Line #75 Recap/ArrowS5E23LianYu


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2	[[caption-width-right:350:'''[[WhamEpisode BOOM!]]''']]
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4	Oliver faces off against Prometheus in their final battle, right where Oliver's journey to become the Green Arrow began -- Lian Yu.
5	----
6	* AbhorrentAdmirer: Harkness makes a pass at Nyssa, who threatens to feed him his own eyes if he leers at her again.
7	* ActOfTrueLove: When Malcolm takes her place on the landmine, Thea protests that she never asked him to.
8	-->'''Malcolm:''' A child doesn't have to ask. You may not think of me as your father, Thea. But you'll always be my daughter.
9	* AgonyOfTheFeet: Oliver fires an arrow into Chase's foot to disable him non-lethally at the end of the episode.
10	* AssholeVictim: Chase leaving his allies for dead on Lian Yu would normally just be a KickTheDog moment, but given that said allies were Evelyn (a [[SmugSnake smug]], self-righteous traitor), Talia (an assassin who abandoned her sister to their abusive father), and Black Siren (a villainous metahuman who has twice impersonated her dead AlternateSelf to help Prometheus), it falls into this category instead.
11	* TheAtoner: Slade seems more than a little regretful for the horrible things he did and honestly wants to help Oliver, he even insists that nobody leaves the island without him.
12	* BackForTheDead: Boomerang betrays Oliver and joins Prometheus and is quickly killed by a landmine courtesy of Malcolm Merlyn. There's something meta about a character played by Creator/JohnBarrowman killing someone named [[Series/{{Torchwood}} Harkness]], isn't there?
13	* BadBoss: Prometheus has absolutely zero qualms about blowing Lian Yu sky high even though many of his own allies are still trapped/knocked out on the island.
14	* BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork:
15	** Digger Harkness is killed by Merlyn, who is most certainly ''not'' a good guy.
16	** Adrian dies by killing himself, which in turn causes explosions on the island and almost certainly kills every member of his villainous squad ([[SpoiledByTheFormat except Black Siren]]), who were all last seen non-lethally incapacitated by the heroes. Ironically, it's only the heroes who still have a fighting chance at being alive.
17	* BadassCrew: Both TheHero and BigBad assemble one for their UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny.
18	* BaitAndSwitch: Faced with a SadisticChoice, Ollie seemingly gives in to Chase's BreakThemByTalking and lowers his bow. Except he's actually lowering his ''[[AgonyOfTheFeet aim]]''.
19	* BatmanGambit: Oliver and Slade conspire to have Slade be a FakeDefector so that Slade can smuggle in a collar to allow Dinah to use her powers and pass it to Oliver after he's "captured" while allowing Slade the freedom to do some scouting to look for William.
20	* BeamOWar: Dinah's and Black Siren's canary cries collide during their fight, propelling both of them backwards.
21	* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Much as she hated her father, Thea finds herself missing Malcolm now that he is dead. Felicity commiserates given that she has her own DaddyIssues with a criminal father.
22	* BigDamnKiss: Felicity gives Oliver one after he rescues her noting that [[NowOrNeverKiss she doesn't want to regret not kissing him in case the worst happens]].
23	* BigNo: Oliver, when Chase puts a gun to his own head.
24	* BlatantLies:
25	** Oliver sees right through Chase's manipulation when he tells him his son is dead.
26	** Chase's previous claim to Black Siren that Quentin would be unharmed; Chase's endgame was to blow up Lian Yu with Quentin (and Black Siren) on it.
27	* BolivianArmyCliffhanger: The present day ends with Lian Yu blowing up from Chase's DeadMansSwitch, with the fate of most of the main cast (except Oliver and William, who watch the blast in horror) uncertain.
28	* BookEnds: Oliver's long journey and the beginning of his 5 years on hell began when Robert Queen killed himself in order to allow his son to survive. Oliver's 10 year journey that concludes with him rejecting the murderous vigilante he once was ends when Chase kills himself in the same manner as his father thus destroying Lian Yu permanently.
29	* BoomHeadshot: Adrian delivers this to himself--[[CallBack echoing what Robert Queen once did]]--in order to trigger his DeadMansSwitch and blow up everyone on the island.
30	* BoxedCrook: Ironically, Captain Boomerang is this again in Oliver's new team.
31	* TheBusCameBack:
32	** Digger Harkness was last seen in the Season 3 crossover with ''The Flash'', "[[Recap/ArrowS3E8TheBraveAndTheBold The Brave and the Bold]]".
