My Arrow series overview

My Arrow series overview 

Intro: On this topic, I'm going to talk about the good and bad of this series as a whole. Plus how things could have been done differently. No! I'm not going to do this for every show I've watched maybe. I might as well give my thoughts on the other CW/DC show. The Flash didn't get better after season one. There's no need for me to watch Legends of Tomorrow because we already have a show that deals with time travel we don't need another one, also how time travel works on that show is different from The Flash what's up with that? Well, I heard season two or three is good so I might check that out. I didn't watch Supergirl because I don't like how that show handled Superman for the most part. Speaking of Superman I'm surprised that he's getting his own show because Supergirl use some of his villains. Do I really have to comment on Batwoman? I have mixed feelings about Black Lighting, season one is OK, season two is nothing to look at and season three is the best season of the show so far. Warning if you didn't watch all 8 seasons of Arrow then don't read this.  

Whether you love Smallville or you hate it you have to admit that we wouldn't have Arrow if it wasn't for that series. (I know the Green Lantern movie played a role in why this show exist but I don't buy it.) Season 6 of Smallville introduce us to Oliver Queen/Green Arrow and he became a fan favorite. The creators want to bring Bruce Wayne/Batman but they couldn't due to his popularity and Mr. Nolan's Batman films. Green Arrow became so popular that WB want to produce a Green Arrow movie but that didn't happen. Instead, we got a Green Arrow series that has no connection to Smallville thanks to Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim and Andrew Kreisberg.  

I was worried about this show being on the CW because that's a network that caters to women after seeing what happened to this series later on my fears were justified but I'm getting ahead of myself. The sex appeal on this show was another red flag for me. Speaking of sex appeal do you know what these series have in common with Power Rangers? Both series know how to pick women, I would give the casting people a raise for that. Seriously If I was a co-star I don't think I would be able to focus but I digress. I understand why the CW didn't spin off the Green Arrow from Smallville however it can be done without stealing Superman's spotlight. Despite the ups and downs of this series, it was successful enough to build its own universe, have some tie-in comic books and animated shorts. Part of the reason why this series was a hit at the beginning is that there wasn't a lot of competition at the time.   

What I like about this series is the quality of the action scenes, I haven't seen action scenes look this good on TV before. Also, this show knows how to do cliffhangers. I'm happy that this series didn't go up to nine seasons because this series should have ended on season five or season six with ten episodes. Really I'm surprised this series lasted this long after all the damage season four has done. For example, the rating hasn't been the same after season four. I appreciate the soap opera stuff to a point because it helps the show to be more than just Oliver fighting crime. The series has an overall theme of family and redemption, we see characters dealing with family drama and redeeming themselves from past mistakes or the mistakes of others. 

I'm fond that the main actor is interacting with the fanbase because we don't see that very often. I like how most of the seasons have ended because some of them can work as series final with a few adjustments. Also, each season didn't end on a high note or it has a bittersweet victory, that's how you get people to watch your show by not having the main character always win or achieve his goal. This series did a good job at worldbuilding, it's done in a way where it doesn't ruin the story. The crossover episodes are OK kind of I wish that all of them are not about our heroes stopping someone or something that threatens the Earth. I wish we got a crossover with the following characters. Green Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, The Atom, Vixen, Martian Manhunter, Firestorm, Black Lighting and Hawkman or Hawkgirl. Also, it's sad that Green Arrow didn't have a team-up episode with Green Lantern, I understand why I mean the creators couldn't pull it off on a TV show budget. 

I know I said the flashbacks were the best part of the show but looking back at it not so much. I mean did we really need them to see how much Oliver has changed before he became Green Arrow? I wouldn't mind them if they reinforce what we already know about him but that was hit or miss. For example, I find it hard to believe that he can be as skillful as he was with a bow and arrow in five years. I'm not saying it's not possible however it's hard to suspend your disbelief when we barely see him train with different bows, the same thing goes for other characters who train in a short amount of time. The flashbacks didn't do the best job explaining why Oliver is distrustful I mean most of his allies didn't stab him in the back. When they do it's because they were compromised not because they were malicious. There was a movie that came out early this year called The Hunt, that movie is about 12 strangers in the middle of nowhere and they're being hunted. I'm surprised the writers didn't do anything like that as far as having Oliver's allies mislead him into killing innocent people to get off the island, that would justify him being the way he is now. 

