As much as Arrow is the story of Oliver Queens ongoing efforts to save Starling City in the present, the flashbacks documenting his five-year crucible incorporated in almost every single episode guide the audience through each step of his journey from the spoiled Ollie to a weapon in a green hood. He is haunted by what he was forced to do in order to survive, and he has never once in three seasons of Arrow (and a crossover onto The Flash) referred to himself as a hero. Because of his experiences, he knows that there is so much more to heroism than having good intentions and a mask. Nobody else seems quite on the same page. In the months since the premiere of The Flash, characters on both sides have been catching the vigilante bug and taking to the streets without earning a place in the heroes' gallery. Barry himself gets a pass for obtaining his abilities via lightning strike, but the convenient template of presenting a character ready-made for the jump to superheroism that worked so well on The Flash has been used far less successfully on Arrow with the transformations of Laurel Lance into Black Canary and Ray Palmer into the ATOM. Seeing Barry casually refer to himself as a hero while chatting with Oliver was worth an indulgent eye-roll; watching similar scenes unfold on Arrow with non-superpowered novice vigilantes is downright cringeworthy and cheapens the journey of the protagonist.
Fiction buff and writer. If it's on Netflix, it's probably in my queue. I've bought DVDs for the special features and usually claim that the book is better than the movie or show (and can provide examples). I've never met a TV show that I won't marathon. Follow on Twitter @lah9891 .
