thing about Arrow is that the writers actually managed to portray something resembling a realistic relationship for a vigilante when Sara Lance first burst onto the scene. Just to recap, the Canary went through hell with and without Oliver, recovered from injuries on par with a war veteran, and somehow made it home to be the heroine she was meant to be. Did it ever occur to people that she might be the only one that truly understands the trials and horrors that Oliver has seen?
Oh, well. At least she’s still alive on Legends of Tomorrow.
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