When it comes to Arrow’s voice of reason over the past four seasons that has undeniably been one John Diggle. But following the traumatic events involving Diggle and his brother Andy, where John killed his brother after feeling threatened for the safety of his family, that’s something that has now been questioned.
Diggle was forced to take a step back and reevaluate where he stood. That culminated with Diggle reenlisting in the military and trying to get back to a place of solidarity.
So what can we expect when Arrow’s fifth season begins?
“Diggle is a man of two minds,” David Ramsey told us during a roundtable interview at SDCC. “Obviously he’s away from his family, away from the team. He has feelings about that. But he’s still working through his crisis as to why he pulled the trigger when he killed his brother last season. And he still feels personally responsible for Canary’s death. I think the guilt for both of those events is affecting him greatly. You see him working through that at the beginning of season five.”
With Diggle and Thea leaving Team Arrow following the emotional events of last season, that left Oliver and Felicity as the remaining members of the team in a Star City that is rebuilding after yet another terrorist attack. While Oliver is waiting for things to go back to the way they used to be, it’s Felicity that suggests that they start building a new team.
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// That new team is something that Diggle is going to struggle with when he inevitably returns from his tour in Chechnya.
“I think a part of the challenge of the season is certainly how the new team plays into that,” Ramsey told us. “He’s going to have an opinion coming back and fighting with new team members. A new “inexperienced” team.”
Watch our interview with Ramsey below where he discusses administering justice and shares his idea for Diggle’s reaction to seeing Supergirl.
Arrow season 5 premieres Wednesday, Oct. 5 at 8/7c on The CW.