It’s been a few weeks, not A week, I know, but I’ve had good reason! I needed some time to process because a thing has happened. (and no, to all you well-wishers and dreamers, I AM NOT PREGNANT).

Have you ever owned a sweater that hugged you in just the right way? It gave you warmth when you were cold. It gave you comfort when you were sad or lonely. It gave you confidence when you were insecure and overwhelmed. It was your happy place.

Then one day, the close friend who gave you the sweater asks to borrow it. They won’t have it for long. They promise to have it back to you in no time. Reluctantly, you agree. I mean, they gave you the sweater after all…

Time goes by and you have had yet to receive your sweater. You miss it, but know that it’s safely in the hands of your trusted friend. It will come back to you soon.

More time goes by and you miss it so much. You finally ask your friend how your favorite sweater in the whole wide world is doing because life just isn’t the same without it. You want to know when your happy place is coming home. Your friend promises you’ll have it back soon.

Again, more time goes by. You inquire about your sweater once more as your patience is growing rather thin. Weirdly, your friend deflects, speaks in vagaries and about other sweaters they think you might adore as much as the one they borrowed from you. Essentially, you don’t find the answer you seek.

The next thing you know, sweater season is half way through and you haven’t had an opportunity to enjoy your happy place once. It’s bullshit. You call out your “friend”. You demand answers. You want your favorite sweater back and you want it now.

It is finally back in your arms, but instead of your favorite sweater returned in its pristine condition, the threads are unravelling, the body’s been stretched, and the yarn’s been worn bare. The entire sweater is coming apart at the seams. This is not your sweater. This is not your happy place. You don’t even recognize what you’re “friend” has given you. You want to believe it can be salvaged, but there’s just no way. THIS is a pile of shit masquerading as your favorite sweater. You won’t wear shit. Shit is not your happy place.

THIS is what the Arrow writers have done with my favorite show. Don’t trust people with your favorite sweater.

I’ve liked Batman since I was a kid, but I never read the comics. I was much more of a Calvin and Hobbes kind of comics gal as opposed to the comic book kind of comic gal. Though I adored watching Adam West and Burt Ward in reruns on Channel 3 (yeah, back in the day when there was such a thing as only four channels) and though I loved Tim Burton’s version of Gotham City and Christopher Nolan’s approach to the Dark Knight, I wasn’t exactly inspired to delve further into the DC or Marvel worlds.

I have liked Spider Man and Thor and Iron Man and Captain America. I really did love The Avengers. These are fantastic action-packed two and a half hour million dollar money makers that move, excite, and thrill. The stories are great. I, along with my comrades, feel the ups and downs and take deep breaths as characters rise and fall, battling for supremacy, struggling to save humanity in some way, shape, form, or other. And then it’s over. I go home.

Arrow is different. It’s an ongoing saga of one man’s journey to hell and back and how he deals with that experience. How he copes with his new life born from an unexpected tragedy and complicated past. It’s an ongoing story of surviving, over-coming, accepting and moving on,  all to determine one’s true identity. It can be dark, but I feel his pain. I see his struggle. And that is a combination of great writing mixed with fantastic acting by the phenomenal Stephen Amell. So impressed. Seriously had no idea who he was before watching Arrow and now I think he is one of the most talented actors, completely devoted to his craft, out there today.

And the show isn’t amazing just because of Stephen Amell’s Oliver Queen. Yes, what he brings to his character’s interactions is vital to each story’s success, but how those characters respond is what makes the stories grounded in truth. Which is ultimately how the viewers connect with the show. So without the stoic and strong John Diggle (David Ramsey), or the brilliant and devoted Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards), or the determined Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy), or the resolute Captain Lance (Paul Blackthorne), just a few among so many fabulous characters and actors on the show, we as the audience couldn’t care about Oliver Queen.

With Arrow, I’m not given this action-packed two hour tale that basically leaves me psyched yet hanging for the sequel that will come out in a few years. I am being given a weekly dose of exhilarating storytelling that keeps me on my toes. It feels like a movie. Arrow has it all. It has, in the words of Grandpa from the Princess Bride, “Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles …” And I’ll add bad ass archery to that list. I cannot possibly be more excited about a show on television right now than this one.

It’s also led me to becoming a Flash fan. Please check that one out too, if you haven’t already. It’s a spin-off from Arrow, a little lighter and more super-power-heroee, but still a fun show to watch. It’s interesting to have both shows sharing the same Universe as well, so there will actually be meaningful crossover episodes instead of those random one-offs  thrown into various series for Sweeps Week.

So now this girl, who was sort of feeling ho-hum about comic book characters being brought to life on the small screen, is currently scouring the internet for spoilers and release dates and for anything and everything relating to the comic book world.

I went into this show thinking I’d like it. The fact is I LOVE it and can hardly wait for the next new episode to air. All I can say is thank you to CW and DC and to the writers, producers, actors and directors behind the show. It’s what television has been missing and right now I feel Arrow is knocking it out of the park.

What do you think of Arrow? Any thoughts on Gotham, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or The Flash?