‘Arrow’ 8×09 recap: The girls are ready to run the future in Star City

In the penultimate episode of Arrow, the show gave fans a glimpse into what the future holds for Star City and women are ready to run the city and free it from corruption. The highly anticipated backdoor pilot for the possible spin-off Green Arrow and the Canaries aired on Tuesday and it honestly looked badass.

In case you missed it, here’s a recap of the biggest moments from Arrow 8×09, titled “Green Arrow and the Canaries”.

Everything has changed

Oliver’s death in the “Crisis” crossover changed Mia’s future for the better. In this new world, she is a high-profile socialite and she’s got a massive rock on her ring finger. So who is the lucky guy? It’s none other than J.J.! Yes, there’s no Deathstroke gang here and Mia and J.J. are very much in love and are set to be married. I, for one, was not expecting Mia and J.J. to be an item in the future – talk about a nice surprise!

There were other changes and some were surprising. Connor is an addict and Zoe is alive. William might be the only one who stayed exactly the same and I don’t why I found that so funny when watching the episode. Once a tech nerd, always a tech nerd.

Laurel’s visit forms an unlikely trio

Some version of Laurel traveled to future Star City in the year 2040. I believe this version of Laurel is from our time in 2020 but she basically traveled into the future to prevent Bianca Bertinelli from being kidnapped. Laurel failed and she tracks down Dinah at a local bar and this is where we learn that the city hasn’t had any crime in 20 years. This was one of the more surprising moments given that we know that these ladies, along with Mia, will become the future heroes of Star City. Does a city with no crime need heroes?

The women eventually meet up with Mia, who has no memory of who these ladies are. Laurel doesn’t waste time and basically uses some ultra-cool ring on Mia and suddenly she remembers everything, from her training with Nyssa to Zoe dying in her arms at the hands of J.J. and the Deathstroke gang. So much for that engagement, right Mia? As you can probably imagine, this causes Mia to faint from shock but eventually, she goes off with Laurel and Dinah to catch up. Talk about one heck of a girls chat!

Suit up!

For the first time, we see the ladies in action. As they investigate Bianca’s abduction, they look at an Instagram story she posted from “Bali on vacation”, but she was pretty much-held hostage in an abandoned warehouse. You know, the typical go-to for criminals even in the future. Green Arrow and the Canaries kick some ass and it was pretty cool to see a group of women kicking butt and taking names.

Mia comes to find out that her ex, Trevor, is the one behind the Deathstroke mask. Yeah, there’s no counseling in the world that can repair that relationship. Before killing himself, Trevor hints at a “she” who is behind the crime in Star City. Okay, now I’m even more intrigued.

Episode Notes

• If you were confused in the first half of this spin-off, you are not alone. I was scratching my head for the first 30 minutes. Remember, this spin-off takes place after the events in the series finale. So that means Oliver’s funeral already happened and things happened in the final episode to make Mia’s memory go fuzzy. I might have to watch the series finale and the backdoor pilot to make sense of it all.
• I have SO many questions after this spin-off but this is my main one: Who is the “she” that Trevor referred to?
• The final scene teased something big to come: someone sneaks up on J.J. and presses that ultra-cool ring, similar to Laurel’s, to his head while saying, “I need you to remember” as memories of the Deathstroke gang fill his head. Uh oh! So who was it? I have no clue but it has to be someone from Laurel’s time period, right?
• All in all, I really enjoyed this backdoor pilot and am hoping it gets ordered to series. I was skeptical at first but after seeing this episode, I’m all in for the spin-off and seeing Mia carrying on Oliver’s legacy.

What did you think of the backdoor pilot? Let me know in the comments below!

Arrow concludes its eight-season run with the series finale next Tuesday at 8/7c on The CW.