Arrow (TV Series) Lian Yu (2017) User Reviews

The Circle Of Ten Years

[Katchem · 10/10 · 25 May 2017]

If you asked me last year at this time what I thought of Arrow, I could have made a compelling argument that it was time for the show to hang up its bow and cowl and retire, but season five was a whole different story. This year, Arrow was not only the best show in the Arrowverse, it managed to produce its best season ever, which was capped off by a satisfyingly epic finale last night.

This episode did drag a little bit in between the Oliver/Slade reunion and the start of the final showdown. There was a little too much of characters walking through the forest and having heartfelt conversations. But right about the point where Thea stepped on that landmine, the tension shot back up and the episode continued building momentum until the very end. Who would have expected Malcolm of all characters to be the first casualty? It does feel like it's time for the character to ride off into the sunset. And he certainly had a great death scene, saving his daughter's life one last time and taking Boomerang down with him. Though, to be fair, a faraway explosion isn't exactly definitive confirmation that a character is dead.

The big Team Arrow/Team Prometheus showdown was certainly memorable. The choreography in the main fight scene was top-notch, with every major character pairing off and dozens of bodies in motion at once. The Black Siren/Black Canary and Nyssa/Talia fight scenes were bad-ass.

The interplay between past and present reminded me a lot of the dual-Deathstroke battles from the Season 2 finale. The real joy with the flashbacks this week involved what came after. I felt a chill watching Oliver race to meet his boat and go through those same motions that we saw in the opening of the very first episode.

The scene of Oliver calling Moira was flawless and one of the best acted-scenes of Stephen Amell and Susanna Thompson nailing the idea of a long-lost son finally making his way home.

The episode wrapped not with a rousing victory for Team Arrow but a huge cliffhanger. By killing himself, Chase may have just wiped out every member of Team Arrow. That's quite a place to leave us hanging for four months.

Watching this episode made me feel nostalgic, realizing that the show has finally completed the last piece of its circle and to be honest, this was the best episode of the best season of the entire show.

In conclusion I should say that I have never seen a show turnaround so drastically, so late in its life, but I have been incredibly impressed by what Arrow has been able to accomplish this season cementing its comeback by this epic finale.

The 10 Year Journey Has Ended

[ThomasDrufke · 10/10 · 24 May 2017]

With everything this series has gone through over the years, I'm glad to say that they've finally nailed a season finale. There hasn't been a great season finale since season 2, and not since season 1 have we gotten a true cliffhanger ending, if you call the glades exploding a cliffhanger. This finale was important for many reasons, but the most important one being that this show is officially back. They have made one cohesive season for the first time in years, and easily secured the second best overall season (right behind S2). This one feels special.

There was a lot riding on this finale, and it sure seemed like a lot was being built up. The returns of Nyssa, Malcom, and Slade were big last week but how can that all fit into one island adventure? Well, the writers managed to just about squeeze everything in. I kept finding myself checking the clock to make sure there was enough time for everything to pan out and it almost didn't. How could the writers possibly fit in an Al Ghul showdown? Or just enough screen time to suffice a proper return for Slade? I'm not sure how they did it, but they sure did it.

Slade was great for many reasons in S2, but I'm not sure any villain has truly gotten inside Ollie's psyche like Adrian Chase has. It has been such a pleasure watching Josh Segarra all season and it's a shame that tonight may have been the last time we ever see him. But in reality, shooting himself in the head in order to blow up an entire island worth of Oliver's friends was probably exactly the way for it to go down. And I love that he actually saved something big for the last episode and it wasn't just a city-wide attack. Instead, he kept the conflict at a fittingly personal level and left Oliver with an impossible choice. Kill Chase and in turn kill all of his friends, or not kill Chase and in turn allow him to kill Oliver's son. Essentially, Chase won. In his mind, he proved Oliver is a killer and all of his friends and family get hurt. At the same time, Oliver proved to Chase and finally to himself that he can rely on others to take care of themselves. Even though we know, Oliver doesn't know if his friends will make it out alive, but he's finally allowing himself to have trust in his team to get the job done.

Amidst all of the brilliantly poignant drama, there was a whole lot of fun to be had tonight. Of course, Talia & Nyssa was fun (and hopefully not the last we'll see of them together), Slade had some great dialogue & action, Malcom had a heroic moment, there was some impressively shot long-takes of action, and overall it's always fun when this many cast members are on screen at once. You'd think one of these guys would have died right? Well, I don't think we'll officially find that out until the premiere, but I don't think it really matters at this point. Chase's plan was so brilliant that I don't think I'll ever forget how well we got into each and every one of these characters' minds.

