Arrow “Home Invasion” Review


Arrow has been stuck in a formulaic and procedural format lately that has made the show uninteresting. Villains often get killed the same week that they are introduced, and the dramatic fallout is never explored afterwords because the show is so focused on the next threat. Arrow has had a consistent pacing issue that has plagued  nearly every episode of the show since the first. These characters are never truly explored in full because they are always in a some sort of awful danger zone. This week followed the same format that brings the show down in terms of quality, yet this is still one of the best episodes of the show.

The show had multiple villains this week lingering in the shadows. J. August Richards guest starred this week and delivered a truly great performance. The actor pulled off a truly terrifying adversary for the characters on the correct side of the law. The scariest part about the acting of Richards is the fact that he was just a simple hitman. He is a person who has completely shed his morals that is only interested in killing anyone who see’s him while caught in the act of killing. Deadshot was back this week and offered Diggle a storyline that examined Oliver’s allegiances to his friends. Diggle dealt with much heat in the episode and was caught in imminent danger many times. Oliver deserved the harsh speech about not being there for him this week.

The character who has been consistently stealing this show is Tommy Merlyn. The regular guy has no super powers or abilities, he is just a man tortured by his friend trying to do the right thing. He started this show as a despicable human being with a lack of morals, and has become a white knight in shining armor that consistently does the right thing. Oliver is starting to completely wreck his life and instead of just trying to get by, he lets go and moves on. Tommy needs to carve his own path and get out from underneath the shadow of Oliver Queen. The man also deserves a girlfriend who is actually nice, unlike Laurel!

This episode had some fight scenes that were choreographed incredibly well! The scene between the hitman and Oliver was a truly brutal knockdown fight to the death. The fight was quick, but it was bloodthirsty enough to be a huge highlight to this week. The moment where the two brawlers flipped over the stairs and fell to the floor attained a level of intensity rarely reached by the show. The other fight scene in the episode between Diggle and Deadshot was another quick battle that ended in a satisfying fashion.

The Arrow creators have mentioned that they have been saving the budget for the final two episodes of the first season. After this episode viewers must be beyond curious what the show has in store for the future. While this episode worked within the context of the series, Arrow must be paced better in order to stay interesting for next season. The regular audience of the show has grown frustrated with the same formula episode after episode of the series.

4/5

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