Oliver, Diggle and Laurel have left Earth-2 and returned to their own Earth, to continue their mission to stop the impending crisis. However they are not back in Star City, as Oliver wakes up in a familiar location, bringing us back to a location from the second season of the show, Hong Kong, but this is not a time jump, as they are in their present day timeline still, which means that they are not re-enacting events like they did last episode with Merlyn’s earthquake device. Instead we are treated to the return of some familiar characters that have a special presence in Olivers first time in Hong Kong.
There’s plenty of action in this episode including mostly hand to hand combat as a lot of the action sequences take place in enclosed spaces such as hallways or an elevator for example, but there’s still plenty of room to allow Stephen Amell and David Ramsey to portray the prowess and power of Oliver and John in these scenes, as the combat feels brutal, and heavy with plenty of environmental destruction, making it feel like one of the Injustice games, as tables, windows and cleaning trolleys are used by Diggle and Oli to throw people into them in order to knock them unconscious. The elevator scene in particular shows Oliver Queen’s prowess as Green Arrow, proving that he can defeat multiple enemies without firing a single arrow, but without looking like he’s unbeatable, as there are some close calls in the scene that make you wonder if Oli’s confidence will fail him.
Most of the drama from this episode, is pulled through by Katie Cassidy as Laurel Lance from Earth-2, after discovering that after the events of the previous episode, she cannot return home. There are plenty of heartfelt moments and Cassidy’s performance really tugs at the heartstrings as you really sympathize for her because of the heavy losses she has endured. On the other hand though, there is a great scene in which Laurel, so stricken with grief and determination, lets out her Black Siren side again, and really marks her presence in the scene, demanding that something be done. This was somewhat frightening as a viewer as I began to wonder if this was the start of her return to her previous life, or if it was simply due to the grief.
Laurel isn’t the only one with a scene that tugs at the heartstrings. This wouldn’t be a CW show without drama for more than one character, as Oliver reveals his reasoning for listening to The Monitor, and doing as he’s told, and it’s all to do with his family and everything he has already sacrificed to save the multiverse. There are tears, and even I shed a tear, not just because of what he says, but because of who he’s talking to. A character we have not seen for some time, but one who has appeared multiple times and became an incredible part of the Arrowverse when she appeared in full costume, Tatsu Yamashiro a.k.a Katana (Rila Fukushima) has returned to Hong Kong herself and is now a vigilante in her own right. The last time we saw Katana, was back in Season 4, Episode 12 (2016) titled ‘Unchained’.
Lyla Michaels, portrayed by Audrey Marie Anderson, is brought to Hong Kong thanks to Diggle, and we get to see the importance of her codename ‘Harbinger’ as well as a look at how A.R.G.U.S still has a presence in Hong Kong as Diggle uses Lyla’s codename in order to gain access to a private room in the old internet cafe that Oliver visited nine years ago. Lyla spends most of her time with Laurel however, ensuring that Lance doesn’t do anything she’ll regret and becomes a confidant to Laurel during her time of need when Laurel feels like everything is lost and hopeless.
We see Mar Novu a.k.a The Monitor returns, giving Oliver strict instructions to follow after apparently having failed to follow orders on his last mission. As always his presence in a room demands your attention because The Monitor, portrayed by LaMonica Garrett, is of course the pivotal role in the Crisis on Infinite Earths event that is taking place in the Arrowverse, just as he was in the original comics.
This was another fantastic episode and with two episodes down, there are only 8 episodes left in Arrow Season 8 and it is shaping up to be an explosive finale with plenty of incredible action sequences and throwbacks, that really does take you back in time to the previous seasons. Only the writers know what’s coming next but luckily for us there are some teaser images out there that show Thea Queen (Willa Holland) return as Oliver takes his journey to Nanda Parbat, home of the League of Assassins.