What's great about a finale like this is that once you're done salivating over the spectacle, there's a lot to dig into. Will somebody have to make a sacrifice to save a bunch of the team members? Is that someone Slade or Malcom? I don't believe the show would kill off either character (at least not yet) but I's always plausible. What kind of ramifications does this finale have next year? Does the main villain somehow spawn from this event? So many questions. So long to wait. A few other tidbits: Boy was it great to see Moira back once again. The show has missed her presence dearly and I'll always cherish screen time with Susanna Thompson; The dynamic between Oliver & Slade is impeccable, even when it isn't supposed to be; I wonder how much (if any) William will play into next season; and I just love how much this finale mirrors the ending to season 1 and all of the other minor tie-ins to flashback Oliver. This was one of the best directed episodes this show has ever had. So long Lian Yu, you won't be missed.

+SLADE

+Al Ghul fight

+Spectacle & emotional weight

+Chase still had something up his sleeve

+Moira

+Long takes

+Impeccable direction

10/10

Did The Flash team watch? That's how you do a finale!

[ollereberg · 10/10 · 25 May 2017]

Rarely do you get a plot play out in movies or on television, where character motivations are well-crafted both theoretically making it believable and through the performances making it emotionally believable. The Arrow managed to do both of these flawlessly in the season finale! From Prometheus insanity and obsession with Oliver and their pasts, to the carefully and well-explained dilemma/inner conflict that Thea holds over her father, to Olivers 'mad-man' display in desperately seeking to find and save his son. This is my first 10/10 and it's well deserved. I will be watching this episode, over and over. Hopefully The Flash TV show took notepads with them and learned from this finale, because everything that was missing in the delivery of the season finale of The Flash was delivered in an amazing manner in the season finale of Arrow!

BOOOOM!!!!!! Goes the Island

[paulchristechgod · 10/10 · 22 October 2018]

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!!!!!!!.What a Freaking explosive season finale,literally☺.left me in shambles for months.slow season but awesome ending.

Awesome

[mattgorman-37565 · 10/10 · 25 May 2019]

Best arrow episode and best arrowverse episode ever. I saw someone give this 4 starts and I think that he or she should get their head checked!

Welcome back Arrow!

[highmarksreviews · 10/10 · 3 February 2018]

With the last two seasons blowing the finale and the episodes leading up to it, there was a concern for "Lian Yu". Thankfully, that fear can be put to rest, as Season 5 ends on quite possibly Arrow's best episode ever. It's not just the action, returning characters or the flashbacks that complete it (though all those fired on all cylinders too), it is the end of a ten year journey. Josh Segarra and Stephen Amell gave powerhouse performances and even though it was not Star City under threat, the stakes felt high and personal. A truly epic finale with real emotions and a solid cliffhanger to make fans say: "Did that just happen?"

A great end to an excellent (comeback) season

[rsathyadav · 10/10 · 25 May 2017]

To their credit, the Arrow writers did a good job through the first half of season 4, and messed up (albeit horribly) only in the second half. I guess once Ollie and Felicity broke up, they just couldn't get anything right. To make things worse they killed off Black Canary to get some shock value. But, with this season, they have managed to redeem themselves. I mean I could've definitely done away with the "who are you" episode (what a total waste of everyone's time). The writers insulted the actors, esp Katie Cassidy, and the fans with that episode. But that aside, the whole season was pretty entertaining.

Now, coming to the finale, "Missing" set it up quite well. The team up (more like squad up) was a great idea. I thought the writers were just desperate, in bringing back all the fan favourite characters (like the pointless 100th episode which just played on nostalgia, and served no purpose). But, I was wrong. The twists keep coming, and the episode keeps you hooked. It was satisfying to see Deathstroke helping Ollie, and him truly feeling regret for the things he'd done ( I didn't think it would be convincing, but they pulled it off). Most of the cast get a chance to shine, esp Quentin who just killed it with one liner about Siren. The sisters fight could've been better TBH, it was too short, and unconvincing that too for someone with Talia's stature. But, the final moments with Chase, and Ollie were really interesting. You do get bored with the "everyone around you, everything you touch" line, but the dude has a point.

