Arrow 8x01 "Starling City" Episode Review
Major Spoilers are included in this episode review. Please read with caution.
Arrow season eight has revived the show’s glory days. Oliver Queen is finding a sense of humor, the Crisis is here, and all time fan-favorites have returned to join the season one remix. Yeah, I’m calling it a remix because that oddly makes sense to me. Watching the premiere had me going to bed so happy. The final season is going to give us and Oliver Queen one hell of a time… for the last time.
Everything that made the first season amazing (“Pilot” and “Sacrifice” specifically) was remixed into this episode. I did like the twist with Rene and Dinah going rogue as well only because it was unexpected. Yeah… Oliver assuming Malcolm was the Dark Archer pretty much spelled out the Tommy twist. Oliver and Diggle have the most earned bro dynamic that I almost forgot they used to be this way so early on in the show.
Moira and Oliver… My heart barely survived their goodbye.
Laurel Lance Earth-2 is a fleshed-out character. Katie Cassidy-Rogers endured the badly written redemption arc, but now that she’s officially redeemed, the Black Canary legacy can finally take off. I was impressed with her role in the episode, her witty dialogue, and Oliver’s acknowledgement was well-earned / enjoyable. It reminded me of when Oliver accepted his Laurel as the Black Canary back in season three.
The flash forward story actually makes sense within the context of the episode, and echoed the lack of teamwork. Oliver and Mia are struggling to work with others, but under different circumstances. Oliver, like always, doesn’t want people to die for him, while Mia is unsure how to fight bad guys and protect her older brother, a person she feels responsible for.
I really hope the rest of the episodes follow this structure because this is not a bad one to follow at all. The jaw-breaking ending has Laurel joining the team back on Earth-1, where they’ll go to Hong Kong for another mission, and nostalgic trip down memory lane. Tatsu is returning next week!