Arrow S02E01 – Review

By: Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, Marc Guggenheim (story)

The Story: Nothing like a good island getaway to relieve the stress of a devastated hometown.

The Review: Even though the first season of Arrow came with all the growing pains every new show experiences as it settles on its voice, it built a lot of confidence with viewers like me because it not only knew exactly what kind of story and tone it wanted, but it also had the humility to make changes as needed.  That makes Arrow’s second season job much easier, when the goal is to capitalize on early strengths while rejiggering the things that didn’t quite work.

The cold open does both tasks at once and thus sets a good for the rest of the episode.  No matter how poignant Ollie’s interactions with his family or intriguing his romance with Dinah, the relationship that truly drives the show is the dynamic between Ollie, Diggle, and Felicity.  Kicking off the season with Diggle and Felicity (now promoted to series regular), skydiving towards Lian Yu and barely escaping death by land mine thanks to a grappling-line rescue by Ollie, makes for a very good start indeed.

Things just get better from there.  Perhaps in recognition that Ollie’s excessive, self-protective, Hamlet-esque brooding was one of the weakest parts of last season, Berlanti-Kreisberg-Guggenheim dispense with his usual resistance to hard facts and let him expose his vulnerabilities instead.  Only with Diggle and Felicity, and their potent blend of sympathy and no-nonsense attitude, can Ollie achieve this kind of raw, emotional honesty, which ultimately leads to a complete revision of his mission statement.

It’s significant that the episode starts with Felicity and Diggle insisting that they need Oliver Queen, not the Hood, to return to the city, and then ends with Ollie giving up the Hood alias with a clear sense of relief—for us, too.  The first season tended to blur his heroic status by constantly pushing him towards unsavory choices (leading Felicity to burst out, in a moment of frustration, “Since when do you care [about the body count]?”).  His newfound desire to find “another way” of saving Starling City feels like a natural and necessary step towards true heroism, bridging the gap between his television persona and the one comic book lovers know and admire.

It’s also a remarkably good choice to frame Ollie’s changes as a way to honor his fallen best friend.  The first season treated Tommy rather badly by reducing his role on the show mostly to innocent bystander, then rewarding his moment of glory with a painful death.  But using that to shift Ollie from honoring his father’s vendetta to honoring his best friend’s goodness is a fitting way to keep Tommy’s spirit alive in the show.

This kind of evolution extends beyond Ollie’s vigilante work and even beyond Ollie himself.  Ollie’s interactions with his mother and sister feel more credible than ever, though they come short of the emotions at work in Thea and Moira’s prison-setting reconciliation.  Thea and Roy’s relationship has matured beyond the chaotically sexual point—actual honesty, emotional support!—and more importantly, they’re getting their acts together as individuals, which is a big step up from their aimless lives last season.  Dinah* is moving on and finding some balance in appeasing Ollie’s overtures of friendship while staying true to the fallout of her last boyfriend’s death.  Even Detective Lance and Walter** seem like they have interesting paths going forward.

In terms of plot, there’s a lot to look forward to this season.***  Ollie is correct in saying that the city still needs saving, only now you believe it a whole lot more.  Compared to the vaguely defined, rarely seen injustices of last season, the crime and power struggles left in the wake of the Glades’ destruction are much more pervasive throughout the episode.  The introduction of Isabel Rochev, would-be owner of Queen Industries, affords the show an opportunity to put Ollie’s company to better use than a front for either vigilantism or city-wide destruction.  And the island flashbacks are always good for injecting some survival action after a slow scene, with the trio of Ollie, Shado, and Slade making a good contender for second-best trio on the show.

Conclusion: First season was good, but second season looks to be even better.  The premiere demonstrates that it recognizes both its strengths and weaknesses, and is working hard at bolstering the former and winnowing out the latter.

Grade: A-

– Minhquan Nguyen

Some Musings: * And yes, I’m still calling her Dinah because that is in fact her name.  This Laurel thing just seems like a pointless pretense to me.

** I was as surprised as anyone else by my delighted reaction to Walter’s return.  I’m just inordinately fond of that buttoned-up yet affectionate guy.

*** Especially on the superhero front.  I’m interested in how the writers plan to compromise the presence of two different actresses playing Dinah and Black Canary.