33	** Samantha Clayton reappears, having been last seen in the Season 4 episode "[[Recap/ArrowS4E15Taken Taken]]".
34	** Creator/LexaDoig returns as Talia since "[[Recap/ArrowS5E16Checkmate Checkmate]]", as her previous appearance was done by a FakeShemp.
35	** Moira Queen makes a return in the flashback. Her last appearance in the "[[Recap/ArrowS5E8Invasion Invasion!]]" crossover was an illusion, so this also marks the first time real Moira appears since [[Recap/ArrowS2E20SeeingRed her death in Season 2]].
36	* CainAndAbel: Talia and Nyssa have a showdown. Nyssa hates Talia for abandoning her and leaving her alone with her father's cruelty. Talia is appalled that Nyssa is siding with the man who killed their father. However, Nyssa refrains from killing her after besting her in combat.
37	* CallBack:
38	** Chase kills himself on a boat with a revolver, just like Robert Queen did, but he wants to harm Oliver, not to protect him. Robert did it to give Ollie a chance, while Chase does it to take away hope. He even notes that they're on the same waters, and the revolver looks very similar.
39	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2pIYixobak Those pesky land mines]] are still around.
40	** Internal: Ollie's team passes a downed helicopter, with a body in roughly the same position that we find out later Ollie had killed Kovar.
41	** In the pilot, it was said that Oliver had burns on his back and arms. In this episode, we see that Kovar had inflicted them literally right before Oliver sprinted out to the boat.
42	** Minus an elbow strike, the move Ollie uses to disarm Evelyn is [[https://youtu.be/a2-ZXPnmVF0?t=54s one of the first techniques Slade taught him]], way back in "The Odyssey". Slade even uses something he said then as a CovertDistressCode.
43	** Kovar's men are ambushed by the swinging log BoobyTrap that nearly killed Thea in "The Return", and that Oliver admitted at the time had been set up by himself. Another reference to the same episode is that Thea instantly realises where they are once her blindfold is removed.
44	** Oliver stops an arrow by Talia the exact same way Chase stopped one of his in the mid-season finale: [[ShootTheBullet By cutting it in half with a throwing star]].
45	* ChekhovsGun: Curtis' new sonic device for Dinah, which was introduced during Oliver's birthday party in the previous episode, is given by Oliver to Dinah in this episode so she can bypass Chase's sonic dampener and use the Canary Cry to break the team out of prison.
46	* ClarkKenting: Turns out that when Oliver was rescued from the island, he was using a disguise provided by The Bratva to fake his having been on the island for the entire five year period. Fake hair, fake beard.
47	* {{Cliffhanger}}: A doozy. The episode ends with Oliver and William on a boat watching as Prometheus' explosives destroy the island and seemingly killing everyone on it.
48	* CombatPragmatist:
49	** Oliver brings an entire arsenal to the island, including a RPG, since in his own words he has "no intention of making this a fair fight". Unfortunately neither does Chase, who blows up the airplane carrying all this with his own RPG.
50	** Flashback Ollie tries to shoot Kovar in cold blood. Unfortunately, he was out of bullets.
51	** Quentin knocks Black Siren out with Dinah's dropped Bo staff when she tries to finish Dinah off with a Canary Cry.
52	* CommonalityConnection:
53	** Aside from his overall HeelRealization, the realization that Oliver is a father like him seems to be what cements Slade's HeelFaceTurn and shows that HesBack.
54	** Thea and Felicity both have criminal fathers whom they have mixed feelings for.
55	* ConservationOfNinjutsu: The largely unarmed Team Arrow wipes the floor with the FacelessGoons Assassins, unless they're named characters. The only one that doesn't is Quentin, who isn't exactly in fighting form. Talia's students aren't exactly "real" Assassins, and maybe they weren't trained to the same level as the originals troops.
56	* ContinuityNod: While he's willing to trust Slade to a certain extent, Oliver asks Thea to escort Felicity to safety because he doesn't trust Slade to do so. Given that Slade has specifically threatened Felicity on several occasions, this is justified.
57	* CrazyPrepared: As Chase puts it, Oliver is still ten step behind. He prepared for anything, even the case of Oliver being unwilling to kill him, forcing him into the SadisticChoice below. When even ''that'' fails, he simply kills himself to blow up the island anyway.
