So How Was Arrow Season 3?

So How Was Arrow Season 3?

So Arrow season 3. Boy has this one split the fans straight down the middle. You could easily argue that the show has really upped the stakes and taken things in a bold new direction while others could just as easily talk of how the show has become bloated and lacking in focus. My thoughts? Read ahead and beware of spoilers.

 

So Arrow season 3 starts 6 months after the end of season 2. Everyone’s happy for once and the whole crime fighting thing is going well. Being a 23 episode season Arrow has to at least at the start be very episodic with a villain of the week thing going on and season 3 was no exception. While this is not a bad thing as these villains are often used well and early season 3 felt a lot like early season 1 and 2.

 

The big thing of course was Sara dying very early on. Whether you liked this season or not you cannot help but agree that there were some seriously big twists and moments in Arrow season 3. Some bold moves were certainly made to the show and this is where some people have a lot of problems. Arrow’s biggest strength in my eyes has always been its core group of characters. While side characters have always been sort of up and down the main group, usually Oliver, Diggle and Felicity have always had great and interesting interactions and been enjoyable. This ‘Team Arrow’ was what made the show tick. Season 3 introduced a lot of new characters and equally bought a lot of others into the spotlight. While especially towards the end of the show some of the shows lesser characters such as Laurel, Thea and Roy were really improved and developed. New characters were also introduced and the show became rather bloated. This was one of the shows biggest shortcomings however. With so many characters it didn’t give enough screen time to pass around. Going into season 4 however the show is looking far more streamlined so hopefully this won’t continue being a problem.

 

Arrow’s flashbacks have always been a high point for me of every episode. The plot going on was always just as if not more exciting than the present day and it always linked and benefitted the present day plot seeing the island flashbacks. Hong Kong was an interesting turn, however I don’t think it worked. I don’t think they really added to the show and honestly the flashbacks I enjoyed most were the ones focused on characters other than Oliver. I know I’m not the only one to share this opinion, hopefully the flashbacks will pick up again in season 4.

 

More problems. Arrow is a dark and gritty show but the darkness and grit has gone into overload in this season. Especially when compared to the Flash Arrow to some has seemed extremely dark and over dramatic. Strangely however I haven’t had a problem with it. The theme of season 3 has been self-identity and discovering oneself and a dark tone I think was necessary. It’s easy to forget what these characters are going through. After everything Oliver has been through and always prevailed Ra’s al Ghul broke him. As for the romance related angst I again think this was an important point. Oliver needed to learn to accept both himself and the love and support from others to progress as a character. Do I think this was all done perfectly? No, it was a little overdone at times however I’d rather they try to progress the character like they did than keep the show standing still.

 

A problem I did however with the identity theme was that the show at times didn’t really feel like Arrow any more. Arrow at times was used as a platform to promote spin offs and new characters and at other times everything got a tad convoluted. Despite me enjoying the new characters and an interesting new direction I want Arrow to remain as Arrow, not a stepping stone for other shows.

 

I’ve moaned enough, a lot of good came out of the series. I’ve mentioned I enjoyed some of the characters developments and I’ve really enjoyed Ra’s al Ghul. He was everything I wanted Ra’s al Ghul to be. I loved the presence he had every time he was on screen. There was such a sophistication to him and yet it was made very apparent how powerful he was. He was also very interesting as a character with some interesting backstory and giving us some interesting insight into the league of Assassins. Season 2 had one incredible villain in Slade Wilson but I think season 3 did as well as it possibly could to follow up on the fantastic Deathstroke.

 

I really need to talk about Malcom Merlin. I really want him to be back for season 4, Merlin is perhaps one of my favourite television characters period. Always an ulterior motive, always having a plan and being a lot of fun to watch on screen. I really liked the twist of him working with Oliver, any time we saw Malcom really lit up the scene. 

 

Arrow season 3 is very difficult to talk about as parts of it were very average and parts of it I thought were up there with the best Arrow has ever been. The episode that stands out in my head is the one where Roy left, I thought that one was great. My overall thoughts however are extremely mixed as I like most the individual elements, not including the flashbacks of course. I still really like the main characters, Oliver is still an incredibly well written and developed character, Diggle is great and even after not quite being as great as last year Felicity is still a superb character. I liked the tone, the action was cool, I liked the Atom and how Thea has developed. Laurel has come on leaps and bound to become one of my favourite characters, the villain was great, there were some great twists I really didn’t see coming and I appreciate what the show was trying to do to keep Arrow fresh and interesting even if it seemed to bite off more than it could chew at some points. Did I enjoy it as much as season 2? Honestly no, however I still think Arrow season 3 was a very good season of television. Take my opinion for what it is, a very biased opinion from a fan of the show but for what it’s worth I thought it was really good. It had its problems for sure but they definitely do not hold Arrow back enough to make the show any less than really good.

