Team GATV Roundtable: Talking Arrow Season 6 So Far

What did you think of the “Diggle takes over as Green Arrow” storyline?

MATT: Things to like and things not to like. The drug storyline was a bit of a miss for me, as it seemed out of character. If they had perhaps pushed it further to really get a good sense of Diggle’s desparation. Also, the very premise of Oliver turning the hood over to John was flawed. I’m glad the show gave voice to it, though. Oliver asking John to be GA so that Oliver can protect his family when it would put John’s family in potential risk didn’t seem like good math. Again, I wish they were able to carry on with it further, as it was interesting to see how they explained the obvious differences in Diggle-Arrow to the outside world. I do love how they had to address how Diggle is not an archer.

STEPHANIE: I understand that Green Arrow is a mantle and not a specific person in the same way that Black Canary can be embodied by multiple worthy women, but Diggle taking over as Green Arrow just felt like a plot hole filler. It would look suspicious that Green Arrow stopped fighting crime right after Oliver was accused of being the Green Arrow, so they needed a way to avoid this problem. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel the impact of Diggle as Green Arrow. He was already out there fighting crime in a costume, so fighting crime in a different costume while having initial leadership hiccups didn’t maximize his potential or unveil a new side to the character.

CRAIG: I thought it was a decent idea, but the way that it was moved on from seemed very sudden. Any opportunity to give David Ramsey more to do is always good. I admit that at first, I thought the drug John was abusing had been Mirakuru, which would have been pretty fascinating.

I’m curious how Oliver will explain to William that he is Green Arrow-ing again. I really thought that aspect of the story was strong, even though John Diggle also has a family, which I am glad the show eventually addressed.

I will say, though, I did miss Oliver in a few of the episodes there. It’s like Scooby Doo; “couldn’t have a show without you.”

MELISSA: Rarely does Arrow ever do anything perfectly, and this storyline had its issues like the disappointing and fairly unbelievable premise of Diggle hiding the injury he received on Lian Yu and not turning to his teammates or the plethora of other resources available at his fingertips before first trying to use illicit street drugs to handle it on his own. I have to assume the explosion rattled his brain as well as giving him nerve damage. Still, overall, I really enjoyed Diggle taking over as Green Arrow and how that impacted team operations and individual relationships.

Again, not a perfect execution; the exploration of team dynamics wasn’t the most balanced with a far heavier ratio of Diggle and Dinah than Diggle and anyone else, but how Diggle’s injury played out after he made his initially baffling choice to hide the truth was well done. Diggle’s scenes in which he came clean to Lyla and to (most of) the team were moving and earned back all my respect for the character. Oliver and Diggle have always had a great friendship, but Oliver’s weighty request for Diggle to take over as Green Arrow made all their interactions even more special this year.

Side bonus of John Diggle as the Green Arrow, that awesome limousine fight!