Arrow S01E21 – Review

By: Jake Coburn & Lana Cho (story)

The Story: Felicity and Ollie take a bet on their teamwork as a duo act.

The Review: With the season winding down, it’s just about the time for the show’s writers to start tying all their various plot threads together into something suitable for the finale, a big task for a series as active as Arrow.  Over the last twenty episodes, we’ve seen a number of characters introduced, killed off or shooed away, then returned; a handful of romances sparked, some of which have already petered out; and the addition of several major cast members.

Through it all there was always the looming threat of Malcolm Merlyn’s Undertaking, ostensibly a final attempt to clean up the Glades for good, but really just an extreme strike back against the place which took his wife.  With all the other craziness happening in the show (e.g. Tommy discovering Ollie’s secret, Diggle going after Deadshot), the Undertaking has taken a bit of a backseat, and we really don’t know too many details as to what it’ll entail just yet.

Arrow S01E20 – Review

By: Ben Sokolowski & Beth Schwartz (story)

The Story: I suppose we can’t flip a coin to decide which assassin to take down first.

The Review: A few years ago, I took a course on opinion writing for my journalism major.  As a beginner’s exercise, we all had to write a short piece expressing our point of view on pretty much anything that came to mind.  One of my classmates delivered an impassioned tirade about Twilight, mostly about how Edward Cullen “sparkled,” which drove her insane because “Vampires don’t SPARKLE.”  She had strong opinions about supernatural figures, you see.

I can’t say I have too many pet peeves when it comes to fiction—and none that gets me riled up like sparkling vampires did for my classmate.  But there are little things that pop up in stories that sometimes bother me.  The one that gets to me the most is when writers subjugate characters to their story, turning them into means to an end, rather than figures who have personalities and lives of their own, separate from whatever story the writer has in mind.  This episode reminds me how Arrow often reduces the characters to mere objects, all orbiting around the show’s star.

Arrow S01E19 – Review

By: Bryan Q. Miller & Lindsey Allen (story)

The Story: Clearly, Starling City needs to institute a better D.A.R.E. program.

The Review: I have to say, sometimes it’s a blessing to have a short-term memory.  I had known both Geoff Johns and Miller would write episodes on this show at some point and looked forward to them—but then forgot all about it.  When “Dead to Rights” aired, I enjoyed it quite thoroughly, far more than I’d enjoyed any prior episode, and was delighted to discover that Johns had penned it.  It’s nice to know that my own biases had no chance to affect my judgment.

Well, the same thing happened here.  About halfway through the show, I found myself more genuinely engaged with it than usual and by the end credits, I was not only curious, but really kind of excited for next week’s offering.  Only then did I learn Miller had his hand in it.  Again, the belated discovery made a lot of sense, as this episode had a number of things going for it that previous episodes did not.

Arrow S01E18 – Review

By: Drew Z. Greenburg & Wendy Mericle (story)

The Story: Proof that neglect of public transit will just come back to haunt a city someday.

The Review: Not that this show has shied away from violence, but it’s always been the kind of unalarming,* almost campy kind of violence where people tend to die suddenly or bloodlessly (unless, of course, one is being stabbed, in which case the actual piercing takes place off screen and only afterward do you see the bloody blade next to the crazed grin of the stabber).  In Arrow, as in comics, death has been taken for granted; it usually doesn’t have the force it should.

Greenburg-Mericle try to change that in this episode’s villain-of-the-day, another would-be vigilante who picks up various folk he believes deserve punishment, strings them up, then asks them for last words before shooting them point-blank.  What makes this otherwise melodramatic scene convincing is the fact that he actually broadcasts these executions to Starling City at large.

Arrow S01E17 – Review

By: Jake Coburn & Lana Cho (story)

The Story: Everyone duck and cover—Ollie’s crazy ex is back in town!

The Review: Because I’m nothing if not an optimist, I like to think that every time a piece of fiction reintroduces a character, it has the opportunity to strip away the problematic parts in favor of someone more nuanced, complex, and accessible to the audience.  What Arrow has frequently done instead is reduce major DC figures to the simplest incarnation possible.  In the show’s attempt to make these characters more grounded or edgy, it’s also made them rather monotonous.

It doesn’t help if other characters tend to view each other in taglines and bywords.  When both Diggle and Felicity refer repeatedly to Helena Bertinelli as Ollie’s “psycho ex-girlfriend,” they’re reinforcing the one-dimensional nature of Helena’s personality.  Vengefulness is already a somewhat inert character trait, and vengefulness towards one’s own father—to the point where one doesn’t even want to risk letting him have a “second chance”—is even less impressive.

