TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews Arrow Season 7 Episode 6: Due Process

One of the problems with shows like Arrow and Flash and Supergirl is that because they have a 23-episode season, it can be hard for things to “pick up” if you will in regards to the overall plot. With Arrow Season 7 though, they shifted things in a big way by having half the season be about Oliver being in prison, and the team outside the prison trying to capture Diaz. It’s worked, and tonight, they gave us the payoff.

For as last week noted, Oliver’s now got a case to get out. But more than that, he’s got his ticket out, as they finally captured Ricardo Diaz in a really well-done fight scene. And this capture (which we know will end badly, but still) keeps the pace and freshness of the season in tact. Because now, with this plotline likely ending right before Elseworlds, we have the back half of the season to deal with whatever they want with new eyes and a fresh Oliver.

The use of Anatoly here was really well done. Anatoly has gone from joke character, to loyal ally, to scary foe, to regretful man, and Diaz killing all the Bratva so that Anatoly would get him a weapon really worked, as did Anatoly’s message to Felicity about being ruthless.

Felicity has been going down a dark path, and while it seems “cliche” for her to “back out of it at the last second”, the fact that she was willing to go down that path at all shows something. She called Black Siren so that they could kill him. She took Anatoly’s gun so she could do the deed herself, she almost pulled the trigger, and while you could see the relief in her eyes when she heard what Black Siren said about Oliver, she had no way of knowing that beforehand.

Which is a great segway to Katie Cassidy and her portrayal of Black Siren. This has been an inspired performance by her, and her chats with Oliver, Team Arrow, Dinah, and of course, Felicity, shows just how complex a character she actually is. Her speech at the courthouse was really well done, and while she may have hated it then, Dinah saving her from doing something stupid by attacking the judge was actually really well played. Her thinking like Laurel (our Laurel) may get Oliver saved, and that’s huge.

Seeing Team Arrow back in action was also a really cool moment. While I wish more time had been spent on the fight, it was cool to see the teams go up against one another. I do wonder what is going to happen with the Longbow Hunters. Because it’d be kind of a waste for them to go out now that Diaz is “locked up”.

This of course leads us to Oliver, who had to deal with Stanley getting detained for killing a guard. Or did he? You knew that something was going on here, but when Turner got “caught” and you heard him plea for everything, you knew something else was wrong. Sure enough, it seems that Stanley really did do it, and is not as innocent as others (Ollie) think. Which I’m glad for, because I want Stanley to be evil just because he’s so dang annoying.

Finally, the flashbacks showed us even more about how dark things have gotten. Felicity apparently went full Calculator and tried to rule the underground more or less, and got killed for it. She also had a plan to take out the entire city apparently, and the others are going to go find out why. I love the interaction between older William and Zoe, and the remarks about how Roy and Dinah are “old” now. I couldn’t tell what they said about the message Roy say, but I guess there are even more layers to this puzzle.

Granted, not everything was as smooth as the flashforwards, but still, “Due Process” was a very solid episode. And with Elseworlds approaching, you know that everything is going to heat up.