Arrow: The Complete Fourth Season

The series that kicked off the DC Comics universe of TV shows on the CW network continues to lean toward the dark side of the genre. Anchored by Green Arrow (Stephen Amell), the masked alter ego of millionaire playboy turned brooding shipwreck survivor Oliver Queen, Arrow has built an entire crime-fighting team around the nocturnal vigilante, including Arrow's computer genius/hacker girlfriend Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards); assistant District Attorney Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy), who is also masked hero Black Canary; his former bodyguard John Diggle (David Ramsey), a special forces veteran; and his sister Thea (Willa Holland), who has been trained in martial arts and archery and joins the masked squad as Speedy. This season they take on Damian Darhk, a megalomaniac bent on world domination using magic as his superpower. Played with a self-satisfied smile and snappy gusto by Neal McDonough, Darhk is one of the best things in this season that sometimes gets bogged down in personal melodrama, romantic spats, and family sparks. Felicity breaks it off with Oliver after he lies to her about a former affair, Diggle clashes with his estranged brother (a mercenary working for Darhk), and a major character is killed towards the end, upping the stakes of the climactic closing battle. Arrow remains popular on the youth-skewing network, anchoring a growing universe of TV superhero shows that appeal to young adults and graphic novel fans. Compiling all 23 episodes from the 2015-16 fourth season, extras include behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, and a gag reel. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)