REVIEW #217 Arrow (8 Seasons)

Arrow follows the DC comics superhero Oliver Queen, also known as The Green Arrow. It explores his origin story, his life and many of his battles as Star City’s vigilante. It also ties into the other DC CW shows, with many crossovers with heroes such as The Flash, Supergirl, The Legends of tomorrow and even Superman.

Arrow, in my opinion, is the best show within the CW multiverse, formally known as the Arrowverse. I remember when it first aired, I was immediately hooked and for a show of that kind, it was incredibly dark. It summarises everything I love about DC property and it does that with a CW budget, which is pretty impressive to say the least. Across the 8 seasons they created incredible action sequences, several amazing character arcs and in the process created a universe where many DC heroes could hit our screens every week. I have rewatched the first 6 seasons several times but it was only on my latest rewatch where I finally finished it completely and boy are we taken on an emotional rollercoaster. I didn’t like how they turned Oliver into a spectre towards the end, he looked more like a cosmic Obi-Wan Kenobi than anything else. But nonetheless the emotional core remained and it did create a fitting end to the character that started it all. I must admit that the cross over events were usually the episodes I liked the least, mostly because it’s very hard to keep up with all of the individual CW shows but also because, with the budget constraints, it’s the more grounded characters like Green Arrow that work best. I found some of the multiverse storylines left a little to be desired in terms of CGI and VFX. So I definitely think the first four or five seasons were best because they felt like the most grounded. There is a fascinating line up of villains throughout the eight seasons but my favourites have to be; Deathstroke, because I love the whole arc behind his and Oliver’s relationship, then it would have to be Diaz because that was where we finally saw Oliver face true adversity when he was helpless behind bars. It’s hard to write an effective review to summarise an eight season show, there is always ups and downs with seasons I dislike more than others but as a whole I think the quality is pretty consistent. I would say that some of the villains were very similar, with similar tactics and motives and that left it feeling a little repetitive at times. But one thing that keeps you hooked is the friendships and relationships along the way, the ‘will they, won’t they’ behind the incredible love story between felicity and Oliver, the friendship with him and John and of course the many protégés Oliver trains along the way. There’s something for everyone to like and it’s a must watch for any fan of the genre. 

Overall (8.8/10)

Thanks for reading.

Callan