With Arrow's final eighth season practically finished, I was both intrigued and concerned for the need to include a backdoor pilot for a continuation of the Green Arrow's legacy. The results of "Green Arrow & the Canaries" have me mildly optimistic, but also worried. Not just for the future show, but for the current season at hand.
Let me explain. Here is the first thing that struck me as 'different'. The set pieces and production design felt vastly superior to the ones we have seen on the show. Seriously, the neon lights, city skylines and diverse architecture were refreshing. The cinematography was assured, the lighting spot-on and the action direction (minus some terrible music choices), pretty serviceable, especially since director Tara Miele (a director who's generally solid with fights and camerawork) was in command here. Those elements, coupled with the talent of the three leading women worked fine and admittedly, the script didn't feel overly forced either. No shoehorned empowerment or feminist overload here. That's all and well and those are essential components for creating excitement and assuredness in a future project. Bonus points for a killer title card and a nifty new font choice by the way.
Now for the issues and they are numerous. Not just concerning the episode, but its position. It boils down to The CW wanting to produce another show to draw in more viewers. The commitment of the showrunner and the entire cast and crew has been astounding this entire season, so I'm blaming the producers and the network in general for forcing an episode like this into a "best hits" run. Why are they spending so much money on this episode, when most of the money could have been diverted to say, the Crisis? Or perhaps expanding the Russian fight club in episode 8x05? Or extending the sets of 8x03? Or the bigger battles in the Deathstroke tribute chapter, 8x04? Why shift assets to a project that doesn't truly fit in when you know this is the swan song for what is essentially legacy superhero television? It just doesn't connect with me. Narrative-wise, the whole ordeal is just off. Why not dwell on the fallout of the Green Arrow's death for an episode more? Explore the changes the birth of a new universe has on Star City 2020. Lay the groundwork for a compelling future. The flash-forwards never were great. They were pleasantly shocking at first, gimmicky the third or fourth time around and annoying by the umpteenth time they interrupted the main storyline. The only reason the flash-forwards aren't remembered as truly bad, because they fixed it this season. Now that the "fix" is gone, the problems are back. So, you return with a premise that nobody liked, populate it with characters that are mixed at best and do it when the final season should be all about its main character. It diverts focus, breaks continuity, dims aftereffect and raises questions of care.
Don't get me wrong, I'm kinda interested in this show if the talent remains similar to that of Arrow. Dare I say this show has had some of the best hand-to-hand combat scenes on TV, some great acting and a handful of powerful stories. I want to see it continued and I'm optimistic that the energy is present in this episode. However, by introducing a rote formula and, might I mention this chapter stands on its own by introducing a cliffhanger ending that won't be resolved until when? When the new show premieres. It isn't too fascinating of a place to leave you and trust me, you'll wish it just went back to Star City 2020 for some juicy COIE after drama.
It kinda pains me to tear most of this episode down, because I openly defended last year's "Lost Canary", an all-female team up that I genuinely enjoyed. It had visceral energy, chemistry and nostalgic bliss. Sporadically, this episode reminded me of that. However, when it is broken down into its bits and looked at as a whole in the context of the bigger picture, it just doesn't fit. Its glitzy, but has little substance.
"Green Arrow & the Canaries" is an unfortunate case of bad timing. It shows off how the aesthetics of a future Star City can work to great effect and how a team of female superheroes can hold their own, but its existence proves that The CW may not care that much about the show they are so close to ending, rather pushy for the next big thing. Its ending is needlessly a mystery and overall, this just shouldn't belong in Arrow's final season. Granted, the people in front of and behind the camera are all giving 100%, but it's what goes on above them that's fundamentally wrong. What the network has done with this move, is provide a disservice to the fine work everyone has been doing all season.
Let me explain. Here is the first thing that struck me as 'different'. The set pieces and production design felt vastly superior to the ones we have seen on the show. Seriously, the neon lights, city skylines and diverse architecture were refreshing. The cinematography was assured, the lighting spot-on and the action direction (minus some terrible music choices), pretty serviceable, especially since director Tara Miele (a director who's generally solid with fights and camerawork) was in command here. Those elements, coupled with the talent of the three leading women worked fine and admittedly, the script didn't feel overly forced either. No shoehorned empowerment or feminist overload here. That's all and well and those are essential components for creating excitement and assuredness in a future project. Bonus points for a killer title card and a nifty new font choice by the way.
Now for the issues and they are numerous. Not just concerning the episode, but its position. It boils down to The CW wanting to produce another show to draw in more viewers. The commitment of the showrunner and the entire cast and crew has been astounding this entire season, so I'm blaming the producers and the network in general for forcing an episode like this into a "best hits" run. Why are they spending so much money on this episode, when most of the money could have been diverted to say, the Crisis? Or perhaps expanding the Russian fight club in episode 8x05? Or extending the sets of 8x03? Or the bigger battles in the Deathstroke tribute chapter, 8x04? Why shift assets to a project that doesn't truly fit in when you know this is the swan song for what is essentially legacy superhero television? It just doesn't connect with me. Narrative-wise, the whole ordeal is just off. Why not dwell on the fallout of the Green Arrow's death for an episode more? Explore the changes the birth of a new universe has on Star City 2020. Lay the groundwork for a compelling future. The flash-forwards never were great. They were pleasantly shocking at first, gimmicky the third or fourth time around and annoying by the umpteenth time they interrupted the main storyline. The only reason the flash-forwards aren't remembered as truly bad, because they fixed it this season. Now that the "fix" is gone, the problems are back. So, you return with a premise that nobody liked, populate it with characters that are mixed at best and do it when the final season should be all about its main character. It diverts focus, breaks continuity, dims aftereffect and raises questions of care.
Don't get me wrong, I'm kinda interested in this show if the talent remains similar to that of Arrow. Dare I say this show has had some of the best hand-to-hand combat scenes on TV, some great acting and a handful of powerful stories. I want to see it continued and I'm optimistic that the energy is present in this episode. However, by introducing a rote formula and, might I mention this chapter stands on its own by introducing a cliffhanger ending that won't be resolved until when? When the new show premieres. It isn't too fascinating of a place to leave you and trust me, you'll wish it just went back to Star City 2020 for some juicy COIE after drama.
It kinda pains me to tear most of this episode down, because I openly defended last year's "Lost Canary", an all-female team up that I genuinely enjoyed. It had visceral energy, chemistry and nostalgic bliss. Sporadically, this episode reminded me of that. However, when it is broken down into its bits and looked at as a whole in the context of the bigger picture, it just doesn't fit. Its glitzy, but has little substance.
"Green Arrow & the Canaries" is an unfortunate case of bad timing. It shows off how the aesthetics of a future Star City can work to great effect and how a team of female superheroes can hold their own, but its existence proves that The CW may not care that much about the show they are so close to ending, rather pushy for the next big thing. Its ending is needlessly a mystery and overall, this just shouldn't belong in Arrow's final season. Granted, the people in front of and behind the camera are all giving 100%, but it's what goes on above them that's fundamentally wrong. What the network has done with this move, is provide a disservice to the fine work everyone has been doing all season.