TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews Arrow Season 7 Episode 10: My Name Is Emiko Queen

Flash came back last week, and now, it’s Arrow’s turn. Like the Flash’s episode, the focus was more on the supporting cast in the return (due to the Elseworlds crossover filming) and that actually worked in its favor because because “My Name Is Emiko Queen” needed to focus on its newest Archer…and member of the Queen family.

In the comics, Emiko is indeed the daughter of Robert Queen, but also the daughter of Shado, which wasn’t an option here, and it’s probably for the best. But that begged many questions. Not the least of which is, “Why is Emiko dressing up as the Arrow?” Well, it’s because her mother was killed, and she’s on her own mission to try and find out who did it. And some of the people on her “list” were ones we met earlier in the season.

There were a lot of fun parallels to the first season of Arrow with Emiko. From the VO of Emiko stating her missions while she trained or kicked bad guy butt. To the List that she had and crossed names out of, and of course, the Queen mentality of doing things alone. It was a lot of fun. But I also appreciated putting Rene into the mix to help show Emiko that working alone isn’t a bad thing. Rene made sense to pair up with her, and I look forward to seeing where their partnership goes.

While it wasn’t a surprise that her mothers killer wasn’t found in the episode, it was a surprise to find out how far the Queen’s went to hide Emiko’s existence. Mainly, Moira pulled a move and had the letter that would’ve kept Emiko and her mother safe and funded thrown into storage. Stephen Amell may not have been in the episode that much tonight, but him showing the pain and betrayal from finding out ANOTHER dirty little secret of BOTH of his parents was very well done.

Like he notes, Oliver had come to terms with the misdeeds of his parents, and accepted them, but this was indeed another level of depravity and shame, and now he has to deal with it. The ending scene of them meeting was honestly the best way to handle the situation, and I look forward to their chat next week.

Diggle and Lyla getting Diaz to help them get Dante was interesting enough because the Suicide Squad is back in town…but…them arguing…again…and being mad at each other for a stunt the other pulled…again…I mean, come on…again???

The flash forwards were interesting for sure, because now we got to see the Glades, which is apparently a paradise compared to Star City, and seeing Rene as the very successful mayor was fun. But that he also was trying to destroy Star City? Holy crap. I’m not sure how this will play out, but I’m intrigued.

“My Name Is Emiko Queen” was a very solid comeback for the Arrow series. Now that Emiko is established, the back half of the season can build up even more. And I look forward to that.