The climax leaves the characters in an interesting place, I would like to see how they go from here. Really excited about season 6 :)

The best finale to one of the best seasons of Arrow.

[mrwidboy · 10/10 · 3 June 2017]

Arrow took a fall in the second half of season 4 with all that went down but this season Arrow truly redeemed itself. Everything you love about Arrow is present in this finale. Great fights, good stunt work, terrific villain, strong side characters and a great leading hero. Arrow is back and truly better than ever.

The fifth season of Arrow continues to impress

[RahulM007 · 10/10 · 13 June 2017]

The fifth season of Arrow has been a major improvement compared to the last eight episodes of the fourth season. These episodes were truly unbearable to watch. Luckily, nearly every episode of the fifth season was a success and amazing to watch. "Spectre of the Gun" was the episode that felt lame and boring. The last two episodes of the fifth season are clearly amazing and has the best acting. Props to the writers and producers for making the fifth season amazing and worth watching.

The quality of the TV show has declined in the fourth season. Especially, the season 4 finale was a major disappointment. However, the writers and producers saved the show and delivered a stellar fifth season. Even the flashbacks were interesting and made much more sense than the season 4 flashbacks. Arrow delivered great finales in season 1, 2 and 3. The season 5 finale is better and more exciting than the previous season finales (excluding the season 4 finale).

I enjoyed the season 1, 2, 3 and 5 flashbacks. They were truly interesting to watch because it shows how Oliver Queen became the person he is today. These five years has turned him into a cold blooded killer. The season 4 flashbacks were at times boring and pointless to watch.

I am excited how the season 6 flashbacks will turn out, now that Oliver's five year story arc has finished. There will not be flashbacks in every single episode in season 6. Season 6 will have multiple character flashbacks. Vigilante's past may be revealed. His identity will definitely be revealed in season 6.

John Barrowman who plays Malcolm Merlyn announced that he will not be returning to Arrow or any other DC show next year. Malcolm Merlyn died in the season 5 finale by taking Thea's place on the landmine. Captain Boomerang apparently also died, but there is no proof of it. The explosion could just be seen. The bodies of Malcolm Merlyn and Captain Boomerang were not shown. Their deaths may be clarified in the season 6 premiere.

The season 5 finale had a huge cliffhanger at the end. We all know that the majority of Team Arrow will survive. Slade Wilson (aka Deathstroke) will probably not die because he is a fan favorite and has a lot of attention.

The season 5 finale is awesome. I recommend you to watch this stunning episode. It will truly shock you. Season 6 is on its way.

Amazing

[tjmartzke · 10/10 · 24 May 2017]

Omg. Best finale ever. I've never written a review before, but this show deserves one. The fight scenes were so intense and well-shot, and emotional scenes were felt. The tension in that final scene felt so real. Adrian Chase beats out Slade for best villain. Speaking of Slade, I loved seeing him again in this episode and loved seeing him and Oliver work together. Assuming he lived, he will probably appear next season with a story arc about him finding his son. The cliffhanger at the end was unbelievable. I don't think all of them died, but I would be surprised and disappointed if someone didn't. Don't get me started on the flashbacks. It was incredible seeing things go in full circle and Oliver being rescued. The scene with Moira was a nice surprise. This finale was so much better than that of The Flash, and in my opinion this season has been better than The Flash's third season. I only have two problems with this episode: 1) Please I hope Malcom didn't die because I love him even if he's not on the show full time. Thea realized she missed him after he "died" (we never actually got to see him die so). 2) how come the temple thing has never been mentioned ever on Lian Yu? It seems odd we've never seen it before.

10/10 without a doubt. Best episode in the series. If it doesn't get the best rating I'm going to freak

A Masterpiece !!!

[abhijeet-abhijeet-bhatta · 10/10 · 24 May 2017]

Never in the history of this show has been anything like this episode.Everything from the very starting second to the last second was perfect and ending with a huge cliffhanger which may very well determine the future of this show.

Let's start with Deathstroke.When Ollie approached Slade for his help I was very skeptical as to what his end game might be and the producers didn't shy away from giving us one or two moments where it was truly tested.

The enigma that is Prometheus ended up being the most sadistic villain in this 10 year circle of Arrow. He proved till the very end that Oliver could not out-think him even though he might not persuade Oliver to kill him. Every move that Prometheus made over the season was leading up to this moment, the moment where Oliver would have to choose between his friends and his son. Dare I say he even made Deathstroke look very puny in front of him.

