First Thoughts on 'Arrow' Season 6 (Episodes 1-4)
That being said, the "Olicity" romance doesn't feel quite as forced in this season so far. There hasn't been much focus on it, and despite setting it up at the end of last season, we don't get a proper "Olicity" episode until episode 4 - practically a record by season 3 and 4 standards. There's no contrived drama, and the focus is on their actual romance with one another as opposed to just arguing all the time. I understand that drama needs to occur in a show like this, but having characters being a happy couple and simply putting them through drama together, as opposed to doing a "will-they-won't-they" is more engaging storytelling - at least in my book. This has also reminded me of how well their romance could have worked, had the show executed it properly. Granted, there's still time to cock-up, but they haven't done so yet.
I'm also liking seeing Oliver trying to be a father for William - an arc teased way back in the second season, but it feels natural for Oliver at this point in his character arc to find a new kind of responsibility: raising a child. This also allows us to see Oliver as a more gentle human being as opposed to the arse-kicking vigilante we see him as most of the time, and the more "real-world" drama of balancing parenting, being the Mayor and kicking evil-doers' backsides is perhaps more interesting as an audience member watching the show.
Of course, at the end of the second episode, Oliver decided to hand the mantle of the Green Arrow over to Diggle in an interesting narrative twist - especially given Diggle's post-Lian Yu trauma. Diggle's whole arc this season has been interesting, trying to cope with not being his best self whilst also becoming the new Green Arrow (even though actor David Ramsey does NOT look comfortable in that tight-fitting costume). His dynamic with Dinah has been the most interesting: they're very similar characters, giving them great chemistry, but also a sense of understanding between them. Dinah is becoming one of my favourite characters on the show; it only took three attempts but Arrow finally found the perfect Black Canary - and she's pretty damn awesome.
Has it all been plain-sailing for Arrow this year then? Not exactly.
After the exciting fifth season cliffhanger, the first episode opened to reveal that none of the main characters died on Lian Yu after all - even Black Siren was saved from the blast. One can't help but feel cheated out of this cliffhanger, but considering the fact that this season has moved on from it, and emphasised the characters' responses to the event, I can't fault the writers too much. None of the characters needed to be killed if they still had stories to tell, and season 6 has proven that there still are stories to tell with them - just not Thea, yet.
The villains so far have been very poor as well. I was very disappointed to find that hacktivist Caden James is one of our season 'big bads' this year, especially given how much fuss was made out of his talent. Whilst the actor is amazing as the Joker in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, here in Arrow his performance lacked any kind of gravitas, and came across as just another villain-of-the-week. Maybe there's a better 'big bad' yet to arise, but so far all of the villains have felt poor - even Black Siren has become boring after so many recurring appearances on the show. Her simple "evil Laurel" gimmick has worn thin fast, as has her frequent encounters with Dinah.
So far though, I'm happy with Arrow season 6. It lacks much momentum at the moment, and there definitely isn't a clear arc so far, but the intertwining plot-threads are all interesting, the characters are all great (I still love Curtis and Rene, despite having little to do so far) and the action sequences still (mostly) impress.
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