Whereas this season has seen the likes of Quentin Lance (Paul Blackthorne) and Sarah Lance (Caity Lotz) get their moments to shine, this time out it’s the turn of Diggle (David Ramsey) to take centre-stage. With a plot housed around a rescue mission to Moscow, Diggle, Oliver, and Felicity take the ‘Team Arrow’ show overseas. With Diggle’s close friend/former colleague, Lyla Michaels (Audrey Marie Anderson), held captive in Russia, he is sought out by the debuting Amanda Waller (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) to help rescue Agent Michaels. To gain access to the prison where Michaels is held, Ollie’s no 2 purposely gets himself incarcerated for drug crimes. Also in his sights, Deadshot (Michael Rowe), the killer of Diggle’s brother, is back on the horizon.
With Oliver (Stephen Amell) and Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) along for the ride, the team end up stuck with Summer Glau’s Isabel Rochev when she turns up at the airport minutes before take-off. Safe to say, Ollie being Ollie, he rapidly adds another notch to his already impressive bedpost, as Rochev is on the receiving end of the Emerald Archer’s precision aim. Despite this conquest, it seems that there’s another person that may have stirred up emotions in Oliver. Watch this space.
In other developments, Roy Harper (Colton Haynes), arrested for assault, is released without question once Detective Lance realises that the brooding teen is in cahoots with The Arrow. Still, this initial arrest doesn’t sit too well with certain other parties, and his relationship with Thea Queen (Willa Holland) is in serious jeopardy. As for scenes of a flashback nature, we get to see Oliver stuck out at sea, although that doesn’t seem like it’s going to last for too much longer. Caity Lotz’s Sarah Lance is there, too, but whose side is she really on? We also get another look at Dylan Neal’s D. Ivo, and maybe, just maybe, he’s working towards some sort of ‘super soldier.’ Either way, it’s nice to see Oliver rocking the longer hair in these scenes, although it’s still not the full-on Green Arrow look just yet.
In terms of geek-out moments, Keep Your Enemies Closer has plenty. Firstly, Amanda Waller namechecks the A.R.G.U.S. team – not to mention she knows what Diggle and Ollie get up to in their spare time. We’re also given further reference to The Flash, as a news report show protests over a certain particle accelerator. The return of Slade Wilson (Manu Bennett) has arrived, although he’s rather worse for wear after the previous attack on the island. Could Slade now be at the point where we see him start to get further pushed towards the Deathstroke mantle? Similarly, another long-term DC villain makes a full appearance, as we get Oliver making contact with Anatoli Knyazev (David Nykl), a character that is best known for being the KGBeast in the comic book world. Everything between Oliver and Knyazev seems very amicable at present, but could this be sowing the seeds for something further down the line? And will Lyla Michaels take on the Harbinger name at some point? So many questions…
As mentioned, this episode revolves around Ramsey’s Diggle. Often seen in the background of the bigger picture, Diggle is given added layers in this episode. We are clued into several revelations from his past, and he even finds himself having to essentially make a deal with the devil at one point. Worse still for the character, he is on the end of a bombshell towards the episode’s conclusion, as he’s given a large dose of truth from an unlikely source.
I’d love to say I’m tiring of writing the same thing, but I’m really not. Another great episode from Arrow, and another episode that has again given us plenty of food for thought in terms of what’s to come. Ramsey’s Diggle is the star of the show, and the revelations in this episode have given his character a major shot in the arm. For worry of major spoilers, news given to Diggle alludes to something far greater to come, not just for him, but for The Arrow and all of those that look to assist him. It’ll be interesting to see what measures Ollie takes in the future to combat the ever-increasing number of threats that are being lined up in the Arrow world. I, for one, cannot wait.
