Round Two: Arrow

Arrow: Season 1, Episode 2 “Honor Thy Father” (B-)

This show is definitely entertaining to watch, though it could still use some finessing, including working on the woodenness of its lead actor, Stephen Amell. He was great as a dim-witted, easily manipulated male prostitute on “Hung,” and I’d love to see him display some of that same charisma here as someone far more intelligent. His character is certainly smart, consistently dodging his bodyguard and then saving his life, and not bowing to his mother’s every wish. The news that she sabotaged his father’s boat isn’t entirely surprising given what we learned at the end of the pilot, but it’s still important, since Oliver is likely to proceed hunting down the villains in his city without realizing that his mother is among the worst. Seeing Oliver get shot with an arrow by a masked man on the island suggests that there’s plenty of ground to be covered there, and we’ll likely be seeing many flashbacks to how Oliver went from playboy to marksman. Oliver’s relationship with Laurel is definitely improving, even if her father continues to detest him and threaten to kill him if he doesn’t stay away from his remaining daughter. Oliver’s conversations with his younger sister don’t feel entirely relevant, and I’d love to see her do something other than simply demonstrate herself to be a drug-smoking, heavy-drinking partier. Being evil like her mom isn’t necessary, it would just be nice to imbue her with a bit of enticing personality rather than merely the normal traits of a teenager.