Arrow Arrow Season 5 Episode 23: "Lian Yu"

[cheungcheung]

Everyone survives including Merlyn. We didn't see a body.

The Oliver wig was lame. This Oliver doesn't match up with where he was at the start of season 1. Guess it was all an act.

 

[Batmannerism]

Okay, just saw

Spoiler

Ollie neck snap Dolph Lundgren

this episode isn't a 10....it's an 11 !

Totally epic finale, and one of the best Arrow episodes ever.

 

[javonstokess]

I hate that panel. Logic-wise, it makes zero sense.

 

[shabadoo25]

Exactly how a superhero finale episode should be.

My only criticism is that too many characters meant too little screen time for any of them.

And thank GOD we are done with island era flashbacks for S6.

 

[Slade W]

Susanna Thompson was great at the end.

 

[Slade W]

The Nyssa/Talia fight was as fast as a gif lol. I am glad that Nyssa finally gets a win under her belt but the fact that Talia trained Oliver and Chase who seemingly cant be defeated by anyone, her being defeated by her sister didn't make much sense.

Nyssa beat Oliver before in season 3 in the episode "The Magician". She had her blade at his throat before Merlyn interfered. She also beat Malcolm that season to capture him for her father.

I agree that the Talia/Nyssa fight was disappointing. It suffered for being in an episode with so much going on, and as a result, some scenes had to be rushed.

 

[Slade W]

An she was trained by Ras probably his favorite daughter so she was well trained. Not like I cared for this Talia she was useless this season and had no impact in the flashbacks.

I disagree. I thought she started off and was used well in her early appearances, in both the past and present, but then she disappeared for too long and things fizzled out with her. I like the actress a lot. Lexa brought a lot of presence and authority to the character. I hope she will appear next year, and have amore consistent presence on the show.

 

[Slade W]

Could someone explain to me why the Artemis thing got the shaft? That whole betrayal thing and it never gets explained or dealt with!

Indeed. I gave them the benefit of the doubt at first as I thought there would be an explanation, but there wasn't. Her character betraying Oliver for Prometheus does not make sense. She joined Oliver at the start of the season, so that showed that she was willing to be a hero. After finding out about Oliver being a killer and not liking it, leaving his team and becoming an independent hero makes more sense for her character. Joining Prometheus did not IMO.

 

[Batmannerism]

I hate that panel. Logic-wise, it makes zero sense.

Ummmm.... and a hammer that flies on its own and can control the weather makes sense ? Or a guy who shoots laser beams from his eyes and is bulletproof.

IMO This is Superman at his most awesome, putting Thor in his place.

Anyway, the Arrow finale was a "dials up to 11 " scenario. Can't wait to see who lived and who didn't !

 

[Sevket]

Manu Benett stole the show. I want my Deathstroke action figure right now

 

[mqg96]

"Lian Yu" was the best season finale in Arrow history, and arguably the best episode of the series alone. This episode had EVERYTHING you could ask for the greatest episode of a series. All the epic battles, fights, and scenes. Nyssa vs. Talia, Prometheus trying his hardest to manipulate Oliver as usual, always 10 steps ahead, giving him the toughest decision ever between his son or everybody else, Deathstroke quadruple crossing to help the team, Black Canary vs. Black Siren, etc. When we got to see the flashbacks of Oliver finally leaving his 5 years on the island (which were scenes from pilot episode), I got real teary there, especially when Moira Queen came back. That whole episode was an emotional roller coaster of excitement and touching moments.

 

[Spider-Fan83]

not to sound morbid...
but, kinda ironic to think that all the people they fought and just "knocked out" instead of killing (to show mercy) probably all got blown, anyway

 

[legendkillin]

Is Mon-El really that main of a character though?

No clue who that is, guessing he or she is from Supergirl. I don't watch Supergirl or LoT.

 

[Jedi Arrow]

not to sound morbid...
but, kinda ironic to think that all the people they fought and just "knocked out" instead of killing (to show mercy) probably all got blown, anyway

That's on Chase's conscience, though, not anyone on TA's.

