Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I review in this blog post. All opinions I share are my own.
Release Date: August 30, 2016
Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: Approx. 1056 minutes (Bonus Content Approx. 85 minutes)
After defeating his most formidable foe to date and riding off into the sunset with his long time flame, tech whiz Felicity Smoak, mysterious billionaire Oliver Queen (aka The Arrow) left Star City with the hope of beginning a new life. But their newly tranquil existence is upended by the arrival of lawyer-turned-vigilante Laurel Lance and Oliver’s sister, Thea, who recruit Oliver to save Star City yet again – this time from an evil organization, H.I.V.E., led by the dangerous Damien Darhk.
Returning to Star City and donning the hood once more, Oliver will struggle to keep his aim as the Green Arrow without losing the life he fought so hard to get back. Rivalries mount and alliances shift, as the series based on the DC Comics character continues with 23 hard-hitting, action-packed, justice-seeking episodes, including the groundbreaking crossover episode with The Flash, which introduces DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.
***
So with the way season three ended, I was very nervous about the tone for season four and how the season would take off. Well. While this certainly was much better as a whole than season three, my concerns about tone were valid. Still, season four was wildly entertaining, so here’s what I loved.
The introduction of Hawkman and Hawkgirl was exhilarating and a very much needed revitalization to the show for sure. I loved every minute of it, especially when The Flash came to help Oliver out with the two at one point. With Hawkman and Hawkgirl came the introduction of the villain chasing them, Vandal Savage. At times, I grew tired of him but overall, I really liked this villain and his complexities.
The big bad though this season seemed to be Damien Darhk and boy did they give us plenty to get excited for each week with this guy. This villain who had a family, lost his wife, and then decided he was willing to lose it all if it meant the entire world losing too. If he couldn’t save his wife, nobody deserved to be saved. Ahhh, I loved Damien Darhk. He was so well fleshed out and really captivating on the screen because he was so human and so easily broken even with his powers. Haven’t seen a villain like this in awhile. Loved it.
Speaking of villain, whether or not you still see him as one, there’s Malcolm Merlyn. I really enjoyed the very complicated father-daughter dynamic between Thea and Malcolm and can’t wait to see more of this next season. One character who won’t be getting father-daughter time? Laurel who met her fate this season, which I guess you could say was the big death of the season. My thoughts on this are pretty much explained better than I ever could put it down at Green Arrow TV. So. Moving on…
Oliver and Felicity’s engagement and relationship drama? I’m not a huge romance person but their romance is quite special so I enjoyed following this journey. Along for the Ollicity ride? Felicity’s mother. Her mom brought such a bright and unfamiliar tone to the show and while I liked it, I’d be lying if I said I was 100% on board with this light tone in the longterm. I’m hoping this isn’t the case and the show goes back to its darker tone because, as entertaining as it is, it just doesn’t feel right. Give me more personal stories but darker, like Oliver’s son being kidnapped. That story line was great.
So, overall, a really great season, much more exciting and edge of my seat thrilling than the previous season. Now, they need to go back to basics and iron out the tone of the show for next season and season five could be one of their best yet. But don’t take my word for it, get season four on blu-ray or DVD and make yourself comfortable for a re-watch before the new season.
Appearing in This Feature:
Co Publisher of DC Comics, Dan DiDio
Executive Producers, Andrew Kreisberg, Wendy Mericle
DC Entertainment CCO, Geoff Johns
VFX Supervisor, Armen Kevorkian
* Star Crossed Hawks: The Hunt for Vandal Savage (11:02 minutes) – Along with Hawkman and Hawkgirl comes the villain that has been chasing them for centuries, who by extension, becomes a big threat to Arrow and the gang. Hence, a special feature dedicated to him, which is just as enlightening as the previous feature, for those unfamiliar with Vandal Savage outside of the TV show.
Appearing in This Feature:
Executive Producers, Wendy Mericle, Andrew Kreisberg
DC Entertainment CCO, Geoff Johns
Co Publisher of DC Comics, Dan DiDio
* Arrow: 2015 Comic-Con Panel (23:19 minutes) – This includes the Q&A though the questions from the Q&A are written on the screen rather than us actually hearing the fans, which makes the edit of this portion go more smoothly.
Appearing in This Feature:
Moderator, Jarett Wieselman (Buzzfeed)
DC Entertainment CCO, Geoff Johns
Executive Producers, Greg Berlanti, Wendy Mericle, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg
Cast Members, Paul Blackthorne, David Ramsey, Emily Bett Rickards, Stephen Amell, Katie Cassidy, Willa Holland, John Barrowman
* Smooth Criminal: The Damien Darhk Story (14:57 minutes) – The big bad of this season is Damien Darhk so getting a really comprehensive character breakdown of this villain was expected and it definitely delivers.
Appearing in This Feature:
Executive Producers, Wendy Mericle
Writer, Brian Ford Sullivan
Cast Member, Neal McDonough
* Deleted Scenes (Approx. 18:10 minutes total) – There is one unaired for each of the following episodes: 401 “Green Arrow,” 404 “Beyond Redemption” (I liked this scene), 410 “Blood Debts” (I liked this one too), “413 “Sins of the Father,” 415 “Taken,” 421 “Monument Point” (bad acting), and 423 “Schism.”
There are also two unaired scenes from 405 “Haunted,” two unaired scenes from 414 “Code of Silence” (these were worth checking out), and four unaired scenes from 419 “Canary Cry” (mighty glad the first three of these four didn’t make the cut, the final version of this episode is fine as is without them).
* Gag Reel (6:02 minutes)
Own Arrow: The Complete Fourth Season on Blu-ray and DVD today.
Watch an all new season of Arrow this fall only on The CW.