Episode 1 – CW – Aired October 10, 2012 5-Stars
What a bulls’ eye! No
beating around the bush, so slow build up, but started right out in full blown
action of a gruff looking, 5-year survivor, Oliver Queen running around like a
mad man on a deserted island. The
narration by Oliver gave it a great ‘personal’ feel as he is rescued and
returns home.
I had reservations about someone other than Justin
Hartley playing the familiar Oliver Queen, because I thought Hartley had done
such a great job on Smallville, but when clean-cut, and smoldering-eyed,
Stephen Amell turned around, my reluctance melted away. He reminded me of a cross between Henry
Cavill and Chris O’Donnell, two of my all-time favorites, an even mixture of
wholesomeness and danger.
Enter our leading ladies.
First up is dear ole Mom. She
seemed genuinely concerned for her son’s safety and well-being, but there was
also a sense of something more; something hidden; something not quite
revealed. Oliver’s reception to her was
withdrawn and polite, but missing a touch of warmth. With the maid, Oliver greeted her lovingly, what I would have expected for his mother instead. That tells me a lot about his relationship
with his mother, more than any of the dialogue spoken between them. Then there was the sister, whom Oliver
greeted really affectionately, like a loving, big-brother-who-missed-his-sister
would. By this point I desperately looked for traces of the billionaire playboy, but didn’t see any. However, I didn’t have to wait too long. The next leading lady was the sister of the
dead girlfriend, the lawyer, the angsty public defender, the Lois-esque fighter
against corruption. I’m not quite sure
about her yet, but I will wait and hold judgment after I’ve allowed her plenty
of time to interact with our new hero.
After all the cursory introduction, the show quickly takes
us back for a tease to the origin of the conflict, the point that brought us to
the reason, creating a dozen more questions already bombarding our minds. His ability to speak Russian, being blunt and
observant of his mother’s actions and state of being, his politeness to be
excused, his quick, brief answers, all ‘show’ a contrast difference to the
care-free, selfish, spoiled party boy who couldn’t save the girl. He’s clearly damaged, from the accident, his
time on the island, as evidenced by his sleeping on the floor, and allowing the
storm to rage around him, bringing up the memories of his demons and
regrets. Up to this point, everything
mentioned above was all cram-packed just into the opening segment. I LOVED it.
It was action-packed, character-central, and full of intrigue. For a superhero show, it’s brimming with
simple humanity.
The second segment starts with a hint of ‘arrows’ and then
jumps to the frailty and weakness of his little sister, who is called
“speedy”. I can’t help to assume that
the nickname has a double meaning – referring to the drugs, as well as some
other meaning – not yet revealed. Then,
it’s off to regain some semblance of the life he’d left behind by pairing up
with this old friend, Tommy, – who conveniently pointed out the abandoned Queen
Industries warehouse - which would make a perfect place for a hero’s lair. Then he confronts, Laurel, and his past –
including the mistake of cheating on, and being unable to save, his
ex-girlfriend’s sister in the accident.
I love the twist that causes friction in their relationship, and adds
depth to both characters.
Then the fireworks start.
First the shock of action so soon without having a long, drawn out, and
talked-to-death lead up to our first glimpse of Arrow’s heuristic presence (as
is the practice of CW shows). Oliver and
Tommy are abducted right away, we get another quick glimpse at Oliver and his
father’s backstory, and then it’s wham-bam-
you-just-got-the-crap-kicked-out-of-you-without-apology! Let me repeat that – Oliver Queen/Arrow kills
a few men and doesn’t apologize for it.
EXCELLENT! This jumped twenty
spots on my ladder of excitement. I also
loved how his journey as Arrow began with a hood on the island, and then his
first attackers wear masks, and then he’ll eventually be the one in a hood
and/or mask; great elemental development.
Best line of the night is: “He told me I’m gonna kill you,” He was
badass with no super power, no super suit, and no gadgets; just one heck of a
will, determination and a great set of abs.
I think his greatest evidence of strength is when he told the bad guy at
the end of this segment, “You killed that man.”
