Warning: Spoilers Ahead. You Have Been Warned.
The ratings don’t lie. The CW’s Arrow averages nearly 3 million viewers per episode because it’s actually a great TV show. But the show is not without its share of problems and if you are as big a fan of the show as I am, chances are you will probably agree with me that without these five story-line issues, this already awesome show would be even more awesome.
1. The Flashbacks to the Island – Hands down the most annoying part of the show are the flashbacks to the island. I get it, the back story is essential to the development of the plot, but 2 seasons deep into the show, something definitely has to give; especially when you consider the fact that there are also continuity issues between season 1 and season 2 about how he got off the island in the first place. Like most fans, I watch the show as it originally airs on the CW each season so I didn’t catch it the first time around, but after binging on the show over the past month on Netflix, I noticed that in season 1 (particularly the pilot) Oliver Queen got himself off of the island by creating a fire that attracted some Asian fishermen that came to his rescue. At the end of season 2, however, Amanda Waller (head of Suicide Squad) rescued him from the island and brought him to Hong Kong after he passed out in an explosion shortly after causing Death Stroke the injury that ultimately gave him the eye patch. The only thing that makes sense for this lack of continuity would be if Oliver returned to the island shortly after being rescued by Amanda Waller.
2. The Lack of a Compelling Story-line for Detective Quinton Lance – Ever since he was introduced in season 1, the bulk of Detective Lances’ story-line have been centered on bringing the arrow yielding vigilante to justice and once he became an ally to the Arrow (season 2) his point on the show has greatly diminished. Don’t get me wrong, for a minute there in season 2 it did seem as though Detective Lance had a bit of a story-line as he was demoted to a “beat cop” as a result of his relationship with the Arrow, but that story-line lead to nowhere which is probably why he was just promoted back to Detective by the end of season 2. I am curious, however, to see if a decent story will develop from his injury at the end of season 2. I highly doubt it. I foresee another death coming to Starling City.
3. Thea Queen Whining… All the Time – It makes perfect sense that somebody on the show, likely a female, would emote at some point given the fact that Arrow is a highly dramatic series. However, why does she have to whine all the time? It seems like every episode she is complaining and/or crying about something to no end. Case in point: in season 1 Thea whined the entire season about that fact that her brother, who had come back from the dead, kept giving her unsolicited advice on how to live her life while throughout season 2 she whined about her boyfriend, Roy Harper, ignoring her and keeping secrets (most notably the fact that he was working with the Arrow). The only reprieve we had as an audience was at the end of season 2 when we saw her confront her biological father, Malcolm Merlin, who re-emerged to teach her the ways of all things “evil?”.
4. The Under Utilization of John “Dig” Diggle – I can’t tell you how many episodes I’ve watched and thought why aren’t the writers using Diggle more? He is an ex-military bad-ass that has served several tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Not to mention he can hold his own in practice sparring sessions with the Oliver Queen. And, yet his character still struggles to have a gripping story-line. Sure, there was the plot point about him dating his deceased brother’s wife in season 1 and then season 2 concluded with him finding out that he fathered a child with his ex-wife, but I want to see him fight. Maybe the writers don’t know what to do with him since he is an original character to the show and does not appear in the comic version of Green Arrow, yet.
5. The Inevitable Truth that Laurel will Ultimately Become the Black Canary- If you’ve ever read any Green Arrow comics, blogs/articles about CW’s Arrow, or you’re just smart, then you’re probably already aware that Laurel Lance will become the next Black Canary. The only problem I have with this inevitable truth is that at the moment Laurel doesn’t look like she’s physically capable of going toe to toe with Felicity (Oliver Queen’s tech savvy assistant), much less anybody stronger or actually a trained fighter. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying she’s too thin or shaming her, it’s just that I can’t help but point out the fact that she doesn’t look like she could walk away from a fight, let alone win one. I did, however, read that Katie Cassidy, the actress who plays Laurel Lance, has added fight training to her workout routine in preparation for her more physically challenging role. I’m guessing I wasn’t the only person who thought Laurel needed to bulk up to rise to the challenge in season 3.
Despite this short list, I feel the CW’s Arrow is doing a lot of things right. Case in point: from the pilot until the end of season 2 the overall tone of the show has been consistent. The fight scenes are well choreographed and exciting to watch, Stephen Amell is well cast as Oliver Queen/Arrow and not to mention great eye candy, anyone can die (even major characters) and lastly, the show has stayed true to the core elements of the comic mythology while at the same time successfully adapting the story-line enough to attract a new audience via television. Ultimately, the good far outweighs the bad and that’s why we all keep watching.