This episode dealt with a lot of the emotional fallout that came with the end of the season premiere. There was a ton of stuff to love this week, from the fantastic performance of Katie Cassidy to the awesome action sequences towards the end of the episode.
It isn't flawless, the episode has some issues when it comes to the flash forwards... which are still the worst part of "Arrow" Season 8, they were also the worst part of season 7. The flash forwards interrupt very important moments during this episode for a story line that I and many other viewers have absolutely no interest in. I understand that they're setting the stage for the spin off... however, regular CW seasons are 23 episodes long, I'm very sure that they would've had the time to just develop the characters and story lines when the show actually begins.
With that core negative out of the way, I really enjoyed the present sections of this episode. I've always been someone who liked Season 3, one of the less popular seasons of the show and all the callbacks with the virus and Tatsu were done flawlessly. The fight choreography of this episode was a standout too, it had quite a few great sequences between Oliver and the people he was fighting.
The twist at the end with Lyla and the monitor was something that I was kind of expecting, given that some news spread a couple of weeks back about her becoming Harbinger. It was still a great scene though.
Season 8 continues to impress with an episode that deals with a lot of emotional fallout. I'm really looking forward to Thea coming back next week, I've missed her character.
POSITIVES:
NEGATIVES:
Score: 9/10
It isn't flawless, the episode has some issues when it comes to the flash forwards... which are still the worst part of "Arrow" Season 8, they were also the worst part of season 7. The flash forwards interrupt very important moments during this episode for a story line that I and many other viewers have absolutely no interest in. I understand that they're setting the stage for the spin off... however, regular CW seasons are 23 episodes long, I'm very sure that they would've had the time to just develop the characters and story lines when the show actually begins.
With that core negative out of the way, I really enjoyed the present sections of this episode. I've always been someone who liked Season 3, one of the less popular seasons of the show and all the callbacks with the virus and Tatsu were done flawlessly. The fight choreography of this episode was a standout too, it had quite a few great sequences between Oliver and the people he was fighting.
The twist at the end with Lyla and the monitor was something that I was kind of expecting, given that some news spread a couple of weeks back about her becoming Harbinger. It was still a great scene though.
Season 8 continues to impress with an episode that deals with a lot of emotional fallout. I'm really looking forward to Thea coming back next week, I've missed her character.
POSITIVES:
- Good Hong Kong Story line.
- Excellent Set Up For Crisis with Harbinger.
- Awesome Oliver Moments With The Monitor.
- Great fight choreography.
- "I Need My Family To Live" moment was a standout.
NEGATIVES:
- The flash forwards genuinely feel so intrusive upon the main story line, it makes me angry sometimes when they interrupt some really good scenes. Roy Harper is no longer in them meaning that, for me at least, there is absolutely zero reason to be invested or even pay attention.
Score: 9/10