30 greatest Arrowverse episodes, ranked
Best Arrowverse episodes – No. 26
The Dragon (Arrow season 6 episode 19)
While Arrow Season 6 proved to be a somewhat problematic outing, the good vastly outweighed the bad – thanks in no small part to the final seven episodes, which may be the best string of consecutive episodes that the show has ever pulled off. Buried within that impressive line-up of episodes was “The Dragon” – a dark and grim outing that gave us a look into the mind of the season’s second Big Bad, Ricardo Diaz.
Up until this point, Diaz had only really been a henchman for previous Big Bad, Cayden James, and thus, when he was revealed to be the mastermind behind the murder of James’ son, it almost felt underwhelming. That is, until the second half of the season. With each episode, Diaz became more alluring and enticing as a villain, but “The Dragon” finally let us see who he really was.
Making full use of Season 6’s later time-slot, the episode was incredibly dark as the villain attempted to become a member of the powerful crime organization known as The Quadrant. It was bloody, graphic and highlighted just how far he was willing to go to achieve his goals. Furthermore, the episode also made full use of the brilliant Black Siren (who had also been criminally underused before this) as she challenged Diaz and his motivations.
With long-drawn-out scenes between the pair, the writers took their time with “The Dragon,” making it seem less like a rushed episode of Arrow and more like a mature cable drama. It was a character study that made up for some of the previous less-than-stellar outings, developing Diaz to the extent that we all wanted, and was anchored by two standout performances from Kirk Acevedo and Katie Cassidy.