Let's talk about last seasons new start and complete success the CW's Arrow. So after Smallville, a show about the early years of Clark Kent and how he became the man of steel, we get an show about the story of Green Arrow.
First off I love comics since so many years but always was more a Marvel guy. For a few this is probably blasphemy but I just never could identify with the all perfect Superman with practically limitless powers who could disguise himself just by putting on glasses or the all loved batman, who just happens to have every nice gadget in his utility belt and has a thing for young boys in costumes, at DC. But I still have a knowledge of the DC universe specially since the new 52, which brought us so awesome books like Batman, Aquaman(never thought I would say his name in an good context) or Wonder Woman. Really everyone who has no clue what I'm talking about should look those books up.
But even after the relaunch of the DC universe as we knew it, the Green Arrow book still couldn't win me over yet. Now just so that nobody is confused Green Arrow is the guy with bow and arrow(duh!), completely dressed in green, like Robin Hood,Peter Pan or the mention of honor Link. I say this because of last years big,big and great Avengers movie. In this film there is this archer who is kind of Marvels version of green arrow, called Hawkeye. I really don't know who was there first and I don't care, they have different origin stories and every comic fan need to buy the ongoing Hawkeye book, which is the book I always looking the most forward to. The art, the Storytelling, Clint Barton und Kate Bishop (Young Avenger's Hawkeye), this book is as goods as it gets.
So now to the real deal, the reason why we are here, Arrow. Our main character/huntsman is Oliver Queen, a billionaires son, playboy and as irresponsible as it gets (Bruce Wayne anybody?). He lives in another fictional city of the DC universe, like Gotham City or Metropoles, Starling City. The story starts off with Oliver, his father and Oliver's girlfriend's sister going on a boat trip on the Queen owned yacht Queens Gambit (yeah awesome name right). Wait what? Yeah you I said, he took his girlfriends sister on the boat trip and not just for the view I guess. So this is the guy we should be rooting for?, this is a question I found myself asking numerous times through out the season. It's actually a reason I like him, his character isn't black nor white and after the hell he is been through some things he does got more understandable.
Speaking of hell, here it comes. A big storm is coming and the Queens Gambit is right in there. Additionally some essential part on board breaks which is leading to the sinking of the Queen's Gambit. And with it the poor girl, which apparently never heard of the Chick-Code or even the Sister-Code(ok i made that one up). The only survivors are Oliver, his dad and one no-name crew member in an tiny rescue boat. They floating on open waters for days with almost no water or food. When the group agreed to share their water things get out of hand. Mr.Queen gets all cryptical tells his son that he himself had failed his city that Oliver had to survive and right his wrongs then shot the no-name and finally himself in the head. Important to mention Oliver found a small little empty mysterious book (lots of adjectives) in his dad's pocket, this is getting more important later on. This point would probably be the end of every real life story but this is a comic book / Tv show so after some time Oliver stranded on an not really civilized island. Side note: Are there still lonely not civilized islands out there?, and I'm certainly not meaning the comedic boy-band.
I have to mention there are two main stories which are running through this show. One begins five years in the past with Oliver's arrival on the island and the other one is the narrative here and now, when a guy in a green hood is running through the woods of the same lonely island, looking at a ship at the coast then shooting an arrow to ignite a signal fire. This hood guy is of course an hugely trained up and unshaven Oliver Queen. And so the real story begins with Oliver Queens comeback to Starling City after 5 years on that island. If anyone screams: "Batman Begins" right now, you are right. The similarities are quite obvious but not only for the story, the whole tone of the show is almost openly lend on the image Christopher Nolan created with his Batman Saga. As a fan of the Nolan trilogy and the "realistic" scenario, for super hero movie standards, he built, I won't complain.
Of course I won't talk about every single of the 24 episodes, specially when in the middle of the season there are many case of the week episodes, but I have to talk about a few special characters and storylines that appear through out the season. I will talk about those things in part 2 because it probably would be useful to establish the status quo first.
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| Thea, Diggle, Oliver, Tommy, Laurel |
Oliver Queen comes back to Starling City what happens? Of course the whole media goes nuts, that's practically a given. But the first thing Mr Queen has to do is getting checked up by Doctors, which are telling his mother, Moira Queen, about the many scars and wounds Oliver collected over the time of is island visit and to be carefully about his mental state, cause the long holiday probably changed Oliver. Well, back home at the Queen villa we come to know Oliver's little sister Thea Queen and Walter Steele, the former best friend of Oliver's Dad and new husband of Moira. All are so happy to have Oliver back, but it's almost impossible not to notice the change Oliver went through in those years. It just feels like he has problems talking to his once so well known family. But the family has other problems as well, like Thea rebelling against their parents and living the young careless playboy(girl) life Oliver once embraced. Also Moira isn't the only thing Walter took over from his best friend, he is now also some sort of CEO of Queen Industry. Eventually Oliver had to be reminded who he once was, so his former best friend Tommy Merlin enters the scene. The two were like brothers and lived a very simular life, only that Tommy is still living it. Obviously he wants to celebrate and so the two of them drove to the city. Where the were kidnapped ,in not even 2 freaking seconds, to question Oliver about his long timed vacation. This is were the show starts to show off what Oli is capable of. He freed himself, fought and hunted down the attackers, while Tommy still captured and blindfolded was made believe a mysterious third person rescued them. The Family and the Police thinks this was just a normal kidnapping, because in the glades, a very poor and dirty part of the city, things like this just happen. But why should they question Oliver about the island then?
Well Oliver sure learned a lot on the island and he uses this abilities for his own agenda. Means he searches one of his dad's old industry buildings and trains like a crazy. He even throws a basket of tennis balls in the air and shoots them with arrows, pinning them right into the wall for god's sake. After that he dresses up into his green hood and goes out to fight some evil gang members or drugdealers or whatever. Unfortunately it's not that simple, the little book old Mr Queen left has a long list of powerful people who failed the city big way, so the Hood, thats what the police calls him through the whole season, finds them, gives them a change to quit and finally get rid of them. And thats another grey area for this show. Oliver doesn't seem like he has issues killing bad people either with arrows or with his fists, he really has way more problems playing his old self in front of other people.
But Olivers life isn't complicated enough so there are several other key players in his life. After the abduction Moira hired a personal bodyguard. John Diggle is his name, he served in Afghanistan and honestly seems like a good man, which is I guess why he has a hard time with Oliver at the start. You remember the girl on the Queen's Gambit? good. She was Laurel Lance's sister, seriously DC enough with the L's (Lana Lang, Louise Lane). So Laurel must have been Oliver's girl friend back then. In those 5 years of time skip Laurel became an city attorney, but when they first meet again she is still just mad at him for taking away his sister, which in my opinion is more than satisfied. At last there is Quentin Lance, Laurel's father and Police Detective. He hated the Queen's from the beginning, so after they are kind of responsible for his daughters death and his wife couldn't take the loss and left, his work is all he has to life for and of course his still living daughter.
Yeah that's it. The status quo of the show. Oliver Queen at day playboy, at night crossing names of his fathers bad guy list and shooting arrows into people. The next time I will talk more about the characters and how their stories develop to the big season final.
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