Arrow Season 7: 4 Ups & 1 Down From ‘Spartan’

Ups...

4. The Opening Scene

Over the years, Arrow has become so fixed on what it is that it often seems like it has forgotten what it has the potential to be. The opening scene of 'Spartan', however, was a pleasant reminder of what it was truly capable of.

Oliver and Diggle's interference in a meeting involving Ninth Circle member Virgil led to one heck of an entertaining fight scene, but it wasn't the action that stunned viewers, it was the visuals.

Taking place down Star City's recycled alleyway (that we haven't seen in far too long), the meeting was illuminated by the dim lighting of nearby Chinese restaurants. A visually pleasing aesthetic no doubt, it was contrasted beautifully by bouts of extreme darkness and light as the thunder and lightning bellowed overhead.

But nothing could compare to that stunning sight of the Green Arrow's silhouette as Oliver was perched upon construction in the darkness, getting soaked by the rain with the lightning sporadically illuminating him.

This is the kind of grandiose stuff we love to see in comic book shows and the kind of stuff that Arrow should experiment with more often. What a sight it was.