For the first time in a long time on Arrow, I’m not sure what’s going to happen next, and that’s a great feeling. Yes, that has something to do with the fact that the Season 5 finale seemingly blew up most of the cast. But, on a deeper level, it has everything to do with the fact that Arrow just severed its connection to the past in a pretty visceral way. “That’s who I was before. That’s not who I am now,” Oliver tells Chase in the episode’s defining moment. Arrow just ended one chapter. What story will it decide to be now?

The end of an era

For five seasons, Oliver has defined himself by the time he spent on Lian Yu. The show has defined itself — for good and for bad (and, boy, has there been stome bad) — by Oliver’s past. With the Season 5 finale, aptly named “Lian Yu,” that identity crutch, force, whatever you want to call it has come to an end. Chase both literally and thematically destroyed Oliver’s connection to his past when he planted hundreds of bombs on Oliver’s own personal purgatory and blew it up. Presumably, he blew Oliver’s loved ones up along with it. (But not really because there’s such a thing as actor contracts.)

Of course, Oliver’s release of the past came before Chase’s dire action. It came when Oliver, once again, chose not to kill Chase, instead choosing to forgive himself for his father’s death. With that forgiveness, Oliver seemingly lost that will to kill, or more accurately the anger and guilt inside of himself that made him feel like his soul wasn’t worth saving. Instead, he used the scraps of that soul to “right wrongs,” to kill whomever he thought deserved killing. To kill monsters like him.

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A lesson learned

Of course, this insight, though gradually learned over the course of years, came in a succinct nutshell from the one and only Slade Wilson. Slade has always been Oliver’s best mentor, even more so when he is not. It makes sense that Slade would understand Oliver so well: he was there when Oliver became the man he is today, when he transitioned from a spoiled rich kid to a survivor. It was that survivor status that Oliver has never quite been able to accept. You have “survivor’s guilt,” Slade tells him, matter-of-factly. Presumably, Slade has survivor’s guilt, too. The mirakuru saved him, in some sense of the word, but it couldn’t save Shado.

The lesson was also delivered by Adrian Chase, although not intentionally. Chase was trying to teach Oliver a different lesson. It didn’t take. To the very end, all Chase cared about was teaching Oliver a lesson. He kidnapped all of his loved ones and locked them up in cages to prove the point. Did he win? I’ve been thinking about this a lot since finishing this episode. I don’t think he did. Because Oliver and everyone who sided with him chose love. Even Malcolm Merlyn chose love. If that’s not a victory, then I don’t know what is.

All of the characters

“Lian Yu” felt like one, big family reunion. Season 5 has most thrived as a story when it has strived to tell a story that utilizes not just Season 5, but everything that has come before. The finale was the pinnacle of that effort and it paid off, bringing back everyone from Slade to Malcolm, Nyssa to Moira. (Did anyone really care about Harkness? No.)

It was Moira’s cameo that really packed a punch. Susanna Thompson’s Moira Queen was one of the consistent strengths of this show from the pilot episode, at a time when the show didn’t have everything figured out. Moira’s character is not only excellent in her own right, but brings out a different side of Oliver. In a flashback, we see Oliver call home right after being picked up off of Lian Yu. At this point in Oliver’s arc, he is hardened and he is determined and he doesn’t see himself worthy of love. But his mother automatically breaks through all that. Even when Oliver was at his worst, he loved and was loved. This is where his salvation has always lain.

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Love trumps hate

Oliver’s going to need that love moving forward, given that he is seemingly now the sole parent of a child he doesn’t know with almost no support system. (Except Lyla, I guess?) I know that Arrow didn’t really just kill off most of its cast, but I would love to see a delay in their return (maybe they ended up on a different “deserted” island nearby?) just so we can see Oliver raising his son and angsting a little bit over the hiatus. Is that cruel? Maybe, but it is also a great narrative decision.

In the end, Chase pulls a Moriarty, killing himself to enact the ultimate revenge on Oliver. Chase plans everything down to this final moment. He even seems to predict Oliver shooting him in the foot rather than in a major artery. He kills himself roughly in the way and place that Oliver’s father did five years prior. The difference is: Robert Queen killed himself for love (and maybe a little guilt). Adrian Chase killed himself for hate. And that’s why he lost, even when he seemingly took (almost) everything from Oliver.

Episode Rating: ★★★★★ Excellent

Season Rating: ★★★ Good

Miscellanea:

- “The mirakuru wore off a long time ago, kid.” What?! Maybe they shouldn’t be keeping Slade locked up, then. Sure, he killed a bunch of people, but it was under the influence of mirakuru. I feel like this should be taken into account? Like, he was fine until he was injected with an experimental drug against his will.

- Slade: “Since when do you have a son?” Oliver: “Slade, are you gonna help me or not?” That seems like a valid question.

