# Thinking of watching Arrow. Is it any good? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 2, 2014, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-of-watching-arrow-is-it-any-good/689800 "2014-06-02T00:21:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2014, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-of-watching-arrow-is-it-any-good/689800/1 "2014-06-02T00:21:26Z")
Season one of Arrow is on Netflix. I watched the Pilot and I thought it was okay but looking for opinions of people who watch the show. Is it good? Should I skip any episodes? No spoilers please. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2014, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-of-watching-arrow-is-it-any-good/689800/2 "2014-06-02T00:33:41Z")
Yes, but I would say only OK at first. It is a show that started solid enough, but has grown up and improved a lot. It’s a really good show now. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2014, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-of-watching-arrow-is-it-any-good/689800/3 "2014-06-02T01:59:44Z")
Yes, it is a very entertaining show. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2014, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-of-watching-arrow-is-it-any-good/689800/4 "2014-06-02T02:09:23Z")
I just finished season one on Netflix this afternoon, and I liked it and will continue when season two lands in my lap. ---
**Author:** ![Stonebow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Stonebow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stonebow)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2014, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-of-watching-arrow-is-it-any-good/689800/5 "2014-06-02T02:38:04Z")
My wife and I didn’t care for it much and ditched it midway through season 1. Instead of Green Arrow, he should properly be called “Captain Exposition.” A lot of scenery chewing, a lot of beautiful people acting in wildly improbable ways. And while we are likely not the target demographic for a CW teen action show, we enjoyed Smallville for the first 7 seasons or so. We have considered just skipping forward to when John Barrowman takes center stage, as we are Torchwood fans. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2014, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-of-watching-arrow-is-it-any-good/689800/6 "2014-06-02T04:24:27Z")
It starts out only so-so, but gets better toward the end of Season, and then gets really good in Season 2. The funny thing about the show is that the less realistic it gets, the better it is - it starts out as a blah story of an urban commando fighting corrupt businessmen, and a year later, it’s an awesome tale of a masked hero fighting insane criminal geniuses, with ninjas, top-secret government agencies, and superpowers. The turning point, I think, is when Emily Bett Rickards (Felicity Smoak) joins the series as a regular midway through series 1. She’s a terrific character, and brings a huge amount of humor and humanity to a series that really needed it. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2014, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-of-watching-arrow-is-it-any-good/689800/7 "2014-06-02T08:43:55Z")
The CW is ever the CW. If you like seeing a lot of scenes where shirtless men show off how tough and stoic they are, you’ll enjoy it a lot. I quite like it, though I find the scenes on the island to be the least interesting. And some of the better characters get a short shrift, while some annoying people seem to get a lot of screen time. Having said that, I love Felicity Smoak. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2014, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-of-watching-arrow-is-it-any-good/689800/8 "2014-06-02T09:11:43Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > The CW is ever the CW. If you like seeing a lot of scenes where shirtless men show off how tough and stoic they are, you’ll enjoy it a lot. This gets to the point of sheer hilarity on the CW. Almost every male character’s first move encountering any situation is to remove his shirt. “That coffee will be $2.08, please.” “Hang on, I have to take off my shirt to reach my hip pocket…” They could at least have the self-awareness to have another character say “Umm, what are you doing?” ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2014, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-of-watching-arrow-is-it-any-good/689800/9 "2014-06-02T10:41:48Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > This gets to the point of sheer hilarity on the CW. Almost every male character’s first move encountering any situation is to remove his shirt. “That coffee will be $2.08, please.” “Hang on, I have to take off my shirt to reach my hip pocket…” They could at least have the self-awareness to have another character say “Umm, what are you doing?” Actually, Arrow does develop some of that self-awareness, which is what makes it watchable. ---
