8) “Suicide Squad” – March 19, 2014
In perhaps the most blatant bit of universe building outside the introduction of Barry Allen, Arrow gave fans the Suicide Squad, and they did it so subtly, too. Deadshot, Bronze Tiger, Shrapnel and Amanda Waller, the head of A.R.G.U.S. herself, were all introduced in separate episodes, but who knew there was a plan to bring them all together. And bonus points to the Arrow team for working in a sneaky Harley Quinn cameo.
More important to the narrative of the series though, was that this is a John Diggle’s story, and David Ramsey relishes the opportunity to take centre stage as the episode’s leading hero. As Oliver struggles with living in the shadow of Slade’s master plan, Diggle gets to quarterback his own team, lead a mission and get the girl in the end. The week’s flashbacks are also Diggle’s, revealing a brief hint of his time in Afghanistan (and some of those ghost he talked about earlier).
The heart of the episode wasn’t the James Bondian action of the Squad though, it was Diggle learning a powerful lesson about perspective: sometimes the good guys act dishonorably, and sometimes the bad guys aren’t all the way bad. In the end, even the man that killed your brother has his own story, and though he may deserve to die, that doesn’t mean he’s expendable.