Arrow: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Arrow: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Eye shadow, good. Eye patches, bad...

You'll have to forgive Arrow its raging Batman envy. Even with the arrival of Gotham this week, television has yet to produce a proper live-action Dark Knight. Emphasis on dark. Camp TV gave us Adam West, some fifty years ago. The short-lived Birds of Prey (2011) series featured a brief appearance, but that was quickly undone by... well, Birds of Prey. Smallville (2001-11) teased the Caped Crusader near the end of its run, but, you guessed it. Nothing. Gotham's young David Mazouz is already proving himself a fitting Bruce Wayne, but no cape, no cowl, no suit... no Bats. But, but, but. Always the promise, always the disappointment. Arrow, though, shrugs its shoulders, says to hell with untapped potential and delivers a dark vigilante DC Comics fans can rally behind. Oliver Queen has long played second fiddle to Batman on the comicbook page, but with Arrow, Queen ascends the throne and brings Bat-like heroics to the small screen; moral conundrums, inner demons, violent tactics, twisted rogues gallery and all.

Thankfully, Arrow's 23-episode sophomore outing is an improvement on the series' rocky first season. With more carefully defined storylines, more thrilling action, more devilishly deviant baddies, and more interesting character arcs, there's more to enjoy this time around and less headaches to endure. There's still the never-ending repetition of another villain-of-the-week superhero show, still the same bloated conflicts and distended evil agendas, still the same endless cliffhangers, still the same gaping plot holes, but the series is at least on the rise. A slow rise, but one with upward momentum. By season's end, there's little doubt Arrow is developing a smart DC universe within a DC universe; one with plenty of crossover potential with the likes of Flash and others that will surely follow, yet enough strength to stand on its own two feet should further DCU big leaguers remain MIA. I came away from Season One skeptical. I'm walking away from Season Two more optimistic. We'll see where Queen and company go from here.

