ARROW: Season 6 Episode 13: "Devil's Greatest Trick" Review
From Richard Dragon rising to Black Siren going up against Black Canary, this episode delivers well as it farewells one of the villains of this season!
Going into this episode I didn't really have high hopes for it as I was beginning to lose hope that this season could redeem itself. Thankfully I was proven wrong, while I do still think this season requires a lot more work, this episode sure did give me some little hope.
Alright let's start off with the good. Black Siren was actually really likable here, Katie Cassidy acting as the conflicted villain who seems unsure of herself was really well done especially in the moment that she looks at a photo of Earth-1 Laurel and Quentin Lance. Throughout the season I found Black Siren absolutely frustrating to watch but this episode finally showed what the rest of this season has in store for her character. Nevertheless, as we all know, she is still responsible for the murder of Vigilante so there is still a lot work needing to be done for Black Siren to be fully redeemed. It would be a shame if the writers are leading up to her death at the hands of a character who isn't worthy (Dinah Drake). The redemption arc seems to be coming together but it's unknown whether we'll see her restored by the end of this season.
Anyone who reads my reviews knows I dislike the "New Team Arrow" so I won't talk about them all. Instead let's talk about one member that came out extremely annoying this episode. Dinah Drake was just a nuisance to watch, all through this episode I thought she was acting irrationally and quite stupid. I understand she lost her boyfriend or whatever he was last episode but honestly I don't care. Nothing this season has made me like her and this episode increased my hate for her. She's a police officer and a "hero", surely she can understand that killing is wrong and that she is blinded by anger/hate considering as an officer she would've been taught to have restraint. This episode doesn't fix her character and I'm afraid the more screen-time she gets, the more it negatively impacts an episode and the overall story.
The story in this episode progressed the arc for the villain of this season immensely and it's kind of about time too. I was so glad that Ricardo Diaz finally took the spotlight but honestly had it not been so predictable, it would've been more enjoyable. However, seeing Ricardo Diaz killing Cayden James in what looked to be the interrogation room was just satisfying as we finally know that Diaz is going to bring hell to Team Arrow. While I absolutely love that Diaz is finally rising, something that bothers me is that they still haven't explained what Diaz has against Oliver or even why he killed Cayden's son. This episode progressed the story in terms of revealing the main villain but still done little for the overall arc. I'm also interested to know if Diaz will attempt to find Anatoly and work with him again or if he's going lone wolf for the rest of the season.
Something I found to be a shame this episode was that Cayden James was becoming somewhat likable and as a viewer I was finally able to sympathize with him. The writers had the entire first half of the season to make us like Cayden and sympathize by showing us what happened to his son or showing us flashbacks of Cayden interacting with his son. Instead, they left it for the episode that he would die in to make him a decent character. I feel as though they wasted the advantage of Michael Emerson's acting abilities which is a shame as he could've done much better had the writers given his character a better story. In saying that, I truly enjoyed the interactions between Cayden James and Oliver's son to be completely honest because it really humanized him.
Overall this episode delivered some really good moments and some nice action sequences while also insuring the development for the villain of this season. I wouldn't say this episode was anything amazing but it was definitely an enjoyable episode and it opened some positive doors for the rest of the season. I don't know if this season will be amazing going forward but I think it might be better than the first half but then again that's not saying much. In conclusion this episode got a 7.5/10 from me. What did you think though? What was your favorite moment this episode or what did you dislike?