In the act of whittling down Oliver's allies, Arrow has faced an uphill battle from fans and critics alike. In this recent episode, the show takes aim by separating Diggle from Oliver, finally addressing lingering questions set up early in the season during Diggle's stint as the Green Arrow. While the members of New Team Arrow end up leaving en masse due mostly to Ricardo Diaz's (and Cayden James') scheming (probably knowing Oliver would drive them apart), Diggle's departure (though also intrinsically tied with Diaz, but not wholly induced by him) feels much more organic as the episode centers entirely on how Oliver's greatest ally can no longer simply fight alongside him. It's an interesting sequence of events where we follow Diggle - who throughout the series has generally been the most measured character of the team - seemingly starts to act out of character and slowly has to reconcile six years of fighting for Star City, his own ideals, and Oliver himself.
The big confrontation between the two men is a relative slow build up, starting with Oliver finally deciding to tell Diggle the truth, followed by Diggle needing to sound off on Lyla a few times to try to discover what's really gnawing at him. Oliver apologizes to John, telling him that like Thea the episode prior, his best self is tied to being the Green Arrow. It's interesting the episode doesn't bring back Diggle's line about the Dominator dreams from earlier in the season, as it would colour Diggle in a similar same light; being the Green Arrow was something he had aspirations for or made him feel complete. In "Brothers in Arms" however, Diggle's main focus on wanting to put on the hood is borne out of being the city's protector and committing himself to the task. Oliver on the other hand says he has a similar focus when he is the Green Arrow, but Diggle is unconvinced because he knows that parts of Oliver simply enjoy putting on the costume.
It's not the first time the show itself has commented or argued that Oliver is probably attracted to the adrenaline or power the Green Arrow provides. The argument is messy in a good way; no one side dominates because both men are to blame for their current predicament, all the decisions they've made, and the setbacks they've endured, especially as it relates to Diaz's grip on the city. Although Diggle is to blame for directly funding Diaz, Oliver is wrong that Diaz came into power under Diggle's watch as Diaz had planned for a long time, manipulating Cayden James into igniting the conflict that looms over the season.
Ultimately though, Diggle takes umbrage with Oliver's leadership style, which is something that cannot be argued against, presenting the evidence as it stands: Dinah, Curtis, Rene, (and soon to be) Diggle, have abandoned Oliver. Diggle argues Oliver's way of keeping the city safe is untenable or chafing under his command, and it's not something he can stand by even as he tries to steer Oliver in a more sensible direction. Through the series, Oliver has had a tendency to alienate his allies, becoming at this point almost a yearly exercise in frustration for fans and critics alike. Diggle thinks there is a better way, because although it wasn't said, it is obvious over the last six years, there are points where Oliver is fairly mercurial when overwhelmed. Rather than courting allies, he pushes people away. It's a character trait one should accept at this point, but it makes me wonder if we'll see a season where he overcomes this disastrous trait. He handles the police chief and DA with pure frustration without empathizing with their stressful positions under Diaz, for instance, opting to toss them aside instead of finding a way of working with them, ultimately leading to his decision blowing up in his face. He has stretched himself too thin by mostly playing as mayor (this season mostly where it feels mostly like a figurehead than a lawmaker), alongside being a father and vigilante, and in some ways, the show also feels the same.
Given the late position of the conflict this season, there is some question if the two of them will somehow reconcile, or if Diggle somehow becoming part of ARGUS, and his search for his own path will be the new status quo at least until season seven starts. A qualm I have had with season six is that through all the manipulation that Diaz has orchestrated, there is much, much less screentime for Diaz than should be expected. Say what you will about the poor execution of say, The Flash's Savitar, but at least he had some presence, whereras Diaz feels like a bolted-on afterthought to each episode, and we're left to accept he just has an entire city in his grasp because we are told so (and because money or threatened pressure points are easy to tell without showing). Diaz will have his focus, but at this point, it feels a little too late, at this point to win me back with the main villain arc for this season, which is disappointing.
There's not too much to say about Dinah and Curtis' subplot, which is fairly straightforward, and it culminates in Curtis and Nick trying to work through Nick's anti-vigilante stance. It's unfortunately a shallow exploration in a season that teased world building points like the anti-vigilante law, or for a show that has (or had?) an anti-vigilante police task force. It falls a bit flat but also doesn't leave much wiggle room for Curtis or Nick to express it as character development either.
Miscellaneous thoughts:
- Was hoping to leave this section blank, but I will use it to express my thoughts the final scene, which did not deserve any of the build-up to it in two ways, unfortunately, 1) the fact that villain-Laurel (not lawyer-Laurel) had to remind a city's DA that they were maybe fired by the mayor inappropriately especially in legalese, and 2) there was literally no built up to pairing Diaz and Laurel together, which makes the pairing extra weird, at least to me.
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