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Author Topic: Arrow Season 3  (Read 43463 times)
Perry
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« Reply #75 on: September 10, 2015, 03:30:08 AM »

I am not trying to go around and bash this show ... but ... Come on, guys. Stop THIS stuff. Ugh. Who is that. Night Thrasher in Magneto variant?
 Cheesy
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Jimmy T
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« Reply #76 on: September 10, 2015, 04:37:30 AM »

Yeah...not super impressed with Dig's get up.  Undecided
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Jimmy T since 2001
Perry
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« Reply #77 on: September 10, 2015, 12:45:25 PM »

Do you think they are gonna "power him up" later as well? 'Cause this is pretty bad, but if they at least do something with that horrible, no purpose look, I could at least give them a little credit. But honestly, there is no reason for this. This has got to be Guggenheim. It has his stink on it.
 Undecided
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Avatar mash-up is from Ross Pearsall... and of course those that own the original characters Smiley
Jimmy T
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« Reply #78 on: September 10, 2015, 02:43:39 PM »

I think, looking at it, it seemed as if they said "How could we make an Army soldier into a superhero (costume)?"

And that's what this looks like it's trying to copy. Diggle running around in a domino mask probably just looked stupid. A hood wouldn't work. A full black mask would, unfortunately, make him look like a thug (perceptionally, sadly). So, a helmet then.

But that helmet is ass. Either close it tight and make it look like a Power Ranger helmet, or open it up like an Army helmet, or give him the Captain America/Daredevil/Flash pullover cowl look. Something to hide his distinctive features, and easy to come off (since Dig works so much better out of costume).

Hell, at this point, might as well make him Gangbuster

Edit and yes-ha! Love the Guggenheim hate. Mostly deserved, too! I can't think of any of his personal comics he's written where I've been enamored of it!!
« Last Edit: September 10, 2015, 02:48:19 PM by Jimmy T » Logged

Jimmy T since 2001
Jeff
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« Reply #79 on: September 10, 2015, 03:27:40 PM »

It might look better on screen.  I wasn't sure about the Flash costume when the pictures first came out but on screen it looks good.  He kind of looks like the Guardian.
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“If I could go back in time and like tell 11 year old me that like not only do you get to go to Comic Con but you go every year.  So much so that you get greeted by Stan Lee when you show up.  And 11 year old me would be like - How did we get so fat?”- Kevin Smith
Jimmy T
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« Reply #80 on: September 24, 2015, 02:47:19 AM »

In my rewatch of season 3, I loved-just loved!-the action sequence against Komodo in Ep 2!!!

Big fight in a ballroom high rise, Komodo's arrow launches a zip line to escape from the nearby broken bay window. Arrow launches himself up from the floor, dives through the window, spinning a pirouette in the air, firing up into the window sill to wall rappel down the outside of the glassy steel finger of the building jutting into the city's night sky and come snapping into a lower window! Just a great sequence!!

You may continue.  Cool

(Also, the sword & bow fight in the warehouse between Arrow
Merlyn and Nyssa
was superbadassificus in the next ep too!!)
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Jimmy T since 2001
Jimmy T
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« Reply #81 on: September 29, 2015, 05:15:46 PM »

Another (yes, yet another) meta-analysis of Arrow Season 3.

PART ONE  Cool

I sit here writing this, having just finished the ep 'The Climb,' which I believed to be the single best episode of the series (which could be directly challenged by 'Public Enemy'). However, I must back up, yet again.

Season 3 was a whirlwind of events and separate calamities in the life and world of Oliver Queen aka the 'Arrow.' Having survived the attack on the city by mirakuru mercanaries and Deathstroke, the seasons begins with the city feeling all happy thoughts about its green garbed hero, and with Ollie believing his personal life could work again.

This becomes destroyed, and becomes the major theme of the first act-'its all personal.' The beginning third of the season is all about Sara's death, and what it means within Ollie's world-how he feels, how he projects, how he feels about the life he lives. All the others are caught up in it as well. Everyone's lives are affected and changed. From Felicity trying to quit Team Arrow to move on to be with Ray, to Dig's changing role due to his own duties as father, to Roy's personal journey of learning about the murder he committed, to the ever growing role of Thea.

