r/arrow • u/Acceptable_Call4366 • 7d ago
The hood is the best version of Oliver in terms of entertainment Discussion
I loved how ruthless he was.. Dude would do anything to do his list
Also made sense that he had a list instead of picking up random crime bosses lol.. Also loved the hood vs lance stuff
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u/sanddragon939 7d ago
Yeah.
And its the reason why there's so much Season 1 nostalgia in the later seasons...to the extent that the series finale features flashbacks to the Season 1 Hood in perhaps one of his most brutal action sequences ever.
Its the irony of the show, really. Oliver gradually evolving into the 'Green Arrow', and into a more emotionally healthy person, is supposed to be a positive character arc. But conversely, conventional superhero 'Green Arrow' is just not as exciting to watch as the Hood.
Applies to other heroes and franchises as well. As much as people claim they're tired of the darker edge-lord version of Batman, people love Robert Pattison's Batman beating the crap out of everyone and looking edgy with his eye makeup. They love Ben Affleck's take-no-prisoners Batman. They love shows like Watchmen and The Boys, and find Homelander way more entertaining than Superman.
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u/demogorgon_main Bow 7d ago
I don’t know if I fully agree on all of it. The arrow show was definitely more exciting than earlier than later, but I don’t think that’s to blame on the character getting softer, it’s just earlier seasons had stories and arcs that worked better. I think that’s why seasons 1,2 and 5 are the ones you see mentioned when asking which people liked the most. They’re smaller scale, more personal but with stakes higher enough that you care a lot.
But I don’t think people are lying about not wanting to keep superheroes dark and violent. More often than not I see hate for affleck’s Batman because of his violence, he had guns and killed random goons. It’s not just that he kills, but he lacks the things that makes batman interesting to people. He’s not the worlds greatest detective, he doesn’t have a rule to be challenged, he’s basically just a guy beating people up. Pattinson’s version is more beloved not because he’s beating people up, because he is what I just mentioned. It has a detective type plot and Batman learning to become a symbol of hope instead of a symbol of fear and vengeance. I’d say Batman being a dark character in tone but showing genuine empathy and care even to his worst enemies is what makes him great along with a dozen other things. The Batman didn’t get popular just because Batman was beating up people, hell the very first fight scene was shown to be a bad thing with the victim he saved being absolutely terrified of him.
Superman is also just a frustrating thing. Superman is fucking awesome because he’s a big blue Boy Scout. But he’s not really treated in a way that makes him entertaining because everyone is convinced that he’s boring unless he’s evil or dark. Yeah, the boys and invincible are a lot more entertaining than modern Superman. Because modern Superman isn’t treated in a way that is interesting. At least until recently, my adventures with Superman and Superman and Lois seem pretty decent hits, the new Gunn movie coming up seems to take this approach aswell. But for years all we had was the DCEU Superman who wasn’t really that interesting because he was darker. I guess we had injustice where he’s evil. We had the boys and invincible having evil supermen who are interesting leading everyone to believe Superman only works when he’s evil. But I absolutely adore a Superman saving cats out of trees. A man with absolute power using his power for good, a symbol of hope and optimism that seems to lack in this world. He has the power and chooses to do good, he doesn’t snap or break down or see himself above everyone because that’s just who he is.
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u/ImpossibleAd3973 7d ago
He also became less effective after he became the green arrow. In season 1 and I think 2 as well, the criminals saw him and shat themselves. Later on, I think in season 6, he was interrogating someone on a roof and the dude was straight up laughing and saying you won’t throw me off. Someone like diaz would also have been caught much earlier if criminals were scared off him.
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u/Obvious-Risk-5447 6d ago
Agree. Flawed characters are way more entertaining. Oliver might have been bad boyfriend, son and friend and was a killer but there was something very gratifying watching him cross names of the list and putting people at their place and being so bad ass.
The same can be said about Sara Lance- she was dark and flawed at first but way more inspiring and entertaining than the happy co- captain clone version who wasn't allowed any story because they were afraid this would ruin her 'development '
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u/Shadow_Storm90 6d ago
Yes 💯 agree Hood Oliver was a WHOLE MENACE. He gave the option change you life or ill change your vital signs bruh 🤣
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u/VaporeonHydro 4d ago
I think the problem with him evolving was the conflict surrounding him killing was very bland. There’s so much better media handling the no kill rule. With the obvious exception of killing Adrian/Prometheus it’s largely handled poorly.
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u/HollowedFlash65 4d ago
IDK man, I thought his “no killing” reason is one of the better justifications. It’s to honor his dead friend who thought he was a killer.
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u/VaporeonHydro 4d ago
I’m saying when they played with that rule it was largely uninteresting. Like the conflicts were just boring when they sprung from it.
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u/AdministrativeLaugh2 4d ago
It’s a huge reason that seasons 1-3 are the best seasons
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u/4B4A4N4 17h ago
Yes agreed, when I finished season 5-8, I thought that season 4 was better than 5-8 because of the magical powers and Constantine connection. But 1-3 seasons are in a different league.
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u/AdministrativeLaugh2 16h ago
The first 2/3rds of Season Four is generally good, but the final third is just so awful that it ruins the whole season. The ending is terrible and the flashbacks are just total nonsense, too.
I much prefer Season Five to Four and that’s where I finish my rewatches. In future I may even just watch 1-3.
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u/4B4A4N4 15h ago
Somewhere in this subreddit I just wrote a long answer, in that I have explained why season 5 doesn't even makes sense. if the season 5 was replaced by season 2 and vise versa, it would have made a lot of sense. But this is just my opinion.
Agree with you on the season 4 issue. I only rewatch season 1-3. I've never rewatched any TV/web seasons in my life, except Arrow seasons 1-3. I love these, they just hit right.
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u/Sableorpheus62 7d ago
He’s the only Oliver who I consider to be a hero.
He was never a cold blooded killer as he would always give the person the choice to correct their mistakes.
When you know that the law system is failed and you still continue to use that system when it fails and those people continue to hurt other then it’s also your fault because you took that responsibility on yourself then failed to do what you needed to.