WHAT I LIKED AND DISLIKED ABOUT ARROW SEASON 2?
The best thing about Arrow season 2 in my opinion is the friendship between Slade and Oliver. In addition to this, even when they were strangers in season 1 you can tell the two have something special when Slade was training Oliver roughing him up a bit: hitting him with Escrima Sticks. It was nice to see where Oliver came from before he became the killing machine in the present day.
I dislike Slade as the villain of season 2 and a villain of Oliver's because I have seen their relationship grow in the flashbacks. It makes me miss what they were and also at times Manu Bennet overacts as the bad guy; I guess if he toned down his bad guy acting then maybe he would be more appealing. I guess if he acted more like the Slade from the Titans TV show on DC Universe that might have been better. The only thing that we can hope for is that we will see more of Slade as a good guy in the Crisis crossover or he could appear in the new spin-off series: Green Arrow and the Canaries, either way, it's a win-win.
Another thing that I didn’t like is Caity Lotz as Sara Lance: the Canary, the reason being is that every time she is the focus in some episodes; she would tense her chin and it just looked strange. Caity Lotz didn’t do this in DC’s Legends of Tomorrow and that’s why I prefer her in this show, not Arrow. However, her acting has improved since Arrow and I’m glad she found a way to stay in the Arrowverse family, I can’t wait to see her in the Crisis Crossover.
What I didn’t like about Sara Lance's relationship with Oliver, since season 1, is in the flashbacks Oliver had kept a picture of Laurel to remind him about the love he lost. This plot and feeling of love should have stayed with Oliver over to season 2, even when Laurel said that Oliver and she should just be friends after Tommy died at the end of season 1. Sara should have supported Oliver to guide him back to Laurel, if this would have happened then fans of the comics and fans of the show would have been very happy, if this happened it wouldn’t just have been fan service.
Moira Queen is another very interesting character, I wished that CW didn’t kill her off in episode 20; it would have been nice to see Moira surviving knowing about Oliver’s secret life as the Arrow. This would have given Arrow another point as to why he isn’t just a carbon copy of Batman. If CW wanted to get rid of Moira then Oliver could have sent her away somewhere safe where she wouldn’t get hurt, similar to the situation between Supergirl and her mother where she was living on another planet safe from the destruction of Krypton. I understand why CW killed off Moira in season 2. It was to give Oliver the motivation to continue to save Starling/Star City. But, she could have been a living motivation like Paul Blackthorne's Quentin Lance. I know that Quentin Lance also died at the end of season 6. However, he did live longer than Moira Queen.
The good thing is that not every character in Arrow stays dead, they come back in one form or another. Tommy has come back as a ghost and doppelganger of his Earth 1 counterpart, Moira and Robert: Oliver’s father has been seen in flashbacks and other Earths. And I’m sure we will see them again at the end of Arrow season 8 in a vision or DC’s version of Heaven.
Lastly, the major issue I had with this season is the Mirakuru soldiers. They are supposed to be unstoppable yet they are taken down easily with explosive arrows; they are supposed to have a healing factor but that never kicked in. In conclusion, even with the things I disliked about season 2, it was still a whole lot of fun to watch.
great episodes of season 6
Episode 21: Docket No. 11-19-41-73
This episode is great for the first two reasons it re-introduces both Tommy Merlyn and the Human Target surprisingly and besides from the start of the episode, there haven’t been action sequences throughout, but a great plot. I must praise Arrow for this because usually in season 6 almost every episode had an action sequence to engage the audience, but this time it wasn’t like that; Arrow engaged us with a great story. Besides the great story, there was great acting by all the actors especially Stephen Amell, as usual.
Additionally, Felicity was great this time being by Oliver’s side through his trial, she wasn’t angry but cared for Oliver, and when she does that she becomes a great character. Another character who was great was Rene. In season 6 he previously went against Oliver to save himself from going to prison and from leaving his daughter Zoe alone. Now in this episode, he feels guilty for doing that so he tried to get NTA to lie to the Jury to prevent Oliver from going to prison. This didn’t work as Diaz used Zoe as leverage for Rene to tell the Jury the truth that Oliver is the Green Arrow. This episode was also great as it was the turning point for Earth 2 Laurel to becoming a good person and a hero. However, this doesn’t exactly fair well for her as she becomes a target of Diaz, this leads to one of the saddest moments of the series in the season finale. In conclusion, even though this episode had little action the plot carried the episode.
