User Reviews

There's a refreshing sense of urgency with this season that has been missing over the last few years. Most likely due to the limited 10 episode arc, but it's still worth noting how much more fluid this seasons story seems to be. They have eliminated the extra character arcs and kept it to Oliver and The Monitor, hopefully that continues.

Fantastic acting by Stephen Amell has also helped anchor this year so far. Whether it be his few scenes with Susanna Thompson and John Barrowman last week or his emotional scene with Tatsu in this episode, you can tell hes putting everything he's got into the show this year.

Dare I say the flash forwards weren't terrible this week? At the very least they presented a cohesive arc involving JJ and Connor. I'll be the first to say I can't remember a single thing about the future story last year, and I can recognize the promise of their dynamic and what it could mean for the rest of the season. Will it ultimately change my mind? No shot. But I wasn't completely tuning out this week.

I won't begin to understand what that Lyla twist may mean for The Monitor arc in general, but that's not exactly the type of turn I was hoping for. I don't feel like ARGUS/Lyla need to be a huge part of season 8, as there's so much else to wrap up. However I'm open to it, and going back to Nanda Parbat is an interesting development for next week.

8.0/10

I expected this season to start off with a bang, but I never expected it to start like this. This is Arrow back to the basics with twists and turns at every corner. It's just building and building the momentum for Crisis on Infinite Earths.

This episode was insane! The Hong Kong setting was awesome and the return of Katana was great. Also that surprise villain totally caught me off guard and was an awesome treat! The only flaw with the show is the flash forwards, which the show would be better without, but everything else was fantastic. Also Katana should totally be in the female spin-off!!! Overall this episode was amazing!

So far The Final Season of Arrow is something else... Episode 1 is the love letter for all the Arrow lovers and beautiful portrayal of Season 1.. Welcome to Hongkong is the Tribute of Season 3..This episodes bring back us down to the memory lane...Thanks to the Writers for such episodes and bring back nostalgia for the True Arrow Lovers..

Great episode , again nostalgia in every moment. This season is going break all the records. Entry of tatsu was awesome ,oliver being badass again is so good to watch. Laurel now writers are showing respect to her character. Want to rate 15/10 if possible

Arrow clearly established in its premiere that the nostalgia-driven storylines merged with Crisis on Infinite Earths progression can make for winning results. "Welcome to Hong Kong" further reinforces that statement by piling on more action and drama as it returned to a pivotal season three conflict.

I approached this episode with slight trepidation though. Season three's flashbacks were some of the more forgettable and bland elements of the show in general. Inevitably, some recycled plot points from that era didn't translate flawlessly here, but thankfully there were more compelling character interplays that helped smooth those areas over.

Katie Cassidy's Earth-2 Laurel had what I consider to be one of her strongest outings yet. Seasons six and seven never managed to bring her the convincing redemption storyline she needed so desperately. With the destruction of her universe, the seeds have finally been sown for that to happen. Cassidy's acting was on-point. Fierce, desperate and ultimately sad with just enough hope left to fight another day for what is right.

Stephen Amell also delivered another fine performance. Oliver is now burdened by the loss of an Earth and his "family" over there. His distrust of The Monitor (LaMonica Garrett) only makes sense, but is justified by the core reason he fights so hard to get what the cosmic god wants. His family.

The episode was also brimming with callbacks to season three, including the return of a critical plot device and not one, but two classic characters making one last appearance. One of them was of course Rila Fukushima's Katana. Though her role relatively minor, she helped bring out the emotional notes the episode needed to hit.

As far as action goes, "Welcome to Hong Kong" continues the insanely fast-paced, brutal set pieces that "Starling City" put together. The fights still feel fresh and visceral, with Antonio Negret (a director with a particularly good action resume) capably and stylishly tracking each punch and kick, with some subtle choreography and location nods to past Hong Kong fisticuffs.

One major weakness were the flash-forwards. Charlie Barnett's JJ and Joseph David-Jones's Connor Hawke had their rather compelling brother moment, but nothing else that happened in the future mattered in any major way. No action, no serious plot progression or team building. Arrow has struggled with this story arc since the mid-point of season seven and it needs to find a concrete purpose for future Team Arrow.

