ARROW LIAN YU REVIEW

Season 5 Episode 23:

Hey everyone, the Arrow season 5 finale is out, and so much happens in the episode, so spoilers ahead, let's recap.

The episode starts off with Oliver on the island, Lian Yu. He knocks out an Argus guard and frees Slade Wilson/ Deathstroke, and Captain Boomerang, giving them their gear. Oliver gets the help of Slade by offering him flash drive on the location of his son. We find out that the Mirajuru serum has worn off on Slade. Oliver offers Captain Boomerang the ability get out of jail.


The three meet up with Nyssa and Malcolm, who question why Slade and Boomerang are with them. Oliver tells them that Adrian Chase has Talia with her students, Evelyn, and Black Siren so there will be no fair game. They are about to get some gear off the plane, but a missile hits it and destroys their plane.

The team decides to split up, Nyssa and Malcolm go investigate where the missile came from and Oliver, Slade, and Captian Boomerang go to find Oliver's captured friends and family.
Which they do, they find Felicity, Thea, Curtis, and Samantha (William's mother/ Oliver's ex-partner) in cages. They soon find out that it is a trap and Talia and Evelyn come up behind Oliver, Slade and Captain Boomerang and put their weapons on their heads. Captain Boomerang sides with Talia and Evelyn and Slade and Oliver take them down, but Talia and Captain Boomerang manages to get away when Nyssa and Malcolm show up.

Oliver frees his friends and he tells Malcolm to escort them to a plane that Chase would have used to get to Lian Yu. Oliver gives Felicity and Curtis some comms and a tablet. Oliver and Felicity kiss and they part ways.

At a temple on Lian Yu, Adrian has a base set up. Black Canary and Captain Boomerang are looking over the other prisoners, Diggle, Quinten, Rene, and Dinah. Dinah can not use her powers as there is a sonic dampener.

Malcolm, Thea, Felicity, Samantha, and Curtis are heading towards the plane. Thea still dislikes Merlyn for all that he has done. While they are walking Thea hears a click. Everyone freezes and we find out that Thea stepped on a land mine. Malcolm tells her to get off, but Thea doesn't. Malcolm pushes Thea off and takes her place on the mine. He tells the others to go. They quickly do when Captain Boomerang and Talia's students show up. Thea, Felicity, Curtis, and Samantha get to a clear distance. Captain boomerang is about to kill Merlyn, but that's when we see the explosion from a distance with the others.


Back with Oliver, Nyssa, and Slade. the three find the temple and sneak into it. While there Nyssa splits up with Oliver and Slade. While alone Slade knocks out Oliver and hands him to Black Siren. Black Siren captures Oliver and puts him with his other friends, Diggle, Quinten, Dinah, and Rene. When unguarded Oliver gives Dinah the Sonic screamer tech Curtis made, so she puts it on and uses her Canary Cry to break free her friends. We learn that Oliver gets caught by Slade was a trap for Oliver to give Dinah the tech.

On the other side of the island, Thea is feeling sad about Malcolm's passing, even though she hated him, she still feels guilt and loss. Felicity comforts her. Using the tablet Oliver gave her and she finds out that the entire island of Lian Yu is rigged with explosives.

Meanwhile, Nyssa confronts Talia. Nyssa uses her fuel of Talia leaving her with their father to fight Talia. The one on one, sister, vs sister fight happens. After swords swing and clash, and some help from Deathstroke, Nyssa has Talia pinned to the ground who is telling Nyssa to kill her. Nyssa doesn't and knocks her out cold.

Back at the temple Oliver, Diggle, Dinah, Rene, Quinten, Nyssa, and Slade meet up. They are faced by Adrian, Black Siren, and Talia's students. Oliver fights Adrian asking him where his son, William is. The others fight the students, and Dinah as a canary cry off with Black Siren. The two get knocked down and Quinten knocks out Black Siren. After the team knocks own all the students Oliver is still trying to get the location of his son from Adrian. Adrian wants Oliver to kill him to prove his point, but Oliver refuses. Oliver gets a message from Felicity from over the comms, and she tells Oliver that he can't kill Adrian as he is a trigger for all the explosives on the island.


