Review: Arrow 2.01 – “City of Heroes” aka Growing A Pair After Failing The City

It’s all for Tommy.

Arrow season two kicked off last night, and despite the fact that Oliver had to grow some balls to get back into the swing of things, this season comes with a kinder, gentler Hood.  Except he doesn’t want to be called The Hood anymore.  More on that in a minute.

After several months of drowning his sorrows by playing Tarzan on the very island he sought to escape all those years, Oliver technically forced Digg and Felicity into sky diving to get his attention.  It worked, with a little explosion and a compromising position to get the viewer’s attention.  Oliver reluctantly returned to Starling City because Queen Consolidated is being taken over by Summer Glau.  I can’t think of a more perfect actress to give that cold hard stare and I’m sure that’s the only reason why she was casted.  That and she’s a goddess to the fan boys.

On the flip side Moira is in jail and not wearing makeup, and Thea, who isn’t old enough to drink, is running Verdant along with her new boy toy Roy (hey, I make a rhyme there!) Digg and Felicity are trying like mad to knock some sense into Oliver, arguing that since he’s back, perhaps he needs to go back to his vigilante duties.  Oliver can’t do that, because Tommy’s ghost haunts him.  No, we didn’t see any apparitions of Colin Donnell.  Ollie just remembers how Tommy disapproved of his killing people and flat out called him a murderer.  That hurt.  As we learned from the flashbacks, when things get personal, Ollie has a little control problem.

Four bad dudes personally hurt like Ollie from the earthquake decide they want to start killing people like the mayor out of revenge.  Who’s tops on their list?  Why the guy who just made his triumphant return, Oliver Queen.  First though they attack Laurel, who’s now working for the district attorney since C.N.R.I. is nothing but rubble.  Oliver comes to check if things are okay and things get awkward.  The dewy eyes for each other are still there though and eventually they come to an understanding in front of Tommy’s grave.  Which he’s probably rolling in right now since they held hands.

After the bad guys fail in their attack against Oliver because they don’t realize he’s a quick thinker that can repel using a mere window treatment through two plates of hard, impenetrable office glass (yes, it was a cool visual effect though), they take Thea.  Half of us are on the fence over whether she should live or die, but Ollie is clearly in the getting her back camp.  Thanks to the “upgrades” that Felicity did to the Arrow cave, aka turning it into a high tech, futuristic palace (I always though that place needed a woman’s touch), Ollie puts on the suit that was in glorious display in the glass case.

This part gets a wee bit predictable, but with the new season’s “twist”.  Ollie takes out the bad guys easily, but spares them their lives and turns them over to now beat cop Quentin Lance.  This marks the second show that I routinely watch where a beloved supporting character has been busted from detective to regular cop.  I mean geez, Quentin did save half of the Glades, right?  Quentin asks the Hood why he didn’t kill them, and Ollie in Hood spouts the new mantra.  “I’m trying a different way.”  After all, it’s all for Tommy.

It all closes with Thea and Moira hugging it out, because it takes an awful kidnapping and threat against her life to make Thea see what’s important, Ollie calling in Walter to be his white knight to save the company, and Oliver deciding that if they’re going to do this no killing thing for Tommy, he needs a new name.  He doesn’t say the name, but the ending close up on the green arrow says it all.  Which I think is funny since that name was first suggested by Malcolm Merlyn.

All in all it was a fluid, very entertaining hour to kick off the new season.  I was quite curious a couple of scenes where they seem to be pushing Olicity (Oliver/Felicity for the shipping ignorant).  Why do I think that’s going to be our new love triangle with Laurel?  Tommy is dead after all.  Felicity was my favorite part of the episode though, especially when she worried about her job if the hostile take over happens.  You’re the brains behind a secret vigilante operation run by a billionaire.  I think you’ll manage to get your rent paid for dear.  Anyway, I love the focus they’re putting on her character and bringing her front and center.  That can only get better.  Also, she should wear more blue.  That was a nice look.

The flashbacks were only there to show that Oliver and Shado are intimate and a new threat has emerged.  I imagine this will all have a purpose later, but for this episode I found those scenes a bit distracting from the wounds of a half destroyed Starling City.  Oh, and the Black Canary!  Fantastic, although part of me so wished it was revealed to be Laurel.  I also like how the city is still grieving and hasn’t begun to rebuild, and the fact that the city now needs a hero plays in nicely with Ollie’s return.

Up next week, China White and the Triad are kicking up crap again.  Should be fun!