This week on The CW’s Arrow, Oliver, Diggle and NTA each took different paths, hoping one led to Diaz. Who wound up finding the power-hungry psycho, and what price was then paid?
Oliver took a jaunt to Moscow to deliver to the Bratva’s Pakhan a rival, paying back a debt heowed. The Pakhan in turn gives Oliver a knife to show Anatoly, proving that their former brother is welcome back. Back in Star City, though, Anatoly doesn’t exactly appreciate the gesture. Because while Oliver claims that his former friend is deep-down an honorable men, one who will and can now help him stop Diaz, Anatoly instead tazes Oliver, then later delivers him to Diaz’s doorstep!
A.R.G.U.S. employee Diggle meanwhile learns that Lydia, The Quadrant’s primary gun supplier, is en route to Star City for a big deal — and they assume Diaz is the buyer. NTA, with Rene out of the hospital, is led to the same meet-up, having eavesdropped on the Scorpions gang Rene used to run with and assuming that drugs are being dealt. NTA gets trapped in the warehouse in a firefight, until Diggle rappels in and saves their bacon. Afterward, Diggle apologies to NTA for any role he played in things “getting out of hand”/splitting up Team Arrow.
Together, they scope out the municipal property that Quentin, the new mayor, says Diaz is demanding to be sold. They realize that Diaz isn’t receiving guns, but acting as a way station for Lydia. Later, they return to tag all of the trucks with targets, which A.R.G.U.S. drones then lock on and blow up.
The loss of $ 12 million of ordnance infuriates Diaz just as he is confronting Oliver. When Anatoly chides Diaz for whaling on a prone man, Diaz allows Oliver to be unchained for a “fair” fight. The terms: whomever winds up on the floor leaves Star City, forever. The gents proceed to slug it out, trading equal blows, until Oliver winds up with the upper hand. He urges Diaz to yield lest his neck get broken, at which point Diaz pulls out a blade to stab Oliver in his side. “Life ain’t fair,” Diaz scoffs.
When Laurel arrives to produce the executive order she urged Quentin to sign, Diaz reveals it was but a hoop for the new mayor to jump through. He then addresses beaten, bloodied Oliver, who reneges on their “deal” since the fight wasn’t fair. Diaz concedes the point and says he is fine with Oliver staying… “for 25 to life.” As dirty cops file into the room, Diaz reports that Oliver’s trial has moved up to next week, with no chance of bail.
Elsewhere in the episode:
* When Quentin at first refused to sign the property over to Diaz, Laurel opened up about how just much this “so much more than thug” scares even her. She has known men filled with anger, but Diaz she claims isn’t even human inside. Having learned that Laurel is now “with” Diaz, Quentin explains how he, similarly, was once Damien Darhk’s bitch. And since he refuses to lose another Laurel to the betrayal of a Big Bad, he signed the executive order.
* After getting spooked during his first op back with NTA, Rene confided in Diggle his concerns about leaving Zoe fatherless. Diggle says that compartmentalizing is hard and takes time, so for now Rene decides to sit things out. As such, Curtis and Dinah invite Diggle to join up with NTA, but he politely declines. Afterward, Curtis checks in on Rene, who echoes his worries, only to get the go-ahead from an unexpectedly in-the-know Zoe to protect their city!
* The promo for next week’s trial episode (for which I was on set) featured a most provocative glimpse at series alum Colin Donnell’s latest encore. Watch it below, and expect an in-depth preview of the pivotal hour in the days to come:
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