The flashbacks were handled the best in season one because they showed us what happen to Oliver on Lian Yu instead of telling us. When he does tell us it's vague and what was going on on Lian Yu was a mystery at the time. After that Oliver tells us what happened to him before or after we see it happen. The reason why I was annoyed that Oliver didn't spend the whole five years on the island is that the series didn't explore the whole island of Lian Yu. I'm also disappointed that the show didn't make up for that because we had episodes of characters going back to the island. Lian Yu is suppose to be a dangerous place if anyone can go and leave as they please then why is the island considered purgatory? The booby traps in the Home Alone films are more dangerous than this island.   

As far as the flashforwards goes that was a mistake because the writers set themselves up to tell a story of how things have gotten worse twenty years in the future instead of focusing on the present story. Granted that would be interesting to see however it's a slap in Oliver's face, I mean this shows us that he fought and died for nothing. Speaking of deaths the showrunners ruined his death by killing him off twice who thought that was a good idea? I'm glad that the flashforwards were fixed in season 8.      

One of the many problems with this series is the villains of the week, granted this is an issue with the other CW/DC shows in general. They're treated as throwaway characters instead of making them compelling. The only time the writers did that is with Bronze Tiger but the creators didn't do enough with him. Sidenote is it me or whenever Bronze Tiger fights Green Arrow it looks like Bronze Tiger is pulling his punches? Another thing that bugs me about them is I wish that they would pose more of a challenge for Oliver where he can't stop them in one episode, what's the point of bringing these characters back if Oliver can beat them all the time? Some of the baddies would have been better if they were like their comic book counterparts like Brick, Komodo, Count Vertigo, Constantine Drakken and Onomatopeia. 

This series has 22 or 23 episodes per season is problematic. Having that many episodes is fine for comedies and dramas but not for a story-driven series, you'll end up dragging out the story with filler episodes and reuse plot points. That was the case here is anyone else tired of secret organizations, characters not learning or relearning their lesson, the villains having the same motivations and Oliver repairing the family name? (I'm surprised that he didn't change his name.) Shows like this should last for three or five seasons with ten or thirteen episodes. Season three wasted the idea of Oliver having to betray his friends, family and allies to beat Ra's al Ghul because there were no consequences for that decision. Season three should have ended with everyone Oliver knows wanting him to leave Starling City for betraying them and season 4 could be about him winning them over.  

WB is also hurting this series because of them trying to create the DCEU the writers of the show had to remove some of their characters like Deadshot, Harley Quinn, Amanda Waller and Deathstroke. This wouldn't bother me if they weren't so picky I mean why didn't they cancel the flash since they're making a flash movie? Doing this makes no sense, I mean how can WB expect people to watch their movies if people don't know who these characters are? Despite the WB undermining the CW they made decisions that hurt the series like catering to the Olicity fans, showrunners not doing what they say they're going to do with this series, promising the actress who plays Mia Smoak that she'll get her own show without knowing if the viewers will watch it and the three men who worked on this show have gone their separate ways to work on other things. 

 I have one good thing to say about that, that is we now know who the weakest link is between the three men. 

OK I'm being unfair this could be the case of the three of them are stronger together than they are apart, the other shows have suffered because they tried to do so much. I'm sorry there are two of them now, Andrew Kreisberg was fired for sexual harassment allegations. I feel like I'm beating a dead horse complaining about this show bringing characters back from the dead but here's my issue with it, the writers are not considering how doing this will affect the people around them. For example, Quentin Lance's daughters have died, brought back to life and replaced by doppelgangers so many times that it makes him sympathetic by default. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying he doesn't deserve it however it's hard for him to grieve properly if he doesn't know if they're dead or not. Also, the creators are picky about who should come back to life or not. Doing that lose the shock reaction we should have when they die because we think they're not really dead.          

Going back to Oliver as the Mayor that was a wasted storyline because the writers didn't do anything interesting with that. That's a shame because the Green Arrow comics deals with poverty, racism and drug addiction. The show had plenty of changes to address these issues but it didn't take advantage of it. We had a gun control episode but it was a mess, Oliver mentioned prison reform but that went nowhere. Oliver is a liberal in the comics but we don't know what his political views are in the series. 

This is what the creators should have done have an episode that deals with selling drugs. Have Oliver compete with a candidate who also works with Count Vertigo, he believes selling drugs should be legal because no one is forcing people to buy them. In order to get rid of drug dealers you have to stop buying their products. If it's okay to sell alcoholic beverages despite the DUI's and having the same effect on people as drugs, why can't we sell drugs? If someone created an app that will make it easy for married couples to cheat would you be mad at the person who invented the app or your spouse for not keeping his or her vows to you? His argument wins over the general public and vertigo is selling drugs that are killing people. Oliver can't stop him because selling drugs is legal now, that would have been an interesting story to tell. 

