Arrow: Season 2 (2013/14) - Written Review


After such a fantastic first season, I was left wondering where Arrow would go in its second, and the series surprised me in which direction it decided to go. Not only are the events of season one unforgotten, but they become an integral part of season two. Arrow: season two builds on what was learnt and the events of the first season to continue the story.
Season Two follows Oliver’s return to Starling City after six months back on Lian Yu mourning Tommy, when he finds that the whole city is in a worse state than when he left it after the Undertaking. Queen Consolidated is about to be taken over by the suspicious Isabel Rochev, Moira Queen is locked up in jail leaving Thea on her own, and crime is worse than ever. When Thea is kidnapped by a gang on thugs pretending to be the vigilante, Oliver decides to don the hood again, now calling himself the Arrow, and wish a fancy new bow takes to the streets to bring justice to his city.
The first thing I greatly admire about season two is that it is set six months after the Undertaking at the end of season one, and Starling City’s Glades are absolutely destroyed – an element that not only builds on the environment of Arrow but also proves to be a major crux in the season, with Sebastian Blood running for Mayor to fix the Glades, to get the power he wants, which causes Walter Steele and another party to encourage Oliver’s mother Moira to also run for Mayor with part of her campaign being that she is doing this for her children, as she is a strong person (even though none of the public should believe this as she says she was overpowered by Malcolm Merlyn, but whatever, they do). There is also the addition of Isabel Rochev, who is taking over Queen Consolidated in Moira Queen’s absence. This all of course is building up to Slade Wilson’s return, now as Deathstroke, to bring Oliver’s world crashing down on him.
However, the story of Season Two really is Oliver Queen’s trials and tribulations of being a hero. Since Tommy died believing him to be a murderer, Oliver has sought to fight crime without killing, which provides some interesting and tense situations. The big question running through the season finale isn't whether or not Oliver can stop Slade, it’s a matter of how he’s going to stop Slade. Will he break his vow of not killing?
The show provides some interesting and complex choices for its main character, and the stakes are built up for Oliver more so emotionally than just more stuff blowing up unnecessarily. Can he kill Slade though, as during the season he breaks his vow to not kill by killing Count Vertigo to save Felicity, although he would betray the vow he made to Tommy if he was to kill Slade, but then again Slade has already taken his mother’s life. It’s interesting to see the choices Oliver makes.
There’s a lot I can talk about with Arrow: season two, but the one thing right off the bat that I just have to talk about is just how fantastic the cast and characters are. Stephen Amell gets even more development time this season showing how he goes from being the ‘Vigilante’ of the first season to the Arrow in season two, and how he wins the trust of Starling City as not just a protector, but a hero. Oliver’s journey gives Amell a lot to work with, and he just shines throughout. The costume upgrades for Oliver also get rid of the strange eyeliner he had last season (which did bring up a few plot holes) and he also gets a cool new bow to fight crime with. He doesn't quite become the Green Arrow by the end of the season, but he’s definitely on his path to.
We also get to see Roy Harper’s arc into becoming the Arrow’s sidekick, with not-so-subtle hints and an interesting character dynamic explored between Roy and Oliver, as well as what happens between Roy and Thea, and his character, although perhaps annoying sometimes to some, goes on a real journey here, which will be interesting to see explored in Season three. Colton Haynes is great, and makes what could have been a very annoying character into a relatable and enduring one. Roy also ends up having a major part in the overarching plot of the season, and it was great to see him take up a bow, arrow and mask to fight the armies in the season finale.
While Roy spends most of the season becoming the Arrow’s sidekick, Arrow in the meantime gets Black Canary to contend with. The twist that the Canary was in fact Sara Lance back from the dead (and not from the dead as Oliver had described) could have worked really well as a great twist in the season, but sadly the fact that a new actress plays her – and incidentally looks completely different to the Sara we see in the flashbacks of season one – takes the impact of the twist away, and its difficult to see quite what lead her to becoming the Canary. She also appears in the flashbacks, yet already seems to be pretty much Black Canary save for the fight skills in those scenes, which doesn’t all add up in the end, which proves to be distracting as Canary has very little character development seen in the season.
