Spoilers Arrow Season 7

[tomalak301]

I feel like I need to remind myself I'm watching a show called Arrow and not some generic prison drama. I think the thing I loved about the premiere was things felt fresh. There is a new show runner and we got some interesting stuff like an unknown Green Arrow and the flash forwards. Heck, I was upset when I got spoiled about how long into the future the flash forwards were because it was a mystery I was hoping the show would take advantage of in the next few episodes.

We're a month into the new season and I feel like Arrow season 7 is exactly like Season 6. The most interesting thing that happened in this episode was Diaz shooting himself up with super strength, and even that I was rolling my eyes because it just feels like more of the same stuff from last year, with a little copying of Season 2. The fight scenes in the prison were cool, but it's hard to really care because I miss Arrow. Yeah maybe the Oliver we are seeing is like what we saw when Oliver was on the Island in the flashbacks, but I felt those were a lot interesting than what we are getting now, and there was still Arrow in the present. Now it's just Oliver Queen fighting a bunch of thugs with an annoying sidekick.

Also, the more I see Felicity the more I don't like her. She came up with the plan, the plan failed, and now Watson is out of a job for disobeying her superior officer and she's still apologizing to Felicity. They actually made Watson likeable this week, only to have her bow down to Felicity at the end. That was cringe-worthy. Also, the stuff with Lyla and Diggle I feel like I've seen on this show at least 3 or 4 other times. If you're going to do a mission for Arugus, make it interesting and maybe a little new.

I hope the unknown Green Arrow makes a return soon. To watch a show called Arrow but not see any Arrows flying feels like I'm missing quite a bit. Hell, I don't read the comics so when I first heard about the Long Bow hunters, I thought they were people that shot longbows. Right now all they are are Diaz's lackeys.

 

[Snaploud]

So is Olivers little prison buddy going to turn out to be the Demon?

I've been assuming he was a villain from day one. At first, I thought he was a low level flunky, but I'm with you that he probably has a bigger role to play at this point.

 

[Marc]

Is this the first time Felicity has said 'Frak' on the show?

I'm pretty sure it's come up before that perhaps not so blatantly.

 

[dahj]

Well, theoretically, Archie is in juvenile detention with other high schoolers. It's just portrayed as a hellish, brutal prison for lifers because Riverdale is utterly crazy.

I haven't kept up with Riverdale since season 1, but I also hear Cheryl is shooting more arrows there than Ollie does these days so I might have to switch shows...

 

[Christopher]

I haven't kept up with Riverdale since season 1, but I also hear Cheryl is shooting more arrows there than Ollie does these days so I might have to switch shows...

Complete with a red hood and cape and an Arrow-esque musical motif.

 

[Tuskin38]

Oh, hardly. She's been using it for years.

I guess I just never noticed before some how.

 

[DarKush]

Just finished watching the latest episode and Felicity is really grating. She's been annoying and whiny a lot this season-but there is cause for some of that with all the hell Diaz has put her through-but I feel her callousness toward Agent Watson-who was in the right all along and doing her job-but decided to step outside to help Felicity and crew, which resulted her being reassigned, and Felicity is too petty to even apologize for that? Felicity just lost an ally within the FBI, someone who was willing to some extent to work with Team Arrow. I just felt Felicity's line that Agent Watson shouldn't expect her to apologize for basically getting Watson demoted was not an example of Felicity's strength or power, but her selfish disregard. And for her to dismiss Rene's concern by saying Watson signed up for this, well, that's what Watson was saying to Felicity. Team Arrow took on this job and they got their ass handed to them by Diaz. That was not Watson or the FBI's fault at all. If anything, Team Arrow drew Deathstroke, Prometheus, and Ra's Al Ghul to Star City and the destruction they caused, Team Arrow bears some responsibility for it. Further, Oliver being a vigilante while being mayor, compromising Quentin, etc., was a betrayal of the public trust.

Granted Felicity's recent behavior could be part of her descent as we later see with her and Rene having Silencer in chains (which is not a good visual at all), where Felicity is walking on the dark side. If there's a point where she gets some comeuppance then perhaps this will be worth it, but my guess is that Felicity will be allowed to skate and everyone will understand and defend her actions-just like they had Watson doing. I see that sort of compounded by Diggle apologizing for Lyla breaking the rules/law, and she turns around and gives him a trite response that she likely would have not accepted from him a few seasons ago. If there is also some consequences for Lyla down the road, then okay, but I also guess that this was really a lesson for Diggle to return to Team Arrow.

