Arrow Arrow S3 E1 The Calm

[Arrowshieldfan]

Court Vertigo should have gotten more scenes......I guess the villain was not the main point of the episode

 

[Thoix]

As soon as I heard "Hello, Sara." my heart sank. I know exactly what was going to happen. ****!

Very good episode.

 

[KillerMcQueen]

Just saw it. All I can say is holy **** that end caught me off guard and hit me right in the gut, I can already tell this season is gonna be crazy.

 

[Boy Scout]

I thought the first third of the episode felt rushed. We jumped from scene to scene without being given enough time to properly absorb the information we were being presented with. The flashbacks were surprisingly uninteresting (not to mention uneventful) and randomly inserted. I also thought the lighter tone the showrunners were aiming for was poorly executed and came off as awkward. It was like watching a completely different show.

I really liked Brandon Routh. His energy is infectious and it was really obvious that he was having fun. That said: Ray Palmer and Felicity are basically Barry and Felicity 2.0, but with added faux antagonism.

I liked Vertigo. The actor was okay, but he didn't have much to do. I didn't like that the character wasn't royalty (why did they bring in the real Vertigo if they weren't going to do him right?), and I certainly didn't care for their blatant rip off of Scarecrow's fear toxin.

Roy is just as much of an afterthought as he's always been. Hooray.

I liked the action. The last half of the episode felt like vintage Arrow. The acting was pretty good across the board, with some occasional stiffness from Amell. I like the slight change in Oliver's attitude and can't wait to see how he grows and changes over the course of the season. Don't care too much about his relationship drama, though.

7/10. Decent start to the season. Can't wait for next week.

And the ending? **** you, writers. That is the single most disrespectful and anticlimactic death the show has ever done.

 

[Arrowshieldfan]

They could have kill Sara off at a different point but I guess this could be a way to show this will be a season to remember and the stakes gone to a new level and no one is safe

 

[Human Torch]

The problem with Sara's death is that she's supposed to be the female equivalent of Arrow.How the hell does she get taken out so easily?

Granted,I didn't want them to kill her off to begin with,(just so freakin Laurel has an excuse to wear the costume.Why couldn't they just spin Sara off into a new alias?) but THIS is the reason they didn't kill her last season?I'd much rather she died on her feet,in battle,during one of the most important episodes of last season,than to get struck dumbfounded and killed in an episode where she's barely an afterthought to the story.And all to (yet again) prove the new bad guy "means business".

 

[Herolee10]

Well, at least Sara can take comfort that water wasn't a factor this time in her "death".

 

[Human Torch]

I thought the first third of the episode felt rushed. We jumped from scene to scene without being given enough time to properly absorb the information we were being presented with. The flashbacks were surprisingly uninteresting (not to mention uneventful) and randomly inserted. I also thought the lighter tone the showrunners were aiming for was poorly executed and came off as awkward. It was like watching a completely different show.

I really liked Brandon Routh. His energy is infectious and it was really obvious that he was having fun. That said: Ray Palmer and Felicity are basically Barry and Felicity 2.0, but with added faux antagonism.

I liked Vertigo. The actor was okay, but he didn't have much to do. I didn't like that the character wasn't royalty (why did they bring in the real Vertigo if they weren't going to do him right?), and I certainly didn't care for their blatant rip off of Scarecrow's fear toxin.

Roy is just as much of an afterthought as he's always been. Hooray.

I liked the action. The last half of the episode felt like vintage Arrow. The acting was pretty good across the board, with some occasional stiffness from Amell. I like the slight change in Oliver's attitude and can't wait to see how he grows and changes over the course of the season. Don't care too much about his relationship drama, though.

7/10. Decent start to the season. Can't wait for next week.

And the ending? **** you, writers. That is the single most disrespectful and anticlimactic death the show has ever done.

I agree,pretty much across the board.

Roy's new alias isn't even mentioned,nor his new place as "sidekick".