• City of Heroes: Diggle and Felicity travel to Lian Yu in search of Oliver who left Starling City after The Undertaking. Convinced to return home, Oliver finds that things are in worse shape than he thought. Isabel Rochev (guest star Summer Glau) is preparing a hostile takeover of Queen Consolidated, Thea refuses to visit Moira in jail, Roy is trying to fill the void left by the Arrow’s absence, and Laurel (Katie Cassidy) is working with the District Attorney’s office to take down the vigilante. Meanwhile, flashbacks to the island show Slade, Shado (guest star Celina Jade) and Oliver in a desperate situation.
• Identity: Oliver finds out the medicine that is being sent to Glades Memorial is being hijacked by thieves. Without an influx of supplies, the hospital will close. Roy attempts to stop the thieves, but he fails and is arrested by Officer Lance. Oliver gets into a heated battle with China White (guest star Kelly Hu) and her new partner, Ben Turner, aka the Bronze Tiger (guest star Michael Jai White), over the supplies. Meanwhile, Laurel makes plans to catch the Arrow, and Thea gives Roy an ultimatum.
• Broken Dolls: Lance learns a criminal named Barton Mathis (guest star Michael Eklund), whom he put away years ago, broke out of prison during the quake and is back to torturing and murdering women. Felicity offers herself as bait so Arrow, Diggle and Lance can catch this villain, but the plan goes awry. Furious, Mathis kidnaps Laurel in retaliation and plans to murder her while Lance watches. Meanwhile, Thea and Oliver are stunned when District Attorney Adam Donner (guest star Dylan Bruce) seeks the death penalty for Moira. Oliver asks Roy to help him find the Canary.
• Crucible: Oliver discovers a man who goes by the name “The Mayor” (guest star Cle Bennett) is bringing illegal guns in to The Glades, so Oliver sponsors a “Cash for Guns” event to help clean up the city. Unfortunately, The Mayor crashes the event with his gang and seriously injures Sin (guest star Bex Taylor-Klaus). The Canary is furious when she learns her friend is in the hospital and sets out for revenge. Meanwhile, Felicity stuns Oliver with a bit of information about the Canary, Donner asks Laurel to dinner, and Diggle reconnects with an old friend.
• League of Assassins: While Oliver tends to the Canary’s wounds, he tries to get her to talk about where she came from but she refuses. However, after Oliver and the Canary are attacked at the Queen mansion by a trained killer from the League of Assassins, she confesses to how she’s connected with the nefarious group. Meanwhile with Moira facing multiple counts of murder and conspiracy for her part in the destruction of The Glades, the Assistant District Attorney offers her a choice – plead guilty now and avoid the death penalty or take your chances in court. Thea begs her mother to fight for her life but Moira seems resolute about taking the offer. Meanwhile, Oliver is furious with Laurel for joining the prosecution’s team on his mother’s case.
• Keep Your Enemies Closer: Amanda Waller (guest star Cynthia Addai-Robinson) sends A.R.G.U.S. agents to kidnap Diggle. Waller informs Diggle that Lyla (guest star Audrey Marie Anderson) has gone missing after following a lead on Deadshot (guest star Michael Rowe) in Moscow. When Diggle tells the team he’s headed to Russia to rescue Lyla, Oliver and Felicity decide to join, but things get messy when Isabel shows up on the tarmac and insists on joining Oliver’s “work trip.” Meanwhile, Moira’s lawyer, Jean (guest star Teryl Rothery), tells Thea that dating Roy, a known criminal, is hurting her mother’s case.
• State v. Queen: Oliver is concerned when a mysterious illness sweeps the city, infecting hundreds of people, including Diggle. Oliver discovers Vertigo in Diggle’s blood and realizes The Count (guest star Seth Gabel) has broken out of prison and is once again distributing his drug. Meanwhile, Moira goes on trial for her participation in the Undertaking. ADA Adam Donner collapses in court with Vertigo symptoms so Laurel must step in and try the case against Moira. Oliver is torn between standing by his family during the trial and catching The Count. However, things change when Felicity follows a lead and walks straight into a trap set by The Count.
• The Scientist: A seemingly impossible robbery at Queen Consolidated’s Applied Sciences Division brings Central City police scientist Barry Allen (guest star Grant Gustin) to town. Citing a similar case back home, Barry offers to help Oliver and team with the investigation. Oliver senses there is more to Barry than meets the eye, but he’s distracted by the similarities between this current case and something that happened on the island. Meanwhile, Felicity takes a liking to Barry, which doesn’t go unnoticed by Oliver. Sin asks Roy for help when a friend of hers goes missing. Roy is surprised when Thea not only encourages him to help, but joins the search. Unfortunately, Sin’s friend is connected to Brother Blood (guest star Kevin Alejandro), and their search ultimately gets one of them seriously injured.
• Three Ghosts: After a fight with Cyrus Gold AKA the Acolyte (guest star Graham Shiels), Oliver is drugged and left for dead. Determined to cure him, Felicity makes a risky decision. The cure causes Oliver to hallucinate, and what he sees forces him to confront his past. Meanwhile, Barry continues to help Felicity, and their connection grows stronger. The Arrow asks Lance to look into Gold, but when the stakeout on Gold goes bad, someone is killed. Roy is captured and tortured by Brother Blood.
• Blast Radius: Oliver must tackle a new threat to the city when bombs start to go off in Starling City. Felicity discovers the person setting them off is Mark Sheffner (guest star Sean Maher), a man who goes by the nickname Shrapnel. Arrow discovers Shrapnel’s next target is Sebastian Blood’s “Unity Rally” and tries to talk the alderman out of hosting it, but he refuses. Arrow sets off to stop the bombing, but Shrapnel tricks him and traps him in a bomb-laced antique store where he is unable to move without setting off the device. Meanwhile, Roy continues to hide his new strength from Thea but, after she witnesses his super strength in action at the rally, she demands answers.