Arrow S01E16 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (story)

The Story: For once, it’d be nice to get decked out for a party and not get shot at.

The Review: While I can’t claim to be the kind of critic who can, just from writing style alone, tell who the writer is, I can usually notice when there’s been a change in the storytelling duties.  So though I couldn’t quite pin it while watching this episode, I knew something was very, very different.  Later, I went online to check for the writing credits, as per habit, and when I saw that it was Johns who wrote the screenplay, suddenly the whole thing made sense.

I’ve often observed (read: complained) that while the show has introduced a lot of interesting elements and characters, it’s never done a terrific job melding them all together into a cohesive whole.  Figures that it’d take Johns, the master of continuity massage, to do what nearly every previous writer could not figure out.  Instead of every plotline and its players keeping their distance from each other, they finally feel like they exist in a close, interactive world.

Arrow S01E15 – Review

By: Beth Schwartz (story)

The Story: The pressure of working with a vigilante is enough to make Felicity’s head explode.

The Review: I’m a pretty big West Wing fan, and one of my favorite things about the West Wing was the rise of Donna Moss on the show.  Here you had this college dropout with little more to recommend her except a willingness to work overtime, good Midwestern/Canadian values, and a sense of humor, and soon she’s privy to the inner workings of the White House and helping to change the nation in her own, special way.

I mention Donna because she has a lot in common with Felicity, or rather, Janel Moloney has a lot in common with Emily Bett Richards.  I’m focusing mostly on their ability to make the most out of their parts on their respective shows, delivering their dozen lines with such good-natured personality that they stick with you far longer than they have any right to.  Even if the producers didn’t make Richards a regular for next season, you’d consider her one anyway, just like people did Moloney in season one of the West Wing.

Arrow S01E14 – Review

By: Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, Marc Guggenheim (story)

The Story: Past-Ollie steps on a mine; Present-Ollie gets shot by his mom.  Rough day.

The Review: I’ve been pretty tough on the most recent episodes of Arrow, occasionally to the consternation of the WCBR readers, but believe me when I say I’m not tearing down the show out of pure malice.  Mostly, my frustration has been with the show’s refusal to capitalize on its own potential.  It really can be so many things, yet it shirks on nearly all fronts, and nearly every time it tries a game-changer move, it winds up sticking with the same game in the end.

Nowhere does that appear more obvious than in Ollie’s fretful position on how to deal with his mom.  His adamant refusal to even consider Moira a threat last episode already reflected poorly on his integrity.  He had a huge opportunity to redeem himself here when he crashes through her office and convincingly scares the bejeezus out of her.  And then, in a moment that begs you to throw your popcorn at the television, he lets her go.

Arrow S01E13 – Review

By: Lana Cho & Beth Schwartz (story)

The Story: The awkward moment when a father and daughter realize they’re after the same man.

The Review: In all my television-viewing years, I don’t remember a time when the WB (now CW) had a real, big hit on its hands.  It never had a beloved sitcom like Friends or an anchor drama like Law and Order.  If the network ever won an Emmy, it was rare and far in-between.  Seeing as how I’m in the business of guessing at things I have no direct experience in, my theory is that WB/CW shows never really manage to take risks that break them free of old formulas.

Arrow provides an interesting case in point.  A mix of different genres, it doesn’t really excel in any one, nor does it manage to balance its various stories well.  The characters generally feel like second-grade, cookie-cutter carbons of other, more famous figures.  The show often seems to take plotlines from a recycle pile of stories, gives them a good buffing, then integrates them into an episode.  It all comes across as vaguely knockoff, like clothes from Gorgio Armooni.

Arrow S01E12 – Review

By: Wendy Mericle & Ben Sokolowski (story)

The Story: No one tries to put Green Arrow’s little sister in the slammer—nobody!

The Review: Although it’s taken some creative fudging and narrative necessity, the show has finally established a somewhat enduring familial relationship between Ollie, Thea, and Moira.  Time will tell if the Queen family dynamics can carry the show over the long term.  For now, it’s enough that you get a sense of sincere affection among the trio, though tested by frequent, sudden switches in their personality or temperament.