58	* CutHisHeartOutWithASpoon: Captain Boomerang's first line in this episode is to [[CasanovaWannabe make a pass at Nyssa.]] Her response?
59	-->'''Nyssa''': "Look at me like that again and I'll feed you your eyes."
60	* DeadMansSwitch: Chase rigged Lian Yu with enough explosives to completely destroy the island, and linked them to one of these, ensuring they go off it he dies.
61	* DesignatedGirlFight: A double example, with Nyssa facing her sister Talia and Dinah facing Black Siren. The latter also has two metas with an identical power trying to kill one another. Both are thrown clear when attempting to scream at each other.
62	* DrivenToSuicide: After Oliver still refuses to kill him, Chase finally puts matters into his own hands and blows his brains out, in order to trigger the explosives on Lian Yu.
63	* DroppedABridgeOnHim: Malcolm dies in a pretty unspectacular way by just blowing himself up on a landmine, and off-screen too. He takes Digger Harkness with him. In the end, this seemingly applies to ''everyone'' on the island, heroes and villains alike, as Chase blows it all up.
64	* DyingMomentOfAwesome:
65	** Merlyn seemingly dies saving Thea and killing Digger Harkness and a bunch of other mooks in one go.
66	** Prometheus dies while seemingly taking most of the other characters aside from Oliver and his son with him by blowing up Lian Yu, putting him in the likes of Malcolm and Slade as previous {{Big Bad}}s who Oliver couldn't kill.
67	* DynamicEntry: Slade makes a hell of an impressive one, bursting in through a window and mowing through Talia's followers when they try to attack Nyssa.
68	* EasilyForgiven:
69	** Averted in regards to Merlyn after his HeroicSacrifice. Even though Thea feels conflicted now, she still makes it clear that he was a horrible person and an even worse father.
70	** This is zigzagged with regards to Slade, Oliver is willing to work with him and, when questioned by Harkness, tells him that he trusts Slade more then him. However the rest of Oliver's team strongly disagree and [[WhatTheHellHero call Oliver out]] for working with him.
71	* FakeDefector: Slade, ''multiple'' times.
72	* FiveManBand: Oliver is the one who assembles TheTeam. Malcolm is Oliver's first "recruit" and the closest thing Oliver has as a NumberTwo. Slade is the most physically imposing of the "recruits" and is specifically enlisted for his combat prowess. He is the only one Oliver really trusts. Nyssa is [[TheSmurfettePrinciple the only female "recruit"]] and [[NobleDemon the most reasonable of the (ex-)villains]]. Harkness is CrazyPrepared criminal who fights strategically. He also turns out to be the SixthRangerTraitor, as he have been recruited by Chase before Oliver got to him.
73	* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Deathstroke, a highly experienced combatant, should know that if you really want to cover someone with a gun, you ''don't'' bring it right up to them within arm's reach, especially when they're as skilled as Oliver is. As it turns out, this is a BatmanGambit to get Evelyn and Talia to lower their guard.
74	* {{Foreshadowing}}: Two moments from the previous episode are given greater significance here:
75	** When Black Siren claimed that she allied with Prometheus in part because he made promises about Quentin's well-being, Quentin scoffed at her belief that Prometheus' word was worth anything. In this episode, he's proven right: Prometheus left both Quentin and Black Siren herself to die when he destroyed Lian Yu, and had been planning to the entire time.
76	** As Chase left after Oliver was forced to break him out of ARGUS custody, he said "see you on the boat". The end of this episode establishes that this wasn't just a taunt; William (the reason Oliver broke Chase free) was being kept on a boat, and Oliver and Chase have their final confrontation on the same boat.
77	* GatlingGood: Even Kovar's Gatling-armed helicopter isn't enough to kill Oliver Queen!
78	* GoodAllAlong: The episode plays with the viewer's expectations that Slade hasn't really reformed, and prepares several [[FakeDefector fake-outs]] of him supposedly going back to his old ways, which in each case turn out to be ways to manipulate Chase and his gang. In the end, he really does appear to have reformed.
79	* GoodOldFisticuffs: Rene and John take down several sword-wielding Assassins without any gear and just using straight-up punching techniques and throws[[note]][[JustifiedTrope Remember, both of them are ex-military, and Diggle is Ollie's sparring partner.]][[/note]].
80	* GrandFinale: The episode is this to Oliver's flashback StoryArc.
81	* GreenEyedMonster: Black Siren really hates Dinah for "replacing her"; a not unreasonable assumption since Oliver seemed genuinely interested in reforming her during the mid-series premiere.