- Did Oliver’s loved ones make it off the island? Of course they did! But how? It seems unlikely they made it to the eastern side of the island in that time. Maybe they hunkered down in Slade’s prison box. Did that thing look bomb-proof/waterproof?

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- It wasn’t just character cameos that got their time in the spotlight. After all, this was Lian Yu’s final episode, so we got to visit all the sights. And by “sights,” I mean the crashed plane Slade, Oliver, and Shado lived in during the early seasons and some temple we have never seen before this episode. We saw familiar flashbacks, like Robert Queen’s suicide and Oliver’s mad dash across the island.

- “If you’re looking for applause, clapping is a little bit more difficult for me these days.” I’m going to miss Malcolm Merlyn’s hand puns most.

- Interestingly (I guess), Oliver almost didn’t make it off the island. Kovar nearly prevented him. The season finale was lucky it kept these flashbacks so short. I couldn’t have taken a lot of Oliver v. Kovar flashbacks this episode, though seeing Oliver shoot down that helicopter was pretty cool.

- At this point, Chase feels more like a manifestation of Oliver’s darkest self than a real person. (Even at his most evil, Slade always seemed like a real person.)

- Well, I guess that’s one way to narrow down your growing cast. I kid!

- One of the reasons why this season finale plot didn’t hit a little harder was because we don’t know William. Furthermore, Oliver doesn’t know William. I would have loved to see some kind of relationship form between these two (or for William to have any kind of character development) before making Oliver choose.

- Who invited Digger Harkness? Seriously, it was so weird that he was there.

- Oliver: “I trust him more than you.” Harkness: “Didn’t he kill your mother?”

- Slade’s face was covered up a lot in this episode and I was not OK with it. I even began to suspect that Manu Bennett was only available for part of the filming time.

- Nyssa pulled a full-on Magician’s exit. You gotta respect that.

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- Malcolm: “You OK?” Thea: “Go to hell.”

- “You’ve been left behind. You should choose your friends more wisely.” — Slade (to Evelyn). The beginning of a redemption arc? Probably not, if Evelyn got blown up. Did Evelyn get blown up? So many questions! Also, where did Rory go exactly?

- “We are orphans because of those two.” — Thea

- Oliver: “Comms. Just in case something goes wrong.” Curtis: “You mean when, right?” Oliver: *Sighs*

- “Nice place. Does Lian Yu have a Big Belly Burger, too?” — Lance, upon seeing the random, super nice temple that was apparently on Lian Yu

- Oliver: “My past is coming back to haunt me.” Slade: “Seems to be a recurring theme with you, kid.”

- “Kid, when it comes to you, everything has to do with your father.” Slade was just dropping the truth bombs all over the place.

- “Could we save the horribly awkward conversation for when we’re off this island?” — Felicity to Samantha

- “Look, I’ll just find a boulder around here or something.” — Curtis, when Malcolm suggests taking Thea’s place on the land mine.

- “You may not think of me as your father, Thea, but you will always be my daughter.” Malcolm Merlyn was literally the worst. This sacrifice does not make up for all of the terrible things he did. But, man, does he know how to make an exit.

- “No time for nostalgia.” — Slade Wilson

- “I have some experience with evil dads, too.” — Felicity

- Curtis: “Just sing, Canary.” Lance: “Actually, it’s Black Canary.” Aww. They actually packed quite a few character moments into this episode.

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- Talia: “He’d be ashamed of you.” Nyssa: “Father was always ashamed of me.” So many daddy issues in this episode.

- “William? Good name. Sort of a sweet kid, actually.” — Chase, giving us as much information about William’s personality we have ever gotten.

- “I’m not gonna kill you no matter what you do.” — Oliver, making what seems like a ridiculous promise.

- The Canary v. Canary fight was pretty badass. Seriously, this episode juggled so much.

- The Oliver Quickly Disguises Himself As An Island Hobo Scene is going to go down in history as one of my favorite Arrow moments ever.

- “For an absentee father, your devotion is impressive.” — Chase. I have to admit: I may have smirked at this one. That guy had some good points. Terrible methods, though.

- “My friends and my team can take care of themselves.” — Oliver, moments before Chase blows up Lian Yu. For me, this sentiment was a huge character development for Oliver, who used to make unilateral decisions and choices about other people’s protection all the time. He really has matured, which is why this episode actually worked. (Unlike the Season 3 finale, for example.)

- “I’m on a boat, I love you, and I’m on my way home.” — Oliver, to Moira. Both of them, crying. Me, crying. Everyone: crying.

- “It’s gonna be lonely without mom and Felicity.” — Chase was smarmy to the end, but also knew the importance of executing a plan promptly. If he had listed all of the characters who were left on that island, we would still be there.

All in all, a pretty stellar end to not only a pretty good season, but to the first chapter in the Arrow story. After two lackluster seasons, Arrow has managed to fix many of its narrative issues. This show should be proud of what it’s accomplished.

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