<em>Arrow</em> has had a fairly rocky run, and season six is no different. While it shines at points when covering more complex and challenging themes about family and sacrifice, that generally gets undermined by repetitive scenarios and bad dialogue. There is fun to be had in this season’s action and campy nature, especially in the crossover episodes, but don’t expect hard-hitting, Emmy material (I don’t need to tell you this). If you’re a long time fan or want something to turn your brain off too, this is a great choice.
Season six of the CW’s Arrow does one thing consistently well when mimicking its comic counterparts, keeping a steady flow of action and campy dialogue coming in each episode. However, that’s just about the only consistency you can expect from this season. Season six picks up where the previous left off after the explosion on Lian Yu left the main cast in, well… limbo, their fates unknown to the audience. But little seems to have changed back in Star City when we reunite with them, and the show falls back into old habits of rinse and repeat filler. That’s what’s most frustrating about this season, especially considering some of the interesting themes the show plays with at times.
For example, we get a new Oliver Queen officially cutting ties with his past, and moving on from the guilt he’s felt for five seasons, symbolized in the destruction of Lian Yu Island, his own personal purgatory (a bit on the nose with the symbolism and the actual translation, but whatever). Now the Green Arrow faces a challenge unlike any he’s ever faced: parenthood, and the show gives the audience something actually thought-provoking amongst the mindless action and explosions. Without spoiling much, when we first see Oliver and his son William interact, there is an obvious divide. William struggles to trust Oliver as a provider and Oliver struggles with his new role as a father, unable to comfort William on the harrowing events he witnessed on the island. The characters only continue to grow apart as Oliver attempts to balance his professional, secret and personal lives, but fails to be there when William needs him.
This is where the show hits its stride. The first few episodes of the season especially, show Oliver and his team struggling to keep their heads above water amidst the constant bombardment of criminal attacks, relationship drama, and accusations as to who the Arrow actually is. It’s the constant threat that keeps the character’s and audiences’ heads on a swivel as the episodes progress and the idea of insurmountable odds and the emotional backlash they cause is enjoyable to see while it lasts. However, aside from a few arcs that actually carry over from one episode to the next, most of the problems the team face get resolved immediately, and that’s when season starts losing its steam. Entire episodes are reserved for one-off villians that pose a threat for about as long as it takes you to say ‘pointless’ and at a point, the countless drab warehouse fight sequences begin to blur together. There is no reason for this season to be twenty-three episodes long considering how much time they need to fill (normally over forty minutes an episode) and the plot at times gets lost in the intertwined conflicts and relationships. That’s not to say all instances within season six are bad, in fact many are done very well, but there is so much going on at any one given point that it can become hard to follow.
Aside from the crossover episodes, specifically episode eleven, that sees The Arrow, The Flash, and Supergirl combine forces to fight Nazis (what a sentence) the season doesn’t pick up again until the end. We get some great drama as Oliver is put on trial and his secret identity as the Arrow is almost uncovered, and the acting, specifically from Rick Gonzalez as Rene and Kirk Acevedo as the mob Boss Diaz, is some of the best I’ve seen in any superhero show to date. The conclusion to the season as well, is very surprising, if not melancholy and I did want to see what happens next for the main cast.
Arrow has had a fairly rocky run, and season six is no different. While it shines at points when covering more complex and challenging themes about family and sacrifice, that generally gets undermined by repetitive scenarios and bad dialogue. There is fun to be had in this season’s action and campy nature, especially in the crossover episodes, but don’t expect hard-hitting, Emmy material (I don’t need to tell you this). If you’re a long time fan or want something to turn your brain off too, this is a great choice.
- The bonus features were a great touch, the behind the scenes was really intriguing and gives a good look into the production side of these kinds of shows