Do I really have to comment on LGBT characters on this show? I have nothing against the LGBT community however I don't appreciate the creators shoving these characters in our faces. The creators are more focused on catering to them than telling a story did this community learn anything from pushing this agenda in the Marvel comics? This is why I'm glad that we have a Batwoman show because it gives the LGBT community something to watch and hopefully the CW will stop changing characters' sexuality and stop promoting feminism. The creators are having a hard time writing female characters except for Moira Queen. I say that because they don't seem to know what to do with them beyond giving them a love interest or using them as plot devices. They have done this with Sara, Shado, Dinah, Thea (despite her development) and Rene's daughter to a point. OK, am I the only one annoyed that this series has done nothing with Shado's twin sister, what's the point of us knowing that if it serves no purpose?   

I want to talk about the characters starting with how this show handled John Diggle and Curtis Holt/ Mr. Terrific. There are three things this series has done with John Diggle that bothers me, the first thing is the story involving his brother Andy. In season one Diggle was affected by Andy's death to the point where he wants Floyd Lawton/Deadshot (The man who killed his brother.) dead. The problem with that is we don't know what their relationship was like plus Diggle barely talks about him. In season two Diggle learns that Deadshot didn't kill him by accident he was hired by a group called H.I.V.E to kill Andy, this causes him to be less angry with Deadshot and develop a rapport with him. In season four he learned that H.I.V.E wants him dead because his criminal activities was a roadblock for them. H.I.V.E faked his death instead of killing him (why I don't know.) and when the brothers start to trust each other again Andy betrayed Diggle. 

One of the reasons why it's hard for me to feel Diggle's pain over his brother's betrayal is because we were told that Andy was a righteous person but a flashback contradicts that. Why is Diggle shocked that Andy is shady if he has a history of doing shady things? I don't get the sense that Diggle loves Andy I mean love means nothing if you're ashamed of that person. The showrunners drop the ball on this subplot by having Andy still be alive. That's why I didn't talk about this in my reviews of this series because I had a feeling that the writers would pull this stunt.  

Second, turning him into different comic book characters, first, he was the Guardian and the series dropped hints that he's John Stewart. The reason why this bugs me is that the thing I like about John Diggle is that he's an everyday guy and he was popular enough to be in the Green Arrow comics and be a playable character in Lego Batman 3 Beyond Gotham. Plus he said he was against wearing a mask so there's no need to turn him into something that he's not or doesn't want to be. Finally, what's the point of him being a Special Forces officer if he can't win a fight or show Oliver some new tricks? Out of all the times, Oliver and John fight or spar with each other how many of them has John won? In the Arrow season 2.5 comic book he couldn't fight off a one-armed Oliver are you kidding me!?! This is the same problem I have with Mr. Terrific. 

Since we're on the subject of Mr. Terrific I think it was a mistake to make him a part of the show. Mr. Terrific in the comics is kind of OP because of his T-spheres. He's also one of the smartest characters in the DC Universe, a strategies, a leader in his own right and one of the best fighters. He's so awesome he can rival Batman. On Arrow, he's portrayed as a gay male version of Felicity but obnoxious. He's also a punching bag, so much for being one of the best fighters. His T-spheres can't do all the things they can do in the comics, plus anyone can access, use or defuse them. To be fair his tech does break the rules of reality. 

If the creators portrayed him like this so that he wouldn't overshadow Oliver Queen then what's the point of bringing him on the show? Doing this makes them look racist because they don't want anyone to be on Oliver's level or pass his level, news flash you let Felicity steal his thunder. Also, people are not excited to see Oliver in the crossover episodes because he's one of the few characters with no superpowers. Oliver feels insecure about not having any powers. This reinforces why I wasn't crazy about this series setting up the DCU at first. Sorry, I didn't mean to get off-topic. Mr. Terrific could develop new Arrows and teach Oliver how to be more of a tactician. If Mr. Terrific was more like his comic book counterpart, I wouldn't mind seeing him in the crossovers.   

I know fans didn't like the idea of Tommy being Oliver's best friend but that didn't bother me because I suspect the creators were going in the Harry Osborn direction with him. His death took everyone by surprise because we thought that he was going to become a villain but that didn't happen. I'm kind of glad the writers killed him off the way they did because I don't see how they can turn him into the new Dark Archer. After all, we don't get the sense that Tommy has combat training and it will take time from him to get there. We did get Tommy as the Dark Archer in season 8 however I wish the writers would come up with a different story for him. 

