Arrow Season 6 Episode 15
Oh yeah, the sniping between Team Arrow and Team Not Arrow has been all sorts of artificial and forced this season. I mean, Mister Terrific, Wild Dog, and Dinah Drake have come across as petulant while all the drama between the two squads of vigilantes has seemed forced. This has all been at the expense of some other character bits that would be more welcome. For example, can we get a bit more backstory on Richard Diaz if he is indeed going to be the season’s big bad? Can we see more of Diggle’s home life now that he is healthy and back in action as Spartan? Can we get more Thea, because the younger Queen sibling has barely left the board room all season? All these directions have been truncated or ignored with countless scenes of Terrific, Neo-Canary, and Wild Dog pouting like someone stole their juice boxes. Well, things take a step in the right direction this week as Roy Harper returns. After so many weeks of angst it is so good to see the original Team Arrow back together and risking it all to save Roy Harper. It all begins when Ollie’s lawyer, Jean Loring, reveals that the charges against him have been dropped because the evidence originated from the now known criminal Cayden James. Ricardo Diaz now will need a new witness to testify that the mayor of Star City is actually Green Arrow, so he orders the abduction and torture of Roy Harper. This puts the spotlight back on Thea, who has done nothing this season other than waking up from a coma and serving as Quentin Lance’s confidant. While the Quentin/Thea relationship has been solid, it’s good to see her suited up once again. Thea takes point in a number of rescue attempts but Team Arrow fails to save Roy who continues to be brutally tortured by Diaz. Complicating matters is the latest wrinkle in the saga of Black Siren. Last week, she revealed herself to the world and claimed to be the deceased Laurel Lance. This week, Siren shows up in the middle of the mayor’s mansion, causing all sorts of complications for Team Arrow. Nobody can really be clear on what her loyalties are. Has Quentin’s unrequited fatherly love for his daughter’s doppelganger swayed Black Siren? It seems like it for a bit because it is Laurel’s information that helps Team Arrow find Roy and rescue him from Diaz as Green Arrow is able to hand Diaz his first real defeat. But by episode’s end, Diaz is texting Laurel and Black Siren still seems to be working for him. Is that a ruse? Is she playing the triple agent role in order to get info to Quentin’s team? All of a sudden, without the constant snipping between the two teams, some real drama can occur. That’s not to say that Team Whiny isn’t active this week. We see Dinah Drake trying to find a way to prove Laurel is a fake as her obsession continues. But obsessed cop Dinah Drake is much more interesting than obsessed vigilante Dinah Drak. Even Curtis has an effective scene this week, informing Wild Dog’s daughter that her hockey masked vigilante father has been hurt. I forgot that I dig Curtis so much because of all the other nonsense.
