Arrow Season 7 Episode 6 Review: Due Process
Brandon Vieira
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The band is back together, just without superhero costumes.
Despite the lameness of everyone wearing their normal clothes instead of their vigilante gear, Arrow Season 7 Episode 6 reminded Team Arrow that when they work together, they get results.
Team Arrow really should've learned this lesson already, primarily since the rift that happened in Team Arrow on Arrow Season 6 was the reason Diaz has been able to reak so much havoc.
Superhero squads just don't learn from their mistakes. Instead, they all went their separate ways and thought they could take down Diaz by themselves.
Luckily they finally learned that teamwork makes the dream work, and Felicity's dream has finally come true. Diaz has been caught, and Oliver's coming home!
Except, is he really because that feels way to easy. Oliver does eventually need to get out of Slabside before things start to get stale, but Diaz's takedown doesn't seem finalized just yet.
Related: Arrow Season 7 Episode 5 Review: The Demon
Once again, he'll most likely escape from custody and disappear for a little while so that way he doesn't overstay his welcome, even though he kind of already has.
It is possible that Arrow realizes that dragging out the Diaz story is a mistake and a new, fresh villain is needed by the time the show returns from winter break.
However, Arrow seems to love Diaz and just locking him up and throwing away the key is too simple for a show that has never been simple.
Something bigger this way comes. But what?
Whatever it ends up being, it was nice to see Team Arrow (sans Oliver) reunited. Diggle finally felt relevant to the show again, which hasn't been the case since Arrow Season 7 Episode 2.
Related: Arrow Season 7 Episode 4 Review: Level Two
The best role for Diggle is that of the father figure for Team Arrow. Without them to guide, he's been lost. The same could be said for Curtis.
The character shines brightest in group situations, mainly because he doesn't have a strong enough connection with any of the other characters to make what he's doing feel special.
Every character has a role to play, and his is the quirky tech genius who always knows how to make tense moments within Team Arrow lighter. He did exactly that on "Due Process."
Curtis: Guys, I think that the whole point of this is that maybe we could pick up our phones a little more, huh, shoot a text. Yeah. I am totally talking about the fact that everyone forgot my birthday last week.
Felicity: Your party is next week, act surprised!
Hopefully, this wasn't a one-time reunion for Team Arrow. The action sequence between Team Arrow and Diaz with The Longbow Hunters felt like a real throwback to old times. It shouldn't be a trend that stops.
Speaking of a trend that shouldn't stop, Laurel Lance must continue to be an absolute queen. Katie Cassidy has been on Arrow since the beginning, but she continues to deliver some of her best work on Arrow Season 7.
Not only does Laurel have fantastic chemistry with Felicity, but she also has emotional range for days. Her character is very complex, and I don't believe we've even scratched the surface.
We've seen the backstory of almost every character, and Laurel's more than earned a chance to share her story. She's quickly become the most compelling character on the show.
Her work at the courthouse on "Due Process" in particular was a very poignant moment for the character. The best heroes are those that have demons, and while Oliver and company may not want to admit it, Laurel isn't much different than the rest of them.
She's made mistakes, but she's owning up to them and doing what she can to change. Her journey to becoming one of the biggest heroes in Stary City is just getting started, and as long as the show continues to let her shine, Laurel's story has the potential to be one of the best stories ever told in the Arrowverse.
Your honor, the hardest thing to do is to be a hero when no one expects you to be. The easier path is to be a criminal. The past six months, Oliver Queen has chosen the hard road and has been a hero in terrible conditions. And since the FBI has not held up their end of the deal, Oliver Queen deserves to be a free man.
Laurel
Laurel's story isn't the only one on Arrow that has so much potential.
If you've read my previous reviews, you would know that I am a huge fan of the blossoming friendship between Oliver and Stanley. While it seemed like Oliver attempting to rescue Stanley from the pit would make their bond even stronger, that might not be the case any longer.
Stanley has been a pretty big mystery throughout Season 7. He seemed like a small, fragile man who didn't deserve to be behind bars. The only strange thing about him was the fact that he was a little obsessive about the Green Arrow.
I know that if anyone can find out what happened. It's the Green Arrow.
Stanley
That obsession, which seemed sweet and cute more than anything else, may have been a red herring. Our naive little Stanley may be much smarter then we thought. He might also be a murderer, but that's yet to be fully determined.
If he did murder the guard, then Oliver will have to wonder what else is he hiding.
While I'm a little sad to see fractures in their friendship already, Stanley as a villain might be even better than their blossoming bromance.
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The main reason for that being, he would be such a different kind of villain then what we've seen before. Every other major Arrow villain have been these big, strong guys who often match Oliver in size and strength.
That isn't the case for Stanley. Psychologically, he could break an already damaged Oliver.
If Stanley ends up usurping Diaz as Season 7's main villain after the winter break, I would be much more intrigued heading into the second half of this season.
Laurel and Stanley may have me intrigued, but the flashforward just had me confused. I was glad to get a break from it all on Arrow Season 7 Episode 5 because so much information was delivered so quickly.
"Due Process" didn't help to clear up any of that. Instead, it just kept introducing new things to remember.
William: The last call out was to someone named Black Star.
Zoe: That doesn't sound ominous at all. I swear to god if this gets me killed I'm gonna murder you.
William: Noted.
The Mark of Four? Black Star? Seriously, what the hell is going on? All I know is Felicity might be evil the future which is super depressing.
It's actually kind of demoralizing to see that all of the work Oliver and the team put into saving Star City was all for naught. Is Oliver even alive at that point?
Related: Arrow Season 7 Episode 3 Review: Crossing Lines
I continue to have more questions then answers with these flash-forwards, and unlike the Stanley storyline, it's leaving me more frustrated than excited.
That Black Star person better lead to some answers, or I'm going to give up on that whole future thing.
Also, we still have absolutely no clue on the identity or motives of Green Arrow other than helping Rene and his friends every so often.
Is it possible that he's future William, and Arrow's now entering time travel territory? I'd rather leave time travel to its Arrowverse counterparts and keep Arrow the one superhero show that's down to earth.
What did you think of "Due Process"?
Did you enjoy the reunion of Team Arrow?
Stanley: Friend or Foe?
What are your thoughts on Black Star?
Let us know in the comments below and if you need to catch up, make to sure to watch Arrow online right here on TV Fanatic.
Brandon Viera was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. He retired in May 2019..
