The dissolution continues as Oliver and Diggle come to blows over the mission of the team they helped found. Meanwhile, Ricardo Diaz is busy taking over. “Brothers in Arms” was directed by Mark Bunting and written by Sarah Tarkoff and Jeane Wong
1. And Then There Was One
It’s been interesting watching Arrow Season 6 slowly tear down Team Arrow and call into question the progress made in previous seasons, much in the way season 3 did with season 2. Structurally and emotionally it hasn’t always been the most effective. That wasn’t the case for this episodes much hyped confrontation between Oliver and Diggle. The physical aspect was truncated, which helped to highlight its petulant nature, but emotionally everything rang true. At the end of the episode neither side is “right,” it’s much worst. Their reasons are understandable and make sense at the core who Oliver Queen and Diggle are on this show, echoing the awful thing from Rules of the Game: everybody has their reasons.
Now that Oliver is back at mostly square one . . . until Felicity leaves him, it’ll be interesting to see how the show handles things in this last batch of episodes.
2. On Diggle
When Diggle confided to his wife that he couldn’t quite put to words what it was about Oliver’s actions that upset him so much, it appeared this episode would be going in a different direction. It seemed the show may be getting a little meta as a important, but still supporting, character questions his place in the world and why he couldn’t be the one in charge. That layer gets even more complicated when considering Diggle’s character is both based on a reference to comic book writer and that until recently there was no John Diggle in the comics. In the highly regulated and regimented world of Capes (both corporately and by the fans) and television, there really isn’t room for questions and desire for more. It’s just “know your role and shut your damn mouth” as The Rock would say. As potentially interesting this line of inquiry could have been, since it would have to bring in the nature of adaptation and intertextuality, I’m glad that isn’t the root they went for Diggle’s reasoning.
He may not be the leader of Team Arrow, but Diggle is the teams ethical-moral heart. Which is why him critiquing Oliver’s desire to be in the Hood as selfish was emotionally effective. It is the kind of argument Diggle should make in that situation. Of course that tension between populist proclamations, intentions, and an ego driven desires is inherent to this whole enterprise as superhero property and made even complicated by Oliver’s history. It wasn’t until Diggle was brought into the fold, and Team Arrow began to form, that the series long arch towards superheroism and away from vigilantism began.
Another thing about his argument that shows both his characters knowledge and the growth of the series, Diggle didn’t try to use Oliver’s happiness as a cudgel. If this particular spat had happened say in season 3 or 4, it would’ve revolved around the notion that Oliver can’t be “happy” and live a full life. However, instead of using it as a wedge to make Ollie choose, Diggle recognizes the growth his friend has gone through and his happy for him. He just also recognizes how that growth could be adversely effecting the mission of Team Arrow, which he isn’t wrong about.
All in all I’d say their argument was the right kind of chidish-adult, you should expect from a show like. Intellectually they make good points and respect one another, but still end up fighting like young boys.
3. They Fight Like a Family
Okay, physically maybe it’s more like Fast and Furious family. Verbally, the little needling and bickering between Dinah and Ollie during the first act as they can’t let their fleeting victory last reminds me of how I snipe at my brother from time to time, or when my Aunts and Uncles pop off at one another. And it takes eternal Dad Lance to squash it. Half the emotional body blows Diggle and Ollie throw at each other hit hard because these brothers know exactly where to land.
4. The Dragon
Something about the use of Ricardo Diaz in this episode, and overall, isn’t really working for me. Kirk Acevedo’s performance is fine, it walks a line between hammy and a Vito Corleone impression. They go about presenting him the right way as this untouchable boss. The contrast between the two families/teams led by Ollie and Diaz makes sense in given the seasons operational motif of family. It’s all there, but the show has yet to give me a real reason to care about the threat he poses. The Dragon is whatever the plot needs him to be as he’s taken over the city off screen. At least Ra’s Al Ghul – a character hampered by poor acting and some opaque writing – fulfilled this role as tempter for identity absolution with Ollie. Right now he’s just the main threat that’s being ignored and left to fester as Team Arrow tears itself apart. Hopefully by the end of this season some sort of thematic statement can be derived from all the storytelling at play, but in the moment, as a character, he just isn’t doing it for me.
5. If You’re Going to Hit Someone, Do It Well
The opening teaser for “Brothers In Arms” is overall effective thriller as Dinah, the good cops, and Team Arrow, setup to take down Anatoli. It’s the kind of beat that moves fast, gives a win that is taken away just as quickly. When they pull up in that ice cream truck, they hit one of Anatoli’s men and it didn’t look good. The truck was slowing down, the sound que seemed a hair to early, and the visual was lacking the impact you’d expect. Saftey concerns are legitimate, but if they weren’t going to land the hit well, it might have been better to just have it rush up and exfil instead of doing that, and hit a guy.
