Arrow - Season 8, Episode 02: Welcome to Hong Kong
Trailer
The eighth season begins with Oliver and Tia who find themselves on a different and unexpected course. Both seem to be looking at a familiar maze of endless catacombs. On the other hand, John and Lyla's partner are entering a new mission consisting of a set of special operations.
It would be nice to say less tears were shed during ["Welcome to Hong Kong"] than ["Starling City"], but that would be a lie. And, we only have Stephen Amell and Katie Cassidy Rodgers to blame.
Arrow's third season is one of its most uneven (albeit interesting) ones, so following up the excellent season 8 premiere with an episode that draws heavily on season 3 is a weird flex. That being said, it works for the most part.
The pace is necessarily slower and less jaunty after the devastation at the end of the season premiere, but there's still plenty of old timey Arrow memories, dizzyingly good close combat, and a flash forward to the Diggle brothers to boot.
Lyla secretly working with The Monitor could be essential to the good guys making a successful stand against The Anti-Monitor. It's an ugly twist, although arguably a necessary one.
Arrow hasn't had this kind of palpable energy, at least not consistently, since its excellent fifth season. Perhaps not coincidentally, that season ended with Arrow blowing everything up.