• Blind Spot: Oliver is conflicted after Laurel reaches out to the Arrow asking him to investigate Sebastian Blood. Oliver is unsure whether to believe her accusations against the man he has publicly supported for mayor, but decides to trust Laurel. However, when the pair gets too close to the truth, Sebastian exposes Laurel’s drug addiction and has her arrested. Meanwhile, Roy reveals his new super-strength to Sin who wants to test out his abilities. Unfortunately, Roy isn’t able to contain his rage once unleashed and almost kills a man. Back on the island, Oliver is surprised when Sarah reveals a secret about Laurel.
• Tremors: Arrow offers to train Roy so he can learn to control his newfound super-strength. However, Roy is a rebellious student and refuses to listen unless Arrow reveals his true identity, which Oliver refuses to do. Meanwhile, the Bronze Tiger escapes from prison and steals Malcolm’s earthquake machine to sell to the highest bidder. Oliver, Diggle and Felicity attempt to stop the transfer, but Roy gets in the way, putting everyone in danger. Laurel is disbarred and spirals out of control. Moira is thrilled when Walter (guest star Colin Salmon) asks her to dinner, but his reason surprises her. Thea encourages her mother to ask Walter to reconcile.
• Heir to the Demon: As Laurel continues to unravel, Oliver and Lance try to convince Sara to stay in Starling City and finally reunite with Laurel and Dinah (guest star Alex Kingston). However, Sara’s fellow League of Assassins member, Nyssa (guest star Katrina Law), comes to bring Sara back to the fold, but when Sara refuses, Nyssa kidnaps Dinah. Realizing she’s putting her family in danger by staying in town, Sara considers re-joining the league.
• Time of Death: Oliver brings Sara into the Arrow team. Watching Oliver and Diggle spar with Sara and talk old scars, Felicity starts to feel left out. The team is investigating a villain named William Tockman, a.k.a. The Clock King (guest star Robert Knepper), who is a brilliant thief armed with technology that can open any bank vault in Starling City. After The Clock King infiltrates the computer systems in the lair, Felicity feels pressure to prove her worth. When she gets a lead on Tockman’s whereabouts, she heads out without the team, putting her in peril. Meanwhile, Oliver throws Sara a welcome home party, but Laurel refuses to attend. After Lance makes his case for a family dinner, Laurel acquiesces, but when Oliver shows up with Sara, she loses her temper on both of them.
• The Promise: Oliver is shocked when he learns that Slade has come to Starling City. Back on the island, as Oliver, Slade and Sara prepare to take over the freighter from Ivo, Sara pulls Oliver aside and tells him he needs to kill Ivo to prevent him from telling Slade what happened with Shado. Oliver feels immense guilt over the situation but realizes Slade’s growing rage from the Mirakuru makes him unpredictable and he could turn on his friends if he thinks Oliver is to blame. Oliver agrees to kill Ivo and the battle begins.
• Suicide Squad: Following Slade’s return and his promise to make good on his threat to destroy Oliver’s loved ones, Oliver focuses all his energy on preparing for battle with his former friend. Sarah tries to help but, fearing for her safety, Oliver pushes her away. Meanwhile, Diggle is recruited by Amanda Waller and A.R.G.U.S. to stop a warlord (guest star Lee Majdoub) he knew from his time in Afghanistan. Always the solider, Diggle agrees to help. However, he’s not prepared when Amanda introduces him to the rest of the team: Deadshot, Bronze Tiger and Shrapnel, all criminals he and Arrow helped put away. Lyla defends the team and explains the world is a complicated place, but Diggle isn’t sure he agrees. When the mission takes a dangerous turn, Diggle is forced to make a difficult decision.
• Birds of Prey: When Frank Bertinelli (guest star Jeffrey Nordling) is arrested, Oliver knows it’s only a matter of time before his daughter, Helena, aka The Huntress (guest star Jessica De Gouw), returns to town. To make matters worse, Laurel is picked to try Frank’s case, putting her right in the path of Helena. Oliver tells Sara he will handle his ex-girlfriend, but when Helena takes hostages at the courthouse, including Laurel, the Canary will stop at nothing to save her sister. When The Huntress and Canary meet, an epic battle begins. Meanwhile, Roy realizes he needs to keep Thea safe, but doesn’t like the way he is forced to go about it.
• Deathstroke: Slade makes his move against Oliver and the repercussions are enormous. While Oliver scrambles to protect his family, a key player in his team starts to question Oliver’s decisions. Meanwhile, Isabel makes her move to take Queen Consolidated away from Oliver.
• The Man Under the Hood: Oliver, Canary, Diggle and Felicity return to the lair and find Slade waiting for them. An epic battle breaks out and one member of Team Arrow is sent to the hospital. Thea hits her breaking point, but just as Oliver is about to reach her, Slade intervenes and Oliver is faced with a choice: his battle with Slade or his family. Meanwhile, Laurel struggles with a new secret.
• Seeing Red: The mirakuru sends Roy into an uncontrollable rage and he unleashes on the city. After Roy’s deadly fight with a police officer, Oliver realizes the mirakuru has taken over Roy completely and must figure out a way to stop him. Things get more complicated after Sara declares that Roy is too far gone and the only way to stop him is to kill him. Meanwhile, Thea believes she can breakthrough to Roy so she goes on camera at Moira’s campaign rally to lure him to Verdant.
• City of Blood: After Slade threatens to take everything Oliver loves away, Oliver decides the fastest way to stop further bloodshed is to surrender to his enemy. Knowing that surrender will surely lead to Oliver’s death, Diggle and Felicity go to extreme measures to keep Oliver from confronting Slade. Meanwhile, Thea considers leaving town, and Laurel resumes her crusade against Sebastian Blood. Slade unleashes his assault on Starling City.
• Streets of Fire: Oliver rallies his team as Slade’s soldiers attack the city. Felicity gets a call from S.T.A.R. Labs with game-changing news and Thea comes face-to-face with an unexpected villain.
• Unthinkable: Slade moves forward with his plan to kill one more person in Oliver’s life. While Oliver has fought all year to be more than the killer he once was, when Slade kidnaps someone close to Oliver’s heart, Oliver is pushed to the edge and realizes sometimes it takes doing the unthinkable to stop the monster. Meanwhile, Diggle takes on Amanda Waller with a little help from some friends, and Thea turns to Roy in her time of need.

