TV Review: Arrow Season 8 Episode 2

Arrow Season 8 Episode 2 “Welcome to Hong Kong”

Director: Antonio Negret

Starring: Stephen Amell, David Ramsey, Rick Gonzalez, Juliana Harkavy, Katherine McNamara, Ben Lewis, Joseph David-Jones, LaMonica Garrett, Katie Cassidy, Audrey Marie Anderson, Andrea Sixtos

Rating: TV-MA

Runtime: 42 minutes

Ever since it was announced that Arrow‘s final season would pay tribute to many past storylines and seasons, fans have been putting together lists of what eras in the show’s history they would like to see represented.  It’s safe to say the Hong Kong flashbacks probably weren’t on many lists.  The third batch of serialized flashbacks to Oliver’s time away from home is far from the worst storyline the show has ever done and Maseo (Karl Yune) and Tatsu Yamashiro (Rila Fukushima) were strong characters (the latter making a welcome return here) but it was also far from the best, with a lot of its significance not even becoming clear until the fifth season two years later.  However, returning to Hong Kong surprisingly makes for a compelling episode and a worthy follow up to Season 8’s epic premiere.

Part of the reason the Hong Kong setting works is because of the more muted reputation of its past material.  Season 3 in general and its flashbacks, in particular, are far from iconic to even the most loyal fans so the episode doesn’t have to devote too much focus to paying tribute to them.  While Tatsu makes her presence felt and Fukushima gives a predictably strong performance, otherwise the setting is mostly a backdrop for the show to grapple with the magnitude of the events of the season premiere.  This hour is all about Oliver, Laurel, and, to a lesser extent, Diggle reacting to the destruction of Earth-2 and considering what it means for their mission going forward.  It’s a welcome choice that builds the stakes of this most dramatic of conflicts and shows that the show is intent on depicting the emotional and psychological toll the Crisis is already taking on its characters.

I found Oliver’s arc here quite compelling because it directly addressed two of the biggest concerns I’ve had about the season, namely that Oliver Queen is no one’s errand boy and the Monitor is so obviously shady that not having the heroes recognize it (or, more accurately remember, as they experienced his capacity for evil in last year’s crossover) makes them look foolish.  Tatsu challenges Oliver in regard to these issues, demanding to know why he’s following the Monitor so blindly when he’s so clearly dangerous.  Oliver’s response reveals just how deeply the looming threat of the Crisis has shaken him.  He’s desperate to believe the Monitor is on the side of the angels because if not he has no idea how to save his family or the world.  Amell sells the overwhelmed fear Ollie’s feeling perfectly and is predictably just as good at the stoic determination he transitions to once Tatsu convinces him he can handle the Crisis without compromising his principles.

As well as the Oliver arc works, however, “Welcome to Hong Kong” is Laurel and Katie Cassidy’s hour.  The Black Canary of Earth-2 is now (presumably) her world’s sole survivor and Cassidy takes the character through an appropriately explosive emotional journey. This could very well be the best work the actress has done throughout her long tenure on Arrow, an exquisite performance in which she manages to capture anger, denial, overwhelming grief, and resolve, often all at once.  I especially liked the detail of Laurel pulling her gun on the technician who confirms Earth-2 is truly gone.  It’s a reminder that this Laurel’s dark instincts will always be with her, which makes her stay on the good path in light of such tragedy all the more impressive, and the barely contained, misdirected rage Cassidy shows makes for one of her most striking moments in an episode full of them.

And then there’s the Lyla thing.  It’s impressive enough that this episode was able to deliver a last-minute shock even close to as good as the premiere’s but what’s really great about the reveal of the director of A.R.G.U.S.’ arrangement with the Monitor is how it’s fundamentally rooted in character.  As much as we all love her Lyla was never able to cast off the influence of Amanda Waller’s ends justify the means mentality the way Oliver did, a fact the episode eloquently reminds us of by introducing Lyla in that last moment first by her heels, the same way Waller was always framed when inserting herself into a new situation.  This is also why the way Lyla’s used throughout the episode prior is so perfect.  At first, the choice to have Lyla of all people be the one to comfort Laurel and pull her back from the edge seems random, given the two have rarely, if ever, even spoken.  And to be honest it still doesn’t really make a ton of logical sense why Laurel would listen to Lyla for even half a second.  But these exchanges work perfectly in setting up that last reveal.  The episode reminds us of Lyla’s fundamentally good nature so we remember in that last moment that whatever the nature of her treachery, she’s doing it out of love, out of a desperate need to protect her family and friends, to say nothing of the rest of the world.  She’s simply let that desperation push her to the point where she’s willing to be flexible with her morals.  It’s something she’s done a dozen times before but it’s all the more devastating because of how high the stakes now are.

As impressive as “Starling City” was there was always the chance it was a fluke, with the Crisis-centric status quo only working when it was fresh and new because of how much of a departure it is from the show’s usual storytelling.  “Welcome to Hong Kong” proves that isn’t the case and indicates Arrow is on the path to delivering an all-around excellent, powerful final season.  Let’s just hope it doesn’t fall off that path.

Notes:

• Again, Season 3 isn’t referenced as heavily as Season 1 was in the premiere but the plot does allow for the renewed threat of the Alpha/Omega bio-weapon and the return of Kelly Hu as China White.
• I neglected to mention the flash-forwards in my last review which I feel sums up how much of an impression they’re leaving.  It seems almost certain that given all the time travel and dimension-hopping involved in Crisis that Mia (Katherine McNamara) at least will make her way to present at some point to cross paths with her father, hopefully with William (Ben Lewis) in tow but it’s abundantly clear the actual flash-forward plot is just spinning its wheels until that can happen.  Charlie Barnett is suitably menacing as the villainous John Diggle Jr. but I can’t fathom how a shortened season with as much to do as this one has time for a storyline explaining how Dig and Lyla could be bad enough parents to raise a super-villain.
•   With Earth-2 confirmed to truly be gone, do we think that Arrow really killed off beloved Flash characters Harry and Jesse Wells offscreen?  Personally, I’m expecting a throwaway line in Flash or during Crisis mentioning that they managed to breach off the planet in time but I think it would be better for the dramatic weight of the story if that wasn’t the case.

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