Arrow pilot - now with 200% more stubbly manpain

[dangermousie]

This was ridiculously cheesy and ridiculously entertaining all at once. The show's understanding of human biology (as regards both to what Oliver's injuries would do to him and what arrows do to people) is almost as bad as its understanding of how the law works (every scene involving Laurel the Lawyer doing things the show believes lawyers do but which was 100% incorrect, made me roll my eyes so hard they nearly fell out of my sockets. Just ask me how wrong it all was, just ask).



Plus, I think the show is trying to go for epic angsty romance with Laurel and Oliver and I am just not feeling it. Mainly because I find Laurel utterly annoying - I am sure it's mainly transference from the fact that she is the one who is the vehicle for the show's mangling of the US legal system and raising my rage points due to it (and in small part because she's pretty much 'generic CW love interest'), but there it is.




Still, I am going to keep up with this because cheekbones with designer stubble and violent PTSD get me every time.

Also, there is an evil mother! Kdramas have conditioned me that any story the hero of which is rich and angsty will have an evil mother. I am glad this is apparently universal.

Comments

[puion.livejournal.com]

Mousie, did you watch Beauty and the Beast?
Despite the bad reviews, I actually enjoyed it...especially the last 5 to 10 mins, with the beast staring at her from across the building, and Florence & Machine's "Never let me go" playing...omg omg omg.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I am watching it right now - I am way enjoying it.

[lesbiassparrow.livejournal.com]

Maybe I missed something but I was impressed by how everyone was "we've rescued you from the Island of Doom NOW YOU MUST HAVE FUN AND NOT MENTION IT AGAIN.' They expect billionaire heirs to bounce back fast in CW land,

I have to say I did not find the hero attractive at all. But fond of looking at his wounds in mirrors, which is very convenient, I guess.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I think the square jaw is a thing of mine.

I can't take this show seriously at all, but I enjoyed it.

[ladysaotome.livejournal.com]

Just ask me how wrong it all was, just ask.

Ok? How wrong was it all?? ;)
Just the commercials from this show had me rolling my eyes at the cheesiness.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Legal stuff they got wrong in three minutes they dealt with law:

1. Legal Aid does not do class actions. They help poor people with housing, SSI etc.
2. Legal Aid will not be nice like this - despite their good work, they are financially strapped.
3. Heroine's friend comes out to talk about the horrors of having their venue changed. a) being switched from one judge to another in the same courthouse is not a change of venue - change of venue is if they moved to a different county b) to change venue you need motion by one party, an opposition by another, a judge ruling, etc. You know very well that is going on. You don't get a change of venue sprung on you as a surprise as a result of a forbidden ex parte motion by the other party.

[(Anonymous)]

Out of curiosity, are you working in the legal field?
The change of venue thing had me laughing lol.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yup. I tend to stay away from legal shows like the plague but I didn't realize a major character here was a lawyer. Yikes, it was all soooooo wrong, it made my brain hurt.

[timescout.livejournal.com]

LOL! That was my initial reaction too.... 'cheesy but entertaining'.

I know squat about law so I don't have that irritant. Besides, do thes type of shows/movies ever get their facts right be it medicine, law or something similar.

Yeah, it was better than I expected but I'm not sure it's entertaining enough to get past the cheese and wooden acting. I didn't find the hero particualarly appealing either. We'll see after a few more episodes. :)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I find the hero hot but I like that whole Abercrombie and Fitch look.

But still, the show might be too cheesy anyway.

[cleobulle.livejournal.com]

I actually liked it more than I thought I would. It does have potential in a campy way. Although I don't know how they're going to sell the romance betwwen a girl and her ex who slept with her own sister who (un)conveniently died in an accident while getting ready for sexy times.

We'll see where this goes.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

The thing that boggles me is how did Laurel know her sister died having sex with her boyfriend? I mean, everyone except for Oliver died and I doubt Oliver goes talking about it.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

It probably came out after they disappeared? They both disappeared at the same time and I'm sure people saw them together when they left and at any ports they stopped at, and between his family's money and her father being a cop and possibly able to pull strings depending on his connections, it probably didn't take too long to find out who the girl with him was, especially since I'm sure they had to go through customs a few times. And then they assumed everyone died until Oliver popped up alive.