I wish this series could have done more with Roy/Arsenal, I mean this show didn't adapt any of his stories from the comics like him losing his arm, being addicted to drugs and his relationship with Cheshire. I'm sorry the creators did have Roy lose his arm, but it was done as fan service, people didn't seem to pay attention to him. What's was the point of him losing his arm if it has no payoff? Does anyone think it's messed up that Roy and Oliver didn't share any scenes or an episode together in season 8 considering that it was the last season? Also, he's the only character without a flashback we don't know anything about his parents or what his life was like before we meet him. To be fair the reason why the show didn't do a lot with this character is that the actor who played him left the show to deal with anxiety attacks.        

Despite not being crazy about this series Green Arrow is a Batman wannabe I understand why the creators went in this direction, this is their way of doing a Batman show without using him. Also, this Green Arrow is not as smart as Batman, a capable fighter like Batman and Batman doesn't drop bodies or work with criminals. There are times where this Green Arrow is trying to be Batman and it feels contrived. For example, in the first team-up with the Flash where he teaches him to look before you leap and in the season 6 crossover, he has a Kryptonite arrow. I'm disappointed that the writers didn't turn this character into his comic book counterpart because the showrunners said they were going to do that more than once. 

For those of you who don't read Green Arrow comics The difference between him and Batman is that Green Arrow is sarcastic and outspoken. If the creators made Oliver like his comic book counterpart it would have made the flashbacks better to watch, we see Oliver become more light-hearted in the present and in the past we see him get darker. That's another thing that hurts the flashbacks we're seeing the same character in a different situation. Like I said before Oliver Queen/Green Arrow didn't develop much throughout the whole series, the only development he got ( Besides learning how to work with others.) was trying not to be a killer and that was problematic. The reason I said that is because the writers were off and on with that, one minute he's a killer the next minute he isn't. 

Despite Felicity being annoying I'm glad that she wasn't killed off in season four because doing that will put Oliver in a bad place mentally, how is killing her off going to help him grow as a character? Like I said before it would have made sense to kill off Diggle in season four because Diggle's brother worked for Damien Darhk before Laurel was murdered Diggle and Oliver were arguing over whether or not Andy can be trusted? Doing that will make Oliver question is it worth being in the right even if it means pushing people away? Also, it was his idea to get Andy away from Damien Darhk, doing that would give Oliver some development. The reason why he doesn't develop is because he's stubborn and he has an ego, those traits make him unlikable and a bad leader. I don't get it he's not like that when he ran Queen Consolidated or the Mayor's office so why is he like this in the field? Instead of the fairy tale ending, we got this series should have ended with Oliver going to prison, what's the point of him being a hero if he's not going to answer for the crimes he committed or make amends?      

The people who worked on this show should be ashamed of themselves for how they treated Laurel Lance/ The Black Canary. Laurel was fine in season one minus her being a damsel in distress, she was like Rachel Dawes from Batman Begins but with teeth. In season two the death of Tommy causes her to become an alcoholic and have substance abuse problems. I could buy that if we saw it at the beginning of the season. Plus, she didn't drink or pop pills when she thought Sara was dead instead, she bury herself in her work. The reason why the writers didn't do much with Laurel in season two is that they were too busy establishing her sister Sara Lance. 

Season three is where the creators decide to make her the Black Canary after the death of Sara. Fans weren't on board with this because they like Sara as the Black Canary and it wasn't a smooth transition. Part of the reason why is because everyone was giving her a hard time about becoming the Black Canary, her training was cut short and she did things that made her unlikable. The writers could have done a better job building her up to become the Black Canary by having her train in season two. In season four fans finally start to warm up to her and she got better as the Black Canary but that was short-lived because the writers killed her off. 

Before she died, she told Oliver to be with Felicity is this a joke!?! The showrunners said that her death is permanent and they will not bring her back. This wouldn't bug me if they didn't replace her in the next season. The reason why the creators killed her off is because her story was finished, they didn't know what to do with her really? You couldn't come up with Birds of Prey episodes, an episode with only Green Arrow and Black Canary or her doing courtroom stuff, you mean to tell me none of that crossed your mind? Also, Mr. Guggenheim said that the Black Canary doesn't have a fanbase, screw you! It's a miracle that killing off Laurel didn't end this series because it made no sense to kill her off the way they did. Her death adds nothing to the story it was done for shock value. 

