Arrow: Season 3, Episode 16: The Offer
I like this show. I expected it to be Smallville (which I also liked), but with Green Arrow instead of Superman. What I got when I finally tuned in was so much more. It was an extremely (I hate how often I hear these words these days) dark and gritty. It couldn’t have been more different from its predecessor. Oliver was freakin’ killing people! It took over half the season for him to finally decide to stop killing and bring criminals to justice instead. The show is completely packed to the brim with tragedy and angst. Oliver is a tortured hero who is being constantly lied to by everyone around him. I guess he lies as well, even going as far as killing people to keep his secret early on. Once he gets into his role as hero however, he fights for right and refuses to take life.
That’s pretty much when Oliver Queen becomes Bruce Wayne. Green Arrow is now Batman. For some reason, the show runners have deemed Green Arrow’s personality and rogues gallery to be inadequate. I mean, of course heroes of the same universe tend to share bad guys, but man this is going pretty deep. It started with Deadshot and moved through Firefly, Dealmaker, Clock King and a few more. They’ve borrowed a few Teen Titans villains and more from the DC universe and he’s fought a few of his own, but between this and his personality, the link between the Arrow and the Dark Knight is pretty prominent. This latest season has made it the most clear.
His interactions with the Flash are so reminiscent of conversations between Batman and Superman. He’s all about explaining how much more dangerous his city is and how much he has to do to keep his villains in check. In the comics and previous onscreen appearances, Ollie has always been a much more lighthearted character who believes in freedom from oppression.
This latest arc has been both good and more Batman-like than ever. I understand Merlyn (One of GA’s own villains) has roots in the League of Assassins, but to take things straight from the pages of Batman seems kind of unnecessary, especially so early in the show’s life. I’m just glad they chose to use Nyssa instead of Talia for this show. Had they use Talia, I would’ve been furious.
They’ve shown Rā’s al-Ghúl (the “Roz” pronunciation physically hurts me whenever they say it) a few times, and it was particularly badass when he beat the crap out of Oliver with barely any effort, but he was most prominent in this episode. They even went as far as to introduce the Lazarus Pit. This was cool and all, but it definitely had me fuming a bit to see Rā’s offer Oliver his throne. That is a Batman thing! Come on! Can we not make compelling stories for a character that’s been around for almost 75 years from his own comic?
I do find what’s happening with Ray Palmer becoming the Atom to be interesting and Oliver’s constant pain with having to always see Felicity is engaging. I’m glad the two of them seem to be getting past that love thing and trying to remain great friends. I also hope that Nyssa trains Laurel much MUCH more, because she’s just getting in the way as it stands. What the hell was even the point of introducing Ted Grant? He got the crap kicked out of him in the only fight he’s had and his training program completely sucks.
Even though I disagree with the constant shoehorning of characters (obviously to try to combat Marvel’s shared universe), the show is still remaining good. It is just as much a character drama as it is a superhero action show. The ending was particularly good. Rā’s al Ghúl does not take no for an answer!
Jonathan Thomas Jones is a speculative fiction author and founder of geekhavenreviews.com. He has been passionate about all things geek for his entire life. See more about him at jonathanthomasjones.com and follow him on twitter @jtgloryjones.