Arrow: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Like The Complete First Season, the series' latest Blu-ray release hits the AV bullseye with a terrific 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentation. Colors are cast in bold splashes of green, orange and red, while skintones remain beautifully saturated, primaries are strong and black levels are deep and inky. Detail is particularly impressive from episode to episode, with sharply defined edges, crisp fine textures, a refined grain field and excellent delineation. Shadows are thick and heavy, yet crush isn't a major issue. Noise spikes, but only as the series' digital photography dictates. There's a hint of softness from time to time (mainly when Queen battles his way through warehouses packed with easily dispatched henchmen), but only of the optical variety. Better still, macroblocking, banding and other issues are nowhere to be found, and the few instances of aliasing that appear are limited to VFX elements or stock establishing shots of the city and other locales. In other words: no real distractions or eyesores to report. All told, Arrow looks fantastic in high definition.

Arrow: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Arrow's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is no slouch either. Dialogue is clean and clear, without any intelligibility concerns or prioritization mishaps. The LFE channel flexes its muscle whenever fists are thrown, bows are drawn, guns are fired or explosions rock Starling City, and each low-end thoom and boom packs commendable punch. Rear speaker activity is assertive and satisfying too, although quieter conversations sometimes aren't home to the same level of enveloping ambience as more exciting scenes. The soundfield is rarely front-heavy and directionality boasts Deadshot precision, and the entire mix is as immerse and engaging as one should expect from a superhero television action-drama. No complaints here.

Arrow: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• From Vigilante to Hero (HD, 24 minutes): This lengthy dissection of Arrow tracks the evolution of Oliver from Season One to Season Two, peeling back the layers of his motivations, difficult choices, personal demons, addictions, guilt complex and unfolding character arc. Is Green Arrow a vigilante or a hero? A savior or just another thug with delusions of grandeur?
• The Visual Effects of Arrow (HD, 11 minutes): Bringing tricky sequences, locales, large scale devastation and death-defying action to the small screen, as convincingly as a quick timetable and a modest budget allows.
• Wirework: The Impossible Moves of Arrow (HD, 10 minutes): The high-flying stunts of the series, from concept to animatic, rehearsal, rigging and execution with the stunt crew and main cast members.
• Deleted Scenes (HD): Deleted scenes are spread across all four discs, trimmed from "City of Heroes," "Identity," "Crucible," "Keep Your Enemies Closer," "State v. Queen," "Three Ghosts," "Tremors," "Heir to the Demon," "Time of Death," "The Promise," "Suicide Squad," "The Man Under the Hood" and "Unthinkable."
• Arrow: 2013 Comic-Con Panel (HD, 26 minutes): The showrunners join key members of the series for a lively, engaging panel in a crowded hall at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con. The only downside is that the panel was recorded before the second season aired, which leads to hints about what's to come (for us, what's already come) rather than any real insight into the production.
• Gag Reel (HD, 5 minutes): After watching this outtake reel, I'm convinced the Arrow actors liquor up before shooting each episode. It's funny, just in that "is everyone in the room drunk?" sorta way.

Arrow: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Arrow is finding its groove and establishing its own rhythms. It's still a formula-driven superhero outing through and through, but Season Two is more confident and consistent than Season One, delivering fewer and fewer disappointing episodes as the series hurtles along. There's still room to grow of course, but Arrow appears to finally be on track. As more heroes and villains are introduced, it might just become one of the better comicbook actioners on TV. Might. Time will tell. Fortunately, Warner's Blu-ray release is a reliable one. It would have been nice to see more extras -- cast and crew commentaries especially -- but the second season's AV presentation is as remarkable as its first season predecessor. Here's hoping Season Three will continue the series' climb.