Plot
Seeking to expand his empire in the wake of Mayor Queen's impeachment, Ricardo Diaz and Black Siren meet with The Quadrant - an international cabal of organized crime families. Meanwhile, Felicity and Curtis try to mend their broken fences to get their company back on track as Oliver begins to wage war on "The Dragon" alone.
Influences
The Green Arrow comics of Jeff Lemire (character of Ricardo Diaz)
Goofs
So, Quentin isn't going to question Black Siren disappearing for several days? Granting that he's probably got his hands full running the city in the wake of Ollie's impeachment, you'd think this is something he'd be trying to stay up on.
You'd also think it's also something Dinah would be doing, particularly since she doesn't have her job as a cop keeping her busy anymore.
The fight scene in which Black Siren attacks the FBI agents has got to be one of the worst in the show's history. Ignoring the poor lighting and odd camera angles (presumably used to hide the face of Katie Cassidy's stunt double), we clearly see the stunt men playing the agents discharge their guns inches away from Black Siren without hitting her!
One does wonder why Cartier's men don't shoot Baylor and Diaz in the head as well as the chest, as Black Siren pointed out.
The final scene, in which Black Siren is apparently meant to be disturbed by Diaz setting his childhood bully on fire - does not ring true at all. And for once it's not because of Katie Cassidy's inability to show any emotions beyond annoyance and dull surprise. It's because it does not make a lick of sense for Black Siren - who has worked for three obsessive sociopaths without complaint before Diaz and spent the better part of this episode complaining about not being allowed to kill for the hell of it - suddenly having reservations about setting a man on fire.
Trivia
The episode name is taken from the nickname Ricardo Diaz gave himself in Jeff Lemire's Green Arrow comics.
The episode reveals that Diaz was raised in a Zandian orphanage in Starling City. In the DC Comics Universe, Zandia was a European nation which was the home of The Church Of Blood in the Teen Titans comics. Depending on the story, Zandia was said to be east of Sicily or was an island nation in the Baltic Sea.
Diaz and Black Siren travel to Bludhaven to meet with The Quadrant. In the DC Comics Universe, Bludhaven is a city in New Jersey, even more corrupt than Gotham City, which becomes the adopted home of the vigilante Nightwing.
The DCTVU version of Bludhaven is similarly lawless and has been depicted several times on Arrow as a haven for various criminal organizations.
The bar where Diaz meets The Quadrant agents in Bludhaven is called Hogan's Alley. In the Nightwing comics, when Dick Grayson (aka Nightwing) first moved to Bludhaven, he took a job a bar called Hogan's Alley which was frequented by cops. Dick used his position to get a feel for which cops were clean and which were dirty as well as a source of information.
The title card for this episode features a stylized Eastern dragon icon rather than the usual Arrowhead symbol.
Diaz says the he called his fear of the bully Jesse "The Dragon". It was from this that he took his street name later on. In the original Jeff Lemire Green Arrow comics, Ricardo Diaz took the name Richard Dragon to honor a martial artist by that name who trained him and was later killed by him.
Technobabble
Felicity is still trying to stabilize the neuro-interface of her and Curtis' latest project.
Curtis theorizes that the serotonin interface is a result of the pathogenic reaction.
Working together, Curtis and Felicity stabilize the pathogenic reaction completely.
Dialogue Triumphs
Baylor: I didn't say nothing! I swear to God!
Cartier: (laughs) Tell him yourself.
(Cartier's driver pulls out an assault rifle and shoots Baylor and Diaz.)
Dialogue Disasters
Black Siren: Oh. So more waiting then. (accidentally voicing the thoughts of most of the audience during this episode.)
Black Siren: And what would you have done if they'd shot you in the head?
Diaz: I'd be dead. probably.
Continuity
Black Siren is capable of picking locks.
Ricardo Diaz has been working on his plan to take over Star City for five years.
Black Siren has heard of The Quadrant but thought they were an urban legend.
The Quadrant have control of a bar in Bludhaven called Hogan's Alley.
Rene is still in the hospital.
Diaz offers The Quadrant free access through Star City's ports and airports in exchange for a seat at the table.
Diaz is instructed by Cartier to retrieve information on where the FBI is holding Robert Baylor - a Quadrant agent who was captured.
Diaz gets the information from Former D.A. Sam Armand.
Felicity has been fired from Team Arrow by Oliver.
Cartier asks Diaz to capture Baylor for debriefing. Diaz objects but when Cartier threatens to end the deal, Diaz agrees but insists he be allowed to meet Cartier's father later.
Cartier double-crosses Diaz and shoots him an Baylor. Diaz is saved only because he had body armor.
Diaz claims to have fought for every scrap of food he ate as a kid.
Diaz tells Cartier about Jesse - a bully in the orphanage who burned his arm.
Cartier reveals that he and his father never gave The Quadrant Diaz's proposal. They just planned to use him to take Star City for themselves.
Black Siren compares Diaz to Zoom, saying that they are both controlled by their hatred.
Cartier is turned into a suicide bomber by Diaz, clearing the path into the meeting of The Quadrant leaders.
Diaz kills the older Cartier, taking his seat on the board of The Quadrant.
Oliver survived the explosion in The Glades.
Diaz tracks down and kills Jesse, his childhood bully, soaking him in lighter fluid and setting him on fire.
Diaz reveals that he tried to save the only picture that he had of his father after Jesse burned it.
Location
Zandia Orphanage, Star City - 1986
Bludhaven - 2018
Untelevised Adventures
Green Arrow is seen in the background as Felicity is watching the news, dealing with an explosion in The Glades.
The Bottom Line
Easily one of the worst episodes ever. Quite possibly the worst of this season.
Too little, too late, in terms of trying to develop Diaz and make him a compelling villain. Instead, this episode makes him seem whiny and weak, which makes it all the more aggravating that he's being set up as some kind of criminal mastermind capable of taking down Team Arrow.
Worse yet, it seems like the Black Siren redemption arc has been resurrected yet again as Black Siren - a psychotic maniac who we'll remind you worked with Zoom, Prometheus and Cayden James without complaint and spent most of this episode complaining about waiting, planning and NOT mindlessly killing people - being disturbed by Diaz's savoring the death of his childhood bully.
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