Finally about Oliver, Stephen Amell has grown a lot as an actor since the show started.But the character development of Oliver Queen from being a stone cold killer to someone who has to work in the gray areas of morality has been pristine.No matter how much Chase goaded Oliver to kill him, he failed.Finally Oliver declared in the most pivotal moment- "That's who I was, that's not who I am anymore."

The fight scenes were beautifully choreographed both in the flashbacks and in the present considering there were so many moving pieces, it was just a treat to watch.

The episode didn't fail on the emotional level as well.The starting conversation with Slade was done beautifully. After a long time the romantic side of Felicity didn't seem forced. It was genuine. I might even stretch to say that the kiss was a GOODBYE. Every character had something to offer. Malcolm sacrificing his life for Thea proved that he does love his daughter. The look of despair on Oliver's face when Chase pulls a Moriarty can be seen on every person's face who watches this episode. But the most gut-wrenching scene was the conversation of Oliver with his mom. It was just pure love.

I could have rated this episode 15/10.

Arrow ended season 5 on a huge cliffhanger. Though the show will not kill all its supporting characters, there will be casualties.It will be a long 4-month wait to find out who will make it out of the island alive and who will bite the dust.

I'm not impressed

[Abdulxoxo · 6/10 · 13 August 2020]

This is episode is overrated, come on 9.7 this is too much. It's good to see some old faces such as Slade Wilson but they're just there for the sake of fan service. problems are;

Adrian chase is given to much power almost to the point of being god haha. The "I'm always ten steps ahead of you" gets boring after some time and it makes Oliver and his team look as if they were fools. Ever since Oliver caught Adrian, and everything started to happen off screen while Adrian is still the mastermind, is totally unrealistic.

Evelyn sharp doesn't fit in Prometheus side, it's just cringey to see her siding with the bad guys. They totally failed Evelyn. Her character is now almost unredeemable.

How the hell does that Temple exist, the last time Oliver was on the island we didn't see anything close to that. I guess the writers decided to put it there because it is needed for the fight scenes.

I hope Malcom Merlyn stays dead, I liked his character in the earlier seasons until the big reveal that Thea is daughter, he became obsessed with her and he even said in his final moment " i always wanted to take care of you since the day you were born" dude you found out she is your daughter when she's already an adult, too late. More over, he couldn't protect his son so

How the heck did Adrian rigged the entire entire island with bombs, I mean that will take months at least considering there's bomb even on the steeper part of the island.

The highlight of this episode to me, is the conversation between Oliver and his mother. Very emotional. Superb acting. Moira is the only character I missed in this show.

The fight scenes are good. Black siren v Black canary, Talia v Nyssa, Arrow v Prometheus, very entertaining.

The cliffhanger doesn't fool me, I know they'll survive lol.

Better than the rest of the series, because you knew it was gonna end and Wilson Returns

[willjbarker · 4/10 · 6 January 2019]

The trouble with bringing great characters back like Slade Wilson is it reminds you how weak the new ones are. This seasons oh so clever Merlin 2.0 prometheus toying with increasingly moronic Oliver and his merry band of instant new buddies just doesn't compare well with Seasons 1 & 2. The show has become a shadow of it's former self. Shadow. Remember her? Those were the 'sodes..

A second problem. The actors must have something over the writers, because nobody ever leaves the damn show! Merlins dead, wilsons arrested, Laurel is dead. Her sister is dead, Felicity is crippled. But no! everybody comes back. all the time. So we don't get to keep the show fresh and I am fresh out of caring that apparently the whole cast just blew up. I expect they are fine. Ill watch Season 6.1 now, and if they are dead, THAT will be the huge twist.

Season 5 Arrow. Can I have those 24 hours of my life back please?

Arrow - S05E23 Lian Yu

[j_forbesy · 10/10 · 24 May 2017]

At this point before the finale, I couldn't really care what they gave us because everything up until this point has redeemed Arrow for me. This has been the most perfect, well put together season of all of the CW superhero shows, and sure I would love a great finale to finish it off, but it has done enough to prove Arrow is back. But it decided to give me a fantastic finale anyway.

From the first second the episode started to the last, this finale had me absolutely hooked. There is so much positives I have about this episode that I know I am going to skim over so many of them. To start, I loved the return of the old Arrow title. This in itself said so much about this season and how it is linking back to where this show first started.

