Let's Review! The Women of Arrow

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It's been a while since I did posts about Arrow. But I am extremely excited about the crossover event which will happen in less than a week! To express my excitement, I'd like to talk more about Arrow. In my last post regarding Bash Crime and Women Empowerment, I mentioned that one of the many things I love about this show are the female characters. They're not just purely badass, but they have so many qualities that we both love and hate. Also, Oliver Queen dated most of these women, so it will not be hard to tell what type of woman he's into. Let's remember some of these notable ladies, shall we?

Helena Bertinelli
Also known as: The Huntress
Portrayed by: Jessica De Gouw
She is my ultimate woman crush in the series. I mean, look at her. Aesthetically, she is gorgeous. Jessica De Gouw is extremely charming, which matches the character of Huntress very nicely. Have you listened to her American Accent (Jessica is Aussie, by the way)? It is divine! She made Huntress looked like the insane Succubus in sweet angel's clothing. She may not have completely nailed Helena, but she definitely portrayed her in a new and refreshing way. But at least she was able to maintain the main core of this character, which is her vengeful spirit. If you mess with the Huntress, then she will stop at nothing to kill you. Not even her good friends can stop her. At the same time, she can still her maintain her sultry-like charm.

www.gopixpic.com

Mckenna Hall
Also known as: The Detective Woman who was actually assigned to arrest her own boyfriend
Portrayed by: Janina Gavankar
Yeah, we did not get to see much of her in season 1, which is such a shame. For one thing, I had no idea that women in the precinct could be this gorgeous. Also, it is quite interesting to know that she was a good friend of Oliver's, but she was also the one assigned to track him down. So what does Mr. Queen do? Date her of course! And in spite of her short appearances, it is a given that she is amazing at her job. Sadly, at the end of the arc, she seemed like a wrench in the works so people will continue to guess who the Arrow is supposed to end up with.

arrow.wikia.com

Chien Na Wei
Also  known as: China White
Portrayed by: Kelly Hu
All we know is that she worked for the triad. That's it. She remains a mystery to us all (unless you read the comics). The question is, who is she and what's her deal? More importantly, will she come back and kick ass?

www.sneakpeek.ca

Amanda Waller
Also known as: The Scary Woman in ARGUS
Portrayed by: Cynthia Addai Robinson
Okay, every woman can certainly throw a bitchfit. But if you ask me, this is one woman that I do not want to mess with. Heck, I do not even want to encounter this woman. For some reason, she has the power of an almighty pharaoh. She can take away everything you love and want with just one word. She reminds me of Kuvira, because her methods are beyond radical. When she has a goal, she puts her mind to it and she will make certain that it is achieved, even if it means taking away innocent lives. I am terrified and amazed by this woman.

www.melty.es

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Isabel Rochev
Also known as: Ravager
Portrayed by: Summer Glau
Another woman to be terrified of. The only reason why she wanted to ruin Oliver's life is simply because his dad--who happened to be her ex-lover, by the way--chose Thea and his family over her. I guess the Queens have the knack of attracting psychopaths. And this girl is definitely a psychopath. She cleverly used all her cards just so she can get her hands on Queens Consolidated by acting as a passionate businesswoman that wants to prove to everyone that she can handle a huge and popular company. It worked perfectly, even I fell for it. And I thought it was just going to end there, but no. She had to get Mirakuru and turned into this insane killing machine. Plus, seeing her smile will give you chills on your spine and it is not the good kind. Sure, I've seen her smile and laugh during bloopers, but it still makes me feel uneasy.

Nyssa Al Ghul
Also known as: *says it in her voice* Daughter of Ra Al Ghul, Heir to the Demon
Portrayed by: Katrina Law
We all know who she is. She would never stop introducing herself as the daughter of the almighty leader of the League of Assassins. Not only that, it is revealed that she is not only a fighter but an intense lover. If any overly-attached girlfriend in the planet underwent the same training as her, then I pity the boyfriends and the girlfriends. Let's admit it, Nyssa can be quite clingy. She wouldn't kidnap Sara's mother for no reason. It's just her way of forcing her ex to come back to her.

Shado
Also known as: Shado
Portrayed by: Celina Jade
Shado is what you call an overachiever. She's a lawyer, a pre-med student, knows martial arts, bilingual (I think), excellent huntress, philosophical (in a way), and she has the looks that gave both Deathstroke and the Arrow the boners. And no, she does not have the slightest hint of arrogance in her system. She is actually a very humble person. It's been a while since I encountered a woman who can be a gentle nurse and a fighter. She's almost similar to Mckenna, only Shado had more depth. Her character in the comics was supposed to be the ruthless lover of Robert Queen--Oliver's father--but I am glad that the writers altered her personality into something like this.