82	* IHaveYourWife: Samantha and Oliver, big time, with their son being held by Adrian in an unknown location. This reaches its peak in the episodes climax when Adrian threatens to break William's neck if Oliver doesn't kill him.
83	* HeelFaceTurn: Slade evidently made a real one on top of his HeelRealization. Aside from multiple FakeDefector moments, he seems to have true camaraderie with [[BashBrothers Oliver]] over the fact that [[CommonalityConnection they are both fathers]], and seems to be genuinely remorseful about actions such as [[YouKilledMyFather killing his mother]].
84	* HeelRealization: Slade claims that the psychological effects of the Mirakuru wore off at some point between his last appearance and now leading him to a more subdued personality and describing his experiences as like a "bad dream." Its yet to see if its genuine or just his attempt at manipulation; he seems to be sincere throughout the episode, even seeming on the verge of tears when mentioning that he was the man who murdered Moira Queen.
85	* HesBack: After years of detox from [[PsychoSerum Mirakuru]], Slade Wilson is finally back to how he used to be prior to Shado's death.
86	* HistoryRepeats: Oliver's story began when he, his father, and a crew member were on a life raft alone as the only survivors of the ''Queen's Gambit''. Season 5 ends with Oliver and his son on a boat watching as they are seemingly made the only survivors of the events on Lian Yu.
87	* HolyGround: It's revealed in this episode that Lian Yu was a Chinese holy ground before it was turned into a prison. The place where Rene and Dinah are imprisoned, and where the climax battle takes place, was previously a temple.
88	* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Talia, Black Siren, and Evelyn gave all their loyalty to a deranged lunatic who is quite prepared to blow them all up. Black Siren stands out; she actually ''[[IdiotBall took Chase at his word]]'' that he wouldn't hurt Quentin; the very first thing he asked her to do was pose as her dead counterpart to emotionally torture said counterpart's loved ones.
89	* {{Hypocrite}}: Black Siren mocks Dinah for thinking she could "replace" her, despite having nothing but disdain for her heroic Earth-1 counterpart, and shrugging off Oliver's [[Recap/ArrowS5E10WhoAreYou attempts to reform her]].
90	* HowWeGotHere: The last part of the flashbacks is a recreation of the very first scene in the series, namely Oliver's escape from Lian Yu aboard a Chinese fishing vessel, using a mixture of new and archive footage.
91	* ILied: [[SarcasmMode To the surprise of all]], Chase was lying when he told Black Siren that Quentin wouldn't be harmed.
92	* InUniverseCatharsis: Quentin gets vengeance on Black Siren for pretending to be his Laurel last episode by knocking her out in a surprise attack.
93	* InsultBackfire: Invoked with Nyssa, regarding Talia's tirade.
94	-->'''Talia:''' You ally yourself with our father's murderer? He'd be ashamed of you.\
95	'''Nyssa:''' Father was always ashamed of me.
96	* InternalReveal: Oliver rescues William wearing his Green Arrow costume minus the hood and mask, so presumably his son now knows his identity.
97	* KickTheDog: Adrian forces Oliver to [[SadisticChoice choose]] between saving his friends or watching his son get his neck snapped right before his very eyes. When Oliver [[TakeAThirdOption takes a third option]], Adrian commits one final horrendous act of cruelty:
98	-->'''Adrian:''' You have each other...[[FalseReassurance which is good, Oliver, that's good...]] [[DeadMansSwitch because it's gonna be lonely without mom, or Felicity.]]
99	* KilledOffscreen:
100	** Both Malcolm and Harkness meet their apparent deaths offscreen; only the landmine's explosion is heard and witnessed from afar.
101	** The [[UncertainDoom apparent]] fate of everyone on Lian Yu when Chase detonates the explosives that raze the island.
102	* LampshadeHanging: When Slade asks what the deal with Prometheus is Oliver has this to say:
103	--> '''Oliver:''' My past is coming back to haunt me.\
104	'''Slade:''' [[DeadpanSnarker Seems to be a recurring thing with you, kid.]]
105	* LandmineGoesClick: When Thea steps on a landmine.
106	* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: Black Siren mocks Tina's ReplacementScrappy status.
107	* LeftHanging: There are several subplots from this season that are left unresolved:
108	** Vigilante's true identity. WordOfGod is we will find out next season.
