Distributor: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Episodes: 23
Duration: 42 min (per episode)
Arrow: Season 3 (Blu-ray) – Series Review
Oliver Queen, Starling City’s vigilante by default, commonly known as Arrow, has returned for a third season. This time the action will still be present but at the same time it will move a bit to the background, as this season is more of an emotional rollercoaster than the action packed series we have already gotten used to. It seems that the life of a vigilante is not all fame and glory, but also hard choices, solitude and the pain that comes with it all. Put on your favorite green hoodie as we follow Arrow and his team once more.
Note: To give you a glimpse of what this season is all about, we’ll have to spoil a few of the events that partake at the beginning of the season, thus be warned of possible spoilers.
Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell), also known as the Arrow, has been cleaning up Starling City after the events of the previous seasons. Nonetheless, he hasn’t been on his own throughout the entire ordeal and he can find comfort with his allies, namely the tech wizard Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards), the soldier John Diggle (David Ramsey) and Roy Harper (Colton Haynes), soon to be dubbed Arsenal. Things seem to be clearing up for the team of vigilantes, especially now that captain Quentin Lance (Paul Blackthorne) has renounced the hunt for the Arrow and has finally given him the credit he deserves. Whilst this may sound like the ideal situation for the troupe, things go from picture perfect to sour very fast. Sara Lance (Caity Lotz) is back in Starling City, to tend to some business for the League of Assassins but it does not take long before she is murdered cold-bloodedly by a miscreant who happens to use arrows as his tools of choice. It seems Sara, who has ‘died’ a few times now, has made her final exit this time.
Giving a precise description of what this season is about is actually quite difficult, as this season will revolve more around the emotions of Oliver Queen rather than separate storylines. Even though Oliver really wants to be together with Felicity, the tragic death of Sara once again causes him to take his distance, pushing his allies further and further away. Things get even worse when the League of Assassins comes into the picture more and more, especially when they present Oliver with a specific choice, one that would change his life, as well as the lives of all of his friends and allies. Another topic that will be of great importance is the death of Sara Lance and how Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy) handles the death of her sister, or avoids handling it, to be more precise. Thea also takes the foreground even more, as she wants to become stronger and due to this, she allows Malcom Merlyn (John Barrowman) into her life. Whether this is truly for the best, is something only time will be able to tell.
Woven in-between all of the above, there will be a storyline that consists out of Oliver’s flashbacks about his time in Hong Kong, where he first meets Waller (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) and gets charged with doing her dirty work, even though he’d rather go home, thus undertaking many attempts of breaking free. This brings him to Maseo Yamashiro (Karl Yune), Tatsu Yamashiro (Rila Fukushima) and their son Akio (Brandon Nomura). Maseo is also one of Waller’s ‘agents’ and he will get the hard task to keep Oliver in check, if not Maseo’s family will have to pay the price.
The flow of this season is actually a healthy balance between information, action scenes, but also a hefty amount of drama. Whilst most fans will probably be used to the more action packed first seasons, this one tries to handle the pace a bit differently and it does work, to a certain extent. The emotional scenes tend to get a bit heavy now and then but not truly bothersome.
Acting performances are still top notch, especially from the cast we were already quite used to, but many newcomers put down great performances as well. Brandon Routh, who plays the eccentric highly intelligent billionaire Ray Palmer is one of those stars who make a lasting impression, even though he is a new cast member. Brandon and Nila play together quite well in a sense that a certain harmony drips off the screen, adding another layer to the story.
When it comes to the special features of this Blu-ray release, you’ll find many typical features such as deleted scenes, commentaries and the never absent gag reel. There are few others worth mentioning though, especially the one about Ray Palmer’s persona, the creation of the League of Assassin’s lair and the design of the costumes, which have been altered slightly over the course of the series.
Conclusion
The third season of Arrow proves that this series still has a lot of potential, even with the alteration of the topic and the pace. Nonetheless, there will be enough action to sink your teeth into, as well as a lot of character evolution. Even though this season has a more emotional undertone, we are already waiting for the fourth season to pass the revue.
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