For many, David Ramsey's Diggle is the spirtual and moral compass for Stephen Amell's Oliver Queen. In some aspects, Diggle's role was not as prominent in season 2 but with Oliver "seemingly" down for the count, it falls on Diggle's shoulders to keep Team Arrow together. Speaking to CBR on Diggle's new role, Ramsey stated:
"Well, he stepped up to the plate. And the rest of the team, obviously -- Canary, Arsenal and Felicity -- we all have to step up in the absence of Oliver. But I think they do look to Diggle to some degree. Diggle is older than all of them, and to some great degree, experienced more in the field, reconnaissance fighting, so they do look to him for some leadership. And it's good -- that's a good element for Diggle to exercise, but it's shared. It really is shared. All these opinions are shared, and there's a certain amount of -- Oliver's absence really does something to us all emotionally, because we all have to reassess why we're there, personally. We've taken on this crusade which began as Oliver's, and it's kind of slowly become our own, so we all have to come up with some reasons as to why we decide to stay, if we decide to stay. There's a lot of introspective work that we do."
Ramsey also weighs in on the lack of costume and mask for Diggle. If Colton Hayne's Arsenal is in a costume, surely Diggle deserves a mask, too right?
"Oliver says something very interesting. He said to Arsenal, "The mask isn't to protect you. It's to protect the people you love." I think if anyone kind of has a reason to protect himself for loved ones at this point, it's probably Diggle. So there's been a big kind of hoo-rah on line in terms of "Diggle needs a mask. Diggle should get a mask."
Overall, Ramsey personally thinks the life Diggle leads now, with Lyla and Sara Diggle is in some ways, a future version of where Oliver will find himself five years from now.
"I just like the fact that Diggle is probably the most well-adjusted of the characters. He has a family....I think he's probably where Oliver Queen will be in five years, just in terms of psychologically where he's adjusted to. He's had his crucible. Afghanistan was his crucible. I like the fact that they're making him kind of a model, in some ways, of what Oliver Queen can and should be."
Arrow returns from midseason hiatus on January 21, at 8PM on The CW.
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"After a violent shipwreck, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen was missing and presumed dead for five years before being discovered alive on a remote island in the Pacific. When he returns home to Starling City, his devoted mother Moira, much-beloved sister Thea, and best friend Tommy welcome him home, but they sense Oliver has been changed by his ordeal on the island. While Oliver hides the truth about the man he’s become, he desperately wants to make amends for the actions he took as the boy he was. Most particularly, he seeks reconciliation with his former girlfriend, Laurel Lance. As Oliver reconnects with those closest to him, he secretly creates the persona of Arrow – a vigilante – to right the wrongs of his family, fight the ills of society, and restore Starling City to its former glory. By day, Oliver plays the role of a wealthy, carefree and careless philanderer he used to be – flanked by his devoted chauffeur/bodyguard, John Diggle – while carefully concealing the secret identity he turns to under cover of darkness. However, Laurel’s father, Detective Quentin Lance, is determined to arrest the vigilante operating in his city. Meanwhile, Oliver’s own mother, Moira, knows much more about the deadly shipwreck than she has let on – and is more ruthless than he could ever imagine." |