Season 7 Episode 19 “After a major setback, Diggle reluctantly reaches out for help; Oliver discovers a piece of information that he believes will turn Emiko against the Ninth Circle; Alena returns with an interesting proposal for Felicity.”
The Good & The Bad
The Good
1. Let’s start with one hell of an episode. Strong throughout, especially the main plot of this weeks episode. We look at John Diggle’s family in more detail, besides the brother. We are introduced to General Roy Stewart (I will get to the surname shortly!), and we quickly realise he is the step father to John. When the General announced this it was fairly unexpected, and we also learn that General Stewart was there when Diggle’s father died.
Roy lies to John, and tells him his father died a hero, and this is why John resents Stewart, because it was his mission that got him killed. John and Stewart and forced to work together against the Ninth Circle but find themselves captured, and tortured for codes to a biological weapon. Roy trained Diggle to be who he is today, and we see a lot of reconnection and understanding as we pass through every scene.
Later in the episode, Oliver hands Diggle a classified envelope, and we then find out John’s father was negligent during the mission which resulted in his death, and two other marines. It was Stewart who pulled them out, and plenty more would have died. My only issue here is, I would have preferred a bit more insight as to why his father has negligent, and what actually happened. Overall, a solid, and memorable ark to Diggle, and absolutely needed. John has always been a strong character, but knowing his background made it even more so.
2. “Spartan” was filled with action this week, including an epic head to head showdown between Oliver and Emiko. You need to watch it as me explaining it will not do any of the fight scenes any justice whatsoever.
3. The flash forwards for me have been relatively boring throughout the season with the exception of a few odd ones here and there, however this weeks was interesting. John Junior runs the Deathstroke gang sort of thing, and is Connor Hawkes brother. Connor was once part of the group and has a tattoo to show for it. JJ also tries to get Connor killed at one point, so there is obvious resentment between the two. More questions for this. Why is JJ running this? Why do they have hatred between each other? Where is Diggle? I’m sure the flash forwards will draw to a close by the end of the season, and I hope it’s explosive.
The Bad
Nothing to report.
Easter Eggs
There was been speculation for a while now that John Diggle could in fact be John Stewart, the Green Lantern. This has obviously brought a lot of those theories to light now we have learned John’s step father is called General Roy Stewart. John would be a fantastic John Stewart, and with Arrow wrapping up in less than 15 episodes, could they really go all out and pull the trigger on this one? The Green Lantern have been teased and mentioned multiple times throughout Arrows lifespan.
Holy Shit Moment
1. This was more of an extremely emotional moment rather than a Holy Shit Moment, but it deserves to be on here. For those who have read my past reviews, I love a pep talk, and the reconnection between John and Stewart brought tears to my eyes. Seeing them talk to each other, and finally understanding each other was so good the way it was written. I hope we see more of the General.
2. Now usually when the good guy tells the bad guy the truth, they usually don’t believe it and go into denial for a while. When Oliver told Emiko Dante was using her, immediately I thought “ah here we go, a few more episodes of denial”. What transpired next shocked me. Emi just fires 3 shots into Dante and kills him for killing her mother. A revenge plot, I liked it and brought more character progression to Emiko. She’s gearing up to be a fantastic asset to Arrow, I just wished they pulled the trigger on her sooner.
Verdict
A solid, strong episode with bags of action, emotional moment, easter eggs, and more progression to the main ark with a well needed sub-plot. Arrow delves into John’s history, while focusing on the ever-growing presence of the Ninth Circle.
Rating: 9.5/10