All the way up to 'The Climb' I loved this first act. (okay, the Cupid episode was terrible. Still skipped that one). The threats were all small, not city or world destroying (which was very welcome, to be honest). They still did their rooftops at night vigilantism. They had newer comic guest stars (Wildcat & the Boxing Arrow! Captain Boomerang was awesome in the crossover episode!! Komodo I hope makes a reappearance at some point!).

You can't see it here(but it shows up later in the season) that there isn't a lot of life outside the hood. While I realize that's what the season is about-that Ollie can't be two people, he can't lead a personal life-it's with a feeling of loss that we don't see his mother, Tommy, acting 'normal' with his sister, going to board meetings or public events as Oliver. That sense of normalcy is lacking. It's truly only noticeable, I believe, in the end of the season-which is all world jet-setting, assassin battles, League membership changes, hunted by all-no one is going to the Big Belly Burger to talk about an old date! The last ep almost completely makes up for this, but again, more on that later!!!

All the action and plot was very well pointed in a true, straight direction. Who murdered Sara? How to capture that person and gain justice? All of this was done through all the characters, whether they fractured away from Ollie, grew tighter, fought or rebelled against him, or had their own tragedy occur, everything in the first 9 eps worked so well to drive towards one specific moment-and that's 'The Climb.' I find it to have worked beautifully. That ep stunned me flat. Left me breathless. Left me heartbroken (re: Ollicity). Left me wondering and hungering for me. Just rewatching that final battle sans music; just heavy breathing and the scuffling sounds of two battling warriors was perfectly executed. And it looked painful!

With Act 1 culminating in this moment, I felt assured that this season would truly be the best one yet-again! However, a re-watch, rereading my old comments, and time will tell what my own final thoughts will be. I like to reassess; hence, my newer posts before SEASON 4 STARTING IN A WEEK!!!!
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Jimmy T since 2001
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« Reply #82 on: October 06, 2015, 03:33:48 AM »

My introspection continues, as I rehash more on the third season. I hope I drive to a point where I hope to explain what I hope to see more from the show.

What I consider to be Act II of Season 3 is the sub-plot villain, Brick, all the way up to ‘Public Enemy’. Vinnie Jones was a terrific thug and cutthroat. He had a shtick (“You get one chance to tag me. You put me down; you walk. Otherwise, you’re dead”). He wasn’t an idiot or a fool. They created an actual menace in him that was a larger threat than the group, sans Oliver, could deal with.

For sure, the No Man’s Land was a comic trope for the show, but I didn’t feel it insulted any of us too much by its length, or the helplessness it forced upon the rest of the city or its police.

This ran concurrently with Oliver’s convalescence from ‘The Fall’. HOW DID HE ACTUALLY SURVIVE? A big hiccup and failure after an EXCELLENT episode that drew my ire. Considering he was ‘brought back to life’ by the woman to become Katana, I had hope for mystical Chinese herbs, or shades of magic from the katana (to give it more of the feel of its comic counterpart, since that houses the soul of her dead husband). Instead, he drank broth, did some pushups, and like Christian Bale in Dark Knight Rises, just got some facebook likes and up and away he went to save the city! His return in the subsequent fight against Brick, as a city’s savior, was a wonderfully created moment, that is only mirrored later by how far he falls in ‘Public Enemy.’

After his return, there are many other...blemishes, I’ll call them. Bruises on an apple that was looking rather tasty after Act I and the beginning of Act II. We went from city threat, to personal threat, back to city thread, to just personal threat once again. All the cards come out on the table; Thea finds out about Ollie (in a beautiful moment that went against every Hollywood shtick of “you lied to me this whole time!”).  Meryln’s video was made known to Thea, Thea confesses to Laurel; to Nyssa. The league makes moves against Starling to force Oliver to find a killer. This portion of the season was so very busy. It’s hard to write on it concisely considering the scope that was covered.

Oliver and Thea bonding together on Lian Yu to confront Slade…their moments were good, but Slade was a poor season 3 guest star just to show him there.

Ray’s continued quest to build the Atom suit was very apart from the workings of the show, but I didn’t find his story to be lacking…it just didn’t mesh with anyone else (excepting Felicity). Since Oliver was removed from Queen Consolidated and had no money, financial backing, or popular city clout, Ray stopped being the popular antagonist to Oliver’s actions. He was a good guy, doing good work, and always tried to help. Oliver was so busy with personal vendettas and trips, that Ray’s angle didn’t come across his desk.

