TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews Arrow Season 06 Episode 20: Shifting Allegiances

For all the struggles that Arrow has had this season, it’s really seemed to find itself recently. Last weeks episode was great for bringing out the potential in Diaz as a villain. And tonight, “Shifting Allegiances” proved that the other members of the cast had stories to tell as well. What was most surprising though, was that for the second episode in a row, Oliver wasn’t much of a focal point.

Yes, his storyline with Anatoly was important, and I was surprised the lengths he went to try and get him back on his side, but if you look at the episode as a whole, he was the B-story.

The real story here was the Outsiders and Diggle, as well as the relationship between Quentin and Laurel. Most of it was really compelling. Seeing Renee get back in the game was good, but the Outsiders as a whole haven’t been fun to watch, until tonight. For we got to see them really work as a group, and as a bonus, we got to see Diggle be a head of ARGUS, which let the two combine forces for some really fun scenes.

Plus, the reuniting scene was very touching, you could tell that Diggle didn’t hate them, and was genuinely remorseful for what his role in the Civil War. So seeing him work with them, then helping Renee with his struggle was very nice.

And as much as Renee has been annoying in recent episodes (that he was in), I’m actual dug his storyline tonight. He should be affected after nearly dying by Oliver’s hands. He has a daughter now, and he should be fearful of leaving her alone. Now, yes, the ending felt a bit cheesy and convenient, but hey, I’ll take what I can get.

On the Quentin/Laurel side, it was good to see Quentin find out that Laurel and Diaz were together, and though they got back together, family-wise, it was great to see him blow up at her. I’m not sure I believed her line about how Diaz “isn’t human inside”, because you could honestly say the same thing about Zoom, who she worked for. But they had to see the fear she had for him, and I’ll accept that.

Oliver’s fight with Diaz was fun, and though he “lost”, the fact that Anatoly saw Diaz’s dishonorable move, plus Oliver’s belief in Anatoly’s honor despite all that’s happened, could lead to a big betrayal.

Oh, and that ending was pretty great. I honestly didn’t see that coming, and that’s what made it fun.

In the end, “Shifting Allegiances” made great strides towards the end of the season. And if the preview for next episode is to be believed, we got a few more surprises in store for Arrow.