Ollie’s vacillations between caring and coldness have become second-nature by now, but Thea’s unpredictable attitudes seem patented for the sake of injecting conflict and drama as needed.  She begins the episode pale and nervous about her court hearing, is visibly shaken when the judge rejects her plea agreement,* but all of sudden displays a rather condescending, jerky side to Dinah when the older gal offers her an alternative to prison time.  All this to get back at her mom, which only makes Thea seem a bit petty and lame.

Arrow S01E11 – Review

By: Gabrielle Stanton (story)

The Story: Diggle attempts to get someone off of Ollie’s naughty list.

The Review: For the last couple episodes, the show has started drifting away from its usual pattern of crossing off names in Ollie’s list in favor of some more spontaneous heroics, drawing us a little closer to the Green Arrow we know and love each time.  I heartily approve of this transition, because the list has long become an extremely gimmicky plot device, fitfully generating a passable conflict for Ollie to tackle when all else fails.

Basically, stories drawn from the list have resulted in safe but bland episodes for the show.  Even last episode starring Firefly, which I largely panned, at least had some risk you could enjoy.  Here, ex-military and present military nut Ted Gaynor breaks somewhat out of the corporate mold of previous list names, but even he proves to be fairly pedestrian as an opponent.  He’s just mercenary, which makes no villain stand out unless he’s Deathstroke.

Arrow S01E10 – Review

By: Moira Kirland & Ben Sokolowski (story)

The Story: If people are dying by fire, there’s only one thing to do—throw a party.

The Review: I give a lot of unsolicited advice in these posts—granted, one could argue that every single review we do is unsolicited, but let’s set that aside—and I think it comes from my conditioned instinct as an editor and also my innate desire to control things.  About 99 percent of the time, all suggestions go unheeded, probably because no one in any position of power actually reads or cares about them, but once in a blue moon, I get the thrill of being heard.

It’s all a delusion of grandeur in my mind, of course, since no one will change anything just because some upstart blogger suggests it.   More likely, it’s a matter of my just happening to tap into a problem so obvious that even the creators can’t really ignore it anymore.  I’m pretty sure that’s the case with my point back in the fifth episode, where I thought it was a waste the show didn’t capitalize on the legal/police drama it had going for it.

Arrow S01E09 – Review

By: Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg

The Story: The Arrow that saved Christmas.

The Review: You should know that I’m a total sap for Christmas, which makes me and people like me something of an oddity in a world where people mostly see the cynical, materialistic, socially conditioned side of the holiday—but I don’t care.  Even if you don’t celebrate it, you have to appreciate that Christmas, in its purest form, is about finding ways to give and care for the ones you love, and that’s always a good thing in my book.

In the gritty confines of Arrow, it seems unusual, then, for the spirit of Christmas to rear its head, particularly from no other than the driven and hardened Oliver Queen.  Who’d expect him to get so sappy about his dad’s old Christmas parties when he’s so focused on crushing corporate moguls?  At any rate, Ollie’s eagerness to revive his family’s holiday tradition brings out a sweet, lovable side to him that’s in short supply these days, although when things don’t go the way he plans, his eagerness quickly turns into resentment.

Arrow S01E08 – Review

By: Beth Schwartz & Andrew Kreisberg (story)

The Story: Every couple should find a hobby to do together—like ruthlessly taking down mafia.

The Review: Just like anything else, the introduction of a new character into a story must generally serve the story, either by advancing the plot or revealing some character.  If, by the end of a story, the character hasn’t made much of an impact, then probably the series would’ve been better off never running into that character.  The worst shows, as you might expect, are the ones where you have a whole episode of events and absolutely nothing changes.

Now that I’ve gotten us started on a low note, let’s get back to a high one, because Helena actually does serve a purpose for Arrow.  Her wild card personality gives the plot of Ollie’s latest target some greater stakes and a little more complication than his usual missions, although it doesn’t result in the big gangster war that the episode promised.  I suppose I was expecting something that would really infect the city, rather than a shootout on the Bertinelli estate.

Arrow S01E07 – Review

By: Andrew Kreisberg, Geoff Johns, Marc Guggenheim (story)

The Story: Shouldn’t the fact that you and your date end up sparring after dinner be a red flag?

The Review: I have a friend who has an obsession for instant noodles—you know, the bags, cups, and bowls of slippery Asian-styled soup.  Actually, that statement is somewhat misleading because in reality, my friend doesn’t care for the actual noodles so much.  I’ve seen her cook up a whole pot of the stuff, only to dump everything but the broth and drink the whole thing down, every last, savory, MSG-enriched bit of it.  It’s the culinary version of missing the point.

