Next of Kin

"Tribute" wrapped up with an interesting concept, having John Diggle (David Ramsey) take over the mantle of the Green Arrow to provide space for some much needed Queen family time. While the episode had a mediocre, mostly forgettable villain and an unclear sight for the plot it wanted to convey, "Next of Kin" stands as one of the better Arrow episodes to date. Creative action, spot-on acting and a shocking twist await.

As much as I was dreading the episode in which Oliver gives up being the Green Arrow and the team is led by John Diggle, it actually didn't turn out too bad. The whole "his name is John Diggle, and he is The Green Arrow" was of course on the nose, and very cheesy, but for some reason I bought into it. It also doesn't hurt that since the original team expanded years ago, we haven't gotten to see as much of John Diggle fighting in the field as everything would have liked. However, right from the opening fight, we got a new sense of the shear strength Diggle possesses. The choreography of the opening rooftop sequence was impressive, which is to be expected at this point.

It was also expected that the team would undergo some leadership issues as Diggle was always the second in command and never making all of the decisions in the field. Again clichéd, but who doesn't enjoy watching Oliver giving some much overdue advice to Diggle as opposed to vice versa? That was just a really cool moment. Meanwhile, Oliver dealt with some father and mayor problems of his own. I don't know that I'm ever going to get used to the fact that William is his son and a permanent part of the show, but I thought the idea to bring Felicity into the fold was a cool addition to this sub-plot. It will inevitably lead to a renewed Olicity relationship, but as long as it feels natural like this, I'm totally okay with it.

The villain of the week was Onyx Adams, who led a "rogue black ops team", I'm sorry this antagonist was the most bland and forgettable character(s) in quite some time on this show. Luckily, they didn't necessarily need to be memorable. This was a Diggle episode and we needed one of those. Was his slide kick over the car not the best thing he's done in seasons? Speaking of the action, I thought the use of flashbang grenades by Onyx & crew was a fresh way to present the action. It enhanced the cinematography of those scenes immensely.

Overall, a solid episode that I expect absolutely nothing from. Aside from the strange ending where Diggle is using some sort of steroids, I enjoyed this week's episode. I give Ollie till episode 7 until he comes back.

8.0/10