Arrow – Season 1 (Episode 1 & 2)

I know you’re probably thinking its a little bit insane starting up another TV show when you’ve got so many currently on the go – Agents of Shield and Once Upon a Time are both in progress as you know, and we’ve just finished Agent Carter – but sitting on the couch watching The Flash (another show that will need some posts written) recently on TV I kind of wanted to see you where he came from and I knew that the linked show and where he first appeared was Arrow.

Now while I generally try to cover shows on an episode by episode basis even those that have been around for awhile – you can see what I mean with Supernatural (that Nia and I are both covering) and also with Once Upon a Time – I don’t think I can devote the same amount to Arrow even though I would definitely say it is worthy of that treatment. What I will do however is instead of giving you a full season recap, I will rather do a multiepisode recap / review instead so that over the course of a couple of posts we’ll both be on the same page with this show and we can then do an episode by episode review of the season that’s currently on. So without further ado let’s jump into the first couple of episodes from Arrow Season 1.

Episode 1 – Pilot (Recap)

As in most superhero and movies and television shows the key criteria is to introduce the character as well as their motivations and reasons for acting the way that they do. In the pilot episode of arrow we are introduced to Oliver Queen who was shipwrecked on a remote Pacific island for 5 years.

After being rescued he is returned to Starling city where he is reunited with his mother (Moira) his younger sister (Thea) and his best friend (Tommy). Oliver informs them all that his father died when the ship went down along with a girl – Sarah – taken on the trip with him. Unfortunately Sarah’s sister – Laurel – was actually Oliver’s girlfriend at the time and she is less than pleased to see him return from the dead. In addition Laurel’s father – police detective Quentin Lance – also has a bone to pick with Oliver as blames him for the death of his daughter.

However what none of them really realize is that while they can see Oliver has changed during his time away they have no idea how much. Oliver has been given the mission by his father to “right the wrongs of his family; to fight the ills of society and to restore Starling city to its former glory”. Oliver similar to the Batman myths and legend takes it upon himself to right these wrongs by becoming a vigilante and using his skills to find and defeat the men on the list that his father provided.

Oliver’s first mission and his introduction to Starling city is an attack on Adam Hunt. Adam has scammed millions from the citizens of the city and it is up to the Arrow to get it back. The police chief detective obviously does not want vigilantes running around in his city and takes it upon himself to capture him.  We also find out that his mother has an ulterior objective as she organized a fake kidnapping of her son to find out if her husband and actually told him anything.

Episode 1 – Review

As introductions go its actually not bad as we get to see all the main characters, we get to understand the motivations and while I don’t know DC as well as I do Marvel so can’t really tell you whether or not this introduction is accurate to the comic, it’s got me interested and wanting to see more. I do know that the Green Arrow has been around for a while and that he’s a member of the DC equivalent of the Avengers (the Justice League), but his books are definitely not as popular as Superman and Batman.

Oliver Queen is a billionaire’s son. He’s a playboy. He’s neither a genius nor a philanthropist. While on a boat trip with his father and his girlfriend’s sister, the boat goes down and Oliver is left as the sole survivor, forced to try to survive on a remote island for another five years. Personally I would state that a bow and arrow seems a little bit old school in today’s world however that’s probably what makes it work. There are many, many similarities to Batman

• the billionaire playboy with parent issues
• a deep seated need to right the wrongs of the world etc…

but it still stands alone quite well as the constant flashbacks gradually give us an idea of how this boy became a man!

Well I know if I mentioned that I got into the show because of the Flash … I’m actually very curious to see if they have plans on doing another crossover in the future – perhaps this time with Gotham as I think that would be very interesting!  On to Episode 2!

Episode 2 – “Honor Thy Father“

OK this is where other characters from the DC Universe also come into the picture so I’ll try to provide you with some detail on them also as I think I’ve mentioned previously I’m more of a Marvel geek vs. DC.

In this episode we’ve got another target – Martin Somers – that is also on the list (mentioned above) … Martin is being targeted for prosecution by Laurel as she is representing the daughter of a man that Martin Somers had killed.  Oliver confronts him as the Arrow and forces him to make a confession (not too sure how admissible this would be?) but is forced to fight China White, an assassin working for the Chinese Triads.

On the island we see Oliver attacked by a hooded figure (similar to his Arrow persona) wielding a bow and arrow.

China White

In the comics China White is a drug czar and has enslaved the inhabitants of an unnamed Pacific island.  She gets these people to work in her heroin fields and supplies the bulk of the drugs throughout the Pacific rim.  On the Arrow however she is the leader of the Chinese triads in Starling city although in her first appearance she seems to be more of a paid gun for hire.  She has a recurring role in the show however and I’ll provide more details in subsequent posts.

Episode 2 – Review

Overall not too much advancement here in terms of Oliver/Arrow.  Its good to see other characters from the DC universe included at such an early stage of the show as it indicates that they will be bringing more characters into the mix at a later stage.

To be honest due to my slowness in writing this, they’ve already had a cross over between Arrow and the Flash and I expect that we’ll see more secondary characters and shows introduced in the future.   I’d probably state that the best part of this episode is the end when Oliver is struck by an arrow by the unnamed bowman on the island.  It gives a clear indication of the trauma he went through and hopefully starts to explain how and why he became the person he now is.