Arrow failing to replicate Legends of Tomorrow’s success with team of villains

Arrow’s midseason finale finally brought together its team of villains. It’s similar to what Legends of Tomorrow did but far less effective. This contains spoilers from “Irreconcilable Differences.”

It wasn’t a secret that Arrow would have a team of villains in season 6. This steadily came true through the first eight episodes, with Cayden James and Black Siren working together. It didn’t seem like a “team,” however, which we learned more of in the midseason finale, “Irreconcilable Differences.”

To close the episode, we see James, Siren, Vince/Vigilante, Anatoly, the Dragon and a man named Boots watching Team Arrow’s demise. Dinah Drake, Rene Ramirez and Curtis Holt just left the team, frustrated with a lack of trust (Rene was kicked off by Oliver Queen). It was the first these this group stood together, side by side, to showcase that they’re the group to fear in the second half of season 6. That’s fine, but if this was meant to be a grand reveal, it fell flat.

This team-of-villains concept worked beautifully in season 2 of Legends of Tomorrow, when the Legion of Doom came together to fight the Legends. Eobard Thawne, Malcolm Merlyn and Damian Darhk were already established on The Flash or Arrow, with most of the Legends having a history with at least one of these three villains. Thawne’s quest for the Spear of Destiny worked almost perfectly as well, a device that would allow him to rewrite history and place himself in the timeline, rather than running from the Black Flash forever.

All of this made for a deeply rooted and fun storyline for Legends of Tomorrow (something that’s arguably been absent from its third season). Arrow doesn’t have any of this, as of the midseason finale.

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It’s rooted in the motivations. As IGN noted, we still don’t know the specifics of Cayden James’ hatred for Oliver. Yes, the “responsible for my son’s death” aspect was revealed, but nothing afterward. Thursday’s episode was the opportunity to dive into this, rather than using Team Arrow’s dissension as the plot device to leave fans waiting for six weeks. So, other than James’ desire to maybe blow up Star City and being a former Helix member, it’s all we know.

Without the proper character depth, James as this mastermind can’t be taken seriously. Sure, it will be unraveled at some point, but waiting too long risks stuffing too much in the latter half of the season. Siren’s potential redemption arc, Analoty’s reason to help, the Dragon’s reason to assist, why former cop Vince aligned with them, and the identity of Boots, all must be established. That may be too much for the remaining 13 episodes, all while Arrow tells the fans the master plan of Legion of Doom 2.0.

It’s just over half a season to establish this group. Legends of Tomorrow’s Legion of Doom had nine total seasons to tell us who Thawne (3 of The Flash), Merlyn (5 on Arrow) and Darhk (1 on Arrow) were. Doubling that number, with most of the group being introduced in season 6 of Arrow doesn’t help their case.

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This set-up can’t be deemed a failure yet, but it’s not compelling. Team Arrow may be disbanded, which allows an opening for James’ group to invade Star City and find plot success. Unfortunately, it doesn’t feel special and lacks the interesting details to make the stakes, if any linger into 2018, feel important.