In the flashbacks, Oliver breaks out of Kovar's prison and he kills Kovar after a helicopter crash. With the time of the fishing boat coming is down. Oliver races across the island where he puts on the island suit, and crazy hair, and he runs to the coast.

Adrian uses a smoke bomb to get away. Oliver tells everyone to go to Felicity to get on the plane. Oliver is staying behind to save his son. Oliver runs across Lian Yu, mirroring what he did 5 years ago getting to the coast. Oliver finds Adrian on a boat and he jumps on.

Back in the flashbacks, we see Oliver light the stick structure on fire, and he gets rescued by the fishing boat. On the boat, Oliver calls his mother, Moria, who is thankful that he is alive, and Oliver returns home, ending the flashbacks.

In present day on the island, team Arrow finds that the plane has components missing. Felicity tells Oliver over the comms, and he tells her that the plane won't work, Oliver tells Felicity that there is a plane on the other side of the island, Slade will know where it is. Not knowing how much time there will be the team goes.


On the boat, Adrian holds William by the neck threatening to kill him. Adrian makes Oliver choose, his son, or his friends. After hesitating, Oliver lowers his bow, he shoots Adrian in the leg and grabs his son William. Adrian falls on the ground bleeding. He tells Oliver that it all started on these waters, with Robert Queen's death. Adrian says that William is younger than Oliver was when his father died and that  "they have each other. Which is a good thing because it is going to be lonely without anyone" Adrian pulls out a gun and shoots himself in the head.
We then see Lian Yu explode in flames, piece by piece of the island lights up.


The biggest scene in the episode was that ending. Arrow hasn't been a show to leave on that much of a cliffhanger compared to the other shows like The Flash, and Supergirl. But this, this was a huge cliffhanger. There is no way that everyone died, we already had 4 deaths in the episode, but everyone would have to of gotten off Lian Yu somehow, we had no confirmation that the team got to a plane, but we also had no confirmation that they didn't. Even if the whole team Arrow with Deathstroke and Nyssa got off Lian Yu, Evelyn would have died, Talia most likely would have died, and Black Siren would have to have gotten off, considering that Katie Cassidy is as series regular on the show next season. So she may have helped the team get off the island.

In the episode, Josh Segarra was so great as Adrian Chase. The villain felt like so much of a Psyco path, who twisted Oliver and learn left him at a dilemma. Prometheus was such a great villain on the show, and it is a shame that he was killed off, but it was fitting.

I just have to love the return of Manu Bennett as Deathstroke, it was awesome seeing him back on the show, helping team Arrow. It will be interesting to see if his story arc of finding his son will be continued at some point in the future seasons, or possibly the teen titans tv show.

Katrina Law, she was great as Nyssa, I really loved all her scenes in the episode. I loved her fight with Lexa Doig as Talia. The two sisters fighting, and Nyssa came over herself as didn't kill Talia.

Stephen Amell, he brought it in the episode, in the flashbacks, and as the Green Arrow. It was great seeing the scenarios he was put through by Adrian, Stephen Amell really puts on the emotional act that was needed, and worked really well.

 The rest of the cast in the episode was great, Emilly Bett Rickards (Felicity Smoak), David Ramsey (John Diggle), Willa Hollan (Thea Queen), John Barrowman (Malcolm Merlyn), Echo Kellum (Curtis Holt), Rick Gonzalez (Rene Ramirez), Juliana Harkavy (Dinah Drake), Anna Hopkins (Samantha Clayton), Paul Blackthorne (Quinten Lance), Katie Cassidy (Black Siren), Nick E. Tarabay (Captain Boomerang), Maddison McLaughlin (Evelyn Sharp), Dolph Lundgren (Konstantin Kovar), Jack Moore (Willaim Clayton [Queen]), and Susanna Thompson (Moria Queen).

Overall, this episode of Arrow. Wow, this may be one of my favorites so far. The episode was intense with the stakes, but it still gave off a really neat vibe which was amazing to see. The characters returning to the show were awesome, Deathstroke, Nyssa, Captain Boomerang, and R.I.P Malcolm.
This season of Arrow has been amazing and it had a great conclusion to the season and the flashbacks. I will give 'Lian Yu' a 9.7 out of 10. I would really like to hear your thoughts or opinions on the episode down in the comments below. As always thanks for reading, take care.

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