Retrospective Review: ARROW Season 1

Arrow Season 1 follows rescued billionaire and playboy extraordinaire Oliver Queen(Stephen Amell) as he tries to reintegrate into high society after being shipwrecked for five years on an island. Upon his return to Starling City, he reunites with his family, mother, Moira Queen (Susanna Thompson), and his sister, Thea Queen (Willa Holland), and his friends, Tommy Merlyn (Colin Donnell) and Laurel Lance(Katie Cassidy) (she’s the ex-girlfriend btw). Oliver works to get his relationships back, but also works at hunting down and killing criminals as the vigilante “The Hood”. He uncovers Malcolm Merlyn’s (John Barrowman) conspiracy to destroy The Glades, a poorer section of the city that has become overridden with crime. John Diggle (David Ramsey) and Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards) assist Oliver in his crusade. The first season also features flashbacks to Oliver’s time on the island, and how it changed him.

This is a retrospective review for Arrow Season 1! If you’re looking for something else Arrow-related, click HERE!

Keep in mind, I’ve seen every season of Arrow, so I can’t approach this from a new perspective, but it has been awhile since I’ve watched Arrow, so it’s kinda a fresh perspective right? There are SPOILERS for Arrow below, I’ll try and keep it to just season 1 though…

Anyways…

This season is pretty good. The introductions to the characters are all mostly perfect, with few exceptions. One unique thing about Arrow, is that it actually maintains a strong list of characters. The show keeps them all relevant, and also maintains focus on the main character. The few seasons that have sucked (season 3, and (coughfourcough)), were because they broadened horizons, and failed to remember the main character.

Season 1 is definitely a building block, if you decide to skip it, you might miss some important details. It had been awhile since I watched season 1, so I definitely realized I missed stuff from season 5 and season 6 coming back and watching.

John Barrowman is a phenomenal actor, and makes a compelling villain in Malcolm Merlyn. Tommy Merlyn is a much needed breath of fresh air for this season, and I cried when he died in the season finale. His presence is missed in later seasons. The family drama Oliver experiences adds only to the feeling of Oliver’s reintegration into society.

If you’re hesitant on beginning this show, please do. You can skip season 4 100%, but definitely start from the beginning here. I’d rank this season of Arrow at:

Have some comments? Different feelings about Arrow‘s beginning? Let us know! We’re on all your favorite social media platforms, @WOBAMEnt. Arrow season 7 premieres on The CW on a new night, Monday, October 15 at 8 pm. Make sure you’re following us as we get more news on what season 7 will hold.