The Arrow winter finale started off with mostly everyone happy, celebrating Oliver and Felicity’s wedding, but that quickly came to an end once Lance learned that one of the team was going to testify against Oliver. It became Original Team Arrow versus the newbies as Oliver, Felicity and Diggle tried to figure out the source of the betrayal, but even once Rene confessed, things just got worse.
Here are the times the team was divided in “Irreconcilable Differences.”
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One of the Team Was Testifying Against Oliver, and It Immediately Became OTA vs. the Newbies
Lance interrupted Oliver and Felicity dancing at their wedding reception to inform them that the prosecution’s smoking gun was a witness — someone on the team — willing to testify that Oliver was the Green Arrow.
Knowing it had to be one of the newbies, Oliver and Felicity put them under surveillance (“keeping tabs,” not spying, as she told Diggle when he joined them.) Though Diggle suggested they just confront whoever it was and give them a chance to come clean, Oliver didn’t think the person would be forthcoming. Plus, Diggle could be next when he put the hood back on.
Dinah Became a Prime Suspect When They Saw Her Meet with Vince
They couldn’t get any audio, so they didn’t know what she was saying (as Diggle pointed out), but Oliver argued that the point was she was lying to the team about this, so they didn’t know what else she was hiding. Diggle thought Dinah cared too much about the team, but in Oliver’s mind, “after what happened with Evelyn, we need to protect ourselves.”
That meant that when it was time to go into the field, he didn’t bring in Dinah, explaining, “until we know where her loyalties lie, she’s out.”
The Newbies Found out They Were Put Under Surveillance
After Oliver confronted Dinah about meeting with Vince, she argued it was none of his business. It was if it threatened to put him in prison and keep him from his son, Oliver told her, and she had given him no reason to trust her. Dinah was offended when Diggle didn’t have her back after she’d had his.
Curtis tried to play mediator, suggesting “it can literally be any one of” them, but that was when OTA revealed they had them all under surveillance and the others checked out. “By all of us, you mean all of us,” Dinah realized, gesturing to herself, Curtis and Rene. Yes, “just the newbies,” as Curtis put it when he reminded them that they were out there risking their lives too.
Rene Revealed He Was the Witness
Agent Watson had told him she had proof he was Wild Dog and would use that against him to make sure he’d never see his daughter again. She’d also said she had a solid case against Oliver, so he’d be arrested either way. Rene just didn’t want to go down with him.
Diggle told him they could’ve figured something out, and when Rene said there was no other way, Felicity pointed out they’d never know. Oliver kicked Rene off the team.
The Newbies Thought OTA Crossed a Line
Though Rene felt like Oliver was right to kick him off the team, Curtis couldn’t get over how OTA putting them under surveillance made him feel. Yes, he knew there was a difference between the three of them and the newbies, but Dinah agreed that spying on them crossed a line.
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The Team’s Problems Carried over into the Field
After Thea tried to talk Oliver into forgiving Rene — he was desperate and did a desperate thing, and while Oliver felt betrayed, he was trying to see things from Rene’s perspective — he had the entire team suit up.
However, with Felicity blind once they got inside for the meet with Cayden James to trade for Lance, Oliver needed the newbies to be his eyes and ears. Rene wanted to search the building, but Felicity and Diggle told him and Curtis to stay put. Curtis couldn’t let the surveillance on them go and suggested they’d know where Lance was if he’d been bugged too.
When Felicity protested that they’d just tracked their GPS, Curtis and Rene turned off their comms and went off on their own to search for Lance. That meant that once everything went south, they weren’t in position to back up Oliver.
Rene Was Kicked off the Team
Rene thought it was right for him and Curtis to move out of position to look for Lance since they found him, but Oliver reminded him that there was a clear chain of command in the field. Yes, Rene was the same guy he’d been since he joined the team, someone who went off on his own sometimes, but it was different before, when Oliver could trust him. He’d been given a second chance, and he broke their trust, so he was off the team.
Dinah Left the Team
Dinah agreed that they needed to trust and believe in each other, and she didn’t believe in Oliver anymore, so she decided she was out too.
Oliver Thought the Team Needed to “Move Forward”
While Diggle didn’t think there was anything that had been said or done that couldn’t be undone, Felicity disagreed and Oliver agreed with her.
Curtis Left the Team
Curtis agreed that trust was important for the team, and since they spied on him and invaded his privacy, he couldn’t trust Oliver, Felicity and Diggle. While he wasn’t leaving Helix Dynamics, he was done with the team.
Arrow season 6 airs Thursdays at 9/8c on the CW. Want more news? Like our Facebook page.
(Images courtesy of the CW)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
If it’s on TV — especially if it’s a procedural or superhero show — chances are Meredith watches it. She has a love for all things fiction, starting from a young age with ER and The X-Files on the small screen and the Nancy Drew books. Arrow kicked off the Arrowverse and her true passion for all things heroes. She’s enjoyed getting into the minds of serial killers since Criminal Minds, so it should be no surprise that her latest obsession is Prodigal Son.
