Suvudu Universe

I have to admit, I am a shallow superhero fan. I like my superheros and superheroines with over the top superpowers, nifty gadgets and cool costumes. Perhaps that is why the idea of a guy with a bow and arrow never pulled me in. I am also a shallow comic fan. Sure I read Superman, Batman, X-Men, and Spider-man consistently as a kid, but the less marque superheroes never really garnered my attention.

So knowing nothing of the character of Oliver Queen/The Green Arrow I really wasn’t to interested in the CW’s series.  I watched the premiere episode on Netflix, but like many first episodes of a series, it just didn’t pull me in.

As the series prepares for its season two mid-season finale tonight, I thought it would be a good time to share why I was wrong about this series, what I like and dislike about this superhero show.

The show stars Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen, the son of a rich and powerful couple and heir to the family fortune and company Queen Consolidated. Oliver was ship wrecked on an island for five years and returns to his hometown of Starling City with a mission to right the wrongs that his father and others had done.  Oliver becomes a vigilante using a bow and arrow to execute those from a list that his father gave him before he died. Amell gives a varied performance from carefree to brooding and also provides some sex appeal for the show as well.

Oliver’s return stirs up things in Starling City as Oliver and those family and friends around him have to adjust to his return.

The show co-stars Katie Cassidy as Laurel Lance, Colin Donnell as Tommy Merlyn, David Ramsey as John Diggle, Willa Holland as Thea Queen, Susanna Thompson as Moira Queen, Paul Blackthorne as Detective Quentin Lance, Emily Bett Rickards as Felicity Smoak, Manu Bennett as Slade Wilson, Colton Haynes as Roy Harper, John Barrowman as Malcolm Merlyn, and Celina Jade as Shado.

Relying heavily on flashbacks, the Arrow features in each episode events that are currently happening in Starling City with Oliver and flashes back to events that occurred to him on the island.

The cast of the show changes a bit from the first season to the second seasons with the decrease in screen time of the Merlyns and an increase of Felicity Smoak, Slade Wilson and Shado.

Season one of the series really feels like Oliver Queen wrestling with his past, whereas season two so far has really felt like Queen pushing towards the future. Throughout the 31 episodes we have seen thus far, there has been a seemingly constant alignment and realignment of relationships on the show. For me the series really hit its stride and found its voice when Oliver brought Diggle and Felicity into his secret life and they became part of his team.

It is hard to ignore some similarities between Felicity Smoak and Smallville‘s Chloe Sullivan. The relationship between Clark and Chloe was one of my favorite aspects of Smallville and in a similar way the relationship between Oliver and Felicity is compelling. Felicity’s Freudian double entendres provide some easy humor for the show and her unparalleled hacking abilities provide some easy shortcuts for the show’s writers.

The relationship between Diggle and Oliver is also crucial to understanding the story and in many ways it is Diggle that serves to be Oliver’s moral anchor and helps lead the man we see in season one to the man we see in season two. Diggle is also interesting because he is in many ways seemingly Oliver’s equal. So that the relationship between Oliver and Diggle is something more than hero and sidekick but something less than true partners.

There is a ruthlessness to Oliver Queen’s vigilante persona that is compelling to fans of darker and grittier comic book fans. This darkness carries over into season two even after Queen makes his decision to honor a friend’s memory by no longer taking lives.

The show is rather well produced and there are relatively few times that realities of television production budgets and schedules is apparent on the screen, some of this has to do with the relative lack of special effects except in certain episodes.

Since this is a CW program it is hard to ignore their typical casting practices, i.e. everyone is more attractive than the norm, but in casting they have done a very good job overall in getting actors and actresses that can give solid performances. John Barrowman and Susanna Thompson are particularly strong in their roles.

I will say that the show is not perfect.  There is some melodrama in the love triangle between Oliver, Laurel and Tommy. The characters and story line of Thea Queen and Roy Harper is probably my least favorite part of the show. Colton Haynes is a little to pretty and clean-cut for the street tough character from the Glades he is portraying. At the same time Willa Holland’s voice/performance as Thea that grates on me.  Combining these two characters in their relationship sub-plot feels like a speed bump for a show that is cruising along.

With Hawkeye from The Avengers and Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games it feels like we are going through a bit of an archery fad in Hollywood, so perhaps Arrow came around at just the right time to capitalize on the appeal of the sport.

One thing that really amuses me about the show is the fact that Oliver Queen may be just about the worst superhero about keeping his identity secret. It seems like every other episode he is either telling someone about his secret or someone is finding it out while he is unconscious.

For my money despite these flaws Arrow is a tremendously fun television show to watch and is far better than the much hyped Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., so if you are looking for your comic book fix on the television screen I highly recommend tuning into the CW Wednesdays at 8 p.m.