I need to talk about Slade for a moment. Slade was my favourite thing about the first 2 seasons so it was always going to be great having him back, but I never thought he was going to be this fantastic. He was written like the old Slade, Manu Bennett nailed the portrayal perfectly like he did the first 2 seasons, every time he called Oliver Kid I got a smile on my face because it was so great hearing it again. While there is a massive question that is posed at the end of the episode on so many of our main character, he is someone I want more of. Unfortunately with everything happening in the DCEU, I don't think Slade is coming back to this show, which is a massive shame.

Moving on to the flash backs, they were again great this week. While they were pretty shallow in story content, they were all worth it when we see the moment Oliver is collected from the island. I really loved the phone call scene we got because we had never really got to see that first contact when Oliver first told his mother he was alive. I also really loved how the flash backs were edited throughout this episode, especially during the action sequences. In the past, the flash backs have just been there, so it is always great when they feel woven into the present day story.

Something that really made this episode stand out was the one on one moments this episode had. This was both in dialog and action, but there was so many good pair ups that it is hard to dive deep into them. A few that really stood out to me was Oliver and Slade at the start, the Canary showdown with Black Siren and now Black Canary, and Thea and Merlyn which a relationship I have loved the dynamic over over the season.

While still on Malcolm Merlyn, again there is many questions about the ending, but I don't see our Earth 1 Merlyn coming back next season, which is a shame because he has been that consistent character that you always love to see. Whether it was on Arrow or as the villain in this season of Legends, Barrowman brought it every single scene and his is a character I am really going to miss having around.

Now onto Chase. I never thought I would say this after having Deathstroke but Prometheus has been my favourite Arrow villain. I loved how not only was he able to match Oliver physically, he beat Oliver in the mind games every single time up without fail. Yes it is a shame that he is no longer going to be with us, but I don't mind because his death showed that he was ahead 10 steps at all times and even when the finale was over, Oliver still had no idea what game he was playing. I think from many Arrow fans, I have to give a massive thank you to Josh Segarra. While when the reveal first happened that he wasn't Vigilante, I was a little let down because I enjoy having him around, the pay off of him being Prometheus was amazing and Segarra acted the crap out of every scene he was in. There is no other way to say it but he was unbelievable this season, and he is someone I am going to look out for in any other shows or movies he is in.

Now to the ending. I loved how Chase won. It's not often we see the villain win, and as I mentioned just before, it's not often that we see our hero have barely any wins throughout the season. Regardless of what happens next season, which I will talk about soon, Chase proved he was right and because of that Oliver is now alone and his son is the only thing he has.

Looking towards next season, I'm not sure where they will go from here. I don't think that our other character got off the island but I don't think many of them died. As mentioned before, I think Slade will be a casualty of this ending. With the age of the internet, it's not hard to see who has what contracts in upcoming season and I know that Katie Cassidy, Rick Gonzalez and Juliana Harkavy have all been promoted to series regulars for next season. I don't see them killing off Felicity, Thea, Diggle and Lance so I think they will come back into the fold. However, as it it now, this sets us up for a massive season 6 premier, and I'm excited.

10/10

Average Episode Rating: 9.2/10 - Arrow is my highest rated season of the CW superhero shows and it deserves it's spot at the top. This season was amazing. I might have to go back and watch the first 2 seasons again because their one definitely rivals them in every way possible.

Possibly the best Arrow episode ever!

[veerkashyap-62775 · 10/10 · 25 May 2017]

WOW, JUST WOW. What a comeback Season 5 of Arrow has been after two pretty bad seasons of Arrow. Who knew Arrow would be this good this season? Everything about this episode just worked.

Firstly, I loved seeing Slade back, and Manu Benett as usual gave a fantastic performance. DEATHSTROKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Though limited in his role, it was fun to see Captain Boomerang/Digger Harkness and his banter. The Nyssa vs Talia fight was awesome, Dinah, Rene, Quentin, black siren all had their moments to shine. And I can't forget Thea emotional scene with Thea and Malcom, where Malcolm dies. This was the last of John Barrowman in the Arrowverse. You will be missed.

However, nothing in this finale beats the final scene, which was between Oliver and Adrian. Josh Segarra has been one of the best things about this season, making Prometheus, in my opinion, the best villain in the show's history. The entire island is blown up, and I am sure 1 or 2 people died, as they won't kill everyone off.

Oh and the flashbacks were simply great, as everything came full circle as Oliver was rescued off the island, after defeating Kovar.

