In Season 4 of Arrow, Damien Darhk arrived and made everyone's lives terrible, particularly the members of Team Arrow. No one had an easy time of it, and viewers even had to make some sacrifices as David Ramsey's John Diggle spent a good chunk of the season dealing with a subplot involving his brother, putting some distance between him and Oliver & Co. Ramsey spoke with Cinema Blend and other outlets during roundtable interviews at Comic-Con, and when I asked if he would be back in the thick of the action in Season 5, here's what he had to say.
I think also the show in general is returning to the street-level crime and crimefighting on that level as opposed to nukes and magic and a lot of stuff that some might think is more Flash-y. I think it totally worked last season, but I think part of the strength of the show in the beginning was the fact that it was this street-level crime bosses and crime lords that we fought as a team using Felicity's brain and our brawn, right? We'll return to that. So yes, you will see more side-by-side fighting with Diggle.
Double yes! One for Diggle and one for Spartan. David Ramsey wasn't the only one speaking enthusiastically about the upcoming season's tonal shift from Darhk's mysticism to the gritty crime drama that the series started out as, and everyone on hand from Arrow was jazzed about going back to basics on the superhero series. But now fans can rest assured that we won't be going through the entirety of Season 5 will Diggle leading an entirely separate military subplot while mourning the death of his brother.
With some minor adjustments to his costume and mask, Diggle will hopefully be a brutal force to be reckoned with when Season 5 starts picking up steam in its crime lord-driven narrative, featuring Chad L. Coleman as the gangster Tobias Church. This show definitely is at its best when the good guys are getting along and all agree that beating the crap out of the bad guys is the best move. Things won't start out like that, though, as Ramsey explained when it would be that he gets his groove back with Team Arrow.
I think you're going to see some of that when he comes back to the team. Cause he's not with the team at the beginning of the season. When he comes back, he's going to have an opinion about these new team members, particularly in the wake of Canary's death.
That's right, Diggle will be a free agent when Season 5 gets underway, as Felicity and Arrow start drawing in other recruits for the team, including Curtis "Mr. Terrific" Holt, Eveyln "Artemis" Sharp and Jack "Wild Dog" Wheeler. We will definitely see Speedy and Diggle returning to headquarters at some point, though, to keep the action and adventure at a fever pitch, even if the newbies have to take some backtalk when it happens. Season 5 will also be notable for being the final year of the flashbacks, though I'm pretty sure Diggle is more interested in meeting Supergirl than Oliver's past.
Arrow is set to return to The CW for Season 5 on Wednesday, October 5, at 8 p.m. ET. Check out everything else hitting the small screen this fall with our TV premiere guide.