 

[Lencho01]

The finale was... explosive.

Jokes aside, I thought it was ok. I'm happy that Slade wasn't crazy anymore, but that doesn't change how much I found that storyline to be garbage.

The only person I want to see dead is Malcolm.

 

[theflashionist]

Arguably best episode of the series.... What a delight to watch an episode like this. Not sure how in the hell they are going to escape the blast... unless they went on the water towards the half sunken boat there. I guess we shall see next year.

 

[metaphysician]

Could someone explain to me why the Artemis thing got the shaft? That whole betrayal thing and it never gets explained or dealt with!

Um, her betrayal *was* explained. She outright explained it herself: "You kept me from getting vengeance for my parents, when you all along were a murderous psychopath. I hate hypocrisy." Thus she betrayed the team to Chase.

What's there not to understand?

 

[Gallops]

Arguably best episode of the series.... What a delight to watch an episode like this. Not sure how in the hell they are going to escape the blast... unless they went on the water towards the half sunken boat there. I guess we shall see next year.

I'm thinking something where Felicity was able to shut down the explosives that were close to them so that it was really just the perimeter of the island that was blown to pieces.

Or maybe Barry came and rescued them...

You know some survived and others didn't. Who survived and how will be a major point in next season I believe.

But I thought the finale was great. Good cliffhanger to keep the fans invested in the show, and keep us guessing as to who is alive and who's not. I'm excited for season 6 now more than ever.

 

[metaphysician]

Also, I suspect that most everyone lives. My theory:

We didn't see how the Merlyn/Digger confrontation went. What probably happened was, Merlyn made Digger an offer- switch sides again, and one, I pay you, two, I don't blow you up with this mine. Digger, being a treacherous mercenary, agrees, they kill the mooks, and use one of them to escape the mine.

With Digger swapped again, he tells Merlyn about some kind of "no explosion zone" for the non-suicidal allies, or similar useful knowledge. Merlyn uses that to get them, Thea, and basically everyone else to safety. Thus, they survive when the explosions go off.

The only people who might be dead at that point are some of the villains, those who conceivably were left where they fell. But honestly, even most of them probably live.

 

[theflashionist]

not a bad idea. I do not see merlin dead... However i think maybe Slade had some insight on the escape since he is extremely familiar with the island.

I do like the fact that they left a cliffhanger to keep everyone guessing.

The only thing i did not like... OLICITY re-sparking. I can not. repeat. can not. go through another olicity season.

How did everyone feel about Slade coming back to "normal" ?

I truly love the slade/olly interactions

Season 6 needs to keep going along the lines of this episode... then it will be awesome to watch.

 

[Osiris-Rex]

No clue who that is, guessing he or she is from Supergirl. I don't watch Supergirl or LoT.

Then is it wise to make blanket statements about all the CW shows if you only watch one or two?

 

[Babillygunn]

How did everyone feel about Slade coming back to "normal" ?
.

Best decision the show has made in years. It was like the writers said "hey fans, sorry we screwed the pooch on this. Let's fix it." I loved it!

 

[NotNickFury]

Well, the ratings ticked up. Nothing spectacular, but up.

 

[theflashionist]

Best decision the show has made in years. It was like the writers said "hey fans, sorry we screwed the pooch on this. Let's fix it." I loved it!

i agree. I enjoyed seeing both of them back in action. Mr. Bennet is a hell of a deathstroke

 

[Jedi Arrow]

i agree. I enjoyed seeing both of them back in action. Mr. Bennet is a hell of a deathstroke

Manu's Deathstroke is one of my favorite characters in the Arrowverse. I hope they don't use this cliffhanger as an excuse to kill him off. But, logically, they can't, if MG was serious about wanting the LOT Star City episode to still be considered the primary timeline (with Connor Hawke and Grant Wilson). As far as we know, Joe Wilson is Slade's only son right now. Thus, he has to survive if at some point he's going to father Grant and that LOT episode is still going to happen.