Thanks Arrow for an amazing Season 5. Can't wait till October.

+ SLADE + Malcom's farewell + Nyssa vs Talia + Stephen Amell and Josh Segarra's performances + Chase, even being dead, still has beaten Oliver + Flashbacks + Big cliffhanger

Single greatest DC TV episode ever !!

[msalas-1 · 10/10 · 25 May 2017]

It is a bold statement to make considering how many good episodes there are spanning 4 TV series. This though is just absolutely flawless story telling. From the first second til the last, it was non-stop action, apart from a 10 seconds of maybe Olicity which I hope dies with this season.

Deathstroke, Digger, Merlyn and Chase were absolutely amazing. The true star of this episode was Oliver Queen. We saw the beginning of the Arrow adventure and also hoping the Green Arrow will be a changed man for season 6 and the darkness that made the first 2 seasons of Arrow so brilliant will return after this island escapade.

Can't be anymore optimistic about next season.

An excellent ending to a season that dragged on a bit

[roboprogs · 10/10 · 12 September 2017]

I guess I have gotten a bit tired of the thing in the last 2 seasons where Arrow finds out who the villain is fairly early in the season, but just can't touch him, again and again. Please stop doing that. (that goes double for the last season of Flash)

That said, I've been gradually slogging through this season on Netflix, UNTIL I got to the last 2 episodes. For those, I was on the edge of my seat, and really loved how it finally played out, particular the rogues gallery of unlikely allies.

Hopefully the episodes in season 6 have more of a "forward motion" feel, and don't get stuck in the "Mr X has outsmarted us AGAIN (...)" rut for so long. I hope they spend more time of some of the side characters' back stories or other current events, not just "had him and lost him" over and over.

And yes, I loved seeing a "cleaned up", penitent Slade.

The Best Episode Ever

[josifbroz · 10/10 · 28 May 2017]

Wow. There is so much to say about this episode and this season. 1.000 words are not enough but let's try to cover the most important parts.

At first, it was a bit amusing to see Oliver lining up with the man who slept with his mother, the man who killed his mother and the woman he's been married to without consuming the marriage to beat the man who hates him so much that he's ready to destroy literally everyone in Oliver's life to avenge his father's death. It gets even more amusing when you make a further analysis of Oliver's past with his team: he stabbed Slade's eye with an arrow, cut off Malcolm Merlyn's hand and killed Nyssa's father but even more importantly, he slept with her beloved one. How could that line-up possibly work?! (I left out Digger Harkness because nobody cared about him.)

It turned out it worked perfectly well. I feared Slade's motive to help Oliver would be the weakest link but it wasn't as it was well elaborated at the very beginning. Malcolm was always there to help Thea so it was no surprise he was there again, this time to make the final sacrifice. I just have a flag on his quote how he had always wanted to protect Thea since the day she was born - that doesn't seem logical given that he hadn't known she was his daughter back then.

Stephen Amell gave a fantastic performance. I like how he raised his voice when he needed in the last two episodes. He pictured all dimensions of Oliver - a hero, a father, a son, a man in love - within 43 minutes.

Manu Bennett is simply astonishing as Slade Wilson. Every scene with him is a treasure and that hasn't changed since he had both of his eyes. Hopefully he'll be back next season.

Josh Segarra was absolutely brilliant this season. Adrian Chase is arguably the best villain Oliver has faced so far and the one that is yet to lose to Oliver despite being dead. I have a hypothesis that Vigilante - who completely vanished at some point of the season - might be Chase's twin-brother or something like that so that we can enjoy in Segarra's fantastic performances in the forthcoming season(s) as well.

I must say losing John Barrowman is a big blow (no pun intended). He was always there to give a good banter and picture Merlyn as a human being who can be both a hero and (more often) a villain at the same time. His sacrifice for Thea was the final victory of Malcolm The Hero over Malcolm The Villain.

Due to format restrictions, we haven't seen too much of Talia Al'Ghul. I have a feeling her story arc is the one writers simply haven't had time for but we might see that one coming in the next season, provided that she survived Chase's big bang.

Finally, I don't like to compare shows from The Arrowverse but "Arrow" S5 has demolished "The Flash" S3. Both Barry and Oliver are "beautiful boys" of their mothers but Oliver's conversation with his mother was more emotional than Barry's departure to The Speed Force with his mother.

Bring on Season Six!

