Arrow S02E22 – Review

By: Jake Coburn & Ben Sokolowski (story)

The Story: It’s Opposite Day in Starling City as assassins go out of their way to save lives.

The Review: Late again! No big movie premiere got in the way this time, just studying for a big final. I always feel bad doing this to Arrow, especially since it’s been in its prime this season, but such is the way of this harsh, unforgiving world. I think the characters of Arrow would understand. Right now, they’re struggling to survive in a Starling City on the brink of oblivion, facing threats within and without, from above and below, despite the best of intentions.

It’s kind of amazing how many of the most twisted characters in the show are the ones most convinced that they’re doing the right thing. Slade, of course, has the excuse of being legitimately off his rocker, but Blood seems blind to his own crimes even as he acknowledges the mistake he made in partnering with Slade. With his entire office slain,* the city in near ruins, and even after Isabel gives him the run-through on the end of his mayorship, his last words are a clenched, defiant, “I loved this city.” It’s an interesting moment in that he expresses no regret for what he’s actually done, yet there’s still a note of triumph, even manic heroism in his voice.

Arrow S02E13 – Review

By: Jake Coburn (story)

The Story: It should be common sense that you should never cross an assassin in love.

The Review: Arrow constantly surprises me with its obviously deep, committed knowledge of DC continuity.  There have been a lot of times on this show when I thought it was introducing a completely original character or concept, only to discover, a quick Wiki later, that it had instead found some obscure part of the DCU to repurpose for its own uses.  More power to them, I say.  Why not make use of that colorful universe and simultaneously update it for a modern audience?

Interestingly enough, while most of the New 52 comics have been recycling familiar, bankable material, it’s Arrow that’s exposed me to the more obscure corners of DC continuity.  Case in point: I had no idea that Ra’s al Ghul ever had any other children than Talia. I was sure that Nyssa Raatko was just a stand-in for her more famous sister, probably because of highly complicated legal and proprietary reasons.  That she is a character in her own right, one in many ways more nuanced and intriguing than Talia, is the pleasantest of surprises.

Arrow S02E10 – Review

By: Jake Coburn & Keto Shimizu (story)

The Story: Sebastian Blood’s rally is going to blow through the roof.

The Review: After pointing out Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s reliance on the monster-of-the-week episode format, it’s only fair to discuss how the format works in Arrow.  In season one, Arrow acted much like any other CW drama, each week introducing a new villain for Ollie to tackle and learn something from.  Since then, however, the show has mostly outgrown that formula, sustaining itself almost entirely on material from ongoing storylines.

Transitions like this usually happen across a long period of time, so I can’t point out exactly which episode marked the start of Arrow’s evolution.  Somewhere along the way, however, the showrunners must have realized the short-term benefits of developing corporate scumbags and various other criminals, only to put them away after a single episode.  From that point, Arrow invested fully in building continuity to last, drawing in new characters only in service to the long-term plot.  The show has done this very well for quite a while now, so when this episode falls back on old tricks, it’s noticeable and disappointing.

Arrow S02E05 – Review

By: Jake Coburn & Drew Z. Greenberg (story)

The Story: When assassins come calling, calm yourself with Chinese food.

The Review: As much as I happen to love WCBR’s letter-grading system, it does lead me into some tricky quandaries, not the least of which is the separation between an X-, X, or X+.  It’s easy enough to get a sense of what letter-grade something deserves, but justifying those tweaks, slight as they are, is a more difficult task.  I didn’t start out this review with the intention of making insights into my grading rubric, but I think this episode is a good sample for just that.

Last week, I gave “Crucible” a B.  Today, I’m giving “League of Assassins” a B+.  But why?  What did last night’s episode do just ever so much better than its predecessor that gives it that edge?  What did it not do to creep over into A territory?  Does Minhquan really have any objective criteria for this kind of distinction or is he just an arbitrary critic who also apparently likes to refer to himself in the third person?

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.