I liked a lot of the prison stuff, and what could be the beginning of a turn for Bronze Tiger. I did think they dragged out the "Demon" mystery a bit too much though. I'm okay with Diaz getting some strength enhancing drug. I'm guessing it's Mirakuru. I was hoping they would say that. Or if it was Venom that would be okay with me too. I've thought for awhile now that Diaz would work as Oliver's Bane so maybe they are going in that direction.

 

[dahj]

I liked a lot of the prison stuff, and what could be the beginning of a turn for Bronze Tiger. I did think they dragged out the "Demon" mystery a bit too much though.

The one thing that kinda bothered me there is that Oliver is too easily buying into this "your princess is in another castle" routine by Brick. I mean, Brick just says he's on level 2, and Oliver immediately deports himself there. And that's after Brick flat out lied to him several times in a row.

 

[Turtletrekker]

We're a month into the new season and I feel like Arrow season 7 is exactly like Season 6.

I feel similarly. I gave up on Arrow last season right after the Earth-X crossover because my interest in show just suddenly evaporated. I hoped that the new season would have a fresher feel, and the premiere did. However, since then it's beginning to feel like the same old thing. Worse! The same old thing minus the costumed hi-jinks.

I think that I'm just going to give the show another rest until Elseworlds. I'll re-evaluate then.

 

[DarKush]

The one thing that kinda bothered me there is that Oliver is too easily buying into this "your princess is in another castle" routine by Brick. I mean, Brick just says he's on level 2, and Oliver immediately deports himself there. And that's after Brick flat out lied to him several times in a row.

Good point and while watching I was thinking Oliver was assuming big time the prison guards wouldn't gun him down after just attacking several with a deadly weapon. Granted he had surrendered, but we could see that Brick had some control over some of the prison guards and the ones that showed up after Oliver waylaid the other guards didn't also have Brick get on his knees so I'm assuming he was on good relations with them as well.

 

[DarKush]

I feel like I need to remind myself I'm watching a show called Arrow and not some generic prison drama. I think the thing I loved about the premiere was things felt fresh. There is a new show runner and we got some interesting stuff like an unknown Green Arrow and the flash forwards. Heck, I was upset when I got spoiled about how long into the future the flash forwards were because it was a mystery I was hoping the show would take advantage of in the next few episodes.

We're a month into the new season and I feel like Arrow season 7 is exactly like Season 6. The most interesting thing that happened in this episode was Diaz shooting himself up with super strength, and even that I was rolling my eyes because it just feels like more of the same stuff from last year, with a little copying of Season 2. The fight scenes in the prison were cool, but it's hard to really care because I miss Arrow. Yeah maybe the Oliver we are seeing is like what we saw when Oliver was on the Island in the flashbacks, but I felt those were a lot interesting than what we are getting now, and there was still Arrow in the present. Now it's just Oliver Queen fighting a bunch of thugs with an annoying sidekick.

Also, the more I see Felicity the more I don't like her. She came up with the plan, the plan failed, and now Watson is out of a job for disobeying her superior officer and she's still apologizing to Felicity. They actually made Watson likeable this week, only to have her bow down to Felicity at the end. That was cringe-worthy. Also, the stuff with Lyla and Diggle I feel like I've seen on this show at least 3 or 4 other times. If you're going to do a mission for Arugus, make it interesting and maybe a little new.

I hope the unknown Green Arrow makes a return soon. To watch a show called Arrow but not see any Arrows flying feels like I'm missing quite a bit. Hell, I don't read the comics so when I first heard about the Long Bow hunters, I thought they were people that shot longbows. Right now all they are are Diaz's lackeys.

Even though the Longbow Hunters name is a nod to the comics-both Mike Grell and Jeff Lemire, and in the comics, Diaz assembled an anti-Green Arrow team called the Longbow Hunters, it really doesn't work on the show if they aren't hunting the Green Arrow or any Arrow, and were established to have been around quite some time before Oliver even took up his quest to clean up Starling/Star City. It was an Easter Egg that didn't make any sense IMO. A bit of needless fan service. I would rather they saved the name for an episode title or arc.

In the comics, Silencer and Talia Al Ghul are both members of Leviathan. I think that would've been a better evil organization to use, or just bring back HIVE. They've used them before, why not revive them? I've always liked the name Council of Spiders from the Red Robin comic. Unless Titans are going to use them, I think that would be neat to see them on Arrow. Another one could've been Green Arrow comic's own Ninth Circle. This would've been cooler than last season's The Quadrant, even though I did like that name.

http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Leviathan_Organization

http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Council_of_Spiders_(New_Earth)

http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Longbow_Hunters_(Prime_Earth)

http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Ninth_Circle_(Prime_Earth)

 

[Christopher]

The one thing that kinda bothered me there is that Oliver is too easily buying into this "your princess is in another castle" routine by Brick. I mean, Brick just says he's on level 2, and Oliver immediately deports himself there. And that's after Brick flat out lied to him several times in a row.