Lyla Michaels
Also known as: Harbinger
Portrayed by: Audrey Marie Anderson
I am glad that Diggle has met someone like her. She is literally his other half. They're both into public service, for instance. They met during a war, for crying out loud. Although they have excellent chemistry, I am still wondering why they have this on-and-off relationship in the first place. Lyla is a very well-rounded woman and I think out of all the female characters, she is a person who can stand her ground. It is a given that they have different opinions on world peace or something and that being together while serving the military is not that easy. To make things more complicated, Amanda Waller picked them to be part of the Suicide Squad; but hey, that didn't stop them from having a baby.

www.complex.com

Sara Lance
Also known as: The Canary
Portrayed by: Caity Lotz
Talking about Sara Lance would be a challenge. Why? Because it will take me forever. I would dedicate an entire novel about how amazing she is in season 2. Furthermore, Caity Lotz did most of her own stunts in the series (and she is an excellent dancer. She used to be a back-up dancer in a notable cheerleading film called, "Bring it on: All or Nothing"). Basically, she was my favorite character in the entire series and she was actually the only girl that I totally shipped with Oliver. Only she died a very painful death and up till now, I am deeply upset about it. I was kinda hoping that she would be the Black Canary, but no. Writers have to play with my feels for a little while.

arrow,wikia.com

Thea Queen
Also known as: Speedy
Portrayed by: Willa Holland
She's the character that I wanted to hate, but couldn't. In the first season, she's been acting like Lindsay Lohan mostly because she just wanted some attention from her family. She tries to build up in season two but she didn't like the idea of people lying to her, which is understandable. I gotta say, she had a very interesting character development. Like I can see her change in every season. Now she suddenly became more interesting in the third season, not because she gained some fighting skills but because she is finally becoming a stronger individual. And by that, I mean she is starting to have clearer goals and she is more level-headed than before. She learned to work hard, she decided that she did not want to feel sorry for herself anymore so she decided to do something about it. Even though this lead to her having some father-daughter bonding time with the crazy Malcolm Merlyn, we can still see how much Thea changes as a person.

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Moira Queen
Also known as: Oliver Queen and Thea Queen's diabolical mother
Portrayed by: Susanna Thompson
Like I said before, she displayed a mother's love in a very twisted way. Let's just say she would do anything for her kids, even if it means being a colossal bitch to Felicity Smoak. Unfortunately she was a victim herself. She just got caught in a crossfire between her husband and the people of the Undertaking. When her husband died, she had no choice but to clean up the mess he had made. Fear is evident in her expressions, but she had to swallow it down and do it. All for the sake of her kids. What even surprised me was that she knew what her son was up to for the past two years! I guess mothers do know best.

reviews.realtvchat.com

Laurel Lance
Also known as: Black Canary
Portrayed by: Katie Cassidy
Yes, I can hear you groaning. But let's cut her some slack, she's been doing really well in season three so far. And I'm going to say this one more time: she is not a terrible character. Yes, she is complicated, but that's what makes her fascinating. She can be irritating, intimidating, loving, and sorrowful to watch all at the same time. Plus her story so far has been interesting. It's complicated, which is exactly like her and that's how it should be. Now it has been established that she is not just going to be your typical lawyer, it makes me wonder how she's going to rekindle the fire between her and Oliver...since they are the canon after all. Sorry Olicity fans.

Felicity Smoak
Also known as: Bitch with Wifi
Portrayed by: Emily Bett Rickards
EVERYONE'S FAVORITE GAL!!! I don't blame you guys, Felicity Smoak is fabulous and she deserves a standing ovation. Although I was not completely impressed with her origin story, I still love her character development. She showed us that she's more than just an awkward I.T. girl. She can threaten bad guys with her tablet and she can give serious pep talks to Oliver Queen. She hesitates, she takes stands, and she can surprise you with her amazing party clothes. Basically she's not just the typical awkward and shy girl that everyone in Arrow thinks. And above all, she has almost every awkward girl's dream: to be wooed and surrounded by very attractive, strong, and intelligent young men. She's got more game than any slut I know.

The Newbies (Just first impressions)

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Carrie Cutter
Also Known As: Cupid
Portrayed by: Amy Gumenick
I never expected Arrow to have a villain who is a mixture of Harley Quinn and Catwoman. But here she is. Believe it or not, her only motive is to make senpai--in this case, it's Oliver--to notice her. I wish I can see her again, because she has definitely sparked my interests. But seriously, what can she do for ARGUS?

www.craveonline.com

Tatsu Yamashiro 
Also Known As: Katana
Portrayed by: Rila Fukushima
She's a tough cookie with a moist heart. I am dying to know how she became Katana, but I get the feeling that I am going to regret it pretty soon.

Bash Crime: Women Empowerment in Literature

Ok I've never been serious in a blog post before. So it here it goes.

