Arrow: A Fanbros Guide

CW’s Arrow: A Fanbros Guide

What up Fanbros! It’s me The Boman back again to bring you another Fanbro’s guide, this time on the CW breakout hit Arrow. Which is well on its way to finishing its second season on a bang, if I may add. What is Arrow you ask? Is the hype true? In this new golden renaissance of TV, is Arrow worth your time? Well you’re in luck, The Boman12L got you covered. Will I be speaking in the third person the whole time? Naw, this guide will be in Q&A format like last time, so let get it!

Note: This guide is mostly spoiler free, lightly referencing a few points from Season one and very little of Season two.

Ok Arrow, what is this, some Hunter Games rip off?

Take the title and add “Green” in front and you get (Green) Arrow.

OK so what’s it about?

Billionaire playboy Oliver Queen was lost at sea after a yachting trip with his father ended in disaster during a huge storm. Oliver would be the only survivor and soon wash up on an island where he would spend the next five years. Somehow, Oliver makes it back home to Sterling City, where he becomes a vigilante ruthlessly killing the city’s criminal underground, following a list in a journal provided by his dead father.

That kind of sounds a little emo. Is it emo?

No not at all. That’s just the show’s first main arch.

Over time, how Oliver tackles crime and his role in Sterling City changes. It’s more a “coming a hero” tale. Oliver has to determine the lines he’s willing to cross, all while building allies and creating enemies. Contrasted with his rich family’s first world problems, like his sister’s growing drug habit or his mother maybe being secretly evil.

Yes it’s interesting to watch Oliver as  “The Hood” and experience how that affects his life, but perhaps what is more surprising are the secrets and revelations his friends and family hold. Like many modern shows, there are over arching plots and events throughout the season. Almost double considering Arrow‘s branching narrative. So even the more episodic episodes tie into the main story. It does not share the same feelings of “bad guy of the week” like on Agents of S.h.I.E.L.D. The show has a nice ebb and flow, skilfully break up dramatic movement and brisk action scenes to keep audiences engaged.

Say we believe you, what’s a normal episode like?

Most episodes of Arrow tell two independent stories, split between timelines – the past and the present. The vast majority of these “flashbacks” chronicle Oliver’s time on the island. This isn’t always the case, as there are episodes were the flashbacks do not involve Oliver or the island at all. While it might sound as if these flashbacks are deviant tirades, they always line up thematically and contextually with the happenings of the present.

Parts of the episode that take place in the present normally follow Oliver, who appears to be readjusting to civilized life. Trying to be a supportive brother and son, while also trying to figure out where he stands with its on again off again girlfriend Laurel Lance. Who is mad at him, not only because he cheated on her with her own sister, but got that same sister killed in the yachting trip that got him stranded on that island for five years. To say things between the two are complicated would be am understatement.

Oh yes, he also spends his nights brutality hunting down and killing criminals in the dopess ways possible. For a show on a broadcast network, the CW (and WB) has given it a very good budget. The cast is enjoyable, it’s shot well, has a distinctive style, fight choreography is great and they love to blow up things with practical effects.

The cast hm… So who are we looking at?

Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) title character, wears a green hood and shoots arrows, also has rich kid problems
Moira Queen (Susanna Thompson) Oliver’s Mother has more world ending secrets than her son. Remarried her husband’s best friend so things get awkward when Oliver returns from not being “dead.”
Slade Wilson (Manu Bennett) Oliver best friend while trapped on the island. Hate’s that “godforsaken” island like nobody’s business.
Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards) Bookish smart securities expert that works for Oliver’s company. Brought on the “Arrow team” later.
Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy) Oliver first love who he can’t help but keep disappointing in many different ways. Public defender for Sterling city, one of the first to see the good in “The Hood.”
Detective Lance (Paul Blackthorne) Dislikes Oliver because he’s a smug rich kid and also got his other daughter killed. He’s a good cop not afraid to ruffle some feathers, but will not cross lines like “The Hood.” Detective Lance is originally tasked with hunting down The Hood and bringing him in, but things change in session 2.

What about “the Fanbro factor”

One word: Diggle

John Diggle (David Ramsey), a new character created for the show, is basically a foil for Oliver. A former Marine, now working private security for the Queen family, he’s just as capable as The Hood and the first to learn Oliver’s Sercet and brought on the team. Diggle is the embodiment of cool and someone Oliver can trust. He’s well developed and even takes the lead in a few episodes.

Black Dynamite himself, Michael Jai White makes a few cameos has the Bronze Tiger and is badass as ever. Amanda Waller played by Cynthia Addai-Robinson, even shows up a few times.  There are plenty of good actors and actress in sufficient roles that Fanbros should be happy.

So it is it good?

Yes it’s good, Publix sandwich good.

Publix What?

Publix is supermarket/Pharmacy chain based in the south eastern US. They do BOGOS – lots of BOGOS. They also make awesome sandwiches. You have the whole deli at your fingertips!

I don’t understand how this relates to Arrow?

With every Publix sandwich, one can expect a baseline level of quality. However, depending on the deli worker preparing your sandwich, it can go from great to awesome. It’s the same with TV directors and writers, meaning Arrow is no different, you are mostly guaranteed a solid TV watching experience. Depending on the writer or director, a good episode can turn into something awesome.

So you only included that Sandwich reference so you could have that drawn out metaphor?

Yep.

Ok so why should I check out Arrow?

They make consistent quality television, unlike other shows and you don’t have to be all into Green Arrow lore to get invested. Another reason, WB seems to be using Arrow as a testing ground to bring other DC properties to television. And they are having better results than their film counterparts. The Flash had it’s pilot green lit because of it. Last week, they ran an episode about the Suicide Squad, this week’s will feature the Birds of Prey and going back to the end of Season one, show runners have been hinting at a major Batman crossover involving Ra’s al Ghul.

Arrow is a fine experience, still early in it’s run and easy to get into.

Also Season one is on Netflix, so you could easily catch up.