Then the baddy replied, “You don’t have to do this.” And Oliver didn’t hesitate to respond, “Yes I
do. Nobody can know my secret.” This spoke VOLUMES into the mindset of the
newly-returned-from-the-dead Oliver Queen.
This “Arrow” is on a path of justice, and like an aimed projectile that
has been loosed from a bow, it doesn’t stray from its path or waivers in its
journey to the targeted destination. It
simply shoots where it was aimed. I
can’t tell you how happy I am that he doesn’t suffer from the same weakness
many of our previous superheroes have – the inability to kill, confront and
destroy their enemies. Man, the
possibilities are endless with this character now, and the depth of his
psychosis is quite questionable, which makes him all the more interesting. Wow, and that was just the first half of the
episode.
The second half introduces us to the ‘concept’ of a
green-hooded man being responsible for the killing of the kidnappers, and a
hostile questioning from a detective.
It’s clear this guy doesn’t like Oliver, or his family. Am glad Tommy
had Oliver’s back during the questioning, but am sure he woke early and saw
more than he admitted. The first time
through, I didn’t catch the parent
protecting their kid jibe at Oliver, but having now seen the full episode,
I see where this clever little clue into the detective’s identity had been
placed. I truly appreciate clever quips,
even if they aren’t so obvious. I love
the model boat in the background, the way his eyes sometimes look green, and his brooding
silence. Continuing on – Resa’s assessment
of Oliver’s good heart, and Oliver wanting to be the good person she’s
always told him he’d be – is a great moment of setting and character
development.
I liked the scene with Diggles, the bodyguard/driver, and
Oliver’s disappearance right after that informative little speech. It’s good to know this show isn’t all about
catching bad guys, but balanced with a good sense of humor; kudos for the
writers on that part. The return of the
narration makes me wonder if this will be a regular part of the program – like USA
does with the show Burn Notice. I can
see where it would be interesting, but also where it could lend to lazy writing
or showing intent in the scene. I LOVED
every minute of the warehouse scene; I don’t know any red-blooded woman who
wouldn’t. It was really, really
hot! Stephen Amell's abs were amazing, and his
ability to shoot bouncing tennis balls left me tingling with excitement. It reminded me of Henry Cavill as Theseus in
Immortals.
Now we get to the MISSION.
Having only so far received a quick glance at our antagonist in the
background with Laurel and the notebook from his dad, we get more information through
narration. This process works. The intensity on Oliver’s face shows his
steeled determination. One of the most
moving statements is when Oliver says, “He hasn’t met me yet”, referring to
Arrow, not Queen.
Hunt is your typical Luther-esque baddie, complete with bald
head and privileged superiority complex.
I love seeing the greedy being humbled.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the rich.
I hope to be rich myself someday.
But greedy, manipulative bullies will always stir a desire for a lesson
in humility. Arrow isn’t emotional in
his campaign for justice. He speaks clearly and directly about what he wants
and expects, leaving no room for misunderstanding or speech-making. After the commercial break, we return to the
opposite of Arrow’s character with Hunt grandstanding in righteous indignation,
spouting commands and demanding service and protection – the very thing he ‘steals’
from those he bullies.
Next we get a glimpse of the playboy billionaire, and I have
to say – he shines brighter than a newly polished crown – as he ventures to his
‘return-from-the-dead’ party. Diggles’
appearance in the back of the car raises expectations even Oliver can
appreciate. Tommy did a great job
throwing the typical soul-less party, filled with women, dancers, booze and
loud music, and for the first time we get to see the real mask Oliver Queen
wears – and there isn’t a hint of green anywhere. This whole scene was characteristic, expected
and well done, but it blew me right out of the water with the dig at Twilight
with the lines - “Which one is she?” Oliver asks. “The one that looks like the chick from
Twilight,” Tommy answers. Oliver responds, “What’s Twilight?” Tommy answers, “You’re
so better off not knowing.” I laughed
out loud! Then, what would a party be
without a bit of illegal drugs and a rambunctious little sister giving a ‘woe
is me’ speech trying to justify her stupid decisions. I loved that Oliver listened; allowing her to
get her teen-angst off her chest, but then so coolly lifted her stash. It said so much about his character. It gave me hope this character isn’t going to
spend a lot of time bashing everyone over the head with incessant chatter, but
a face-full of fisted action. I’ve been
dying for something like this for a long time.
