Arrow Review: “Legacies”

Longtime Bureau-crat “Jethro” contributes this week’s Arrow review.

With its first non-arc episode, Arrow provides us with a lot of character development.

Title: “Legacies”

Cast and Crew
Director: John Behring
Writers: Moira Kirkland & Marc Guggenheim

Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen/Green arrow
Katie Cassidy as Dinah “Laurel” Lance
David Ramsay as John “Dig” Diggle
Willa Holland as Thea “Speedy” Queen
Paul Blackthorne as Quentin Lance
Colin Salmon as Walter Steele
Roger Cross as Hilton
Susanna Thompson as Moira Queen

Full cast and crew information may be found here.

Premise

While Dig convinces Oliver to tackle “mundane” criminals such as bank robbers, various relationships between characters are explored.

High Points

I actually liked that character development took center stage this week, with the while crime-fighting took more of a back seat. That said, there was enough action to keep things moving.

I think we caught a short glimpse of some trick arrows in a “blink and you miss it” kind of way.

Low Point

The whole Laurel/Tommy/Oliver love triangle is silly enough without adding Thea to it.

No Barrowman!

The Scores:

Originality: 4/6. I’m knocking a few points off for some of the more glaringly obvious plot points such as the Thea thing. But I’m giving a few points back since this was a character development episode rather than a Driving Arc episode.

Effects: 5/6. Effects were somewhat low as this was a character-driven episode, but the ones we had were well executed. “Effects” doesn’t have to mean “explosions” – they can mean a lot of hand-to-hand combat and arrows-vs-riot-shield, too.

Story: 5/6. Other than the groan-inducing Thea subplot, I enjoyed this weeks story. We got to see Tommy grow up a bit, got to explore Oliver’s relationship with his mom (and see that she might be having some trouble dealing with the situation), and we got to see how Dig’s addition to the team might be influencing Oliver’s work.

Acting: 5/6. There are some quality actors on this show, and they delivered a good performance, as usual. Oliver’s character can seem a bit over the top at times, but hey, he’s a hero. As this was a character-driven episode, there was more call and opportunity for actual acting, and I think the cast is up to the task.

Emotional Response: 5/6. We got to learn a bit more about the characters and their relationships with each other this week, which is always good – it’s easier to connect with fleshed-out characters than with two-dimensional cardboard cutouts. While I didn’t really like the whole Thea thing, it does lead one to worry about just how badly that’s going to end.

Production: 5/6. I don’t think theres a whole lot lacking in terms of production values.

Overall: 5/6. I’m very happy with this episode. They managed to temper a heavily character-driven show with enough action to have it keep moving. Well done. That said, this IS primarily an action show and while I did like it I’d not really like to see this become the norm.

In total, “Legacies” receives 34/42 points.

8 replies on “Arrow Review: “Legacies””

  1. Yes, character is good. It’s critical. And character development/revelation may involve romance. However, they need to make it interesting and driven by the characters, not by the belief that Smallville-style soap opera histrionics are the way to go with superheroes.

  2. It’s the CW so I sort of expect that kind of “romance” shenanigans and I didn’t really even think twice about it. I doubt that’ll be the last we see of it.

    Other notes:
    * The riot shield was a nice touch, but I was expecting a more creative solution/trick arrow to take care of that, rather than making it an effective defense. Perhaps it may work this time but not again…
    * The arrows clamping down the money were a nice, if brief, effect.
    * I’m really wondering how long until Diggle gets a costume of his own.
    * The wet floors/dampness in the lair would be murder on all that computer equipment. He really needs some walls/windows.

    • * The wet floors/dampness in the lair would be murder on all that computer equipment. He really needs some walls/windows.

      *Heh* It’d be like trying to run a secret lair in an underground cave.

    • He might have a bunch of dehumidifiers running all over the place (:

      I’m actually glad that the trick arrows aren’t overkill. If they go that way at all, it really has to be slow.

      The whole Laurel/whoever triangle, that’s not that bad (I guess), and I’m hoping the Thea thing is just there to set up the terrible things that they have planned for her.

  3. That ending, though, turned into MST3K chez bureau sock drawer–

    LAUREL: The only reason I danced with him was because he gave us this megaboss check for our free clinic/

    SOCK-TOMMY: Oh! So you were prostituting yourself! That’s ok, then.

    SPEEDY (wipes puke from mouth): Somebody call me a cab.

    SOCK-TOMMY & LAUREL: Ok, you’re a cab!

    FADE TO OLLIE AND HIS MOM EATING AT BIG BELLY BURGER. EVERYTHING IS ALL SWEETNESS AND RECONCILEY AND IT MIGHT AS WELL HAVE BEEN PRODUCT PLACEMENT FOR A REAL CHAIN.

    SOCK-MOM: Thanks to Big Belly Burger, I won’t need my Prozac tonight!

    FADE TO CREDITS.

  4. I’ve been think about this for a few days while after reading the review and went back and watched all the episodes. The Thea subplot is one that is looking very interesting. Exactly where they are going with it I cannot tell but I am thinking it will be an interesting journey.

    Part of me wonders if Thea’s attempt to hit on Tommy was an attempt to get him out of the picture with Dinah or give him depth as a character beyond socialite-womaniser-who-was-a-type-of-oliver-before-the-island.

    • I almost want her to become “Speedy,” though she couldn’t call herself that in costume without making their identities a tad obvious.

      Perhaps, in addition to training, there’s a “potential kickass archer” Queen gene at work.

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