Arrow Arrow Season 3, Episode 7 "Draw Back Your Bow" General Discussion

[Frodo]

In the first season you had Moira who was sort of the Lady Macbeth figure and Oliver was very much Hamlet. The Queen family was a criminal element in starling and you had the son being conflicted by that and trying to fight against that. You had Diggle trying to keep this guy from totally ending up in a straight jacket. You had Malcolm Merlin who really was a bad/ Dangerous guy. The show overall was alot more grounded and driven . Now its alot more cookie cutter CW/ superhero fair so its lost a lot of the drive and edge the show had, and has become another Smallville.

 

[flickchick85]

The show needs to be less Smallville and more Nikita.

Amen. Nikita was the only show I've watched from this network that managed to transcend its CW mandates/trappings. For a minute there it looked like Arrow was attempting to move that way too, but it has since relapsed back into Smallville territory.

 

[DarKush]

I don't think Smallville is a pejorative. I enjoyed the show, despite its faults. In one way I'm sure the Arrow people are hoping they can go for ten seasons like Smallville instead of only lasting four like Nikita.

I watched Nikita on and off and I liked it, but it also dealt with "CW" stuff like romance (Nikita and Michael) and the teen angle with Nikita's protege.

I think Arrow is different than Smallville because it's not building up to Oliver taking the mantle. Oliver has it pretty much right off the bat. There might be shades of Lana/Clark with Oliver and Felicity (unfortunately), but Arrow has a much edgier vibe, befitting each hero.

Both shows have done a decent job of bringing DC characters to real life. I would argue that Smallville at this point was going stronger than Arrow which is sputtering this season. I didn't think Smallville started losing steam until Season 6, and even then they delivered on bringing some cool DC characters onto the show like Green Arrow, the Justice League, etc.

 

[Frodo]

I don't think Smallville is a pejorative. I enjoyed the show, despite its faults. In one way I'm sure the Arrow people are hoping they can go for ten seasons like Smallville instead of only lasting four like Nikita.

I watched Nikita on and off and I liked it, but it also dealt with "CW" stuff like romance (Nikita and Michael) and the teen angle with Nikita's protege.

I think Arrow is different than Smallville because it's not building up to Oliver taking the mantle. Oliver has it pretty much right off the bat. There might be shades of Lana/Clark with Oliver and Felicity (unfortunately), but Arrow has a much edgier vibe, befitting each hero.

Both shows have done a decent job of bringing DC characters to real life. I would argue that Smallville at this point was going stronger than Arrow which is sputtering this season. I didn't think Smallville started losing steam until Season 6, and even then they delivered on bringing some cool DC characters onto the show like Green Arrow, the Justice League, etc.

I think the whole Nikita vs Smallville thing is really a matter of opinion. Smallville did drag on to long imo, and Nikita was taken off too soon imo. Nikita didn't fit the CW model the way Smallville did. It was mature, it had a female lead who wasn't filled with teen angst about being the popular girl in highschool. It had an edge. Alex was far from a teen, she was a former drug addict who was constantly tortured by her past, and the Romance angle with Michael always in a bit of turmoil. I'd be a stretch argue that Nikita fit the typical CW build and I doubt the CW thought it did, which is one of the reasons they were never at ease with show and wanted to take it off a couple times. Smallville however was the typical CW show. It had a good first two seasons but it did fit the CW Dawson's Creek, One tree Hill mode as far as romance goes much more than Nikita ever did.

Arrow in the fist season was closer to Nikita then it ever was to Smallville , even Smallville's first season. Whether its close to the comic or not is kinda secondary as far as I'm concerned. Arrow imo needs to return to the edge and danger it had in the first season. The reason why so many have been critical of Arrow this season is because it is repeating the alot of the same bad smallville tropes .

 

[Jesse]

Amy Gumenick is pretty creepy as Cupid. Glad Roy is officially going by Arsenal now. Emily Bett Rickards looked stunning in that blue dress. The flashbacks are starting to pick up and it was great to see Katana in action. Dwarf Star alloy and A.T.O.M. Exosuit Hell Yeah. Captain Boomerang!