Arrow Season 1 Review


Arrowverse Begins.
So I have finished re-watching the first season of Arrow and can now summarise my views on what I believe to be a solid debut for the Emerald Archer.
Oliver's crusade is great to watch throughout the 23 episode season and he really develops as a character, opening up to let Diggle, Felicity and Laurel in. His character arc is brilliant as he becomes less cruel in his treatment of bad guys and gradually adapts to his double life. Other standout characters this season include Diggle, Slade Wilson and Moira Queen, all of whom put in performances that deserve mention.
The overall plot of the series revolved around first the List and then later the Undertaking and the Dark Archer behind it. The List was a good entry point, but grew stale so I'm glad they adapted it to become more of a background aspect than the core driving force, as Oliver's list later involved different story-lines which his targets became caught up in. The final showdown between the Hood and the Dark Archer was great, as was the dramatic ending with the Glades earthquake and Tommy's death. Grounded in reality as best as could be expected, the story-line is fun but also dark and realistic.
The same can be said about the majority of the villains faced by Oliver in season one. Deadshot is brilliant and I look forward to seeing him in the future. The Count was also a fun repeat offender and Arrow certainly benefits from recurring villains, something I hope the show-runners continue to include in the future. Some villains such as the Huntress and Firefly were disappointing comic book adaptations, but it was still nice that the CW provided such fan service.
The only problem with some of these villains was that they would pop up for a single episode, thus their character arc would feel rushed and their motives often hollow. The show needs to find a better way of pacing it's long episode list so that the quality doesn't dip so regularly.
The flashbacks this season were fun in that they showed the initial shipwreck, although Edward Fyers was a largely forgettable villain. The best parts of the flashbacks were seeing Slade Wilson in any situation and also watching Oliver adapt to the island and become more violent as time progressed.
Overall, I loved the first season of Arrow. I'm gutted Tommy died but the ending was perfect and the action sequences thrilling throughout. This series will always be remembered for it's grounding in reality, which later seasons and Arrowverse shows would disregard as the multiverse expands and magic/powers become common. This is what makes season one so unique and it's hard not to fall for its ruggish charm. With many more seasons and different TV shows to go, the Arrowverse has begun and it I can't wait to continue to explore it!

 RATING: 8.3/10

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