Episode 15: Doppelganger
This episode features one of many re-introductions of Roy Harper in the series. Also re-introduces Thea as Speedy. The episode starts with Oliver’s Lawyer saying that she can get Oliver’s case dismissed as he is being tried because of his actions as the Green Arrow. This episode is also the first time that Earth 2 Laurel introduces herself as Earth 1 Laurel so it would be hard for Dinah to kill her since Laurel now is a public figure. Later in the episode, the Star City District Attorney announces that he has a witness Roy Harper who will testify that Oliver is the Green Arrow and Team Arrow tries to save Roy from Diaz.
The use of lighting in this episode is amazing. Especially when Roy is being held by Diaz, Oliver using his firework arrow, and near the end of the episode where Team Arrow saves Roy. When they were rescuing Roy there was a fight sequence, Oliver and Diggle shared the same arrow stabbing Diaz’s thugs. This made me engaged in the episode because of the unique action. In addition, you get to see Diaz’s fighting skills first hand as he is training his thugs in his lair, in a wide shot with amazing blue lighting. There was also a cool shot transition when Thea picked up her bow from a stand in the bunker and then she was immediately wearing her Speedy suit appearing in a different location. In conclusion, this episode was one of the best of season 6 because of Roy's return, the action sequences, and the use of lighting.
What’s wrong with season 5 of Arrow
Don’t get me wrong Arrow season 5 is a great season with great action and great storytelling, but recently watching it, I found it slightly boring. The reason being is that I might have seen season 5 one too many times, but even then it shouldn’t be boring. Another reason might be because Prometheus was pretty much done before in a better way with Malcolm Merlyn’s Dark Archer. I think this season would have been more interesting if Prometheus was never revealed to be Adrian Chase. This would have been great because, in my opinion, it would have made the villain scarier and the series would have presented a different, new story. Another issue that I had with the season is Oliver going to Russia in the flashbacks. I know that the writers had no choice but to bring Oliver to Russia because of events that unfolded in season 4, but it would have been nice to have Oliver stay on the island because then it would slightly follow events in the comics; which is what everyone was asking for.
In Addition to the problem I have with Oliver in Russia in the flashbacks, is Oliver being the Mayor in the present day. Although this was nice, Oliver being Mayor to gather intel for Green Arrow, it would have been nice to see Oliver still be a rich playboy giving sense to how he was able to build and create all his tech for the Green Arrow; with the help of Felicity. I understand that Oliver being Mayor follows the comics and maybe the reason why it was written that way for the TV show was to distance the character from Batman. Maybe Oliver being Mayor would have served the series better if this happened in season 6 and Ruve Adams became Mayor in season 4 and 5, also being the big bad for those seasons. I understand that she was Mayor for a short while in season 4, but what if she was Mayor for a majority of that season and the season after? Ruve Adams being Mayor and the big bad would have made a new dynamic for the series, as the usual big bads have been male until season 7 with Emiko Queen. With Ruve not only being Mayor but the main villain of the 2 seasons gives the character power and control of Star City alike Ricardo Diaz in season 6.
To be honest I think CW made a huge mistake not green lighting the Green Arrow and Canaries TV series. As not only it would put heroines in the spot light for DC and CW, but they miss a chance to possibly give a great female big bad its day. Sure we had Emiko Queen in season 7 but most fans didn't like her as a character.
In conclusion, there are many things that Arrow season 5 made right and made wrong but I guess fan-fiction will serve those fans who want something different.
Problems with Arrow season 6 episode: 14 Collision Course that aren't that big of a deal
Casual viewers and fans alike have said that this episode is one of the worst. Because of three major things; Dinah Drake overacting when she is angry, the final battle scene between NTA and OTA because it was filmed in the dark; it would have been better though if filmed during the daytime. Lastly, there is tension between the two different teams.
In my opinion, I don’t think that the episode is that bad. I don’t think those three issues are big problems. I think that, understandably, Dinah Drake is so angry because Black Siren killed her boyfriend, so if someone killed my loved one I would be angry too and maybe want to kill the person responsible.
I didn’t have an issue with the fight scene between NTA and OTA that was filmed in the dark because you can change the brightness setting on Netflix; on your phone and PC. It's possible CW ran out of time and they had no choice but to film the battle scene at night. Lastly, I didn’t have a problem with the tension between the two different teams because it makes the future forgiveness and truce between the teams all that sweeter. Overall I think these three issues are not that bad. It was perfectly reasonable why they were written and filmed that way.