109	** We don't find out how Prometheus' obsession with Oliver led to him finding about '''everything''' in the Arrowverse such as Black Siren being locked up in STAR Labs' Pipeline, to how Sara is traveling in time with the Legends, or how he found about Shado (which nobody except Oliver, Sara, or Slade should know about).
110	** We don't know if Rory ever found a way to restore his rags' magic.
111	** Whatever Helix is up to since they left Star City after Felicity helped free their leader from ARGUS custody.
112	** There are still pissed-off Bratva members in Star City who are eager to get their revenge on Oliver for betraying the Brotherhood.
113	* LeaveHimToMe: Talia orders her minions to back off during her duel with Nyssa.
114	* LikeCannotCutLike: Both Black Siren and Black Canary's Canary Cries cancel each other out.
115	* MadeOfIron: Kovar. Even after ''crashing down in a helicopter'', he still gives Oliver more of a fight than all of his mooks combined.
116	* MamaBear: She doesn't get much of a chance to act on it, but Samantha insists that she will ''not'' leave Lian Yu without her son.
117	* ManlyFacialHair: Slade sports his bushiest one yet on the series which makes sense considering that it's unlikely that ARGUS would provide a dangerous prisoner, especially an ex-mercenary, with anything sharp. Doubles as a BeardOfSorrow, as Slade has undergone a HeelRealization since his last appearance and is now consumed by remorse for his actions.
118	* ManlyTears: Flashback Oliver, even after being hardened by his five years in hell and his desire to become the Hood, can't help but shed a few tears when he calls his mother and tells her he is coming home.
119	* MeaningfulEcho: One that goes all the way back to Slade's first lesson to Oliver in "[[Recap/ArrowS1E14TheOdyssey The Odyssey]]". When pretending to switch sides Slade tells Oliver, [[MultitaskedConversation "There's no giving up to these guys"]]. Oliver then uses the disarming technique that Slade taught him.
120	-->'''Season One Slade:''' There is no giving up to these guys! No crying or buying your way out of it! You have two choices—escape or die. So choose!
121	* MistakenForPrankCall: The first thing Oliver does when he's rescued from the island is call his mother. He starts the call by saying "Mom, it's me, Oliver." However, Oliver has been missing and presumed dead for five years. Moira tells him that her son is dead, that it is cruel for him to claim to be her son, and that he should never call again. Oliver has to convince her that it is actually him and beg her not to hang up on him.
122	* MookHorrorShow: In the flashbacks Oliver massacres Kovar's various flunkies thanks to his knowledge of the island. Kovar's forces never stood a chance.
123	* TheMole: Slade seemingly betrays Oliver, and offers him up for Prometheus, but it was all a ruse; Slade taking Oliver captive was a way for the latter to give Dinah an "upgrade" to her powers Curtis planned to give her earlier, and Slade never betrayed the heroes at all.
124	* MoralMyopia: Talia admonishes Nyssa for siding with the man who murdered their father - the same cruel, misogynistic father she walked out on, knowingly leaving Nyssa to suffer his [[AbusiveParents abuse]] alone.
125	* MythologyGag: In [[Franchise/TheDCU the comics universe]], Adrian Chase (Vigilante) similarly dies by [[DrivenToSuicide shooting himself in the head]], though not for [[ThanatosGambit evil reasons]], but rather because he's consumed with guilt for what he's done.
126	* NeckSnap: How Oliver finishes off Kovar in the flashbacks. Nicely juxtaposed with his refusal to do the same to Chase in the present.
127	* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Olvier pulls no punches on Adrian, especially when interrogating him about the whereabouts of his son.
128	* NotSoDifferentRemark: Slade points out how similar he and Oliver are in that they are haunted by their past actions. He gives him the advice that he needs to forgive himself first of all things to put them behind.
129	* OhCrap: Talia's stoic demeanor cracks two times, both when she encounters her sister.
130	* TheOner: There are a couple during the big showdown.
131	* TheOneGuy: Prometheus is the only male major villain in this episode...at least until Digger Harkness joins him (and off course if you discount Kovar and his {{Mook}}s in the flashbacks).
132	* OneManArmy: Flashback!Oliver shows how far he has come by disposing of three of Kovar's men with only a knife while they are holding ''AK's''. The rest of them don't fare much better.
133	* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: Kovar insists that none of his men kill Oliver, as this is something he alone wants to do. It's not like any of them are ''able'' to do it anyway...
134	* PapaWolf: Oliver dishes out an absolutely savage beating to Chase while demanding to know where William is.
