Arrow - S6E19 - The Dragon

Previously on Arrow, “Fundamentals”

This week’s episode finally answered the question on everybody’s lips: “Did Ricardo Diaz have a nice childhood?” Oh, wait. Sorry. Literally no one has ever spent any time wondering that.

The Good

Kirk Acevedo is an incredibly watchable actor, and if this had been the pilot for an unrelated show about Diaz and Not-Laurel building a criminal empire together, and not an episode of Arrow, then I might well be coming back for a second episode based purely on Acevedo’s performance. He can pull off quietly menacing like no one else.

The fight choreography is generally the most consistently reliable aspect of the show, but they really went above and beyond this episode, with several excellent scenes of Diaz and Not-Laurel fighting the Quadrant.

The Bad

As much as I have to give the writers credit for mixing things up, spending most of the episode away from the characters we know and love/like/have complicated feelings towards felt like unnecessary filler, especially given the interesting story tucked into the B-plot.

After years on Team Arrow, it was heartbreaking watching Felicity on the sidelines unable to even confirm if Oliver was alive or dead, and for Oliver to then completely minimize the work Felicity has been doing for years keeping him alive felt like something that should have been given a longer conversation, not pushed to the side.

Quotes of the Week

“I’m gonna have to try not to take satisfaction out of that.” - Curtis, finding out that Diggle quit the team.

“Call me honey again and I might only break your legs.” - Not-Laurel