I can somewhat relate because as the show goes on, I find myself in the awkward predicament of liking nearly everything about it except for its lead character.  In fact, the closer characters get to Ollie, the less I like them.  I’ve noticed that lately, Ollie only interacts with the rest of the cast so as to get nagged by them.  He looks pretty tired of it, but he should keep things in perspective.  It can’t be half as tiresome as for us to needlessly watch him get nagged.

Arrow S01E06 – Review

By: Moira Kirland & Marc Guggenheim (story)

The Story: Thanks to the recession, even bank robbers are down on their luck these days.

The Review: A few weeks ago, I was on a late plane going to D.C., bored with nothing to do except stare out into the inky darkness and ponder my meaningless life in the endless void, so I pulled out my laptop to watch an episode of Arrow.  A friend of mine who was also on that flight suddenly piped up excitedly, “Is that Arrow?”  I told her it was.  “I love Arrow,” she told me, in much the same way someone might have said, “I love Mad Men” a year ago.

I should say my friend is a sweet, feminist law student whom I would never imagine watching a weekly action-drama featuring a comic book character who fought crime with preposterously antiquated weaponry.  But after that revelation, I started paying closer attention to the show and began to recognize its crossover appeal.  This is ostensibly a show about Green Arrow, but in execution, he’s merely a platform to deliver all the things people want out of TV—action, crime, justice, relationships, and family—but with more breathing space for the fantastic.

Arrow S01E05 – Review

By: Wendy Mericle & Ben Sokolowski (story)

The Story: If you’re facing prison time, there’s only one thing to do—party!

The Review: The maintenance of a secret identity has been the meat and potatoes of comic book drama for years and years now.  I really don’t know how readers in the fifties and sixties bore with Superman’s constant finger-biting all those years over Lois possibly finding him out.  Anyway, every hero still comes pre-packaged with that particular conflict, though it’s almost guaranteed everyone he tries to keep his secret from will find out eventually.

I don’t even begin to understand how someone so much in the public eye can possibly fool himself into thinking a secret identity can work.  When you’re being monitored that closely, even if no one catches you doing your caped-crusader thing, the pattern of disappearing at opportune times, only for some costumed vigilante to show up on a repeated basis, seems pretty obvious.  Ollie has it even worse; the timing of his return and the appearance of the Hood should be clear to anyone with a brain, and consider how often he’s showed off high-class fighting ability.

Arrow S01E04 – Review

By: Moira Kirkland & Lana Cho (story)

The Story: Representing a client gets easier if you have a strongman to bully the opposition.

The Review: Did I ever tell you I once had acting aspirations?  I should be careful to mention that I never once say myself as a movie star.  With my face, mainstream appeal was about as remote as walking from New York to Metropolis: it doesn’t matter how much you work at it, it’s just never going to happen.  While I did the usual gamut of improv workshops, community plays, and sketch shows to church socials, I never had success that meant a career change was in order.

Anyway, all this is to say that I can recognize good and bad acting when I see it (although if it’s any good, I’ll be damned if I can actually replicate it myself).  Maybe this is a sign of my acute self-consciousness as an actor, but I actually experience vicarious embarrassment for the people on stage/screen when they stink.  So far, I haven’t really had (much) cause to do so on this show, but this episode did feature a few cringe-inducing moments.

Arrow S01E03 – Review

By: Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg (story)

The Story: If arrows work so well against bullets, how do you explain the Spanish empire?

The Review: As a show grows, it usually does one of two things: keep on doing what it does best or constantly trying new things in an attempt to reinvent itself—or perish.  Following my usual pattern of analogizing things to NBC sitcoms, I give you two examples: 30 Rock and Parks and Recreation.  At some point, 30 Rock embraced its weirdness and never looked back, perhaps to its detriment.  Parks and Rec, meanwhile, continues to evolve week by week.

In the end, Parks and Rec remains nearly as solid as it began, while 30 Rock has waxed and waned as it struggles to find new variables to fit into its comedic formula.  Arrow will do well to emulate the P&R strategy.  It simply cannot sustain itself with a weekly pattern of Ollie taking down yet another scummy CEO in an urbanized “Monster of the Week” format.  Thankfully, we see the show continuing to take steps to break up the rut before it digs itself too deep.

