Oliver Returns To Hong Kong In New Arrow 8×02 Photos

Despite the fact that we’ll have to wait until Arrow actually premieres in order to find out the specifics of the mission the Monitor is sending Oliver Queen on, advance promotional materials are allowing for us to piece together the puzzle. And with the second episode set to air this fall being only three weeks away, the network has released a hearty helping of images taken from “Welcome to Hong Kong.”

Now, as most of us have figured, Ollie will be replaying his greatest hits by either hopping through the multiverse or by means of time travel. Either way, it’s the Monitor who’ll enable him. If you require confirmation of his involvement beyond the premiere, then simply reference the gallery below. Whatever Oliver is doing in Hong Kong has to do with Mar-Novu’s agenda, and I can’t wait to find out what that is.

As you can see, Ollie will indeed be joined by both John Diggle and Laurel Lance as his final quest rolls on. I was pleased to see Laurel wearing her new costume in one of the pics, but we’re still left in the dark as to which moniker she’ll go by this year. Let it be known that The CW officially captioned her photos with “Black Siren,” though I’m not ready to rule out her being called “Black Canary” until I see these episodes for myself.

Also of note in the slideshow are a handful of teasers welcoming us back to the flash-forward segments. From the look of it, Mia Smoak and Connor Hawke will confront the latter’s adoptive brother, John Diggle Jr., and his Deathstroke gang. Actually, you can see someone wearing the two-toned mask in the background of one image, but I’m reasonably certain that’s not J.J.

Oddly enough, Katana isn’t included in any of these offerings, but rest assured that actress Rila Fukushima will be showing up. In my view, any revisitation of season 3 and Oliver’s time in Hong Kong would be incomplete without her, so it’s nice knowing she’s coming back.

Arrow returns with new episodes on Tuesday, October 15th on The CW, with “Welcome to Hong Kong” set to debut on October 22nd.