“Arrow” 3.1 – The Calm (7 out of 10) – Written by Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, Marc Guggenheim, & Jake Coburn; Starring Stephen Amell, Katie Cassidy, David Ramsey, Emily Bett Rickards, Paul Blackthorne, and Colton Haynes. Originally aired on CW, October 8, 2014.
Previously on “Arrow” – at the end of Season 2, a lot of plotlines had been resolved. The season’s Big Bad, Slade Wilson/Deathstroke was put away on the island in a new kind of jail cell operated by A.R.G.U.S.. Sara Lance went off with her girlfriend Nyssa Al Ghul to rejoin the League of Assassins. Laurel Lance was off the bottle and moving forward to become a new Canary, and Felicity Smoak was seeing a future of some kind with Oliver Queen, while his own sister Thea was seeing a future without him (deep breath). On the man side of the Arrowcave, you have John Diggle expecting a baby with Lyla, Roy Harper stepping up to become Arrow’s sidekick Arsenal, and Detective Quentin Lance collapsing from some kind of heart condition. So where does all this leave our hero? Oliver lost a lot in his battle with Deathstroke. His mother was killed. His sister left town with her evil father Malcolm Merlyn. Sara’s going off to chill with Ra’s Al Ghul. He lost Queen Consolidated. And yet, at the end of the season, Oliver seemed to have found some measure of peace.
Season 3 begins six months after Season 2 ended, and Oliver’s still feeling good. The anti-vigilante task force has been disbanded, Arrow’s being celebrated as a legitimate hero, and no terrorists are in town. Yet. Within a few minutes of the episode’s start, Starling City has a new villain in town. The new villain has an old name — Count Vertigo. Count Vertigo had traditionally been one of Green Arrow’s arch enemies in the comic books, and was legitimate royalty, with a cape and a monocle and stuff. On “Arrow,” he had been revamped as an ecstasy-style drug dealer in the first season, and was killed in the second season. Now a new villain has taken the name, and tweaked the vertigo drug. Instead of being a stimulant that just might kill you (like the best stimulants)(drugs are bad, kids), now it’s a hallucinogen that brings your fears to life. Sounds like they copied a play out of Scarecrow’s book. Which is fine. This new Count Vertigo is still a slimy, sketchy drug dealer who’s on his way to being a crime boss, but he’s sloppier than he should be. I’d like to see a Count Vertigo worthy of the name, able to be a true adversary to Oliver Queen. Even though Vertigo’s the big bad of this episode, the other stuff going on is more interesting.
The new villain has an old name.
For longtime fans of the show, the most important thing is the will they/won’t they first date between Oliver and Felicity. More than any other leaks or previews or spoilers, that’s the thing that producers have been pumping since the end of season two. “They go on a date you guys! ZOMG!” is basically how it’s been pitched. There’s a whole segment of the fan base that refer to this as “Olicity,” and while I like both characters, I just don’t see it. I’ve never seen it. Sure, I it’s cute how she gets flustered when his shirt is off (about seven times per episode), and I like how he teases her…when he’s not barking orders at her. They do have their first date in this episode, and it’s cute. It kind of spins them around, pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey-style, and points them interesting direction for their relationship. I didn’t expect it to play out the way it did, and I like that.
Roy Harper has been a frustrating character for a while now. We meet him as a street rat, then Thea’s boyfriend, then boyfriend in a coma…when from day one, we just wanted to see him put on a damn costume and shoot arrows. He’s Speedy, man! Or Red Arrow. Or Arsenal. Or maybe a few other superhero handles. It looks like they chose the name Arsenal, and he suited up. We get to see Arsenal in action as a full-on hero, not just working as Arrow’s sidekick, but taking on more of the role that Diggle played. Taking a separate, independent part of the mission that Arrow isn’t able to handle. Roy Harper still has the super strength granted him by the mirakuru drug last year, making him one of the few characters on “Arrow” with true superpowers. The powers seem to be just enhanced strength and healing, but who knows? Really, a sidekick who can take a bullet and keep fighting? That’s Batman’s wettest dream! The relationship between Oliver and Roy seems tighter than it has been, and that’s good. While Arrow is still definitely the team leader, the two are more partners than hero and sidekick. The six month gap between seasons may have been filled with “Karate Kid”-style training montages; I’m okay with skipping them.