Hawkeye #3 – Review

by Matt Fraction (writer), David Aja (artist), Matt Hollingsworth (colorist), and Chris Eliopoulos (letterer)

The Story:  Clint decides it’s time to label his arrows and goes out to buy some tape.  Not only is the store out of tape, but he meets a woman with an awesome car, buys said car, and ends up in a wild car chase through town as Eastern European “bros” with fully automatic weapons try their best to make him and his new friend dead.  Just another day in the life of Clint Barton.

The Review:  Lots of new series put out a fantastic first issue and then gradually slide into routine, descending into a more mediocre level of quality.  Three issues in now and Hawkeye is as much of a revelation as the very first issue.  Much as was the case with the second issue, this issue is just as good as the first and may very well be better.  Regardless, it’s remarkable that Fraction and Aja have kept the level of quality so ridiculously high, particularly given that once again, this is a done-in-one story.  Put simply, this comic is pure craftsmanship by two masters of the medium.

With respect to Fraction’s script, the characterization absolutely sparkles.  Clint is the lovable rogue, flying by the seat of his pants, and it’s impossible not to love him.  He’s the classic character who can’t help but stumble into trouble no matter, even when going about the most mundane activities.  Fraction’s Barton is just so damned likable and, frankly, if Clint were always written like this, I don’t think you’d ever hear ANYONE talk about his being boring.  Moreover, Kate Bishop is a fantastic asset for this series.  Her back-and-forth dynamic with Clint is absolute gold and had me laughing and smiling throughout the issue.  The two have an incredible chemistry and their dialogue is one of dueling wits and light-hearted ribbing.  Their dynamic really sets the tone for this issue: fun.

On a more technical level, I also loved the care that Fraction took in structuring this issue.  Through being so meticulous, he gets so much done in one issue, telling a complete story, with a seeming passing remark about a boomerang arrow at the very start of the issue becoming crucial to its ending…coming back like, well, a boomerang.  Fraction also jumps back and forth in time in a manner that is effortless and, surprisingly, never jarring or confusing.  He mostly manages this through structuring the issue around Clint narrating a list of stupid things he’s done in one day.  It only emphasizes Clint’s bumbling rogue nature while also serving to keep this beast of an issue on the rails, keeping it a tight, narrative machine.

As for Aja’s art, what can be said?  It’s wonderfully evocative of the seventies action tone that Fraction wants.  Aja’s action scenes are incredible, his layouts, particularly his use of small panels to relay details of the overall action, is genius and, much like Fraction’s script, there’s a constant wink and nod sense of humour to his work.  Like Fraction’s script, Aja’s work is geared towards creating a fun comic that keeps you smiling throughout.  Also, the fact that he gets to draw an extended car chase is awesome: Aja’s action always rules and this car chase will have you on the edge of your seat throughout the issue.  Also: trick arrows.  Both Aja and Fraction manage to use a huge barrage of these to emphasize just how ludicrous an archer character can be…while also making it creative and badass.

Arrow S01E02 – Review

By: Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg (story)

The Story: In which you get one more reason why Legal Aid is the most thankless job ever.

The Review: The most important lesson I took from the massively disappointing Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is nothing is less funny than someone that tries to be funny—and actually succeeds in convincing himself he’s funny.  The second most important lesson I learned from the show is a strong pilot can easily give way to a mediocre or downright terrible show.  From then on, I’ve always kept my expectations in control until after the mid-season.

This strategy seems especially appropriate when dealing with a CW adaptation of a comic book character.  Despite a pretty solid debut last week, it wouldn’t be difficult for me to imagine a scenario where the quality of Arrow episodes just plummets afterward.  That doesn’t quite happen here, but you do feel that whatever momentum the pilot generated, it gets a little lost in the follow-up.

Arrow S01E01 – Review

By: Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg (story

The Story: Sure bullets pack more punch, but when was the last time you zip-lined with one?

The Review: Much as anyone loves the idea of getting to watch their favorite superheroes on live-action TV every week, some pretty big obstacles get in the way of that particular dream.  As a modern audience, we expect greater realism (read: money) from the stories and special effects than the people who watched Lynda Carter spin into costume on Wonder Woman.  And the more extensive a superhero’s powers, the more opportunity there is for a show to disappoint.

If you take all that into consideration, Smallville was a pretty impressive series, balancing both the fulfillment of comic book dreams and budgetary restraints for ten seasons—kind of the Holy Grail of television longevity.  I imagine, however, that the folks at the CW weren’t keen on going through that that kind of expense again.  While the aborted Aquaman project presented all kinds of watery CGI that made producers’ heads spin, Arrow seems more manageable.