What's going on? What is actually going on? Is Arrow really back? I'm not talking about back on our screens but back to the Arrow we loved. If this episode is any indicator, I think this season could be a redemption story. Now I wasn't overly happy with season 4. It wasn't the worst TV I had ever seen but the back part of the season at times was a major train wreck. So that set my expectations low for this season, but I may need to rise them.
For an Arrow episode, this was amazing. It had the same feel as season 1 and 2 Arrow and I loved that. I thought as a premier itself it really handled itself well and did a fantastic job or reintroducing us to Arrow and allowing us to get a grip back onto where everything is at. I thought they did a great job tying in the end of last season with the Laurel statue and revealing the promise so early on. For someone who wasn't a massive fan of Laurel, it was still good to see that she plays a big role in Oliver's life and is essential the final push to convincing Oliver to form a new team.
I'm going to say something I haven't in a while, I thought the flashbacks were fantastic. I'll admit, I wasn't sold on them straight away and it had me worried. Then they did something I don't they have done since the early seasons, they directly tied in the small things of the flashbacks into the present story. I know there was the big tie in with the magic and the idols and all that but I'm talking about the small things like speaking Russian and being able to break out of hand restraints. These are things that he could of done in the present story and we wouldn't ask to many questions but because they built this back story around it, it makes the flashbacks feel like they are there for a reason again.
I really loved the action this episode. I know the action sequences have always been well executed in Arrow but they had a different feel then it's had before. I feel like we are getting a more mature Green Arrow. His fighting style feels a lot smarter and the way he is using his arrows have become more creative. I know over the past seasons we have seen him develop as a fighter but to me, this episode allowed Oliver's maturity as a fighter to stand out
The only downside I could pick from the episode was the last season we saw with Felicity. Overall I really liked how she was again presented as the tech person of the crew and I thought her bouncing off Curtis worked really well like last season but to see that we are going to potentially get more relationship drama again scares me. Hopefully it's not too overboard and doesn't come to much to the forefront of the season.
9/10
For an Arrow episode, this was amazing. It had the same feel as season 1 and 2 Arrow and I loved that. I thought as a premier itself it really handled itself well and did a fantastic job or reintroducing us to Arrow and allowing us to get a grip back onto where everything is at. I thought they did a great job tying in the end of last season with the Laurel statue and revealing the promise so early on. For someone who wasn't a massive fan of Laurel, it was still good to see that she plays a big role in Oliver's life and is essential the final push to convincing Oliver to form a new team.
I'm going to say something I haven't in a while, I thought the flashbacks were fantastic. I'll admit, I wasn't sold on them straight away and it had me worried. Then they did something I don't they have done since the early seasons, they directly tied in the small things of the flashbacks into the present story. I know there was the big tie in with the magic and the idols and all that but I'm talking about the small things like speaking Russian and being able to break out of hand restraints. These are things that he could of done in the present story and we wouldn't ask to many questions but because they built this back story around it, it makes the flashbacks feel like they are there for a reason again.
I really loved the action this episode. I know the action sequences have always been well executed in Arrow but they had a different feel then it's had before. I feel like we are getting a more mature Green Arrow. His fighting style feels a lot smarter and the way he is using his arrows have become more creative. I know over the past seasons we have seen him develop as a fighter but to me, this episode allowed Oliver's maturity as a fighter to stand out
The only downside I could pick from the episode was the last season we saw with Felicity. Overall I really liked how she was again presented as the tech person of the crew and I thought her bouncing off Curtis worked really well like last season but to see that we are going to potentially get more relationship drama again scares me. Hopefully it's not too overboard and doesn't come to much to the forefront of the season.
9/10