Last week’s final season premiere of Arrow previewed the coming crisis that is predicted to destroy all universes and infinite earths. At the end of the episode, it already started as it completely decimated Earth-2, and Oliver, John, and Laurel just barely escaped through the breach. This week, the three are in Hong Kong as Oliver tries to figure out how to stop the crisis from destroying more earths, and Laurel deals with the destruction of her own Earth-2.
Keep reading to find out what happened in the second episode of the eighth and final season of Arrow, “Welcome to Hong Kong.”
The mission continues. #Arrow STARTS NOW on The CW! #TheFinalBow pic.twitter.com/grIeoAD6Xs
— Arrow (@CW_Arrow) October 23, 2019
The Monitor shows up, telling Oliver he warned him not to interfere. He tells Oliver he discovered what had happened on Earth-2, saving Laurel, and he redirected them. Oliver asks him what happened on Earth-2, and the Monitor says it’s just a preview of what’s to come, an entire universe wiped from existence. Oliver asks where his mother, Tommy, Rene, and Dinah are and says they are no more. The Monitor tells him that Laurel and John are alive and nearby and that now that he knows what the crisis is about, if they don’t stop it, what they witnessed will happen on infinite earths.
Oliver asks him how he failed; he brought the Dwarf Star Particles. The Monitor told him he disobeyed his orders — he interacted with Tommy and saved Laurel. Oliver tells him that he watched her die once; he wasn’t going to go through that again. The Monitor tells Oliver he is on his home earth where he will complete his next task: Oliver must bring him a man named Dr. Robert Wong, not caring about why. John bursts through the door, telling Oliver they must get out of there. They run into a local gang, and John tells Oliver they busted a deal. Laurel comes through with her canary cry.
Out on the streets of Hong Kong, Laurel doesn’t believe her entire earth is gone. John tells her that she saw what happened with the energy wave, people disappearing. Laurel says that just because it happened at SCPD does not mean it happened everywhere. Oliver says the Monitor said it did and that he is the one that asked Oliver to be on this mission. He’s trying to prevent the crisis. Laurel takes back the breach device, but it’s not working. John says that it was probably damaged when they went through the portal. Laurel says that since she doesn’t have time to return to S.T.A.R. Labs, she’ll have to find somebody local. The only mission she cares about is going back to her earth. She tells Oliver that the people on her earth were just copies of the people he loved, but that is her home, and those people are real people who are counting on her. She just got her life back and is not giving up without a fight.
Oliver and John are at an A.R.G.U.S. facility. The computer they use is hooked up to A.R.G.U.S.’s intranet, meaning they can access all its information on Dr. Wong. Oliver thinks about Laurel, knowing she was right. The Monitor told him not to get involved, and if he had just found a way to get the Dwarf Star Particles without worrying about Tommy’s undertaking, things might’ve been different. He ignored the orders of a cosmic being, and as a result, he watched an entire world disappear. He’s trying not to make the same mistake twice. They soon get a hit on Dr. Wong, finding out he may not be easy to find. He’s been missing for a week. They decide to start at Wan Chai University, where his last-known picture was taken. When they begin to leave, they face the Shu Gang, rivals of the Triad. Tatsu saves them.
Oliver asks Tatsu why she’s in Hong Kong since she was with the Crescent Order. Tatsu tells him she was until she gave Nyssa the Lotus Cure to save Thea, and they came for her. She decided to become a vigilante. Her son died in Hong Kong. No more Akios will die there as long as she’s there to protect them. Oliver explains to her everything from the crisis to Dr. Wong to the Monitor. Tatsu heard of the Monitor or Mar Novu. When she was in the Crescent Order, a being who transcends universes, a crisis was brewing. The Monitor believes that Dr. Wong can help, and so does Oliver. Tatsu offers to help.
Lyla meets up with Laurel. John told Lyla that Laurel is meeting an old friend, but he doesn’t seem like the kind who’s too friendly. Laurel said his name is David Chim; she met him a few years earlier through Cayden James. He said he could help Laurel get back to Earth-2, so maybe he still can. Lyla and Laurel break into Chim’s place. Laurel tells him she needs him to fix the breach device, but he says that’s not his area of expertise. Lyla breaks one of Chim’s computers with a sledgehammer, and he says he’ll do it.
Tatsu says she talked to the police, and they sounded afraid as soon as she mentioned Dr. Wong’s name. Oliver says that it seems he has been working on a top-secret project for the Chinese government. Which means the security wing wasn’t kidnapping him; they were helping him. He’s in the safe house in a district, but they’re planning on moving him out that night. Oliver, John, and Tatsu get to the district to take Dr. Wong, but the security keeps running away. China White gets involved and starts fighting Oliver. China White manages to get away. Oliver tries to get to Dr. Wong but just misses him.