Laurel Lance’s character is another one that’s improved, although season two was a transformative season for her all the way around. She’s gone from being the whiniest, weepiest character on the show to someone with a lot of backbone. I was telling a friend I liked her “infinitely more,” which he said is mathematically impossible. After punching him in the balls, I said “okay, I like her eleven more.” And I do. She’s competent, she’s more hardass than she was. I don’t think she cried once in the entire episode–a first for “Arrow.” It makes me believe she can actually be the lawyer that she’s supposed to be in the series, but more importantly (for me, at least), I can see her being Black Canary someday. I can why Oliver Queen would have loved her in the first place. I can see her kicking bad guy ass. For now, I like her role: prosecuting villains, legitimizing in the courts what Arrow cleans up on the streets.
The most interesting development in Starling City in episode 3.1 is the arrival of Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh). Comic Book nerds will know that Ray Palmer is a scientist. He’s the alter ego of the superhero Atom, who can shrink down to microscopic size thanks to a belt that incorporates dwarf star matter. See, “dwarf star matter” makes sense, because he’s a scientist. And it was 1961, so people were gullible. Here, Ray Palmer is a CEO, possibly an inventor, certainly a Steve Jobs-style innovator. He’s someone with the money and charisma to reinvigorate a company like Queen Consolidated. There’s a dick measuring contest in the board room between Oliver Queen and Palmer, and despite his reputation as a shrinking superhero, the new guy wins. I’m glad he’ll be around for a while.
the new guy wins
For all of the things that “Superman Returns” got wrong, they got the casting right. I like Brandon Routh. I liked him as Superman and Clark Kent. I think I’ll like him as Ray Palmer, whether or not he ever suits up as Atom. Routh is a breath of fresh air to an series that can be darker than it really needs to be. He provides a verbal sparring partner for Felicity. He creates tension and competition with Oliver, but without being threatening. It’s difficult to set up an rival to your protagonist without undermining either character, but they’ve done a good job here. He’s likable, and is bringing a few fresh ideas to the table. One that seems minor, but made my nerd heart sing (well, sing is overstating it, probably happy would suffice) is a proposal to change the name of the town. In the comic books, Green Arrow was always from Star City. On “Arrow,” it’s been Starling City. In a PR move, Palmer pushes for a switch from Starling City to Star City. We’re not sure if the board went for it, but I hope it happens.
“Arrow” has always been telling two stories–one in the present day in Starling City, the other told through flashbacks to the island where Oliver Queen was stranded. It’s an interesting ingredient for the series, but too often gets either repetitious or boring. They spent maybe ten minutes on the island per episode, so they trickled out the story piecemeal until I just didn’t care anymore. Season two wrapped up the island story, but the series is keeping the flashbacks, now moving to Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, we see that A.R.G.U.S. boss Amanda Waller is around, and up to her quasi-villainous tricks. The relationship here explains some of the friction that Oliver and Waller had from the first time we saw them on screen together. In Hong Kong We also meet a Japanese couple who will have a lasting impact on Oliver’s path to being a superhero. Both Maseo and Tatsu are martial arts experts, and will either continue training Oliver or beat the hell out of him. Probably both. Tatsu herself becomes a superhero in the DC Universe–whether she does on “Arrow” is still up in the air. Because we just met her five minutes ago. Give her a chance. I like the move to Hong Kong–it seems like it will open up the flashback stories more than a deserted island or abandoned freighter did.
they’ll either keep training oliver, or beat the hell out of him. Probably both.
Having watched “The Flash” yesterday, and “Arrow” today, I like the direction both shows are headed. An episode title like ‘The Calm’ can only be followed by a storm. That storm may take the guise of Ra’s Al Ghul. International assassin. We know him from “Batman Begins,” but he’s been mentioned on “Arrow” several times already. He’s the head of the League of Assassins, who trained Sara Lance to become the Canary. One of his daughters is Sara’s lover, and has saved Oliver Queen’s hide a few times. His story has been set up to have him hating both Oliver and Malcolm Merlyn, so Ra’s should be a major player this season. His usual mad schemes are to destroy all but the best of humanity, and then start over, repopulating the world from his Eden of Nanda Parbat. I like the idea of Ra’s as a big bad for the season. Green Arrow’s rogues gallery has always been anemic compared to other superheroes, so I’m glad they’re yoinking Ra’s from Batman. I’ve always felt that the greater threat the villain brings, the stronger the hero becomes. Ra’s Al Ghul is probably too strong for Arrow to handle solo–he’ll need the team that includes Arsenal and Black Canary, Diggle and Felicity. The series has built a strong team in the first two seasons. Even though “The Calm” only lasts a single episode, Oliver Queen has it covered.