It’s finally here! Season 3 of ‘Arrow’ was my most anticipated premiere going into Fall TV 2014 and here is our review on the first episode. It takes place several months after the second season ended and there is a lot to catch up on in our minor spoilers review.

After Oliver Queen/Arrow defeats his nemesis Slade Wilson/ Deathstroke at the end of season 2, he is in a place of relief as crime has gone down in Starling City and he can finally focus on his personal life.  Things seem to be going really well at first but as we can all expect, something goes wrong and Oliver is forced to put his personal needs aside in order to be the Arrow and keep the city and his loved ones safe.

That is sort of the direction this episode went in and without giving any major spoilers away, let’s take a look at some of my top negatives and positives of this first episode:

Positives: 

• Performances- The reason ‘Arrow’ is such a great TV show (not just comic book TV show) is due to the performances.  First of all, the lead Stephen Amell has improved drastically from the first season and he continues to grow as an actor as the character grows on the show.  Aside from him, pretty much everyone on the show gives exceptional performances in this episode.  But the dynamic between the big three (Oliver, Felicity, and Diggle) probably brings out the best performances.
• Action scenes (as always)- Yet another reason why ‘Arrow’ is one of the best shows on TV, in my opinion, is the action sequences.  Whoever coordinates these stunts is doing it in a cinematic style.  This has always been a highlight in ‘Arrow’ and that seems like it will continue in season 3.
• Olicity-  This is the term used by ‘Arrow’ fans for the desire of them wanting Oliver and Felicity to become romantically involved.  In the past, it has been hinted that Felicity has those type of feelings toward Oliver and he seems to feel the same way.  The problem is he can’t get involved with someone he cares so much about when he’s doing the vigilante thing as well.  They address this issue in the first episode and come to a conclusion that makes sense for the show going forward.

Negatives:

• Side character development?- While I really like where most of the characters are going, there are a few concerns I have about a couple side characters going forward.  One of them is Laurel Lance and the notion that she might become Black Canary (after her sister).  At the end of season two her sister Sarah (who is Canary) gives her a black jacket which hints towards Laurel maybe becoming a vigilante herself.  And at the end of this episode something else happens that can ensure these speculations.  This is actually really ridiculous to me because I don’t see how Laurel, who has no combat training at all and wouldn’t last a second out there with Arrow, will become a BA super hero vigilante.  It makes no sense unless she goes through years and years of serious training.  The other character I was unsure of was Roy Harper aka Arsenal, who is Arrow’s sidekick.  I liked him as he was fighting in the streets with Arrow but one thing I don’t understand is where his character is going aside from being the sidekick.  He is the fourth member of Arrow’s team and he needs some character development in order for fans to become more attached to him.

Overall, I really liked this season 3 premiere of Arrow.  Like I said, it’s one of the best TV shows running right now in my opinion and we will continue to cover it all season long. Let us know what you guys thought of the episode in the comment section.

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