Hi there, and welcome to the 2014 Arrow Awards! Not really…this is more like a supplement to the Arrow season 2 review that I posted Monday morning. The review covered the season as a whole to figure out if it had succeeded at what it set out to do or not (it did), this is a more specific examination at the best features the season offered and why. And without further adieu, let’s start the show!
Best Season One Returning Character
And the Winner is Colin Donnel as Tommy Merlyn in Three Ghosts!
After Oliver’s brutal defeat in the Scientist, he becomes haunted by the ghosts of his past, present, and future (a la Christmas Carol). Shado represents his past, and Slade his present, with both of them condemning Oliver for the pain that he had caused them. But it’s only when Oliver reaches his lowest point at the hands of Acolyte and Brother Blood that Tommy comes to him as a friend instead of an enemy. Oliver’s conversation with Tommy is the thing that inspires him to keep going, and that helps him defeat the superhuman Cyrus Gold and rescue Roy. It’s a powerful moment made all the more so by it’s brevity. It stands out as one of the most memorable scenes from season two for it’s powerful yet quiet delivery and it’s positive tone. It’s a truly remarkable moment.
2nd Place: Michael Rowe as Deadshot in Keep your Enemies Closer
3rd Place: Jessica DeGouw as the Huntress in Birds of Prey
Best Fight Scene
Of course it was the final fight between Oliver and Slade in Unthinkable.
If your FINAL fight scene isn’t your best, you’re doing something wrong. But in all seriousness, this fight is epic! I mean that in a literal sense. The fight links two different combatants who used to be friends across two different time periods at two different times in their lives. Answering the main questions of why Slade hates Oliver so much, and how we lost his eye. It’s phenomenal! The fight itself is fantastic, but the build up to it makes it feel like that much more of a payoff.
2nd Place: Huntress VS Canary in Birds of Prey
3rd Place: The Arrow and The Canary VS Al Ow-Al in League of Assassins
Best Comic Reference
“Sorry I’m late.”
If you read comics than you were most likely expecting this; or you may be wondering why the comic fan laughed when Barry said it. Well, it’s an interesting quirk relating to his character in that despite his ability, Barry is never on time to anything. I don’t know if Grant Gustin is going to be the epitome of everything Flash fans are hoping for, but entering the series with one of Barry’s iconic lines certainly doesn’t hurt his chances.
2nd: The Canary Cry in Broken Dolls
3rd: Oliver gives Roy a mask of his own in Unthinkable
Best Female Performance
Susanna Thompson grabs this particular prize
, not only for her incredible performance as Moira, but the amount of depth that the character became infused with as the season progressed. Her incredible portrayal as the brilliant and calculating, but flawed matriarch of the Queen clan consisted of so many powerful scenes that revealed the depth and complexity of her mind. All of this leading to her meaningful yet tragic sacrifice to save her children. It’s the perfect end to her spectacular character.
2nd: Emily Bett Rickards as Felicity
3rd: Caity Lotz as Sara Lance
Best New Character
It’s gonna Bex Taylor-Klaus as Sin.
Look, the fact is that we didn’t have a “real” teen character. Sin is sort of an anti-Thea in virtually every way. Her entire character is based on being considered street tough and impoverished, which is the exact opposite of Thea. The irony of course being that she is so much more innocent than Thea. Sin is smart, funny, strong, and kind. She represents pure innocence and idealism despite her seemingly forced cynicism. Her scenes with Sara are some of the most quietly affecting of the entire series, and bring a sense of innocence and wonder to Arrow that wasn’t there before. The only downside to her character was her limited screen-time. Here’s hoping this is rectified for season three.
2nd: David Nykl as Anatoly Knyazev
3rd: Caity Lotz as Sara Lance aka The Canary
Best Male Performance
The winner is Mr. Arrow himself, Stephen Amell.
One thing that makes the character of Oliver so great is how many different versions of him there are. From the spoiled rich kid, to the inexperienced student, the hardcore killer, to the penitent hero; all played by one very talented actor. Not to mention the rumors of Stephen Amell getting hurt (nothing serious of course) while performing stunts and scenes in the show, really speaks highly of his drive. Plus all the extensive workouts he goes through to not only stay in physical shape for the show, but the make his archery and ability at free-running as realistic as possible. His dedication to his role is truly amazing, and it shows in the work.
2nd: Manu Bennet as Slade Wilson
3rd: Colton Haynes as Roy Harper
Best Guest Villain
I hate to do this one. It’s so obvious, and I’ve been riding this particular train since I started writing these, but this award goes to Michael Ecklund as The Dollmaker.