10/10

And boom goes the dynamite!

[AdamDroge · 10/10 · 25 May 2017]

I am sitting here in utter amazement right now at what I just saw in the season 5 finale of "Arrow." There is so much that happened in this episode and there's no way I'm going to be able to get to it all in less than 1,000 words and I'm certainly going to forget to mention things along the way, so I apologize for that up front. But the moral of the story is that this was an epic finale. We've had five seasons of "Arrow," which has equated to over 100 episodes. I don't like declaring one certain episode as the greatest of them all, especially not moments after finishing it, but this has to be up there.

The big story here in this episode is that so many things came full circle. The biggest one of them all was the flashbacks have finally caught up to the present day. And what a clever way of doing that, seeing Oliver in his last moments on Lian Yu before returning home prior to season 1, paralleled with Oliver and many friends fighting a whole host of villains right on Lian Yu, with some absolutely phenomenal editing as we bounce back and forth in glorious "Arrow" fashion.

To start off the episode, Adrian Chase has kidnapped all of Oliver's friends, as well as his son, and have held them hostage on Lian Yu. So Oliver recruits the help of Slade Wilson, Malcolm Merlyn and Nyssa al Ghul, all of whom get their moments to shine. In addition to Adrian Chase, they are up against Talia al Ghul, Black Siren and Evelyn Sharp. And we also have Digger Harkness there, too, even though I kinda forgot he existed.

So let's go through these real quick. Oliver and Slade Wilson. I think I let out a cry for joy last week when he showed up. Slade Wilson is still the best villain this show has had and after three years of sitting in a jail cell, it was great to see him come full circle and be willing to help Oliver on this journey to stop Chase. The speech he gave to Oliver about learning to forgive himself for everything that's happened was beautiful. It was so good to see Manu Bennett back. Joe Manganiello, who will be playing Slade Wilson/Deathstroke in Ben Affleck and Matt Reeves' upcoming film "The Batman" certainly has big shoes to fill.

Next up we have Malcolm Merlyn, our second best "Arrow" villain, and his moments with Thea, who still hates him beyond belief. Until our first "boom goes the dynamite" moment when he saves her life after she steps on a mine, taking her place and sacrificing himself against her will. That conversation Thea has with Felicity after Malcolm's supposed death was also a fantastic conversation, bringing that relationship full circle.

Then we have the showdown between Talia and Nyssa. Nyssa is a fantastic character on this show and it was also wonderful seeing her back. I love her outfit, by the way. Talia hasn't had much screen time on this show, but every time we get a major Batman connection it makes me jump for joy. Their little battle didn't last long, but it made me happy to see it and I hope we get a lot more of those two in the future.

Black Siren vs. Black Canary is next. Listen, I'm still upset that they killed Laurel. I'm not going to forgive the show for that. But having Earth 2 Laurel on the show playing an evil Black Siren is fantastic. And I've warmed up to our new Black Canary, aka Dinah Drake. Their screaming battle was great, which was topped off perfectly with Quentin taking out Earth 2 Laurel. I'm sure that was extremely cathartic for him. And when he gave his stamp of approval for Dinah being called Black Canary, that was great.

Now correct me if I'm wrong, but characters we did NOT see in this episode included Lyla, Anarky, Rory, Roy, Vixen, Ra's al Ghul, John Constantine, Katana, Amanda Waller, Deadshot and Tommy Merlyn. IMDb should really fix that because they're all on the cast listing for this episode on IMDb.

Finally, we have the final showdown of Adrian Chase and Oliver Queen. Yes, I still say Adrian Chase is the third best villain on this show behind Slade Wilson and Malcolm Merlyn, but it's a strong third place showing as he's kept climbing up and up this season while giving his best performance yet this episode. And he might be the one that's gotten into Oliver's head the most, which is why it was so satisfying to see Oliver win on the boat, saving William and proving to Adrian that he's not going to kill him.

But did Oliver really win? Adrian shooting himself on the head was the perfect way for him to go out because in doing so he blew up the whole island in our second "boom goes the dynamite" moment. Because, yeah, the island was ridden with explosives and the death of Adrian triggered all of those explosions.

Listen. Everyone didn't just die. We all know that they survived. Or at least some of them. We didn't just kill off the whole cast of this show besides Oliver and William. But holy fetching cow is that an incredible cliffhanger. Now I have to wait four months to see who did and didn't survive and how they pulled it off if they did survive? That's mean. And freaking awesome!

