Team GATV Roundtable: Talking Arrow Season 6 So Far

What do you think of Michael Emerson as Cayden James?

MELISSA: Great casting. I have not been disappointed. Emerson infuses Cayden James with creepy malice tinged with a layer of almost genial amusement that only reinforces his threat. I’m very glad he came to play on Arrow.

STEPHANIE: Underwhelming. I’m still waiting for the scene that makes it clear why they needed to cast Michael Emerson for this role. His screen presence is good enough, because it’s Michael Emerson, but so far, Cayden James’ dialogue and agenda haven’t been all that memorable. Emerson has played this type of quiet, imposing character on both Lost and Person of Interest, so I was hoping this role gave him the opportunity to depart from that type casting and embrace a more unchained side.

MATT: He’s fine. Seems like a combination of his Ben Linus from Lost and his Harold Finch from Person of Interest, but tempered. I look forward to hopefully seeing more from him following the hiatus to allow the character to grow. Now, it feels like they are trading on the actor’s ability rather than giving him too interesting of a character.

CRAIG: I LOVED Person of Interest and Michael Emerson’s role in it. With that said… I kind of feel like this character and this actor is more attuned to a different kind of TV show than this one. All I see is “hey look, it’s Michael Emerson!” rather than believing and feeling that this very scary character is present. There’s time to develop, but I’m not feeling the character just yet.