This was certainly the case with Moira Queen (Susanna Thompson), who was a bit of a hard sell as a sympathetic mother figure until viewers came to understand her role in 'The Undertaking.' Similarly, Tommy Merlyn (Colin Donnell) came across as a fairly flat and unimportant character at first. With other characters, it was more a question of the scripts shedding light on motivation and relationships before they really came into their own. In general, Amell's performance grew stronger over time, and the subtle ways in which he distinguished his performances during the present-day and flashback scenes stood out. Fortunately, the producers seemed to respond to criticisms on that front, and the voiceovers disappeared after a few weeks. The awkward voiceover narration that was interspersed in the early episodes didn't help.

But at first he struggled both in summoning the right presence to become a convincing vigilante of the night and in channeling Ollie's billionaire playboy charm. Stephen Amell certainly had the physique to play Oliver Queen, a fact that the show rarely missed a chance to exploit. For the most part, the actors seemed to need time to settle into their roles. Acting quality was another aspect the series struggled with initially and more or less overcame over the course of the season. And the two sequences featuring Diggle in the costume rather than Ollie suggested that this show could have a life beyond that of its lead character. Watching the dynamic between Ollie and Diggle morph from cold and hostile to warm camaraderie was a treat. Probably the most successful new addition was John Diggle as Ollie's personal bodyguard-turned-ally in his war on crime. Some were inspired by characters from the comics, while others were entirely new creations. Generally a loner in the comics, here Ollie was given a full family and circle of allies. Even right off the bat, there were many notable elements that he writers introduced into the Green Arrow mythos.

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