The Canaries ep was a great way to bring Sara back to the fold. It took me a long time to believe in Laurel’s growth (or acting, in most instances!), but her character arc only did –honestly!-get stronger throughout the season, and she really started to own it quite well. I’m glad to see she got her ass kicked just as much as she actually did help.

Tremors in the Force appeared in Act II with the episode Nanda Parbat. This is where Thea trades in Merlyn to the League (Because she has them on speed dial? Anyhoo….). Oliver’s plan involves them having to travel across the world to India to rescue him. So begins one of the 7 times or so they fly to India (Ray Palmer must be very forgiving of all the jet fuel they use!!). Oliver’s reasoning for why they need to rescue them (to save Thea’s soul from having been the reason her father’s dead) was a bit hollow, since it was only done to get Ollie to meet Ra’s so that Ra’s may do the Offer of handing the League to Oliver. A plot line was driven and rammed down our throats through a weak story offering. It was always a bit poor in the original setting of ‘why’ Malcolm needed to be kept around. That’s the first point of contention. 

The second point of contention that was only cleared up later in Act III (there’s another!!) is that they keep referring to Malcolm as Thea’s father~ as if that has any true importance between being a fact of genetics. Thea wasn’t raised by him, loved by him, and in fact, he made her murder a friend to cover his ass!! The importance of him in Thea’s life, in my estimation, should barely be a confliction in her feelings. He’s a father in that he’s a genetic donor of the X chromosome to Moira Queen; that’s it. But, that’s just me.  But the overused angle of ‘why Malcolm can’t get killed’ is a bit of a letdown throughout the rest of this season. Ollie really got over what a terrible threat Malcolm is, was, and continues to be in a bit too nonchalant manner.

It’s an original staple of the Batman/Ra’s conflict from the comics that the Detective take over for the Demon’s Head, and it’s pretty much mirrored in the show from here on out. I can’t say it worked all the time, but it gave some interesting conflicts, if only  at the expense of actual good writing to make it work all the time. That’s another sour lemon to bite into during Act II and III.

However, after this ep were 2 of my favorite eps of all-‘Suicidal Tendencies’ and ‘Public Enemy’.

‘Suicidal’ gave all flashback parts to Floyd Lawton aka Deadshot. He’s a returning special forces guy, full blown PTSD, whose life just spirals away. This is mirrored with the current time, where his life finally has a brief meaning again to save Dig and Layla from a blown mission. IT’s a sad ep; it’s presumed Deadshot ‘leaves’ the series since images have started to come out of Will Smith as Deadshot from the movie, and since they are different universes, we can’t have them both running around. We also lost Captain Boomerang to his, and his tv character was great! To see Dig work his way around from needing to have deadly vengeance delivered to Deadshot for killing his brother Andy to actually being able to forgive the murderer, as well as care for his life was terrific writing through myriad episodes through 3 seasons. Here, the hero forgiving the dire villain works. With Ollie and Merlyn? Just not so much. Then again, Merlyn never gets close to redemption either!! He merely gets the scales balanced..or more aptly put, tilted in his favor.

Then…there’s ‘Public Enemy.’
AMAZING EPISODE.

I’m not sure I can do more justice to the ep than I did in my original post, but I’ll still gush that this episode left me breathless and unable to comprehend what will happen after this one! Oliver’s life is blown up. It’s upside down, inside out, 3 ways from Tuesday. Ra’s reveals to Det. Lance that Oliver and the Arrow are one and the same, and from that point it is just one tiny stone upending rock after rock after boulder that is the avalanche that crushes Oliver’s life. He’s on the run. As are his compatriots. He has no plan. No back up. No chance to think or act-hell, he can barely react. It’s the least thing he can do to stem the tide of danger facing his friends-turn himself in! How? Wha? Hunh? Then the ending of that with Roy trying to take the bullet? OH man I couldn’t wait to see the rest of the season!!!

Perhaps I spoke too soon.

And there's a third part!!!
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Jimmy T since 2001
Jimmy T
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« Reply #83 on: October 12, 2015, 03:23:09 AM »

LAST PART!! Cheesy

Act III

This compromises the last 5 episodes of Season 3. Ra’s makes it impossible for Oliver to do anything but say yes to take over the Demon’s Head. Oliver ends up taking Ra’s up on his offer after Ra’s sleeper agent/DJ McStud screws Thea (is this a rape after the fact), gets her calm, then nearly kills her. Taking her to Nanda Parbat (another plane ride), she is revived by the Lazurus Pit, but Oliver remains behind to become the Arrow..er, Al Sah-him.

