Arrow 6x05 "Deathstroke Returns" - Orange and Black is the New Black

Despite being featured in the episode, Deathstroke himself ends up sharing a good amount of "Deathstroke Returns" with Dinah Drake. Both Slade and Dinah end up finding themselves dealing with their pasts as the episode unfolds. Although Slade Wilson's story is a fairly standard one with the obvious last-minute evil son reveal, the more interesting development is the reveal and unmasking of Vigilante. Though the identity of Vigilante has been kept hush for the entirety of a season, the reveal (though probably deflating to those hoping for some next level metanarrative or left field reveal like Tommy Merlyn), I would argue helps flesh out Dinah by giving her some much needed complexity.

Dinah Drake was introduced in the middle of season five, so although she now finds herself as an important figure in Team Arrow, she did not have the benefit of a season's worth of involvement and screentime, and even then my memory tells me it was rather lacking. Curtis brought up the lead behind Diggle and Felicity (and Thea) in screentime while Rene was present from the start of season five, and similarly Artemis was at least partly involved in Prometheus' schemes after her departure from Team Arrow. In hindsight, it seems more like Dinah's inclusion was a way to address a Green Arrow sans Black Canary team more than anything else. Aside from the episode devoted to her backstory and subsequent recruitment into Team Arrow, Dinah had mostly been relegated to the inside woman in SCPD, as well as appearing together with the team in confrontations. Her promotion within the SCPD between seasons feels like a natural progression of her character, but hadn't provided much to work with until now.

With the reveal that Vigilante is Dinah's former undercover partner, it gives Dinah more material to work with. Since her past prior to the Vigilante reveal was mostly resolved in a single episode, it made Dinah feel more like a blank slate, or at least someone that had overcome all their past demons in season five's "Second Chances". By bringing back her partner, Vincent Sobel, both as the identity of Vigilante as well revealing he is a metahuman, the show signals that it wishes to make Dinah and the team's struggles with Vigilante more interesting. By having her partner survive his death and becoming a tough to kill threat, it's possible to take that to interesting situations with Dinah and the team, as they navigate how to deal with both with Vigilante and the man that is (or was, or still is) Vincent Sobel. The final scene with Dinah at the Channel 52 building says a lot; she carries a belief her partner is still present and not simply the gun-totting lunatic that is Vigilante, and that is going to cause tension as she wants to reconcile the past man and the present criminal.

Again, it brings together the fact that though Arrow remains centered on Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen, the consistency the show has found in the strength of its ensemble in the writing and performances - especially by finally providing Dinah some interesting character development - the marked increase in quality in the past few years has shined. It's something that hopefully the sister show The Flash can try to achieve as it has stumbled lately.

As for Slade and Oliver's adventure, it pits the two men together again with a similar goal, but different circumstances. With Oliver learning that Slade's son is now behind the gang called the Jackals and the audience (and eventually Oliver) learning that he is in some ways a mirror of his father, there will be some kind of self-examination into what Oliver is before he eventually takes on the mantle of Green Arrow again. It's likely that the only way to alter any promise made to William will be as Oliver navigating the problem in front of him. Slade Wilson will have to try to reconcile his own past with his son's present, and it will be interesting to see in the weeks to come.

 

Miscellaneous thoughts:

• Once again, this season does not fail to deliver with their fight choreography and insistence to have long, single-take action scenes. Part of me is hoping this will simply continue through the season as the cast and crew become more confident. Even if you assume the Helix fight scene in the last episode consisted of well-placed cuts.
• The FBI investigation is still trailing along slowly, so part of me wonders how much of a threat can they be when it finally comes to a head.
• I am not an expert at Australian/New Zealander culture by any means but there were some comments on the Internet that liked the authenticity in the Slade Wilson flashbacks.