The thing is, Oliver doesn't think he has a choice. As long as Diaz is free, his family's in danger, so he'll follow any lead, even one that might be false, if there's even a chance it'll get him closer to stopping Diaz.

 

[CorporalClegg]

Since Manu got embargoed off the island (so to speak) is this their way of creating a Fauxstroke?

 

[tomalak301]

Even though the Longbow Hunters name is a nod to the comics-both Mike Grell and Jeff Lemire, and in the comics, Diaz assembled an anti-Green Arrow team called the Longbow Hunters, it really doesn't work on the show if they aren't hunting the Green Arrow or any Arrow, and were established to have been around quite some time before Oliver even took up his quest to clean up Starling/Star City. It was an Easter Egg that didn't make any sense IMO. A bit of needless fan service. I would rather they saved the name for an episode title or arc.

That kind of makes it worse. So all this time when you had Wilson and the Mirikuru army, the league of assassins, and Damian Darkh, you had this super secret group that was supposed to be more powerful (or legendary) than those other groups. What makes them legendary? Why should I care about these people who so far are only there to do Diaz bidding? I think that's the worst thing about having Diaz back for another year. We know his story, yet he won't go away. Of everything we have seen in this show, it's a big bully that gets the extra season treatment? Now if Diaz were gone and we got introduced to these Hunter people and that story starts to build into legendary status, I could maybe get behind it. Right now, I watch this series, and they might as well change the name of the series from Arrow to Prison Break because it doesn't feel like Arrow at all.

 

[Christopher]

That kind of makes it worse. So all this time when you had Wilson and the Mirikuru army, the league of assassins, and Damian Darkh, you had this super secret group that was supposed to be more powerful (or legendary) than those other groups.

No, they're just a prominent criminal group that hasn't previously operated in Star(ling) City. I don't see anything in the show to indicate that they're anything more than that. It's not a linear hierarchy because they're a separate thing -- they're organized crime rather than assassins or a mystical cabal or whatever.

 

[JD]

This one was OK.
I'm not that bothered by Felicity, I can understand why she's so determined to get Diaz.
The prison stuff is starting to get old, I really hope they tie all that up soon.
I'm disappointed they got rid of Watson, this episode was actually making me start to like her.
We did manage to get some pretty good fight scenes with the team vs The Long Bow Hunters, and Oliver's prison fight. Even when other parts of the episodes are disappoint, Arrow can pretty much always give us some cool fights. They're not quite on the level of Daredevil, but they're still some of the best.
I really hope they stop almost catching Diaz, his constant escapes are starting to get annoying.

 

[tomalak301]

No, they're just a prominent criminal group that hasn't previously operated in Star(ling) City. I don't see anything in the show to indicate that they're anything more than that. It's not a linear hierarchy because they're a separate thing -- they're organized crime rather than assassins or a mystical cabal or whatever.

Fine, organized crime that deserves to be better than working with Diaz. We haven't gotten much backstory on them other than very little in the show right? I'm not talking about the comics, just what the show has given, which if I recall has only been 3 or 4 episodes worth.

 

[Christopher]

We haven't gotten much backstory on them other than very little in the show right? I'm not talking about the comics, just what the show has given, which if I recall has only been 3 or 4 episodes worth.

Well, you just answered your own question, didn't you? Since they've only been onscreen in a couple of episodes, of course there hasn't been time yet to give them a lot of backstory. We don't know a lot about Cicada on The Flash yet either, and we didn't know much about Agent Liberty on Supergirl until this week. It's normal for a show these days to start its villains off as mysterious and only gradually reveal more about them.

 

[thribs]

Prison stuff was good but the rest was meh. Should just get rid of his "friends" and just focus on him.

 

[tomalak301]

Well, you just answered your own question, didn't you? Since they've only been onscreen in a couple of episodes, of course there hasn't been time yet to give them a lot of backstory. We don't know a lot about Cicada on The Flash yet either, and we didn't know much about Agent Liberty on Supergirl until this week. It's normal for a show these days to start its villains off as mysterious and only gradually reveal more about them.

Only speaking about Flash I'm already interested in Cicada even though it was only a few episodes. Cicada is mysterious and scary. Longbow Hunters are forgettable.