Of course with John Barrowman barely appearing in the season, Manu Bennett is up for season villain as Deathstroke. The twist that Slade Wilson would become Deathstroke was sadly spoiled for me before I saw the season, which did annoy me, but I was left in the position of comic book fans, who knew that Slade would become Deathstroke, and it’s clear the season knew it would have that problem – they don’t focus too heavily on the fact that Slade Wilson became Deathstroke, more so on what lead him there. What lead him from being an Australian agent trapped on an island to becoming a full-on Supervillain, and his arc throughout the season is one of the best developed of Arrow so far. He also doesn’t just become evil, and it’s very clear that the Deathstroke you see destroying Starling City at the end of the season isn't the same Slade Wilson Oliver Queen met in plane wreckage on Lian Yu during the first season. Deathstroke not only looks awesome in his costume but comes across as an interesting and threatening adversary for the Arrow.
We also get to see some villain returns from last season with the Huntress, Deadshot and Count Vertigo with new additions including Bronze Tiger, Shrapnel, the Clock King as well as the formation of ARGUS’ Suicide Squad, lead by Amanda Waller. The actors are all good, although Sean Maher as Shrapnel seems to barely feature as a member of the Suicide Squad, and it’s a shame a potential spin-off with these characters has been ruined by the upcoming David Ayer film, which will sadly probably be much worse than a spin-off from Arrow.
Another addition is Isabel Rochev, played superbly by Summer Glau, who may seem like a waste of time for the best part of the season, but when her true motivations become clear she becomes a much better character and adversary for not just the Arrow but also Oliver Queen. Summer Glau at first may seem like an odd choice for the role, but I think the reveal that she was in fact working for Slade and was trained and ready to fight Oliver more than makes up for it.
The final character I want to talk about is Moira Queen – Oliver’s mother. Moira is a character that I feel the writers didn't know quite how to develop over the course of season one, with a lack of consistency in the writing. Was she evil? Was she good but enslaved by Merlyn? Was she in fact much worse than Merlyn? These questions don’t get much of an answer in this season either, although the mystery as to her true motivations is revealed – that she is in fact doing this for her children, Oliver and Thea. This provides a slightly sinister edge to her, as she would do anything to protect her children, including letting thousands of innocent people die. Her arc in season two is that of a redemption, although with that edge still in place – and when she is about to reveal all, of course she is silenced by Slade forever. Moira’s death is one of the most atmospheric and tense scenes in Arrow so far, with some brilliant acting from Stephen Amell and Willa Holland as well as some great directing. The scene really got to me, and the use of a Moira-centered flashback throughout the episode ending with her telling Oliver that she’d do anything to protect him is a fantastic line to end on. Its shows her care for her children, but it also shows a slightly evil edge as that is her motivation for everything she does. It’s interesting to watch.
As for the ending, well, we have Barry Allen set-up as the Flash earlier in the season, leading into The Flash spin-off series, with the promise of crossovers; we have Oliver Queen waking up in Hong Kong where he meets head of ARGUS Amanda Waller for the first time in the flashbacks; Thea is now going to train with her real father Malcolm Merlyn; and Roy and Oliver have become the heroes of Starling City, with Laurel set up to possibly take her sister’s place as Black Canary in Starling. This is a great way to end the season, and I look forward to taking a look at what season three has to offer...

Overall, Arrow: season two builds on what the first season set up and goes further into the story, exploring the characters and interesting storylines all carefully weaved together with the excellent writing. The acting is top-notch, the writing great, the directing fantastic and the season gets another brilliant score from the great Blake Neely. I think I prefer season two over season one, despite its flaws, so I’m intrigued to see whether season three can top this...

...watching it so far though, I don’t think it will.

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