This week's episode of Arrow will explore John Diggle's desire to be the Green Arrow as the character clashes with Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) over who should wear the mantle. Diggle, played by David Ramsay, has been Oliver's closest confidante, right-hand man and best friend since the beginning of the series.

Early in season 6 of Arrow, Oliver gave up being the Green Arrow to focus on being a father and the mayor. He passed on the title to Diggle, who accepted the new responsibility. After Diggle was injured in the field, Oliver had to retake the mantle. He assured Diggle he'd give it back when Diggle was fully recovered, but has yet to make good on his promise. After his son accepted his father's role as the Green Arrow, Oliver's feelings on the matter shifted. Oliver decided to remain the Green Arrow, but isn't aware of how important wearing the hood was to Diggle.

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In speaking with TV Line, David Ramsay talked about Diggle's issues with Oliver's decision to keep the Green Arrow mantle. Ramsay says that the upcoming episode, titled  "Brothers in Arms," will "specifically explore what the Green Arrow mantle means to Diggle." According to Ramsay, fans will learn that the situation is more complicated than Diggle just wanting to be the Green Arrow.

Ramsay goes on to explain that certain tragedies in both characters' lives - including the death of Laurel (Katie Cassidy) - may have been averted if Oliver had just listened to different viewpoints. Diggle goes along with Oliver's decision sometimes "against his better judgment" because of their bond, but that may not be enough anymore:

But I think he really does see now that there’s a different way of doing this. At the end of the day, Oliver Queen is our Bruce Wayne character. He’s a loner of sorts, and though he’s grown past that with Felicity and with Diggle, John sees that [Oliver] is a guy who makes his own decisions, and he’s not quite sure where he fits in that.

This won't be the first time Oliver and Diggle have clashed. Their friendship faced a serious test in season 3 when Oliver went undercover in the League of Assassins and pretended to turn on Team Arrow. Oliver even kidnapped Diggle's family, which to Diggle was a line that should never have been crossed. This severely damaged their relationship, and it took a long time for the wounds to heal. After a while, Oliver was able to slowly regain Diggle's trust. If the two could overcome that, it's possible that they'll also be able overcome what comes next as well. We know from the "Brothers in Arms" trailer that the heated exchange over who wears the hood will cause Oliver and Diggle to trade blows.

Based on Oliver's comments in last week's episode, we know that the character has no intention of giving up being the Green Arrow again, which means that a confrontation with Diggle is unlikely to change his mind. Even if Oliver and Diggle eventually mend their friendship, it's hard to say how long that will take. An already-fractured Team Arrow has their hands full with Diaz (Kirk Acevedo), meaning that the loss of another team member could be a death knell for the heroes.

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Season 6 of Arrow continues Thursday, April 12th at 9pm on The CW.

Source: TV Line