There is no sign of Dr. Wong. John says the Triad must have taken him deeper underground. Oliver and John thought China White was still in A.R.G.U.S. custody, and John said as far as Lyla knew, she did too. Oliver says their situation just got a lot more complicated. Tatsu says he almost let those people die, but Oliver knew she had it handled and that Dr. Wong was the priority. She says Oliver sounds like someone he used to know: Him, nine years prior, single-minded about his mission. Oliver mentions the Monitor is their best chance at preventing the destruction from happening again. Tatsu says she’s seen the blind faith in him before, with Amanda Waller. Oliver tells her it wasn’t blind faith; she threatened his family. Right now, the stakes are every family in existence. John interrupts, saying none of this matters if they don’t find Dr. Wong. If they find out what project the scientist is working on, they’ll find out why the Triad wants him.
Chim fixes the breach, but when Laurel tries to get the breach to open, it doesn’t. She says she wants to go to Earth-2, but when Chim brings it up, he says there is no Earth-2. It used to register, but now it doesn’t. It’s just a shadow, no sign of life. Laurel thinks he’s lying and tells him to fix it. He tells her he did; he can’t bring back a whole universe. The alarm goes off, and Laurel and Lyla get out of there.
Oliver, John, and Tatsu figure out where Dr. Wong is after finding something that was shipped to an address, his lab. Tatsu says it’s a PLA Garrison, but those Garrisons have a reputation for being almost impenetrable. There are certain vulnerabilities. John says that even if they could get through, the place is going to be heavily guarded. Oliver makes sure to mention it’s never stopped them before.
Breaking in, Oliver takes down several military guards. The lab will most likely be heavily guarded, which it is. He only has a few minutes, so he uploads a drive onto a computer so Tatsu and John can see what Dr. Wong has been doing: he’s trying to recreate the Alpha/Omega virus. But Oliver says he’s not trying. He’s already done it.
Oliver admits he stole the virus. That’s what China White wanted, so he was going to give it to her. John tells him that it’s dangerous, which is why Oliver won’t actually give her the virus. They’re going to use it as bait to draw her out. Tatsu says her husband had tried that plan once already, and Oliver is the one who told him he made a mistake. Oliver says he doesn’t have one intention of giving the virus to China White. It’s riskier to do nothing.
Lyla is talking to Laurel, who is trying to cope with losing her earth. Lyla tells Laurel she knows what it’s like to lose people, but Laurel asks if she knows what it’s like to lose an entire universe. Lyla tells her no. Laurel says she doesn’t know how she feels; she didn’t know them. Her sister, Adrian, they’re her family. They’re good people who don’t deserve to be gone. She brings up the fact that she’s the one who’s done such awful things. Lyla assures Laurel she’s trying to be better; everyone deserves a shot at redemption. Lyla tells Laurel about a routine op while in the military; it had gone wrong, and no one made it back. She doesn’t know what she’s going through, but she knows about survivor’s guilt. Laurel asks if it gets any easier; Lyla says no, all they can do is try to move forward. Laurel asks how she’s supposed to move forward if everyone she’s ever loved is gone. Lyla says by not giving up, by doing the right thing. Honor the dead by fighting for the living.
Oliver meets up with China White, who’s surprised she’s not in A.R.G.U.S. prison. John tells Oliver to keep China White talking as Tatsu can see a car coming. Oliver tells China White about the crisis and tries to see Dr. Wong. He gives China White the virus. Tatsu realizes that Dr. Wong is wearing a bomb, which is not part of the agreement. China White tells Oliver she’ll detonate it once she’s safely in the car. Tatsu comes down and starts fighting with Oliver, and John shoots from behind who goes after the virus. Tatsu goes after China White, and Oliver goes for Dr. Wong. Lyla joins in, and she and John secure the virus. Tatsu is fighting China White. China White gives Tatsu the detonator, but before she can press the button, China White stabs her. Laurel uses her canary cry on China White before she can kill Tatsu.
Lyla tells Oliver, John, and Laurel that Tatsu is resting in the infirmary, she’ll be in pain for a few days, but she’ll be fine. Oliver tells Laurel that Tatsu would’ve been dead if she hadn’t joined the fight. Laurel says she doesn’t know if she’ll ever get over what happened on Earth-2, but she’ll help them to ensure it never happens again. Lyla tells them that Dr. Wong is safe in a secure location, as well as the virus. Oliver says Tatsu almost died and that many people have died because of the mission. He has to make sure he can absolutely trust the Monitor.
Oliver talks to Tatsu, who is now out of the hospital. Tatsu sas she saw Akio and Maseo, but this was not her time. Oliver apologizes for almost getting her killed. He tells her that he’s going to make sure that this mission is worth the cost. He tells her that there are organizations on this earth far older than the Crescent Order that will give him answers about the Monitor. He’s going to Nanda Parbat.
Lyla surprisingly meets with the Monitor and tells him she has Dr. Wong. The Monitor tells her to proceed.
Having the final season lead up to the crossover, so far, is great. We’re getting a lot of information; we know that the crisis is on its way and what the implications are. However, it’s a little odd how the Monitor tells Oliver he needs his help to stop the crisis, but in The Flash, he tells Barry the only way to stop the crisis is for him to die. Additionally, seeing a more emotional side of the Earth-2 Laurel that we once knew as Black Siren is refreshing.
