Arrow: Burned Review

Does the superhero drama's mid-season premiere blaze hot?
We've had six weeks since the revelation of the Dark Archer on Arrow, and in Burned, Oliver Queen was looking a bit worse for wear after his deadly confrontation with his new arch-foe. There was more than a hint of a Dark Knight Rises vibe about this tenth instalment, with a disfigured foe who mirrored Two-Face, a slow return to power and strength for Queen, and a revived hero vowing to continue his quest until its end. All the same, that didn't mean the episode felt devoid of originality, either.

The central plot this week focused on classic DC villain Firefly's attacks on fellow firemen in building blazes, with Green Arrow on his new foe's trail and a few flashbacks to Queen's time alone on the island too. It's fair to say that Burned juggled a fair few storylines such as Walter's continued disappearance, its effects on the Queen family and indeed the implications of John Barrowman's Dark Archer character. Thankfully, the show's writers managed to keep things fairly balanced, while maintaining a steady focus on the core narrative case of the adventure as a whole.

Perhaps the only real weakness with this week's episode came in the flashbacks to Queen's time on that mysterious island we've seen plenty of glimpses of so far. There was little real plot development in terms of those segments, to the point that I was just waiting for the flashback to end so we could get back to the crux of the storyline. That hasn't been the case in past instalments, so here's hoping that the writers fix this flaw in the twelve weeks ahead. Nevertheless, Burned is a triumphant return for Arrow, a show whose inspirations from other superhero media are clear, yet which thrives on its strengths and remains thoroughly gripping television.
4/5