Jim’s Thoughts

Arrow’s return wasn’t as bad as Flash’s, but I think some of that is attributable to variety. There was plenty to pick on with “Who Are You.” Once again, Felicity is trying to be cute, and she’s allowed to take too much focus. If there was a good reason for her to be with the group when they confronted Black Siren and Prometheus, I didn’t catch it. All her presence did was give the writers a lazy excuse to distract Oliver and let Prometheus escape. As for her giving orders, I’m not buying it. Maybe you can argue that the group respects Felicity because she’s been the gentle hand coaching them through dealing with Oliver, but that doesn’t make her a field tactician.

Black Siren’s story went as expected. It feels like a cheat to keep Katie Cassidy (the actress) floating around and not technically “undoing” Laurel’s death, so it’s hard to take much interest there.

Diggle’s story is a little flat right now. The writers clearly don’t know much about the Uniform Code of Military Justice, but it’s the CW, not a Tom Clancy novel, and Dig’s story might be the most interesting thing going on right now, so I’ll forgive it.

Frankly, I’m just glad to see something happening on a CW show that isn’t driven by a romance angle. I’ve already had my fill of the many hump-buddies of Oliver and Felicity, so let’s start making Diggle a viable character again.

The recruits continue to be a weak spot here too. Wild Dog is becoming increasingly annoying, and it’s hard to believe in his potential when we’ve only ever seen him get his head handed to him. The same goes for the rest of the team. Curtis is supposed to be an Olympian, right? How is it that some kickboxing classes made Laurel into Black Canary, but being a world class athlete doesn’t mean Curtis can run without tripping over his own feet?

Here’s hoping the final confrontation with Prometheus pays off. The show seems to be stalling to drag that out, and the more that happens, the harder the let-down will be.

Kyle’s Take

Jim summed it up best with his first sentence, so I’ll paraphrase him. Arrow’s return wasn’t good, but at least it wasn’t this week’s Flash.

Arrow’s attempt to make Diggle a meaningful character is commendable, even if his story arc makes little sense, regarding military procedures. Arrow needs a story thread that isn’t driven by romance. I’ve had to watch Supergirl for my dose of a CW show devoid of bed hopping.

I don’t get why Wild Dog feels like he has the right to give Curtis a pep talk (about getting his butt kicked on the regular), when Wild Dog’s combat win percentage is close to Curtis’s. And why can’t Curtis kick butt? Arrow is more interested in making him a male version of Felicity that the show forgets he’s a world class athlete. Arrow’s lack of awareness comes off as insensitive to homosexuals, especially since Felicity, who kick boxes to stay in shape not take on baddies, got to deliver the knockout blow for this week’s villain. Move over, Felicity. That was Curtis’s win.

There really isn’t much left to say. I could find something good about this week’s Supergirl, Flash was dreadful, and Arrow had enough other things going on that it distracted its viewers from the fact that it suffers from the same huge problem as Flash. Both shows are dragging their feet to set up a big showdown. But Arrow’s more disappointing. It took its time with Deathstroke, giving that villain a slow boil that encompassed multiple seasons. I’d like to see any CW superhero show do that again, but I doubt Prometheus will last more than one season.

Wait. I can find something good about this week’s Arrow. I like this week’s episode title: “Who Are You.” I threw on The Who and jammed.

Thanks for reading.