135	* PassingTheTorch: Dinah fully cements herself as Laurel's successor when Quentin tells her that she is no longer just the Canary, she's the Black Canary.
136	* PhoneCallFromTheDead: Played with. Moira thinks that someone is pranking her by pretending to be Oliver, since he "died five years ago." Turns out that he was calling her from the rescue ship after pretending to have been stuck on Lian Yu for the past five years.
137	* PlotHole: Black Siren mocking Dinah as "wanting to replace her" wouldn't be so jarring if Black Siren is actually Earth-1 Laurel or at least wants to live in her shoes. That statement contradicts her [[OtherMeAnnoysMe earlier unpleasant statements towards]] her DeadAlternateCounterpart.
138	* ThePlace: Lian Yu is the island where the FinalBattle is held.
139	* PostClimaxConfrontation: Following the grand brawl at the temple, Adrian escapes to his speedboat, where Oliver encounters him there for a final confrontation. Turns out that's where he's holding William hostage, and he's still got a few last tricks up his sleeve...
140	* PowerNullifier: Fitting his CrazyPrepared nature, Prometheus keeps Dinah captive in a room equipped with a sonic damper. Fortunately for Team Arrow, he wasn't counting on [[SpannerInTheWorks Slade Wilson]]...
141	* PrecisionFStrike: Oliver, who's not prone to swearing, calls Chase a "son of a bitch" when Chase reveals that he has William.
142	* PsychoticSmirk: Malcolm sports one, just before he steps off the land-mine and takes out Boomerang and some goons.
143	* PyrrhicVictory: Prometheus goes out of his way to see that Oliver beating him is one of these. At the end of the episode, Oliver has his son back and proved once and for all that he's not the killer Prometheus considers him to be. Prometheus, however, has one last trick up his sleeve: committing suicide to set off the DeadMansSwitch and trigger explosives that ravage Lian Yu, seemingly killing all of Oliver's friends.
144	* RankScalesWithAsskicking: Even after crashing down in a helicopter, Kovar still gives Oliver more of a fight than all his men together.
145	* RedemptionEqualsDeath: Afters ''years'' of [[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor going between]] [[WildCard good and evil]], Merlyn ultimately dies performing a HeroicSacrifice for his daughter.
146	* RescueArc: The main goal this episode is to rescue the captive Team Arrow members and William.
147	* TheResenter: Black Siren clearly takes issue with Dinah taking over for Earth-1 Laurel as Black Canary.
148	* RewardedAsATraitorDeserves: Pretty much everyone in this episode who has genuinely betrayed Oliver in this season is ([[UncertainDoom most likely]]) dead by the end of the episode. Harkness is killed by Merlyn's final act, and both Talia and Evelyn are left behind by Prometheus to die in the destruction of Lian Yu.
149	* RoguesGalleryShowcase: A who's who of ''Arrow'' villains: Talia and Prometheus gathering some of Oliver's past foes, and Oliver himself teaming up with his own past nemeses to even the odds.
150	* RuleOfSymbolism:
151	** When Oliver is talking to Slade outside his cell, Oliver's right eye is in shadow mimicking Slade's eyepatch.
152	** Season Five has a central theme of "letting go of the past". This is taken to its logical conclusion when Lian Yu explodes. Right when we run out of flashbacks, too.
153	* RunningGag: Once again, on Lian Yu someone accidentally steps on a land mine.
154	* SadisticChoice: Adrian gives Oliver an exceptionally cruel one: If Oliver shoots Adrian, the island will blow up due to his DeadMansSwitch; if not, Adrian will snap his son's neck. Oliver [[TakeAThirdOption takes a third option]] by shooting Adrian in the knee.
155	* SeasonFinale: Number five.
156	* SelfDisposingVillain: Chase takes his own life when Oliver refuses to.
157	* SeriesFauxnale: Considering the fact that the episode takes place on Lian Yu, WhereItAllBegan for the Franchise/{{Arrowverse}}, the episode is [[RoguesGalleryShowcase a showcase]] of damn near every villain introduced in ''Arrow'', this is the last year to have flashbacks, and this episode will feature the FinalBattle between Oliver and Prometheus, a villain created because of Oliver's actions as The Hood, it wouldn't be out of place to assume that this episode would serve as the GrandFinale of ''Arrow''. However, WordOfGod has confirmed that a sixth season will be produced.