**Author:** ![Garula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ea666f/32.png) [@Garula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garula)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2014, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-of-watching-arrow-is-it-any-good/689800/10 "2014-06-02T11:48:03Z")
It’s a good, though definitely kind of silly show. The first handful of episodes are relatively weak, but it improves. There are still some other weak episodes throughout the first season, though. The second season I would say is generally better. If you like shows about heroes and sidekicks fighting the various forces of evil, Arrow will deliver. If you’re turned off by that kind of thing, it’s not going to change your mind. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2014, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-of-watching-arrow-is-it-any-good/689800/11 "2014-06-02T11:50:45Z")
We initially watched the first four episodes then stopped, thinking it wasn’t good enough (and it wasn’t, compared to the other shows we were watching at the time). Then we had a break in our other shows so decided to give Arrow another chance and we’re really glad we did. We are now at about episode 10 of series two and loving it. It’s not the sort of series that you’re going to find yourself thinking about, but it is a very enjoyable way to spend 40 minutes of an evening. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2014, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-of-watching-arrow-is-it-any-good/689800/12 "2014-06-02T13:42:58Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Actually, Arrow does develop some of that self-awareness, which is what makes it watchable. Felicity acknowledges Ollie is eye-candy, but no one asks why he needs to be shirtless to work out when Digg, Sarah, and everyone else is fine with a tank or t-shirt. ---
**Author:** ![JerrySTL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@JerrySTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerrySTL)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2014, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-of-watching-arrow-is-it-any-good/689800/13 "2014-06-02T13:55:53Z")
If you can suspend belief in reality, it’s a lot of fun. I watch it. Too bad the Tomorrow People, which followed Arrow, is being cancelled. I enjoyed it more. I remember watching the British version of it a bunch of years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2014, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-of-watching-arrow-is-it-any-good/689800/14 "2014-06-02T14:13:50Z")
It’s the kind of show you can really enjoy when you’re home sick. It will not change your life, but we enjoyed it. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2014, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-of-watching-arrow-is-it-any-good/689800/15 "2014-06-02T16:27:10Z")
So having seen the pilot and knowing the set up, should I skip into the middle of Season one? If so where? ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2014, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-of-watching-arrow-is-it-any-good/689800/16 "2014-06-02T16:37:44Z")
Eh, I think you kind of have to watch it through. I can’t quite explain where it gets better, and one genuinely fun aspect of the show is how it gets to take its time revealing what happened on the island - very gradual flashbacks here and there. ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2014, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-of-watching-arrow-is-it-any-good/689800/17 "2014-06-02T16:45:30Z")
I haven’t seen all of season one so I opened the thread mainly to see if I should add it to my Netflix list. There’s certainly some cheesiness, but gosh they’re all so pretty. Recently stumbled across this bit of trivia: The actress who plays Laurel is Katie Cassidy, daughter of David Cassidy (Keith Partridge). ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2014, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-of-watching-arrow-is-it-any-good/689800/18 "2014-06-02T18:19:12Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > This gets to the point of sheer hilarity on the CW. Almost every male character’s first move encountering any situation is to remove his shirt. “That coffee will be $2.08, please.” “Hang on, I have to take off my shirt to reach my hip pocket…” They could at least have the self-awareness to have another character say “Umm, what are you doing?” Possibly my favorite thing about _Arrow_ is that it routinely treats it’s male characters the way most comic book properties treat their female characters, and I’m pretty sure it’s a deliberate editorial decision. I would genuinely be unsurprised if, at some point, they find an excuse to put Ollie in a costume that features a [boob window](http://www.placesandpredators.com/5252/WorldsFinest19b.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2014, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-of-watching-arrow-is-it-any-good/689800/19 "2014-06-02T19:01:50Z")
We start a countdown at the beginning of every episode until we see whatshisface with his shirt off. Once it was the very first shot. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2014, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-of-watching-arrow-is-it-any-good/689800/20 "2014-06-02T20:08:03Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > We start a countdown at the beginning of every episode until we see whatshisface with his shirt off. Once it was the very first shot. His cousin engaged in similar antics on _The Tomorrow People_. One ep had another character in some apparatus several times, yet when he had to use is, it apparently wouldn’t work with your shirt on. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-of-watching-arrow-is-it-any-good/689800.md?page=2)