[cleobulle.livejournal.com]

I doubt the sis would have gone with Ollie without at least informing her father of her whereabouts. So Laurel knew she was on the boat and that their relationship was sexual.

I don't think Laurel knows they were getting all hot and bothered just before disaster struck though.

Unless I missed something when watching the episode, she just logically assumed Ollie was with her sister when the boat sank.

The viewers are the only ones who know Oliver and Sarah were getting ready to have sex.

My original comment was just me being disappointed because we have to make do with such a douchebag for a hero. If Sarah had been a random girl or even a friend, it wouldn't be as icky and maddening as the sister thing.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

She probably lied to their father wabout where she was going, as I doubt he was naive enough to think she was cavorting around on a yacht with her sister's boyfriend for completely innocent reasons, unless she was an amazing liar. But they would have disappeared at the same time and i'm sure she would have had to show her passport or some form of ID at some point, given that they were on the other side of the world, and even if not, it wouldn't have been too hard to piece together just because of the timing. (I also don't think they were overly subtle? Oliver's "she'll never know" sounded like "if I lie I won't get caught" as opposed to actually being clever about it.)

What bothers me most about it (in terms on the main story) is that I can't see how Laurel can ever really have complete closure over it. She can move on, but I can't believe that she'll be able to really close that book with him there and her never being able to have it out or make up with her sister. Right now they seem to be playing it as Oliver is still in love with her but she isn't in love with him anymore, which is perfectly fine in and of itself, but as we know, fiction is a lot more concerned with men's feelings than if women feel the same way, so I'm sure that when they do inevitably go with that again for them, it won't be in a way that makes me happy. (Right now I'm just hoping that she learns his secret identity fairly soon and they actually become some sort of crimefighting partners-especially since her comic book counterpart is a respected superheroine in her own right-and we don't end up with seasons of "I can't tell her my secret! For her own good!")

[cleobulle.livejournal.com]

Yes, it makes sense.

And you're right about the lack of closure, which is one of the things that bugs me the most in that OTP. The fact that is was her sister he was cheating on her with really makes things so much more complicated.

The actress that plays Laurel doesn't seem like she could do kickass convincingly but you never know... I do hope they go that route as well but I doubt it'll happen in season 1.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

IIRC, she did a pretty decent job with it in Supernatural (though that was more "I am a superpower demon hundreds of years older than you who is risking everything to help you, you little twerp. Stop sassing me.") so I have hopes.

I think we're supposed to believe that he's grown enough that there won't be any more cheating if they do get together again, and I can go with that, but that only addresses the future, not the past.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

The thing that I have a problem with if the show makes Oliver/Laurel an OTP (as it seems to want to) is this - I love dysfunctional relationships in fiction so 'I had sex with your sis, oops' wouldn't be a dealbreaker if they were portrayed as codependent and majorly emotionally damaged in the 'I know he/she is bad for me but can't stay away.' But this isn't it - Laurel looks emotionally healthy to me and what normal person can get past 'I cheated on your with your sister. Who died as a result.' I mean, seriously.

Plus, I don't think the actors have amazing chemistry. I'd rather they kept her as a potential friend/guilt source/whatever and gave him (and her) different love interests.

[(Anonymous)]

Bet my money the supposedly dead sister (SDS) is going to turn out not dead along the way! Years of watching American shows has taught me that if 1) the body ain't found, 2) there's lingering issue with the dead one and 3) when the survived have FINALLY moved on, the SDS will return and wreak havoc in every way possible. And this being the CW, it's not rocket science they will pull this off sooner or later. Case in point: *spoiler alert* Katherine is S2 of The Vampire Diaries and Bart Bass in S5 of GG (this one made me rage like hell, although the show totally jumped the shark even long before)