158	* ShutUpHannibal: Adrian tries one last time to get Oliver to demonstrate he's a killer by claiming to have murdered William. Oliver's response?
159	-->'''Oliver:''' I don't believe you. Because you're a liar. You're lying to me to manipulate me into doing what you want. But Adrian, here's the thing. If you are telling the truth...if you killed my son, I am ''never'' going to be the person you want me to be. Not ever.
160	* SignificantWardrobeShift: Except when he's in combat, whenever Slade's motives seem questionable, he's playing FakeDefector, or the others express their distrust of him as a former adversary, his mask is on. Every time he's being genuine in talking to Oliver or relating to him, his mask is off.
161	* SmugSnake: Evelyn. Even after being overpowered and locked in a cage, she mocks Oliver, telling him that he stands no chance against Adrian.
162	* SnarkToSnarkCombat: While most of Oliver's group of villains hate each other, they have one thing in common: Their sharp tongues.
163	* SoreLoser: Adrian lost in every way that mattered. Oliver didn't kill him, and he still managed to save his son, leaving his enemy to watch him be a better father to his own son than his own father was for him. So, as one final "screw you" to Ollie, he commits suicide and sets off the deadman switch, blowing up the island and seemingly everyone else on it, including his own allies.
164	* StockFootage: The penultimate scene in the flashback is the opening shot of the entire series ([[Franchise/{{Arrowverse}} and franchise]]).
165	* StrikeMeDownWithAllOfYourHatred: Chase tries this time and again, but Oliver doesn't do it.
166	* SupermanStaysOutOfGotham: As usual, Oliver doesn't even consider calling in Barry or Kara, but it's especially egregious given that he calls on ''Digger Harkness and Malcolm Merlyn'' instead.
167	* SurvivorGuilt: After all this time, someone (namely Slade) calls Oliver out on the fact that he's been living with this ever since his father killed himself.
168	* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome
169	** Thea has hated Malcolm for years. Him sacrificing himself to save her, while it does provoke some mixed feelings, doesn't change that. One act of selflessness doesn't undo years of cruelty.
170	** Oliver doesn't believe Chase's claim that he killed William, because Chase is a known liar who'd say anything to manipulate Oliver. As you'd expect, Oliver considers the word of a man who has lied to him from literally the moment they met to be worth absolutely nothing.
171	* TakeAThirdOption: The episode climaxes with a choice between saving William's life (by killing Chase), and saving the lives of everyone on the island (by letting Chase live). Ollie starts to lower his bow...and shoots him in the foot.
172	* TakingYouWithMe:
173	** Chase's ''intention'', when he kills himself to blow up the island with all of Oliver's friends and allies still on it; ignoring the fact his own allies like Evelyn, Talia, and Black Siren are still on the island. Whether he succeeded or not is an open question until Season Six.
174	** Merlyn not only sacrifices himself to save Thea's life, but by fortunate coincidence he's able to take out Captain Boomerang and several goons with him.
175	** Kovar, after crashing down with his helicopter, doesn't count on surviving, but tries to stretch out his fight with Oliver so he won't be picked up by his boat home and has to stay marooned on the island.
176	** Finally, Chase plans on blowing up the entire island in case Oliver kills him.
177	* TeethClenchedTeamwork: In addition to continuing to trades jabs with Malcolm, Nyssa doesn't bother to hide her disdain for Slade and Digger Harkness when they join up. Harkness attempting to hit on Nyssa doesn't exactly help matters.
178	* TemptingFate: Thea says to Malcolm, "We are nothing to each other" right before she steps on a landmine, giving her father a chance to show how much she means to him.
179	* ThanatosGambit:
180	** In the flashbacks Kovar's ultimate plan for Oliver once he realises that he cannot kill him is instead to keep him preoccupied long enough for Oliver to miss his boat and be stuck on Lian Yu for the rest of his life. [[ForegoneConclusion Obviously this doesn't work.]]
181	** In the present Prometheus' explosives are on a deadman's switch. Whether Oliver kills him or he commits suicide, the explosives all over the island will get him his revenge either way. [[AxCrazy He decides on the latter.]]
182	* ThatManIsDead: Oliver says this of the killer he was.
183	* TrashTheSet: Lian Yu has been an integral set for the show since the pilot. In this episode's final moments, Chase blows it all to hell.
184	* UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny: What this episode centers on -- between Oliver and Prometheus.
