Critic Reviews

Solid start to what could--and maybe should--be a future CW franchise.

While The Flash’s adventures are obviously based heavily around special effects, this series continues to keep things grounded, and the fight scenes remain as exciting and well choreographed as ever. The premiere may be heavy on character development, but it also prioritizes action, and that’s not a bad thing.

Arrow is back with--thankfully--what promises to be one of its more grounded, grittier seasons ever. ... Perhaps the best news is that the fifth and final round of flashbacks are, one could argue, as compelling as the current-day narrative.

Arrow does what a solid pilot should: Suck us in, make us anxious to see what's next and set up several intriguing possibilities.

The CW's best show since Gossip Girl.... it has a forthright narrative seriousness, a respect for the gobbledy-gook that makes up any superhero's backstory--and a game cast performing with the correct degree of seriousness. [19 Nov 2012, p.35]

Arrow has so much going for it, it doesn't need to linger on the past.

Your interest in Arrow depends on how much you miss the troubled-in-love, conflicted-by-family heroics of Smallville--it mirrors that series' setup.

The sophomore-season premiere shows no signs of slumping.

What "Nashville" on ABC and Arrow on the CW have in common, is appealing characters in well-plotted stories.

The pilot of Arrow is a darkly gleaming gem. If the show can keep up its cinema-quality action sequences and maintain an air of mystery to Ollie's agenda, this could be a really fun series.