ARROW Season 6×19, “The Dragon” recap

24 Apr

Welcome back, Arrowheads! You know, thinking back on this season, we really haven’t learned much about our big bad guy of this season, Ricardo “The Dragon” Diaz. I mean, besides playing Cayden James like a fiddle, and corrupting a lot of public officials, we don’t know really who he is. So, who is he? Should we even care? Well either way, let’s learn a little bit about him…

Bludhaven Trip. We start off with a brief flashback to an orphanage, where a young Ricardo Diaz is being bullied by some slightly older kid, getting a picture of his delinquent dad set on fire, and so on (keep that in mind for later). Then we go the present day, as Diaz and Evil Laurel are in Bludhaven, waiting on a meeting with someone from some big crime conglomerate called The Quadrant, who represent the four corners of the world in regards to crime. Diaz thinks with taking control of Star City, he can get a seat at their table. Evil Laurel is not as assured Diaz’s plan will succeed at all, which after watching all of what happens, it’s hard to disagree with her.

The two have their meeting with the son of one of The Quadrant, Cartier, who doesn’t offer Diaz what he wants, but makes a counter-offer. The Quadrant needs a witness in federal custody retrieved before he talks about their activities, so if Diaz can find the guy and do that, they can maybe make a deal. Diaz takes the offer (and afterwards, beats the hell out of a bathroom mirror to show how totally cool he is with his offer being declined), despite Evil Laurel feeling how beneath them this really is. No kidding.

“So, Ricardo, its just us this episode?” “Yep.” “Okayyy…”

Fetch, Roll Over, Play Dead. Once Diaz gets confirmation of where this witness, Baylor, happens to be held, he has to get visual confirmation. While waiting to get a nice photo of Baylor at this federal safe house, Evil Laurel asks why it’s so important for Diaz to get into The Quadrant. He says that it will make his whole plan to control Star City and destroy Oliver Queen complete. I know what you’re going to ask, and that’s, “Where’s Ollie in all of this?”. Just wait…

So Diaz brings that confirmation to Cartier Jr., and the weasely guy now wants Diaz to break Baylor out of federal custody to solidify that deal. Evil Laurel can’t help but voice how much she hates them both being strung along like this, but Diaz is all for this. So they both go, beat the hell out of some federal agents, and grab Baylor. Little Cartier Jr. is waiting for them at the pick-up point, and guns down Diaz and Baylor! Apparently Junior talked to Senior, and they planned to whack Diaz and take Star City afterwards, but joke’s on them, because Diaz wore a bulletproof vest and survived! Now what does Diaz do?

Sit Down. Well, Diaz decides to return to that bar they talked to Cartier Jr., and pay him a more informal visit. After clearing the place out of patrons, he confronts Junior and let’s Evil Laurel have some fun torturing the guy. Diaz talks about how he grew up in an orphanage, being tormented by that kid we saw in the flashback, Jesse, for years. Then, he learns the truth that his offer was never taken to the Quadrant in the first place because Senior wanted to take Star City for himself, and that sets off Diaz enough to really beat up Junior, while Evil Laurel seems really bothered by this whole behavior.

Diaz wants to have a meeting with Senior, and Junior is going to help him make that happen. How, do you ask?

“Oliver, we’re barely in this episode!” “Really? Haven’t noticed. Been busy.”

Seat at the Table. Diaz and Evil Laurel are driving to a meeting The Quadrant is having, and she asks why bother seeing them knowing they disrespected him as they did. But to him, he has been fighting for respect all of his life, and getting into The Quadrant is a last step to getting that. When they get to the meeting, Diaz decides to make a bold welcome by sending in the beaten up Junior…strapped with plastic explosives! Junior goes bye-bye with most of the lobby, and Evil Laurel sonic scream injures the rest.

Diaz comes into The Quadrant meeting, and Senior is not happy to hear from the guy who just blew up his son. But Diaz lays out what he has been doing in Star City, and that proposal of sharing interests is enough for the other Quadrant members to consider his offer. Cartier Sr. is not willing to give up anything for a “loser”, and that magic word sets of Diaz to shoot Senior dead. The rest of the Quadrant are more than content to hear what Diaz has in mind now.

No Loser. Evil Laurel is happy that Diaz got his respect, but really would like to go home now (probably because it seems like a stretch for her to be gone from Quentin’s apartment that long without some red flags going off). But there’s one last thing Diaz has to do, and he goes off to do that. Later, Evil Laurel is waiting for Diaz on a rooftop, and he arrives with a bound up man. We find out that man is grown up Jesse, and Diaz wants his childhood bully to know he’s no loser anymore. Then he sets Jesse on fire. Diaz is totally okay with charbroiling this guy who barely recognized him, and Evil Laurel is really disturbed by this. So, that’s that.

Oh yeah, almost forgot about the other stuff, like Felicity going to back to work with Curtis on that HELIX stuff, and her worrying about Ollie after one of his solo outings annihilates a city block. He’s fine, by the way. Felicity is less fine about it. Well…now that’s that.

Someone break out the BBQ sauce, because human brisket is being cooked!

–Comic book connections: Bludhaven is a fictional town in the DCU that has its own vigilante, a former Robin, Dick Grayson, or as many know him now as Nightwing.

–Evil Laurel offhandedly mentions Zoom in her chat about guys who got destroyed by their own anger. Diaz says that’s not the case, but I’m sure after watching that long gestating revenge play out, she might be thinking best to get clear while she can.

–Hey Curtis, maybe not bring up how happy you are Ollie pushed away everyone. Jerk.

–And on that point, hey Ollie, maybe call your wife to let her know you survived a massive explosion in the Glades instead of walking in like nothing’s wrong.

–No seriously, is Quentin’s mayoral duties keeping him from keeping eyes on Evil Laurel for two days.

–“Maybe try that tomorrow, when you had some sleep, food, and unexpired soda?”

–“Bullets make things personal.”

–“Plans are like men: I try to avoid the complicated ones.”

–“Well lookie here…there’s an empty seat.”

That’s it for now, but come back next week for the recap of “Shifting Allegiances”…