185	* UncertainDoom:
186	** Whether anyone was actually killed in the explosion that ended the episode is unclear; the survivals of Team Arrow and Black Siren are SpoiledByTheFormat, and if they survived, it isn't entirely beyond the realm of possibility that Nyssa, Samantha, and Slade (who were with Team Arrow) and Talia and/or Evelyn (whose odds of survival were about the same as Black Siren's) did as well.
187	** While his fate is less ambiguous, Malcolm has escaped seemingly certain death before. That his death isn't seen onscreen only adds to the ambiguity. Same for Captain Boomerang.
188	* UndyingLoyalty: Black Siren is loyal to Chase because he saved her from prison. Her one condition: Quentin must not be harmed. Chase, for his part, neither [[UngratefulBastard returns the sentiment]] nor intends to keep his promise about sparing Quentin.
189	* UnexpectedCharacter:
190	** Captain Boomerang. Many assumed that since all the other Suicide Squad related characters like Waller and Deadshot were killed off because of the [[Film/SuicideSquad2016 film]] that he'd never be back again. And it turns out he is only BackForTheDead, so the assumption wasn't that far off.
191	** Moira Queen making a reappearance, albeit in flashback form.
192	* UngratefulBastard: Chase, as shown in the final scene: Talia trained him to take his revenge, Evelyn served as his mole and loyal sidekick, and Black Siren supported him in gratitude for her freedom. He left all of them to die on Lian Yu without a second thought.
193	* VillainsDyingGrace: Malcolm takes Thea's place on a landmine and uses it to take out Boomerang and some goons.
194	* WarriorTherapist: Slade shook off the Mirakuru-induced insanity, becomes level-headed and introspective, and now he plays this role to Oliver.
195	* WhamShot:
196	** When Curtis finds C4 near Chase's plane, Felicity decides to sweep Lian Yu for any other explosives. There ''are'': all over the island, in fact.
197	** Lian Yu blowing up, as Oliver watches in horror.
198	* WhatMeasureIsAMook: Nobody even ''thinks'' of going back for the A.R.G.U.S. agent who dutifully refused to abandon his post and got knocked out by Oliver. [[note]]He was probably the safest person on the island, as long as the door was closed. The bunker has to have some kind of food and water, and communication with the outside world. Even if he was sealed in, he'd be fine indefinitely.[[/note]]
199	* WhatTheHellHero: Thea is ''not'' happy Oliver enlisted Malcolm Merlyn and Slade Wilson, the two men who orphaned them. The rest of Team Arrow is quieter on the topic, but it's obvious that none of them are particularly happy to see Merlyn or Slade either.
200	* WhereItAllBegan: Lian Yu is literally the very first place shown in the Franchise/{{Arrowverse}} and the flashbacks extend all the way to the literal opening shots of the pilot episode.
201	* WoundedGazelleGambit: When Ollie finds Kovar in the flashback, the older man is crouching, has one hand behind his back and one hand visible. Ollie assumes Kovar is wounded and walks into knife range, whereupon Kovar pulls out a knife and slashes him across the chest.
202	* XanatosGambit: Prometheus set explosives all over the island to be triggered by a DeadMansSwitch. If Oliver kills him they go off and all of his friends and family on the island die. If Oliver refuses to kill him Chase will snap William's neck. Even when Oliver TakesAThirdOption and incapacitates Prometheus the villain still gets the last laugh by killing himself thus activating the switch.
203	* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: ''Slade'' of all people gives Oliver this, telling him to forgive himself for his past actions to finally move on to being a better person.
204	* YouKilledMyFather:
205	** The obvious reason why Thea is angry at Oliver for allying with Malcolm and Slade, since they are responsible for the deaths of Robert and Moira. She doesn't even ''consider'' Malcolm her father.
206	** Nyssa openly defies this when Talia calls her out for working with Oliver. She just shoots back to her sister that Ra's was not worthy of their loyalty for his disrespect and misogyny.
207	* YoureNotMyFather: Thea makes it abundantly clear she doesn't consider Malcolm anywhere ''close'' to her father, as he killed Robert Queen, her true father. This only changes slightly after Malcolm dies.
208	* YoureNotMyType: In a variation on this trope, it's Malcolm who says this almost word for word to Captain Boomerang [[DudeShesALesbian when the latter tries to hit on Nyssa]]. Her own response was a bit... [[CutHisHeartOutWithASpoon colder]].
209	* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Oliver practically lived on the island physically and mentally. Now that it's been blown up, he can never go back.

Context Recap / ArrowS5E23LianYu