"Welcome To Hong Kong"
Arrow's final season seems to be starting off on a really high note delivering two fantastic episodes in a row. Both episodes funny enough play off the same strengths and minor weaknesses which, in a positive way, makes things feel nicely consistent so far. Where the premiere brilliantly dove into Season 1 territory from the various selected character appearances and multiverse mirrored story points, this episode does something similar with Season 3. The major difference here being that Oliver's adventure this actually takes place on Earth-1 as opposed to another Earth, we are furthering up on characters and plot points from Season 3's flashback and present day storytelling. We have the return of Tatsu (Katana) which is something that I honestly never would have expected and was very welcomed by in addition to the Alpha-Omega virus.
I did geek out a little seeing Katana show up considering that Oliver, Diggle, and Laurel was placed in Hong Kong. One of the coolest things to see in comic book stories is the protagonist showing up in a setting where you know a familiar face resides in...and they eventually pop up in spectacular fashion. This can be said for both Kitana and China White in this episode. Seriously, the fan service for Season 8 deserves a 10/10 on its own. Not only was the setting a visually refreshing change of pace, but the concept of Katana being Hong Kong's vigilante hero was very intriguing to see (almost spin-off worthy?). I enjoyed watching her fight scenes with China White and Triad goons while helping Oliver on his cosmic quest questioning the mysterious factors involved. It's interesting seeing how Oliver has to explain such a crazy mission to fellow vigilante partners from his history while also getting entangled in their very own conflicts.
The stuff with Laurel struggling to deal with Earth-2's loss was perfectly paced out and properly emphasized considering the magnitude of the tragedy. It's one of those concepts that, as viewers, it's a little hard for us to completely connect to given that we hardly knew these alternate characters. However, the show remedies this by showing this tough on the surface fighter like Black Siren emotionally breakdown from the event. It nicely leads up to her deciding to officially join up with our heroes. A similar thing is done with Oliver who may not have intimately know Earth-2's doppelgängers to Tommy and his mother, but he knew his versions well enough to feel the pain of their lost. Kudos to the writers for finding a way to make a grounded show like Arrow deliver the necessary emotional impact to such a wild science-fiction concept mostly explored on other shows like The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow.
This episode kinda felt like an awesome 2nd issue to a fantastic solo comic run that connects to a larger annual story. You have amazing visual direction from the shots of Hong Kong to some of the interior sets (Katana's hideout) with a few great action scenes to keep things exciting. You also have what feels like an enjoyable isolated chapter of storytelling surrounding Tatsu's vigilante corner of the Arrowverse connecting to the larger arc of Oliver's multiverse heist mission. Speaking of which, one of the things that caught me off guard is Oliver's state of mind questioning his faith in the mission itself and the Monitor's motives. An angle that I'm not entirely sure how to feel about unless it serves a bigger purpose for the Monitor's mythology. We'll just have to wait and see. Either way, it does tie back with Oliver's family being sidelined adding a deeper layer to his sacrificial venture.
The flash forward stuff here was a bit more palatable since the primary focus was Connor and JJ's relationship. It's honestly the only element of The Adventures of Team Arrow Jr. that's remotely watchable. Where's Diggle and Bronze Tiger in the future? That's the question that I'm interested in and the brotherly rivalry between these two characters does a decent job at invoking that question. Everything else involving Mia, William, and whatever forgettable Star City story can end right now and I honestly wouldn't care one bit.
Overall, this episode gives me the impression that great action sequences, nostalgia trips, and geek out worthy character appearances will be the primary direction that Arrow's final season takes...and I'm loving the majority of it so far. Keep this quality going and it'd be a no brainer for me to consider this the 2nd best (possibly thee best) season of Arrow which is serious high praise for a final season to obtain. Oh, and yes, that ending with Lyla and the Monitor does open up a whole new black hole of speculation. However, toss all of that to the side for now because, next week, it's teased here that we'll be going to Nanda Parbat! Does that mean that a certain character that I've been wanting to return finally does so here? I'll try not to get too excited...but that would be something.
Bonus Content
1. Suicide Squad Reference
With China White referencing the neck bombs with ARGUS, and the inclusion of Katana here, this brings me back to my wish for Arrow long ago to make a spin-off Suicide Squad series. That's still possible right? Right? No Star City 2049 crap but instead a highly entertaining Suicide Squad show bringing in characters like Deadshot (somehow), Bronze Tiger, and a few other names like the previously teased Cheetah and King Shark? Am I the only one who thinks this would be the best possible spin off idea to take with Arrow's legacy? You have all of these fantastic side characters introduced throughout the show's history with much more compelling stories to expand upon than Team Arrow Jr. in the future. Unless of course the corporate head honchos continue to frustratingly mark a giant red X on the idea due to DC's film division. What a bummer if that's the case.
2. A Beautiful Looking Episode
The Arrowverse shows aren't typically known for incredible visual direction aside from the typical standout visual FX super powered sequence on The Flash or surprisingly solid CGI alien on Supergirl every once in a while. However, when it comes to the much more basic shots such as interior and exterior settings, things tend to usually be...well...basic as opposed to certain other comic book shows that go the extra mile in alluring the audiences at every second that they can. Arrow does a fantastic job during this episode with some of the establishing shots of Hong Kong and scenes taking place indoors with Katana's hideout. The daytime color palette having a very sepia-like tone heavily utilizing the sunlight makes things feel refreshingly bright yet appropriately uneasy for Hong Kong's beautiful/chaotic nature.
Episode Rating: 9/10
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