Arrow Season 3 Episode 23 - My Name is Oliver Queen Review

Arrow Season 3 Episode 23 – My Name is Oliver Queen Review

Well it’s over … I miss is already.

 

Episode 23 was the finale of season 3 and featured team Arrow reunited to try to prevent Ra’s al Ghul using the bioweapon to destroy Starling City. Meanwhile in the flashbacks we see the aftermath of the unleashed bioweapon as well as the death of Akio.

 

There has been a very mixed response for this episode. Overall I have to say I really enjoyed it. I thought it was exciting, paced well and had some great action set pieces. As an episode of television it did its job. This is the finale of Arrow however, a show that has captured many of us and a show I’m sure everyone reading this really does love. When I was watching it I was really into it, looking back I can see some issues however.

 

I’ll start with the good stuff and as always Arrow delivered some really string and powerful scenes. I’ve seen quite a lot of complaints over the fight scene between Oliver and Ra’s however I thought it was very well done. The choreography was quick and entertaining and the chant in the background was excellent, really adding to the mood and size of the scene. I thought it ended well too, I remember thinking last week it would be really cheesy to have Ra’s get stabbed through the chest in the same way Oliver was however now I’ve seen it I like how it was done. It signified the arc and progression Oliver has made throughout the season, he truly has become something else. While I don’t necessarily thing killing off Ra’s was a good idea I liked how he died with dignity and never lost that class and presence even in death. He was a fantastic villain this season and did the impossible of not being a disappointment in comparison to Slade Wilson.

 

The strongest character in this episode for me was Diggle. A lot of team Arrow forgave Oliver very quickly over what he did but I liked seeing it continue to grate on Diggle. He shook Oliver’s hand at the end but even then you could see Diggle hadn’t forgotten about what Oliver did to his wife and the trust he broke. It really came across how he felt let down by it all and really I think he’s completely right to think so. We all know Diggle is a great character, the voice of reason, our eyes into this insane world and really the glue that hold everything together and this was another great episode. More than anything else I’m glad with so many characters Diggle still holds focus as I’m always glad when he’s in a scene.

 

I liked the flashbacks this week. I think it did a good job of explaining what happened to Tatsu and Maseo’s characters and I honestly found it quite emotional at times. I liked the comparison between Maseo and Oliver both in some way becoming a monster and up until the ending I thought it was quite well done. The problem isn’t really to do with this flashback, rather the ones leading up to it. This had some really big moments and should have been really impactful, the problem is that the flashbacks leading up to this one haven’t been great and thus haven’t invested me in what’s going on. Purely as a single episode however I thought this week’s flashbacks were good.

 

The Flash had a really enjoyable crossover in this episode, a lot of what he said really made me laugh. It amuses me to think what the assassins must be thinking after being taken out in a fraction of a second before hearing some smartass talking about the cool hot tub. I think The Flash is great and apart from being fun his appearance did a good job of showing the juxtaposition between Oliver and Barry and how they do things. The whole episode in fact had some fun moments, the one that stands out to me is when Captain Lance said the city’s under attack, it must be May.

 

Arrow has some really strong characters so I’m not going to ramble about how Laurel, Thea, Malcom and Ray are good well developed characters but I do enjoy seeing all the members of team Arrow interact. It’s fun but it’s also serious when it needs to be and watching the team do what it does is enjoyable in itself.

 

I mentioned problems with the episode earlier, some of my more nitckpicky one were how it was a little cheesy at times, the part where Felicity used the Atom suit to save Oliver springs to mind. Felicity still isn’t that great character she was in season 2, she was kind of summed up when she wanted Ray to save Oliver over an entire city. I’m also not pleased about Ra’s al Ghul dying. While the fight was done well and I’m glad we’ve seen Oliver progress as well as overcome that mental block to allow him to defeat Ra’s., I just don’t think he should’ve died. He’s Ra’s al Ghul, one of the most dangerous men on the planet after all.

 

My biggest problem however is Oliver and Felicity driving off into the sunset. It just seemed really cliché and while I know they’ll come back and there is going to be a season 4 and Oliver Queen isn’t going to stay retired I can’t help but think this will slow down the start to next season but more importantly this seemed like a big last ever episode of Arrow moment with Oliver finally coming to terms with who he is and what he has become and is now happy for it. I’m not against the Oliver Felicity romance, I just don’t want to see it end at some point into next season and then be forgotten. This would really undermine the arc of season 3 as well as negate the point of the drama.

 

There were some big twists in the episode and the significant one I haven’t yet mentioned is Malcom becoming the new Ra’s al Ghul. This is what made the former Ra’s death okay to me, Malcom is a great character, one who we can never quite be sure of the intentions and it makes you wonder if this was his plan all along. It does make me look forwards to an league of assassins based stories in the future, especially after the scene with him and Nyssa

 

So overall the finale was a good one. It was entertaining, enjoyable and did a good job of bringing this up and down season to a close. It wasn’t perfect by any means but one thing’s for sure, I am looking forwards to Arrow season 4.