Arrow’s iteration is much tamer than the comic book version, but in the context of the show, he feels truly evil. It’s hard to figure out what exactly is wrong with the Dollmaker, but everything from his obsession, to his demeanor, and even his speech hints at the true to life silent viciousness of an actual predator. Something about the Dollmaker just oozes real, and distracts from the superhero aspect of the show. But it’s this element of reality that makes the Dollmaker more than just a villain, it makes him a monster.
2nd: Robert Knepper as The Clock King in Time of Death
3rd: Graham Shiels as Cyrus Gold in The Scientist
Best Flashback Sequence
The siege of the Amazo from The Promise
is a huge action packed set-piece that had been building up for a while. It was also the first time that Oliver took such a large role in a combat, and best of all it’s his plan. We get to see Oliver plan and run his own operation, and even hood up for the very first time. It’s also the moment that Slade turned on Oliver and changed both of their futures forever. It’s such an amazing multilayered arc that plays on all the best features that Arrow has to offer; impressive action, unique relationships, and dramatic situations. It’s bar none, the best flashback of the series so far.
2nd: Oliver and Sara return to the Amazo to fight Slade in Unthinkable
3rd: Shado is killed in Three Ghosts
Best Trick Shot
The winner for this one is Oliver lighting the beacon in The Promise.
It’s an impressive shot, but that’s not what makes it the winner. It’s an obvious allusion to the first time we saw Oliver fire an arrow when he lit the beacon and was rescued in the Pilot episode, but has a funny twist on the callback when he misses. There aren’t a lot of comedic moments in the series, but this one is a personal favorite because of the personality that comes from Slade’s lighthearted ribbing and Oliver’s embarrassed retaliation. Oliver does make the shot the second time, and commences his plan to take over the Amazo, taking his first step to becoming the Arrow.
2nd: Oliver slides down the stairs in Time of Death
3rd: Oliver disarms the bomb in the store in Blast Radius
Most Heartbreaking Moment.
Moira’s death.
Was there ever any doubt? The emotion of the moment is so urgently presented by all of the players, and the sacrifice is flawlessly sold by Susanna Thompson’s penitent Moira. However it’s Thea’s terrified wails combined with a helpless Oliver’s desperate pleading that make the scene truly unsettling, further insuring that no one watching the scene comes out unaffected.
2nd: Shado is killed by Ivo in Three Ghosts
3rd: Laurel’s downwards spiral in …pick one.
Best Monologue
SURPRISE! It’s another one for Moira Queen.
This time from the episode Deathstroke.
“From the moment your children are born you worry what the world might do to them. But you never stop to think what you might do to them. That we could be our own worst enemy.” Just a breathtaking scene.
2nd: Slade makes Oliver a promise in The Promise
3rd. Felicity gets mad in Streets of Fire
Finally! We are on to the Grand Prize! The winner of…essentially nothing! But still a cool little footnote in this review! The winner of the coveted Best Episode award goes to…
Three Ghosts!
This was not an easy choice by any means. But Three Ghosts had so many fantastic and powerful moments that it would be impossible to name all of them. Just a few include Oliver’s interactions with the ghosts of Shado and Slade, his interactions with the newly minted Barry, Shado’s shocking death, Oliver’s fight with Acolyte, The big Slade reveal, Roy getting injected with the Mirakuru, Lance’s partner’s death, the Solomon Grundy references, Tommy’s brief yet stirring cameo, and oh yeah…
Three Ghosts had the most to love. Brilliant characterization, story arc gambits, and the Christmas Carol hook works surprisingly well. I don’t think there’s any doubt at this point, that of all the amazing season 2 episodes, Three Ghosts stood at least half a head above the rest.
2nd: The Promise
3rd: Deathstroke
But, these are just my opinions. Feel free to share some of your own in the comments below. Or if you think I might have missed something, that comment box will work for that just as well.
So concludes our 2014 Arrow Awards! As usual (considering this is the first time I’ve done this, and I might continue doing it if I get a decent response), I’d like to thank the cast and crew as well as the production and writing team of Arrow for making such incredible strides this year. Thanks to their dedication, Arrow is shaping up to be not only one of the best superhero shows around, but a real treat for fans of comics, action, and drama everywhere.
As for my fellow Arrow fans out there, thank you for reading, and I look forward to seeing you all in the Fall with not just Arrow making his way back to the CW, but The Flash as well. It’ll be interesting to see how these two heroes interact with each other and face the big challenges they couldn’t handle alone. Rest assured that Fanboy Factor will be providing information on the upcoming seasons of both shows as it’s revealed, so stay tuned and stay safe.
-PS
Arrow returns Wednesday 10/08/14 at 8 PM/7 PM C
and don’t miss The series Premiere of The Flash Tuesday 10/07/14 at 8 PM/7 PM C with a special encore right after Arrow on Wednesday, only on the CW©
All images courtesy of The CW©
Arrow — The CW — © 2014 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved
http://www.cwtv.com/shows/arrow
Dan Kleiner