Arrow – Brothers in Arms

By: Stacy Miller

Dinah (Juliana Harkavy) gives instructions to her Star City PD officers as they prepare to take down Anatoly (David Nykl) for possession and distribution of the drug Vertigo. Oliver (Stephen Amell) and John (David Ramsey) serve as backup for Dinah. As the Bratva is making a drug transaction, Dinah and her cops swarm in and arrest him. “I’ve seen your face maybe not so good for you,” Anatoly tells the arresting officer.

Back at the station, Captain Hill (Tina Huang) is surprised when Anatoly is brought in. Oliver explains that as mayor he authorized the bust. Quentin (Paul Blackthorne) thinks that Captain Hill will want to notify D.A. Sam Armand (Pej Vahdat) so charges can be brought against Anatoly immediately. But when Oliver gets a few minutes alone with Anatoly, the Russian doesn’t seem too worried; Diaz (Kirk Acevedo) has far reaching pockets so Anatoly is certain that he won’t be in custody long. Sure enough when D.A. Armand arrives, he announces to Dinah and Oliver that his office decided not to press charges.

At the Arrow Cave, Team Arrow discuss how D.A. Armand is dirty and being paid by Diaz. John suggests that Oliver concentrate on being mayor as the city needs him. Oliver says that the city needs Green Arrow too and admits that he has no intention of giving John back the hood. Oliver adds that he doesn’t know why it matters what costume he (John) is wearing as long as he is stopping the bad guys.  After John leaves the room, Oliver assures that John will get over it. Felicity says that she hopes so.

Meanwhile in another part of Star City, Officer Hurst (Aason Nadjiwan) who arrested Anatoly finds Diaz and points his gun at him. But the officer is shot and killed by Anatoly. Diaz comments how he thought that as a Russian, Anatoly would have wanted to torture the man’s body first. Nonetheless, the cop killing paints a clear message that none of the police in Star City are safe.

John’s wife Lyla (Audrey Marie Anderson) notices his mood and requests he talk to her. John tells Lyla how it upsets him that Oliver strung him along for so long when he had no intention of giving him back the hood. Lyla reminds her husband that as Spartan, he’s done good for the city and if it bothers him so much to not to wear the hood of Green Arrow, he needs to ask himself why.

At the mayor’s office, Oliver confronts Captain Hill and D.A. Armand about working for Diaz. Captain Hill admits that Diaz had her family on surveillance. D.A. Armand confesses that his son has stage four leukemia and even with the city’s insurance, there was no way he could have afford the treatment so he accepted Diaz’s payoff. Oliver fires them effective immediately. “If you work for him, you don’t work for me,” Oliver tells Captain Hill and D.A. Armand, who tells Oliver that he knows that he is the Green Arrow. But even as the Green Arrow, he’s never faced anything like this before….Diaz has already beat him.

Quentin suggests that Laurel (Katie Cassidy) makes herself useful by getting a job. He’s saved Laurel’s old law books, perhaps she would find them interesting.

Oliver apologizes to John for not telling him earlier that he (Oliver) was going to remain the Green Arrow. Oliver admits that wearing the hood makes him a better version of himself.

John and Oliver arrive at the home of Marshall Katz (Michael Worthman), the man who makes the Vertigo for Diaz demanding information on the manufacturing warehouse. John wants to apply pressure to Katz. But Green Arrow orders him to stand down. While they are distracted, Katz’s girlfriend shoots and kills Katz because her loyalty lies with Diaz.  Back at the Arrow Cave, John is furious that they lost Katz because Oliver didn’t back his play.

Diaz goes to see Laurel and tells her that he knows that she has been pretending to be “Good Laurel;” she’s bad as he is.

John returns to the A.R.G.U.S office and tells Lyla about Oliver’s apology and how bad things got in the field when Oliver didn’t call his play. Lyla thinks that John doesn’t have a problem with not wearing the hood, there’s something else. John realizes that she’s right.  But he’s afraid that if he finds out the something else, he won’t like it.

Curtis (Echo Kellum) learns that Officer Nick Anastas (Evan Roderick) doesn’t like vigilantes. Later, he tells Dinah his fear that not only will Nick break up with him, but he will arrest him.

John comes to the Arrow Cave and has it out with Oliver. He says that when Oliver apologized and told him that wearing the hood makes him a better version of himself, John realized that is what’s been bothering him (John). Oliver used to want to save the city, now it’s about how the hood makes him feel. John doesn’t have a problem with not being the Green Arrow, he has a problem with the man behind the hood (Oliver). John continues that Oliver is stretching himself thin by being the mayor and a father and husband. Oliver is making bad calls, like putting Rene, Curtis and Dinah under surveillance.  Oliver reminds that the calls weren’t just his; John was backing him every step of the way.

“Our city is ripped and you’re picking now to lecture me about not getting a promotion?!” Oliver shouts angrily.  He reminds John that Diaz came into the city under Diggle’s watch while he was wearing the hood.  Plus, he brought drugs from the very people they are trying to stop. John says that he put his body through hell because of Oliver’s request for him to put on the hood. John also reminds Oliver about how every bad decision he’s made leaves a body in the wake; William’s mother is dead because of Oliver’s decisions. Hurt, Oliver adds that at least his body trail doesn’t include his own brother.  And with that, John and Oliver’s long pent-up rage finally boils over and they come to blows. Felicity breaks up their fight. John apologizes for punching Oliver and says that it seems like everyone is questioning everything he (Oliver) is doing. They suit up when Felicity gets a line on Diaz’s Vertigo warehouse location. John and Oliver fight their way through Diaz’s men and end of blowing up the Vertigo warehouse. “Thanks for having my back,” Oliver tells John.

When they return to the Arrow Cave, John again apologizes to Oliver for what he said.  But he admits that he still can’t shake his feeling about Oliver’s calls. John tells Oliver that although he (Oliver) has become a better man, he’s become a worse leader. John says that putting the costume on allows Oliver to become a better version of himself and now he wants to do the same. And with that, John Diggle leaves Team Arrow. When he returns to A.R.G.U.S., Lyla suggests that if John wants to continue to help the city perhaps he can do it with her by working for A.R.G.U.S.

At their loft, Felicity assures Oliver that he’ll always have her. Quentin calls Oliver and tells him to “Put on the tv, any channel.” D.A. Sam Armand gives a news conference in which he says that Mayor Queen terminated them to impede their investigation of him being the Green Arrow. “And that is an impeachable offense,” Armand says.

Laurel was the one who gave Diaz’s the idea about the news conference. “I guess Laurel’s law books paid off,” Laurel tells Diaz.  He has a surprise for her: the last vial of Vertigo that wasn’t destroyed by the explosion.