He basically does the same thing with Laurel, except he takes it a step
further and lies to her about who he really is – to push her away, to protect
her, and I don’t think it’s just because he has feelings for her, but because
he sees her as a distraction from his goals – which she was literally
creating. When his phone buzzed, the
truth came out – only she had no idea how much, or what he was talking about,
followed instantly by the lie. Again, this
was another pivotal ‘showing’ of the great character of his super hero.
I like Diggles, but he had it coming. I saw that writing clearly on the wall before
Oliver had to knock him out. You’d think
by now that bad guys would learn to never say, never; and the old-fashioned
butt-kicking began. I LOVED every second
of it. It wasn’t over-done, under-whelmed
or off the mark. Bulls eye! Though Hunt believed Arrow missed, I knew he
had not. I didn’t know in the moment
how, just that it wasn’t a wasted shot.
I find it funny that the bad guys brought guns to a knife fight, and
without the presence of any superhuman powers, got their butts royally
kicked.
Our angry detective got a quick glance at our hooded hero as
he jumped from the window of the high rise, of what I’m sure is only the
beginning of a long story thread to push this series forward. And of course, for continuity’s sake, Oliver
Queen needs an alibi to throw off any suspicion of his involvement with the
masked vigilante. With the hood and
slash of green paint gone and the playboy billionaire mask firmly in place, the
offer of a $2 Million reward for the hooded man was expected, but funny and
worked very well. And FINALLY we
discovered the reason for the detectives’ animosity toward Oliver, being the
father of his ex-girlfriend and the girl who drowned on the boat. This element adds a great dynamic to the
story. Then the threat Oliver makes to
Tommy about questioning too much – was good, solid writing. Oliver taking ALL of Hunt’s money, as he had
promised, was priceless. I had to back
it up and see it again, it was so sweet, so direct, so exciting.
Oliver remembering his father’s last words, “You can survive
this; make it home, make it better, right my wrongs, but you’ve got to live
through this first.” Great writing,
great moment, great insight into our new hero.
Then came the great tragedy – seeing his father kill another and then
sacrificing his self to save Oliver. In
a way, this is the driving force, the under current message and the defining
element of what I see in Arrow – kill others – even if means sacrificing
yourself, to make it right. The rain in the background of this scene really
captured the essence of the message.
And now for our final scenes: Seeing how Laurel’s clients, those who had
been fighting against the corruption of Hunt, being compensated by Hunt’s own
money, were a good example of Arrow not being about greed and power – righting the
wrongs. “It looks like Starling City has a guardian angel.” Then we have
conflict show up in the guise of best-friend having a relationship with
ex-girlfriend. Didn’t Tommy read the ‘no
ex-girlfriend’ bro-code? Obviously, he
missed the memo. But, no worries – Arrow
heard the message clearly from his stalker’s perch. What was he doing there
anyway? It’s a CW or Superhero must to
have a love triangle, so here we go. Last,
but certainly not least, and quite surprisingly – the Mommy Dearest twist. Now, I always suspected the ex-business
partner of being dirty somehow, but I never suspected the mom. Quite a nice twist; I can’t wait to see what
happens. As Oliver said, “She says the
island changed me, she has no idea how much.
There are many more names on the list, those who rule my city by
intimidation and fear. Every last one of them will wish I had died on that
island.”
Well, this concludes my first review of Arrow. It’s been a while since I’ve written a
television show review, and I can’t say how committed I’ll be for future
episodes, but I can say this: I haven’t
been this excited and inspired by a show since Smallville, and I really hope it
exceeds my expectations.
Till next time,
~T.L. Gray