Arrow Season 3 Epsidoe 20 - The Fallen Review

Arrow Season 3 Episode 20 – The Fallen Review

So many emotional goodbyes.

 

The Fallen followed the consequences of Thea being killed by Ra’s al Ghul. Team Arrow head to Nanda Parbat as Oliver trades his life for Thea’s and agreed to become heir to the demon.

 

This episode was phenomenal, I really enjoyed it. I’m going to say it, Ra’s al Ghul has reached the same level as Deathstroke in terms of being awesome. He’s such a great villain but for entirely different reasons. Ra’s is like a master chess player, everything he does is methodically thought out and he always knows exactly what to say and do. He also however has depth and we heard a little of his backstory but more importantly he thinks he’s doing what’s best for the world. He’s not just a mindless killer he thinks the world is cruel and wants to change it for the better and he managed to break Oliver into becoming irrational. He has such a presence whenever he’s on screen, he’s a delight to watch.

 

Nanda Parbat itself has a great atmosphere to it. It’s fun to have a little change from Starling City from time to time and the atmosphere to Nanda Parbat really fit the mood. I also really enjoyed the ritual scene with Thea coming back to life. It felt really intense and the chanting made the situation seem a whole lot bigger. I also appreciated being told about the origin of the word assassin.

 

This was an episode that revolved heavily around the relationship between Felicity and Oliver and I do think it was done well. They have been building up to this for a very long time and I think it was a good way to send them off in different directions. I really enjoyed the scene with Felicity talking to Ra’s, it highlighted that strong character we’ve all known over the seasons and showed us as Ra’s said the fire within her. I liked how even with the emotional goodbye while getting all the necessary emotion across she still made Oliver chuckle slightly, for me that’s what her character is all about. Also is you’re an Olicity fan then you can rejoice in happiness now. I’m not an Olicity fan as being an 18 year old guy I’m far too pretentious and uber masculine to appreciate romance but I do think they have good chemistry and they’re talks are good to watch.

 

Speaking of talks there were a lot of them in this episode and they all hit the mark. All the deep one to one conversations got across the tone and purpose they were trying to. It makes us feel sorry for characters and it makes us respect them more. In particular, Felicity talking to Ra’s as I’ve already mentioned but also Diggle talking to Maseo and the rather fitting farewell scene towards the end. Diggle talking to Maseo was a real eye opener in terms of why Maseo is where he is and how great Diggle is. A lot happened in this episode and I’m glad they integrated Diggle in so well. Diggle is great as that wise older brother type character and I loved how he picked on the weakness of a mighty assassin. I thought it was great how a talk with Diggle is what convinced Maseo to let Team Arrow go. The farewell scene was very touching, not only with Felicity but with Diggle too.

 

Finally for the good stuff, Malcom Merlin is such a badass. His actions scenes were great but more than that every time he’s on screen you take notice.  He is acted excellently and he’s such an interesting character to see progress.

 

Negatives time. Flashbacks … yeah, they’re not good anymore. In season 2 they all linked in to what was going on in the present with Deathstroke and Sarah. Now they don’t really connect to what’s going on in the present, the pacing is a bit off and it doesn’t really feel like a connected ark. I think they’re getting to something but it feels like multiple paths that will eventually overlap rather than one continuing arc. I won’t carry on complaining about the flashbacks but it was worth mentioning.

 

I wanted them to go into the effects of the Lazarus pit on Thea a bit more. There was that bit where she jumped out and attacked Oliver but other than that she barely had a line. I realise they will go into the side effects of being resurrected more later on and in the next season but they could’ve had a bit more to it.

 

Finally the lack of Laurel bugged me. I really think she should’ve had some sort of goodbye to Oliver and the small glance we saw of her comforting Felicity and her acting calmly to console her friend despite how awful she must have felt really highlighted how far she’s come as a character. On the bright side she had some great scenes with Cisco on the Flash, she was really quite charming and fun which is far away from the Laurel we all remember from seasons 1 and 2. She was enjoyable, had some funny lines (Especially when she said she’d kill him) and that photo was hilarious, the look on Cisco’s face was priceless.

 

I’ve gone of topic so overall what did I think?  This was a brilliant episode I thought, it really tied together some of the plot threads created this season as well as set up Arrow for the future with Oliver becoming a member of the league of assassins. I really look forward to seeing where they go with this and whether he returns to Starling for the start of season 4. Yep so overall great episode and I’ as excited as ever. Now I’m going to sit here … and wait around for next week for The Flash and Arrow … I should get some friends or something.