"Welcome to Hong Kong" is a superb sophomore chapter in Arrow's final run. While it's return to an uninteresting point in the show's history may warrant skepticism, the emotional weight of the premiere and the looming Crisis carries the episode through without a hitch, with top-notch performances from the main cast. The return of familiar faces and cool action scenes bolster it further, but the show needs to fix these flash-forwards. And they better do it quickly.

After that epic season premiere, it was a tough act to follow. Welcome to Hong Kong continues its blast from the past journey by bringing back old friends and old weapons. For the most part, the episode was mostly enjoyable and it was wonderful seeing old familiar faces. My only complaint is the flash-forwards. Arrow: The New Class is not a show I care to watch, and I resent being taken away from present day action to be forced to follow whatever drama the children are facing. It was bearable when Roy, Rene, and Dinah were there, but they apparently retired to Boca Raton or something. It almost makes me root for the Crisis to end badly, only to prevent any chance of having to see them again. Arrow is kicking the crap out of its final season with its fine balance of excitement and nostalgia, and I can't wait to see what happens next.

3 out of 5 stars.

The episode continues with Oliver and John getting prepared for whats coming. Which they revisit old enemies for help. It delivers on the fight sequences and action but story is dull and forgettable. Laurel is struggling on what happened to Earth 2. Which a greater threat is upon them.

I totally disagree with most of the reviews. Hated this ep. No story and totally wasted the hour. At least no felicity which is best part of this season

We continue where we left off, instead off being on Earth-2 we begin in Hong Kong where we once followed through flashbacks in season 3 and there is a lot of throwbacks and references. There is a lot of character development from the end of the first episode which resulted in the destruction of Earth-2 so we get to see Laurel go through with that and Katie Cassidy actually delivers a good and believable performance. The writing of the episode is solid, pretty good in terms of dialogue and world building. The fight choreography is stunning to look at, quality entertainment. Camera work and cinematography is on point, good work to the crew!

Rila Fukushima as Tatsu and the well known Katana is something I loved, she's perfect for the role and seeing her return in the final season was a good sight. The relationship and friendship that Tatsu and Oliver share is amazing, I love seeing them act together it's a pleasant sight. Something I've been thinking about as I watched the episode was that how much nostalgia there is from the characters and having not as huge ensemble of characters, in my mind it makes for better character arcs as there is more screen time for the first few heroes and it's the duo of Oliver and John. Seeing them teamed up just them is something that you should enjoy every minute of as their chemistry as friends IC and OOC is just excellent and exciting to watch and experience. This was again a great episode, I'm loving the pace of the episodes how they do one episode for one story arc with it all being in one huge epic arc, I can't wait for next episode where a familiar character comes back.

This episode was great. Laurel as the Black Canary is awesome, writers are now showing proper respect to her character. Harbinger is here! Great story, action... everything is great!!

Overall i think arrow (and the flash, legends, supergirl, the gifted and others) is kind of cringy and cheap, but this episode is one of the better ones. camera work was cool, writing was ok, only 2/10 cringe factor, and it was a nice tribute to season 3.

9/10 for a 6/10 show

The only positive about the Flashforwards is the interaction between Diggles sons. Other than that since season 4 I haven;'t cared much for these flash scenes.

A tiny step down from ep 1. Still, a good episode with tons of cool drama.

Nevertheless, The verdict is a good episode.

It was a nice episode overall... But I think I am gonna cry after a long time at the end of this season... This series is so much emotionally attached to me... And I love it.... Can't wait for the crisis

The writers, the directors, the whole crew ihas done a marvelous work. This couldn't get any better. Thanks to this season we are experiencing the whole show again. It's heading towards a great direction. One thing that got my attention was the son of bronze tiger is not all fighting but a genuine characterized person who gets his way through talking too.

I used to love this show but I have to say I'm pleased this is the final season as the first two episodes have been rubbish. Just ridiculous plot and storylines, just totally pointless, maybe it should have finished last year

Wish they didn't do the flash forwards...ruins it..confuses...keep with the Arrow.