"Arrow" Season 1 REVIEW

I'm just going to come clean and say that I am so behind on popular TV shows, but hey, at least I can binge-watch them instead of waiting a week for a new episode.

Returning to Starling City after marooned on an island for five years, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen does what he promised his father he would do: Take down the people who have ruined his city. To do that, he must become someone his enemies would fear, a symbol others could look up to, someone separate from his family name. Not only must he become someone else, but he must become something else. Armed with a bow and lethal wits, Oliver Queen puts on a hood at night and becomes known as the Starling City Vigilante. His goals are clear, but what he doesn't know is that something bigger is at work.

I believe it is safe to say that superhero stories such as Green Arrow can be better told through television than movies. The plots have enough room to develop, as well as the characters and the universe they're in. However, season 1 of Arrow sometimes takes too much time on some plot lines, specifically the romantic-drama aspect. Way too much time is spent on love triangles that lead to nowhere and one-episode love interests instead of focusing on bigger matters at hand.

However, for about five episodes starting with the mid-season finale, the plot is more focused and his hands-down the best part of the season. Then a decline begins as the show becomes unbalanced again until the end of the season. Upon watching half of the second season, though, I can vouch for the show by saying that it does get so much better.

Given these setbacks with the quality of the show, the main plot is absolutely fantastic, full of twists and turns and with many nods to the DC comic universe. The action is the greatest I've seen in television and even a lot of movies. Stephen Amell is perfectly cast in this role, I seriously can not imagine anyone else fitting the part of Oliver Queen.

If you can bear through some abhorrent romantic-drama here and there, Arrow is well worth the watch for fans of superheroes.

3.5/5 Stars

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