Warning: contains major spoilers. I didn't expect to watch all of Arrow's first season, but this ersatz Batman was surprisingly entertaining—although, like many US network shows, it began to test my patience with an inexcusable 23-episode run. The second-half was consequently much weaker and you could feel the writers filling time, but it helped that Arrow had built itself a large world of characters, relationships, and storylines.There was also the clever idea of telling two distinct stories: the present-day crusade of wealthy playboy Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) cleaning up his city as vigilante 'The Hood'; and how he was reborn as said superhero after years stranded on an island. I actually preferred the island storyline most of the time--despite the fact we know where everything's headed and that Oliver's life is never in danger--although that storyline was a victim of the season's length.
The big finale, "Sacrifice", ended the show's inaugural season on a high-note; with fisticuffs and city-wide destruction. The show has borrowed many elements from Batman and Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy (in particular), so it was only right the finale involved the destruction of a suburban district—echoing the scenes of chaos from the end of Batman Begins. We even had some old clichés like a device to disarm by cutting some wires, although I appreciated it being an Ocean's Eleven-esque "earthquake device" instead of a bomb.