Agree about the new Count.What's so much better about this version?He's still a cheap drug pusher with little to reflect the comic version.

I actually got a kick out of how easy it was for him to repeatedly stick Ollie with the drug. Either Ollie is seriously slipping,or the Count rivals Deathstroke in skills.

 

[DigificWriter]

My review (cross-posted):
I haven't yet seen a large chunk of Season 2, so I both liked and appreciated that the episode started in such a fashion that I didn't feel lost. The "in media res" nature of the opening scenes with Team Arrow served as a great way to start off the episode in lieu of the now-traditional 'voiceover sequence', and also helped to establish the new 'status quo' before everything was shaken up.

I'm someone who rather enjoyed Seth Gabel's take on the Count Vertigo character, and was therefore somewhat skeptical as to how the writers were going to bring in a different version of the character believably. I was therefore pleasantly surprised by the way they brought in Werner Zytle and made his version of the character distinctly different from Gabel's. I also thought he was a really effective 'antagonist of the week', and find myself interested in how long it's going to take him to reappear (since it seems fairly obvious, based on the way his story ends, that he will).

I'm not a hardcore "Olicity" shipper, but do appreciate the chemistry that exists between the two characters (and the actors), and I liked that the writers were able to use the characters' feelings for one another to explore and drive what is going to clearly be a central theme for the season: that of Oliver struggling to figure out who he is and if/how he can balance being Oliver Queen and being The Arrow. I also liked that the writers were able to use the characters' fledgling relationship as a fulcrum on which to pivot and set up a scene that we saw in last night's Flash episode, since we now know that when Oliver gives Barry the advice he does, he (Oliver) is literally telling Barry that he has a chance at something that Oliver has realized that he cannot have based on the struggles he goes through in this episode dealing with Zytle. The way that the writers handle Oliver and Felicity's fledgling relationship in this episode also sets the table rather nicely for something that we know will be happening in Flash episode 1x04 between Felicity and Barry, which I thought was a nice touch.

I'm not yet sold on the character of Ray Palmer, although I did like the fact that Felicity went from being friendly with him to wanting nothing to do with him - and even screwing with him using her computer skills - after she found out that he'd taken advantage of her knowledge to do a 'run-around' on Oliver's attempts to regain control of his family's company.

The Arrow writers have demonstrated that they're not afraid to 'go big' in the past and do stuff that has significant repercussions, and killing off Sara - particularly in the fashion that they did - is the latest example of their creative brilliance in that regard. It also helps pave the way for something that I've been waiting for for a while, which is the evolution of Laurel's character into the Canary we know she becomes. Sara, as popular as she's become, was always going to be a 'stepping stone' character (like Tommy, Yao Fei, and Shado), and her death was therefore pretty much a narrative necessity. I know that saying that is going to make some Sara fans angry, but sometimes the truth is harsh.

"The Calm" really was a great way to open the season, and I'm giving it a 9.5.

 

[Human Torch]

anyone like the new collapsing bow? is it an upgrade version of his previous bow?

I liked it.

It was also cool that he had his suit on under the costume.Sorta a reverse shirt rip.

I take it Nathan is banned?

Last I saw,he was temp banned,but it's been a looong damn time at this point....

 

[Silliminite]

'The Calm' was an excellent opener for the season. Brandon Routh was great as Ray Palmer and I can't wait to see more of him. Sara's death makes me very sad though, because I not only liked Sara as a character but also had the hots for Caity Lotz :P

Overall, a great episode that sets the tone brilliantly for the rest of the season. Next week is obviously going to be intense.

 

[fire117]

I hate they killed off sara.Now stuck with Laurel.Not a good trade.

Agreed, I don't like Laurel that much to be perfectly honest.

I think it was either Malcolm or Ra's who killed Sara.

 

[Grommers]

What are the chances it was Thea who killed Sara.

 

[fire117]

What are the chances it was Thea who killed Sara.

I doubt that very much. Probably Malcolm who killed Sara.