A few days ago, I encountered the most interesting quote on Tumblr (it has been around the site for a long time, mind you).  And it goes like this,

"Screw writing “strong” women. Write interesting women. Write well-rounded women. Write complicated women. Write a woman who kicks ass, write a woman who cowers in a corner. Write a woman who’s desperate for a husband. Write a woman who doesn’t need a man. Write women who cry, women who rant, women who are shy, women who don’t take no shit, women who need validation and women who don’t care what anybody thinks. THEY ARE ALL OKAY, and all those things could exist in THE SAME WOMAN. Women shouldn’t be valued because we are strong, or kick-ass, but because we are people. So don’t focus on writing characters who are strong. Write characters who are people."

When I saw this, both my mind and heart leaped for joy. Finally! Someone said it! Someone finally agrees with me! I'm sure you are reading this right now and you are thinking the very same thing. I shared this quote on Facebook and it has gotten a fair amount of likes. And I never get that much likes on that form of social media.

Honestly, I grew tired of the "purely badass" archetype for women. Sure, seeing women fight better than men seemed amusing at first, but now I think it is slightly overdone. Don't get me wrong, though. I have nothing against women who can kick ass. I just wish that literature can show to everyone that women are more than just fighters...and homemakers. They're also realistic beings that walk on this Earth. Correct me if I'm wrong but if there's a character that a reader or a viewer needs to hate, they're usually female. And yes, I think we should count King Joffrey as a lady (just kidding). But yeah, people would hate on a female character if she's helpless, a whiner, a stubborn bitch, a crybaby, or basically too weak. A perfect example to further emphasize my point would be Bella Swan of the Twilight Saga. A lot of readers hated her for being too clingy on Edward Cullen. I'm not a huge a fan of her character, but let's face it. I'm sure not everyone can think straight when they're in love with someone (people who were/are in love say "yeaaah!"). But yeah, the moment a female character does something that is stupid, weak, or not so "empowering" she gets bashed terribly.

I know that each and everyone of us is entitled to their own opinions and that we can hate whoever we want to hate, but whether we like it or not, flaws--whether they are big or small--are inevitable and we can't make the characters flawless otherwise they would turn into a Mary Sue...and we (yes I am including myself since I am also guilty of the bash crime) would still end up bashing the poor character for being too perfect. Am I saying that we need to stop the bashing? Not really. As fellow members of our current fandoms, we need to be more open to different kinds of female characters. Not just stoic female leaders who take no shit from anybody. So if you are a writer or you are aspiring to be one, then I implore you not to focus on making your characters strong. Make your characters real, because that's what makes them awesome.

So what if this female character is so helpless? So what if she's too perfect? So what if she's too stubborn and hotheaded? If you hate Clary Fray for being too irritating, then that means Cassandra Clare is actually doing a great job as a writer. I guess you can say that I have a firm belief that a writer should not write at all if all they're going to do is to please their readers. Write what you believe in, write yourself in your stories, heck...write about anything you want just as long as you are knowledgeable about it. I mean, what's the point about writing about math equations, when you don't know how they work right? Call me confusing, but yeah you can bash on a female character. But don't you dare say that "Oh! Cersei Lannister is not representing women the right way! Oh! Elena is so not an empowered woman because she screwed both Damon and Stefan!", because they are--in their own weird way--empowering you and me. They're somehow setting an example for everyone out there. So I guess it is up to you, if you want to follow their actions or not. One day you are going to thank Cho Chang for making yourself a stronger person after your almost-perfect boyfriend lets you go. You are going to make certain that you are not gonna end up as an alcoholic and a grudging sister like Laurel Lance of Arrow. Despite their terrible decisions in life, we all learn from them (hopefully). So yeah, it's not entirely a lose-lose situation for a story to have such characters. Women are still people, and they can make mistakes too. You can't expect every woman in every book, movie, or TV show to be like Black Widow or Wonder Woman, because that would be hell. Like seriously, that would be overrated and scary. If you can't deal with that, then that's your problem. If you think that this character is not doing a very good job as well, her own character, then let's see if you can do a better job.

If you ask me, I think being a demigod, a shadowhunter, or even the Mockingjay is a demanding task, especially if you're a teenager. The fact that someone young is handling anything of these tasks is absolutely insane. Technically speaking, these women are pretty strong and they definitely got the man balls for doing whatever they're doing. Perhaps this is why I appreciate Arrow very much. I know there are other shows or other forms of media that show amazing female characters, but Arrow is definitely one of them. These women are not just strong. They can be weak, insane, complicated, deep, gentle, annoying, and powerful. Basically most of them have depth and they show empowerment in many different ways, which I appreciate very much.

Now that I got that off my chest, I hope I didn't really hit anyone. Well if I did, then I can assure you it is not my intention. I am only ventilating my thoughts, and you may or may not agree with everything that I have said here. My simple request is that we all should appreciate any female character, whether she can look smoking hot in a spy outfit or not. Any woman...any person can be powerful.