From there, Ollie, through some drugs, starts to fall more and more under the sway of Ra’s and his plans. Team Arrow is back struggling to think of a way to get Oliver back. Their plans meet up when Oliver comes back to have to kill Nyssa, but is foiled. He does some very serious ill will to the group by holding Lyla hostage, and is forced to flee back to Nanda Parbat. Well, now Ra’s orders him to destroy his past forever by killing Starling City.

However, Malcolm has to come clean with the group that this was all a set up. Ollie is a double agent on the inside to take down  the League. Another plane trip to Nanda Parbat, a big assassin/Team Arrow fight, including Katana herself. However, they are all captured, nearly killed, but end up getting back for the final episode to defeat Ra’s!

Many things to touch on, and here goes with something I’ve mostly ignored in the prior parts.

Flashbacks in China: honestly, just boring. Moreso, I can’t follow Amanda Waller’s motivations or practices. She’s the head of Argus at this point, and she sees value in making Oliver into some black agent. Why? Is he really that specialized from his 2 years of island survival to become your secret weapon? Why not train him properly? Instead, you force him to live with another agent-who, by the way, is doing it under duress because you have threatened to kill his family if Oliver doesn’t comply? What?! Isn’t Argus an American agency? Black Ops is one thing, but she’s extorting and killing innocent people too? What is her game? This glaring injustice really detracts from any enjoyment from the flashbacks. When Maseo, Tatsu, and Oliver became a rogue team to stop the virus being spread, then it go interesting. Tatsu’s sword fight with China White was fantastic too! Any use of her being a true threat was a great moment. Hope to see her appear a few more times in the series. Having Maseo be so damned selfish in his grief was really hard to watch, and to watch him leave his wife seemed extreme in action too.

Tatsu and Maseo’s sword fight: As a quick follow up, this was SO COOL!! A great scene, you knew Maseo had to die here, but it was a fight of regret, loss, anger, and in the end, a truly, horribly sad moment. I think Maseo says something like he was already dead 5 years ago. But still, this moment had power and resonated for me.  Tatsu, while seemingly very taciturn for a lot of time seeing her (I don’t know how well she speaks English; she was always very stilted in her speech.) But her misery and grief at Maseo’s death was very powerful.

Thea coming back from the Pit: I’m to understand that this will hit more in the next season, but it was so glossed over at this point. When I think on it, this was, of course, just the set up hit to get Oliver to take Ra’s offer. AS I dwell on it, it feels like the season ran out of time to tell a properly layered and nuanced story of Oliver taking over the League and inserting his secret plan through it. From Thea’s resurrection on, the whole third Act was just a whirlwind of continual change and hurried plans. That’s why it didn’t feel that impactful.  The turnabouts in the last 3 eps were just rushed and non-impactful. The gas to kill them? Like anyone bought the threat of them dying? I understand its more the character motivations that matter at that point. Could they or couldn’t they trust Oliver? How should they react to being jerked around? Etc etc.

The League is a joke: I don’t think I need to say much on this. Yes, our heroes must win against faceless goons, but these yutzes simply died like grass in Arizona. Pathetic. Felt no threat from them. Why fear the League at all? Felicity may have killed one by throwing a laptop at him! (okay, yeah, Merlyn did get him in the back with an arrow Wink ).

Motivations of Ra’s and making Oliver the Demon’s Head: This one I could spend way too much time on. Not like I haven’t mused enough on this season already! After the Offer ep, Ra’s just seems oddly pathetic, and past his prime. Some ‘ancient prophecy’ detailed Oliver’s ascension, and well, that was it for Ra’s to say goodbye to the good life. Oliver hoodwinking him at the end made him look like an old man sitting at the dinner table going “eh?” to all the jokes he can’t hear from the grandkids. He grew weaker and weaker as a threat the more he was seen in the third act. Then, forcing Nyssa to marry Oliver…huh? Sure, whatever. Keep the Batman story analogs going, I guess.

This all said, I still enjoyed the season...for the most part. Had some GREAT episodes, so many GREAT moments. Great characters doing great things with each other. The overall arc was not strong, and in some points, not very good. The characters ruled this season. Their directions, actions, reactions, interactions and feelings is what made so many moments of this season worth watching. So, I'm still all in.  Cool
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