 

[chamber-music]

They should of played Bon Jovi over the end credits

Shot through the heart
And you're to blame
Darling, you give love a bad name...

While it was a shock that Sara died so early I'm surprised so many people were shocked that she died.

We have been told from the get go that Laurel will eventually become Black Canary. The chance of Sara dying has always been high.

I was a little disappointed they are still having Count Vertigo be a drug peddling gangster in a similar vein to Scarecrow being a fear gas peddler in Batman Begins.

I was hoping they might have Werner actual use a vertigo device like in the nu52 comics. It isn't too much of a high tech stretch for a show that featured a earthquake machine and deadshot's futuristic multi-spectrum eye device.

 

[kguillou]

Actually I'm 99% sure it was Komodo that killed her. They said they were bringing him in this season and he's also an archer from Jeff Lemire's run.

Also, fantastic season premiere. I love this show. I'm amazed at how they have made Green Arrow such a cool character and one of my now favorite comic characters. I'm really gonna miss Sara but I trust the writers know what theyre doing and we'll all be eating our words once they build Laurel up to be The Black Canary. Fishnet stockings and all.

 

[Lilbaz]

Actually I'm 99% sure it was Komodo that killed her. They said they were bringing him in this season and he's also an archer from Jeff Lemire's run.

Also, fantastic season premiere. I love this show. I'm amazed at how they have made Green Arrow such a cool character and one of my now favorite comic characters. I'm really gonna miss Sara but I trust the writers know what theyre doing and we'll all be eating our words once they build Laurel up to be The Black Canary. Fishnet stockings and all.

If they are definitely bringing him in, it would be the best way to make him a notable enemy for Arrow.

 

[Lencho01]

Well, at least Sara can take comfort that water wasn't a factor this time in her "death".

 

[gohei_]

Just saw it. Holy crap! I did not see that coming.

 

[Pokkle]

I doubt that very much. Probably Malcolm who killed Sara.

Komodo killed her. t:

 

[kane9321]

They didnt just do what i think they JUST DID...NO NOOO NOOOOOO **** NOOOOOOOOO

 

[John Locke]

Just watched the episode and loved it. Everything just clicked. Loved the use of the trick arrows. Before this episode I didn't want an Atom spinoff and for them to choose another character but Routh was so good I'd watch an Atom series. Poor Sara. I saw it coming though. Hopefully Nyssa "borrows" one of her father's Lazarus Pits. It would be a great way to introduce them.

 

[Mister J]

Good premiere. The ending was inevitable, but unexpected at the time. I hope the producers' vision is as strong as their insistence here, otherwise it's going to suck infinitely worse than it already does.

My bet is on someone other than Malcolm or Ra's behind the gutshots, though the latter would be the least surprising. A new enemy would serve better in the interim of the Ra's buildup to the latter part of the season.

I must be a bit out of the loop, because I wasn't expected Routh as Palmer so soon. Nice intro though. Good to see him. If we don't get at least one 'super' pun out of this, I'll be crushed.

Loved seeing the GA/Arsenal duo in action.

edit: Back to Palmer, yes, change the name of the city. I thought they might work that angle in the aftermath of the Undertaking. Bring it.

 

[MiffaLadd_]

Early prediction is that Ra's killed her but is framing Komodo.

 

[Primal Slayer]

The problem with Sara's death is that she's supposed to be the female equivalent of Arrow.How the hell does she get taken out so easily?

Granted,I didn't want them to kill her off to begin with,(just so freakin Laurel has an excuse to wear the costume.Why couldn't they just spin Sara off into a new alias?) but THIS is the reason they didn't kill her last season?I'd much rather she died on her feet,in battle,during one of the most important episodes of last season,than to get struck dumbfounded and killed in an episode where she's barely an afterthought to the story.And all to (yet again) prove the new bad guy "means business".

Well the girl is human after all. Even Ollie wouldnt have survived that. She was taken by surprise which is why she died. I wouldve liked her to go out with a blaze of glory but not everyone always goes out like that sadly.