Arrow - Season 3 (Part one)

We’ve been following rich boy Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell, ‘Private Practice’), and his alter ego vigilante the Green Arrow for three seasons now. With ups and downs, he has been able to keep Starling City safe for the past couple of years, but more villains are out there trying to break him and his team down. This season is another one filled with flashback stories about Oliver’s past, and how he became who he is today. And stories about the present, and all the adventures he experences now. But are we viewers still interested in the tales this superhero has to tell?

At the end of season two, we saw how Oliver’s mom was murdered, his sister Thea (Willa Holland, ‘The O.C.’) left with her dangerous father and the whole team fought to save the city from Deathstroke. This third season starts a couple of months after these events. Thea Queen has been away for a few months now, training with her father and old-Arrow enemy Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman, ‘Doctor Who’). While Oliver’s team, consisting of John Diggle (David Ramsey, ‘Dexter’), Roy Harper (Colton Haynes, ‘Teen Wolf’) and Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards), try to get their lives back on track. With the help of old friends, new police chief Quentin Lance (Paul Blackthorne, ‘Lipstick Jungle’) and district attorney Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy, ‘Melrose Place’), they fight to keep the city safe.

This TV season also marks the start of the first ‘Arrow’ spin-off. During a couple of episodes of season two, we were introduced to this character, and now ‘The Flash’ has its own new series which is tied to ‘Arrow’ in more ways than one. Episode eight of both series is a cross-over, meaning both of the series come together for a collaboration. A nice idea, and a hit if you look at the ratings. Never before did ‘Arrow’ have that many viewers. Because of the cross-over I even started to watch ‘The Flash’, it made an amazing impression on me and was a great addition to ‘Arrow’. I thought it was a nice change of scenery, and although the styles of both series are a bit different, that didn’t bother me in any way.

Oliver is having a hard time facing the reality that he and his sister grew apart. The fact that his relationship with Felicity is changing as well, doesn’t make it any easier for him to deal with. When Felicity starts looking for a new job and/or challenge in her life, she comes across rich scientist Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh, ‘Superman Returns’ movie). The chemistry between them is immediate and with him as the new head of Queen Consolidated, he soon earns a special place in Felicity’s life, despite Oliver’s discontent. Diggle meanwhile tries to find a good balance between his new situation at home, and working for the Green Arrow. During flashbacks, we see how Oliver was trained in Hong Kong, after being rescued from the island by A.R.G.U.S.. Series like these thrive on the impressive villains and shocking twists. One heart stopping moment is already there during the very first episode of season three. The surprising death of a character not only brings a new storyline, but also new enemies.

I’m not really a comic book reader, so a lot of the information and characters on this show are new to me. Despite all of this, I love the genre, and ‘Arrow’ shows that after two successful seasons there is more than enough left for a third one. The mid-season finale was quite shocking. I’m very curious to see how they’ll continue with the second part next year. Although it was unexpected, this episode shows the series strength as well. Nobody is safe, and literally anything can happen when you least expect it. I’m filled with anticipation, waiting for part two of this series and can’t wait for what’s to come. I think people who are already watching ‘Arrow’ will be pleasantly surprised, again! And people who still haven’t started with this series yet… Do it, fast, if you like action, tension, drama and romance you won’t be disappointed!