We’ve been dealing with Diaz for a while now but do we know him? He played Caden and infiltrated the police department, but what do we know about him? I guess the writers decided it was time we got to know him.
This episode had very little to do with the Green Arrow and everything to do with Diaz (Kirk Acevedo). He had a horrible childhood. He was an orphan and bullied, but none of that excuses what he’s done. He claimed that getting a seat at the table at this elite crime organization would make him feel better but he got his seat and he still went back and murdered the guy that bullied him. That man was horrible to him, but that still doesn’t mean he deserved to be burned alive. If he was trying to prove himself less of a thug, he really didn’t do that.
The point of this episode was clearly not just for us to get to know Diaz but maybe to understand what he’s capable of. He’s capable of killing anyone who gets in his way, but if the writers wanted me to fear him, they failed. He may be patient and meticulous, but I don’t respect him. My favorite villains are the ones I respect: Klaus (granted he’s an on again off again villain), Penguin, and Crowley. They’re great characters. All this episode did, was make me want to defeat him so we can get to our next villain.
This episode did shine a light on something, though. Black Siren (Katie Cassidy) has really changed. She cringed every time Diaz tortured or killed someone, but she still carried on with him. Lance (Paul Blackthorne) has definitely seen that change in her but I wasn’t quite sure. She’s playing Lance but how long until she becomes a double agent? This crime thing is just not in her stomach anymore.
Almost the entire episode centered around Diaz and Black Siren. I would almost not forgive the writers for that if they didn’t give us Curtis (Echo Kellum) and Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) scenes. We haven’t seen these two together in a while. After everything, Curtis is still there for her. Felicity is freaking out over Oliver (Stephen Amell) being in the field alone. She used to be right there in his ear, and now she’s out in the cold. It didn’t help that Oliver was right in the middle of an explosion. It doesn’t matter that he promised her that he would always come back, she’s always going to worry.
We got a great Curtis and Felicity moments and a great Olicity moment. Those were the best scenes of the episode, but we needed the back story about Diaz. Now, let’s get to taking him down.