Lian Yu

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.

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

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 :)

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!

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!