“From the beginning, “Arrow” was presented as the story of one man’s journey from cold-blooded killer into full-fledged hero. There have been missteps along the way, and the series isn’t exactly sweeping the awards circuit for its writing, but the characterization of Oliver and the portrayal by star Stephen Amell generally allowed a certain overall consistency to the narrative. Unfortunately, Season 3 has done a disservice to that consistency by treating the protagonist as a device retooled each week to serve the plot du jour. Oliver Queen stopped being written as the star of his own story, and his “death” now feels like an attempt to oust Amell from the main action and force focus elsewhere in his absence. Oliver didn’t pass the torch to anyone; the torch was pried from his cold, dead(ish) fingers to facilitate the rises of lesser characters.”
