TV Underdogs: On ‘Arrow’ season 5 and the story of Ragman
TV Underdogs, assemble! This is an article series that first surfaced on CarterMatt way back in January of 2016, and we’re now more than thrilled to be bringing it back with a singular focus: Spotlighting some of the characters who we enjoy the most, but who also need a little bit more love. Sometimes, they are recurring players; other times, they are regulars who float around in the background.
For the character of Rory Regan a.k.a. Ragman on “Arrow,” he’s been nothing short of a surprise. When you think back to before the season, Wild Dog and Artemis were the two characters joining Team Arrow that you heard the most about. Ragman had somewhat of a muted introduction before the show, and it was hard to know what to make of him. Given the limited amount of publicity he received, it was almost easy to assume that he was the one who would betray the team and join up with Prometheus in the end. That didn’t happen.
Instead, what we’ve come to learn about Rory over time is that he’s a layered, intellectual guy with a dark past and an interesting backstory, one played very well by Joe Dinicol on every occasion we’ve seen him. He doesn’t look or act like your normal superhero — he’s measured, soft-spoken, and in the world of “Arrow,” his relation to the mystical arts helps him to stand out further. He is bound by a sort of honor and duty that many great vigilantes are, and there’s really nobody else like him across the entire DC Comics – CW universe. He’s an underdog in the sense that you don’t quite know what his future could hold — he could be gone in a few episodes, or he could end up being someone who becomes a key part of the show. (Remember here that Felicity Smoak was originally only going to have a small appearance on the show.)
How to use him more – This starts largely with getting a further sense of who he was prior to the destruction of Havenrock, which is the event that caused him to become Ragman in the first place. We understand that flashbacks to supporting characters are rare and that many of the loved ones he had in his life are dead, but doesn’t there have to be someone else out there who knows him? Or, maybe just give us more of a sense of where he’s living now and what his life is like in Star City. In one way or another, we’ve got that with the majority of the other characters. Even with Wild Dog, you get the sense that you know a little bit more about his day-to-day life.
Also, why not give Ragman a little more of a defined role in the context of the larger team? What we mean by that is that Oliver’s the lead in the field, Diggle’s typically the right-hand man, and at this point Wild Dog is a bit of a bruiser while Felicity assists from afar. So far, we’ve seen him go in and wreck a little bit of havoc when the situation calls for it, but can there be a way to define his powers and allow him to have a more permanent use? To us, it feels like stealth could be one of his greatest specialties.
The last thing you can do is focus more on Rory and his relationship in relation to people like Oliver, Diggle, or even Thea. We’ve already established things with him and Felicity, but providing more personal value to him as a person in addition to him as a hero makes it harder for the writers to ever write him off.
What are some of your ideas to better implement the Rory character? Share now in the comments! Meanwhile, head over here in the event that you want to get some additional news right now when it comes to the show. (Photo: The CW.)