What makes this worse is that she didn't come back to life in the last episode what the fudge? Laurel is one of the few characters that knew Oliver before and after the island and she's not going to be at his funeral that's messed up. The reason why she didn't appear in the last episodes is that the writers think it's too much work for the actress who plays Laurel to play two different Laurel's, wow talk about being lazy. I don't get why the fan base doesn't like this character if it's because she isn't like her comic book counterpart then that's fine. 

Don't take this the wrong way but I'm glad that this character isn't what she suppose to be in the comics because in the comics she's one of the best fighters in the DC universe and she can mop the floor with Oliver. I don't buy that any man in fiction or reality would want to be with a woman who's stronger than him. Also, why would any woman want to be with a man they don't need? I'm not saying it's not possible however that can create a power dynamic in the relationship. Plus, we don't want to encourage the feminine with having a character like that on the show and have them emasculate Oliver by having him worship her. Well, you can tell a story without them being together. Also, this character was overshadowed by Felicity Smoak and her sister Sara Lance. I want to talk about Sara real quick I don't understand why fans prefer her over Laurel. I get that her and Oliver's backstories parallel with each other however she's too masculine for my taste.  

OK, I have one good thing to say about Felicity Smoak and that is between her and Iris from the Flash she's not as annoying as Iris. I say that because Iris doesn't do anything to help team Flash. If you ignore that Olicity started in season three you can see that it was handled better the second time around but that's not saying much. I don't hate Felicity however I don't like what the writers have done with her, she went from being a bubbly I.T. girl to being insufferable.  

To be fair she has her moments where she was annoying before season three, here's an example. 

 

She did the same thing when she use to work for Ray, who does she think she is to tell her bosses what she will or will not do? Felicity was suppose to be a one-off character because she made a good first impression on the viewers she got more screen time. 

When will showrunners learn that when you have a popular character you don't overexpose them you limit their screen time.  

                                                     
       
Felicity doesn't deserve to be mentioned alongside these two because their overexposure help their shows, Felicity almost killed this show. I wouldn't mind her getting all this attention if she was interesting but she wasn't, what's the point of having her running a company if it doesn't develop her? Also, what was Ray thinking handing over his company to Felicity when she has no business experience, was the (censor) that good? I don't like how everyone puts her on a pedestal as far as no one can rival her when it comes to hacking. There are other things about this character that bugs me like she talks down to people who are not on her level, telling team Arrow what they should or shouldn't do when Oliver is not around, being OK with killing when it suits her and she doesn't answer for all the bloodshed she caused. There was suppose to be an episode where she goes to Havenrock to fix the damage she cause but that didn't happen. The writers tease the idea of her becoming a villain in seasons five and seven but that didn't happen. 

The creators had plenty of opportunities to kill her off or put her on Legends of Tomorrow but they didn't take it why!?! I can't believe Olicity fans still exist after season 4 episode 15 because in that episode Felicity breaks up with Oliver because he didn't tell her about his son. Felicity doing that makes her look stupid because first of all she's with a guy who keeps secrets from everyone, this shouldn't be a surprise to her. Second William is not your son!!! Third, he use to be a playboy did you really think that this wouldn't happen? Finally, you lied to Oliver during this season and after this season, sorry Felicity you don't have the moral high ground. I don't care about their relationship because of that, also Oliver looks pathetic to still want to be with her after that. (Come on man have some dignity.) Also, Felicity express that he wasn't happy with the life they had, so why should we be invested in their relationship if she's not happy with it? 

Olicity fans wouldn't have ruined this show If Mr. Guggenheim put his foot down with this fanbase, I don't know what he was thinking bringing it back in season 5. Also, Olicity fans are toxic then again what fanbase isn't? The reason why I feel this way is because they told Mr. Amell (The actor who plays Oliver Queen.) to leave his wife to be with the actress that plays Felicity. What? Do you think I'm joking about that? They even photoshop Felicity's face and put it on Mr. Amell's wife's head in their pictures, what's wrong with you people? This is why Laurel, Samantha (William's mother.) and Det. Malone (Felicity's rebound guy.) was killed off because they don't want anyone posing a threat to these two getting together. Kevin Smith ( A Green Arrow comic book writer.) could have saved season 4 or given us one good episode if Olicity fans didn't chase him away. In an interview, he said the reason why he didn't do an episode on Arrow is because certain people don't like him, who do you think he's referring to? 

Overall, Arrow may not be revolutionary television, but it set the bar on how to do superhero shows and created a legacy. I wish that the success of this series didn't come at the expanse of Batman. This series could have lasted longer and played out differently if it was on a different network or on Netflix.