TV REVIEW – ‘Arrow’ – “City of Heroes″

One of the best cliffhangers of the 2012-2013 season is finally getting addressed when Arrow returns to The CW with the Season Two premiere, City of Heroes. The Glades has been reduced to rubble due to Malcolm Merlyn’s earthquake device and Tommy is dead in the resulting chaos. So what has become of Starling City and its hero Oliver Queen?

[pullquote_left]There’s a fun, adventurous (even a bit campy) tone to it all that seems to be a break from the bleakness of Season One.[/pullquote_left]City of Heroes is similar to many superhero stories on film (as well as the funny pages) being that it’s a story of our main character coming back from self-induced exile and donning their hero’s mantle once again because it’s the right thing to do. Keeping this very light on spoilers, we learn right away (and from the episode synopsis) that Oliver has decided to return to the island after the loss of his best friend Tommy which makes plenty of sense in the context of things.

Diggle and Felicity have been searching for the island in hopes of convincing Oliver to return to the city that needs him, which results in a visually impressive and really cool intro to the episode when they reach their destination. There’s a fun, adventurous (even a bit campy) tone to it all that seems to be a break from the bleakness of Season One. Nothing too extreme for the show’s fans though, and there’s still some very dark stuff here, but the DC universe catalog is opening up on the show and thus things have to adapt tonally.

[pullquote_right]The episode further solidifies the transition of Oliver from killer to hero that so many fans had issues with last season.[/pullquote_right]It’s a bit weird at first getting used to a kinder gentler Arrow, but the show certainly seems set on lightening up its title character in Season Two. The episode further solidifies the transition of Oliver from killer to hero that so many fans had issues with last season, and does so with some very well done flashbacks. Once again with this show, most of the stuff on the island in the past (and the present in this particular episode) are the highlight of the episode, feeling much more rich and interesting than the politics of Starling City.

Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards) and Slade Wilson/Deathstroke (Manu Bennett) are upgraded on the cast to regular status, which is great to see, but only Felicity really benefits during City of Heroes. She has some really cute dialogue and bonding scenes with Oliver that will make fans laugh and continue to debate the nature of a possible romantic relationship. Manu does such a great job as Slade Wilson but I’m not sure I’m a big fan of the direction they are hinting at with the character as he, Oliver and Shado discover a new island threat.

City of Heroes also introduces audiences to DC villainess Isabel Rochev (Firefly’s Summer Glau) keeping up the show’s tradition of great guest stars. Glau keeps things icy cool as the Queen Consolidated rival and seems setup to be an adversary for Oliver’s business side as opposed to the hooded one.

[pullquote_left]Blood is a bit more sympathetic than Rochev and adds an interesting dynamic because you can’t really blame the guy. [/pullquote_left]Not only that, but Oliver is dealing with another re-imagined version of a DC villain, Brother Blood, in Sebastian Blood (Kevin Alejandro). Blood is a bit more sympathetic than Rochev and adds an interesting dynamic because you can’t really blame the guy. Sebastian has become the political hero of the people of The Glade’s following “The Undertaking” and is mud-slinging at Oliver Queen and his family’s business after their hand in the creation of Malcolm’s device.

City of Heroes does a lot of very nice things with the themes at play, especially with the “main” villains of the episode, The Hoods, that tie directly into Oliver’s more violent days as a hero, and even back to his time on the island. The script is pretty well thought out and avoids being too flashy while really making this step in the transition to a more heroic character feel organic for Oliver. City of Heroes isn’t perfect, but it’s a solid enough start to a season that has potential through the roof.

The Good:

The show’s opening! Felicity’s continued quirkiness. Oliver’s progress towards becoming Green Arrow. The thing that happens near the end that will make fans go nuts. (no spoilers!) The questions raised by said thing. The disturbing flashback. The logic behind The Hoods.

★★★★☆