Arrow season 6: How long will Diggle be the Green Arrow?
By Leah Smith
At the end of Thursday’s episode of Arrow, Oliver Queen passed the Green Arrow mantle to John Diggle but how long before Oliver puts on the suit again?
Season 6 of Arrow is only two episodes old, but the show has already dropped two major twists. First, was a picture of Oliver Queen in the Green Arrow suit showing up on Channel 52 news. Then came Oliver deciding to give up being the Green Arrow and ask John Diggle to put on the suit.
The first twist was handled in the Thursday’s episode. Felicity and Curtis managed to prove that the photo was digitally altered. So, despite a suspicious FBI agent and not knowing who gave the photo to Channel 52, Oliver’s secret remains safe.
Ollie giving up being the Green Arrow does not seem like a storyline that can only last a single episode. On the other hand, it seems pretty likely that sooner or later Oliver will take the green suit back. The question becomes how long Diggle will be the Green Arrow for?
As much as Oliver wants to give up his vigilante job, Star City needs the Green Arrow. And while Oliver may not know this yet, his choice to take over is dealing with a degenerative nerve injury. Diggle was about to tell Oliver about the injury, but then Oliver asked his friend to become the Emerald Archer.
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Due to the shrapnel Diggle was hit with during the explosion on Lian Yu, he has developed a tremor in his arm. He can’t even shoot his gun anymore. Right now, Dinah is the only one who knows about how bad Diggle’s injury is. But now that he is the Green Arrow, it is hard to imagine him keeping that secret from the rest of the team for very long.
From the trailer, it looks like Diggle will switch to a crossbow so that it is easier on his arm. But, if the tremors are supposed to only get worse before long Oliver Queen will have to become the Green Arrow again.
The reason he is giving up the suit is so that he can keep his promise to William of always coming home. Oliver is still the mayor of Star City, which in that town is a big target for various attacks. Maybe Oliver will convince his son that he will actually be safer as the Green Arrow.
After all, this is still the story of Oliver Queen. To keep him separate from the rest of Team Arrow for a long period of time just doesn’t fit with what the show is all about. Diggle will likely be the Green Arrow for the next few episodes until his injury gets worse. Then Oliver will take over again.