Arrow Season 4, Episode 11 Synopsis: A.W.O.L.

Diggle fans rejoice, because it appears your guy is getting his time in the spotlight this week. The next new episode of Arrow, “A.W.O.L.,” has a Diggle-heavy focus that delves into his history with younger brother Andy.

In what has been John’s primary subplot of Season 4, he discovered that Andy wasn’t dead as he had long believed, but instead had resurfaced as one of Damien Darhk’s Ghosts. Making his anguish even worse, his brother seemed not only unrepentant but actually in favor of Darhk’s plans, whatever they may be.

Naturally, there’s going to be more with Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak as well, with everyone’s favorite super-couple trying to figure out how to incorporate Felicity back into Team Arrow following her injuries from the midseason finale. The promos for this week make it appear it won’t go smoothly.

Here’s the official synopsis for “A.W.O.L.” from The CW:

"Diggle (David Ramsey) must learn to trust his brother Andy (guest star Eugene Byrd) when an enemy of their wartime past, an agent of the criminal organization Shadowspire, pays a visit to Star City. However, Diggle learns more than he bargained for about their shared time at war. Meanwhile, Oliver (Stephen Amell) has to learn a whole new way of life. Charlotte Brandstrom directed the episode written by Brian Ford Sullivan & Emilio Ortega Aldrich (#411)."

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Even though my guess is that Andy has committed too many unspeakable acts to ever truly come back to the light, my guess is that the writers might be building toward a partial redemption for him where he gives his life to save John’s or something of that nature. He’s playing too big a recurring role right now to simply sit in a cage for the rest of Season 4 or just hang around for Diggle to have revelatory moments.

And on the Felicity front, were those pills she was popping in the promo clips for this week? It’s understandable that she might need pain meds to help her get by after the attack, but we might be headed to an addiction storyline for her. Like the poor woman hasn’t been through enough already this season!

Next: Arrow Season 4, Episode 10 Recap: Blood Debts

That’s all just speculation until Wednesday, January 27 at 8 pm, when “A.W.O.L.” will shed some light on these and other questions. Tune in for a new Arrow and then be sure to join us back here on Bam Smack Pow where we’ll attempt to hit a bullseye with our full recap and review. Sadly, our aim isn’t quite as good as Green Arrow’s, but we’ll do our best!