Team GATV Roundtable: Looking Back At The First Half Of Arrow Season 4

What do you think of Damien Darhk?

MATT: How can anyone not love him? Neal McDonough is perfectly cast and he seems to be having an extraordinary amount of fun in the role. If not, it’s at least fun to be watching him. He is a villain and he doesn’t seem to have any issue with being that. That’s not to say he thinks of himself as a bad guy, but he’s just not conflicted or being pulled in various directions like Malcolm Merlyn or Slade Wilson or Ra’s al Ghul. His self interest is very practical, and he’s a guy who has accepted power and likes to use it. It’s still not entirely clear what H.I.V.E.’s objective is and Project Genesis is still leaving me scratching my head, but Darhk is a pure delight.

STEPHANIE: Damien Darhk has been an interesting and worthwhile villain so far. Neal McDonough plays him with a sort of dark charm that you can’t help but be drawn to, yet you don’t necessarily root for him to succeed.

CRAIG: He’s a scene stealer, and a lesser actor than Neal McDonough would not have been able to pull it off. He almost take glee in being bad. While his Force-type powers are a little odd for the world of Arrow, I do think he’s a legitimate threat, and I feel there’s a lot more great stuff to come from him.

DEREK: He’s a blast! It’s been interesting having a villain without much of a personal connection to or vendetta against Oliver or Green Arrow. What he’s against is what Oliver and Green Arrow stand for, and it’s just because the vigilante and mayoral campaigns get in the way. That’s crafted a dynamic that feels much more like a strategic game of chess than the act/react motions of the last few seasons. The funny thing about Dahrk is that we really don’t know anything about him at this point; he’s completely sold with Neal McDonough’s charisma and the character’s wit. It’s somewhat akin to how Jessica Jones handled Kilgrave — he’s been such a powerful presence, even when he’s not doing much, that I’m itching to learn more about him. So when we inevitably do, I don’t think it will lessen the impact or scariness of the character. And I don’t think he’ll ever be seen as less than a Magnificent Bastard, no matter how sympathetic the family he apparently has will make him.