That's What a DC Series Should Be Like!

[cbatukilic · 10/10 · 9 November 2020]

OH. MY. GOD! Season 5 was an absolute bypass to the series. In whole season is contains only 2 empty, useless episodes. The rest of them; MUAH. And this finale man... I don't know how to praise this episode. I'm literally shocked. This isn't just the best episode of Arrow, this is the best episode of whole Arrowverse. Who did it I don't know but I want to thank the man who chose Josh Segarra for his role. He was the best villain since Deathstroke and Wells/Reverse Flash. Plus: THE REAL DEATHSTROKE MAN! I felt like I'm watching Season 2 again. 10 for Arrow, 10 for Prometheus, 10 for Deathstroke. Big 10 goes to the writers. Thank you sir. Thank you all...

Just Wow!

[jojojamojo · 10/10 · 24 May 2017]

This episode was the season finale of Arrow Season 5 and boy did it deliver. Not only is this the best season finale across all of the Arrowverse shows, it's the best EVER episode, period. Even in the opening scene, you get Goosebumps and just seeing Oliver interact with Slade, it is so great. Oliver goes on to free his friends with the help of Slade and Digger, who was actually on Adrian's side all along. After Boomerang betrays Oliver, Nyssa and Merlyn arrive to help Oliver, causing Boomerang and Talia to flee and Evelyn getting locked up. Digger and Talia then go searching for the escapees and Digger ends up finding Malcolm standing in the middle of a path. One minute earlier Thea had stood on a landmine, so to save her, Malcolm pushed her off it and put his feet on it. When Digger arrives, he approaches Malcolm and Malcolm seemingly takes his foot off the landmine, even though this isn't seen and it could be that Digger pushed him, as all you see is the explosion from Thea's perspective and she is actually sad that Malcolm died, even though she hated him. As I don't have unlimited writing space, I won't go into too much detail still, but the final showdown in the Monastry was epic. I was very sad to see some Characters die, but the showdown was so sick. After Prometheus escape, Oliver follows him and they end up on a little boat fighting. It turns out that the whole time, William was on that boat and as it looked like Oliver had beaten Prometheus, Adrian shot himself and activated the dead man trigger causing millions of C4 explosives on the Island to go off. And that is where the episode ends. On a huge and rather brilliant cliffhanger, did Team Arrow make it off the island in time or not?

You cant shoot arrows ay people's arms?

[megaruda · 7/10 · 20 May 2020]

Most of the Time the plot of this show could be easily avoided by shooting non letal arrows, in this case, you just showed me the Arrow shooting at the villain's knee. Couldnt he shoot at his arms? I Guess that the rest of the episode was so well done people were too invested to facepalm, most of the season was weak, the villain was too weak I thought It would be solved mid season, specially since the identity of Prometheus was Beyond obvious, the issue Is that Oliver Is plain dumb, a Himbo. DC shows are better at most of the stuff Marvel gets wrong at the movies, but, Baron Zemo > Prometheus. Go for Brute Force not "smart" villain's.

Amazing!!

[dannypersia · 10/10 · 25 May 2017]

This WAS THE GREATESt episode of arrow since the mid Season finale of season 3 it was action packed and suspenseful there are many questions being raised after that well done cliff hanger ending but one things for sure prometus was a fantastic villain and this episode had the best action sequences definitely a better finale than the third season of the flash

Loved it! Spoilers

[mark-74529 · 10/10 · 25 May 2017]

One of the best, if not best episode of Arrow so far. It had everything: mystery about Oliver's son (It would have been nice plot twist if he had actually been killed). Amazing performances by the entire cast. A lot of great characters have been brought back Slade, Malcom etc. We had Slade's redemption, Malcom's sacrifice. And so many other wonderful things.

Only issue i have with this episode is that it probably should have been the end of Arrow. In my mind i always thought that Arrow will end once we reach the end of "5 years in hell". And it looked like that is going to be like that, all up to the last few minutes. I want more of this show, i'm just afraid that the quality will go down after this. They've reached their peak. "You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become a villain

Wish it was Finale

[bdiso · 10/10 · 25 May 2017]

I wish this season finale was final because this episode was everything you wanted to be. The fight scenes were super those camera angels was very good taken and performances on the top . Amazing story was finished in one episode without boring stuff and flashback to the s1ep1 was beautiful and emotionally. This is my first review for a deserved one.