Arrow season 5 finale “Lian Yu” synopsis + live stream: Watch online
By Amy Woolsey
With its season 5 finale, Arrow promises to resolve 114 episodes of story. You don’t want to miss it, so here’s everything you need to know about “Lian Yu”.
The end is here, and I’m not at all ready. Okay, it’s technically only a temporary end; The CW renewed Arrow (along with the rest of its superhero shows) for an additional season some time ago. Yet, I don’t relish the prospect of losing this show, which has been an unexpected source of entertainment and comfort lately, even for a few months.
At least tonight’s season 5 finale should be something to remember. Below, you can read the official synopsis for “Lian Yu”, courtesy of Heroic Hollywood:
"The battle between Oliver (Stephen Amell) and Adrian Chase (Josh Segarra) culminates in a final epic battle on Lian Yu. After recent events, Oliver decides to recruit a group of unlikely allies – Slade (guest star Manu Bennett), Nyssa (guest star Katrina Law), Merlyn (John Barrowman), and Digger Harkness (guest star Nick E. Tarabay) – to defeat Chase. However, Chase has his own army – Black Siren (guest star Katie Cassidy), Evelyn Sharp (guest star Madison McLaughlin), and Talia al Ghul (guest star Lexa Doig) – and the forces collide in an explosive season finale."
Phew, that’s a lot of characters. And the description doesn’t even mention the other members of Team Arrow, whom Adrian brought to Lian Yu last week as bait to draw out Oliver. Hopefully, the episode finds time for everyone, though, as far as we know, it still only runs an hour long.
The unknown names
If you don’t recognize one of the names listed above, it’s because Digger Harkness last appeared in the third season. Nicknamed Captain Boomerang by The Flash’s Cisco, he was a member of the Suicide Squad until a mission in Tanzania went awry and Lyla ordered the whole team killed. But Harkness’s explosive failed, and he survived. In “The Brave and the Bold” (aka part two of “Flarrow”), he tried to get revenge on Lyla. After Oliver and Barry cooperated to foil his plan, he was sent to the A.R.G.U.S. prison on Lian Yu.
Bring back a one-off villain like Harkness for the season finale might seem odd. But since he’s already on Lian Yu, it makes sense for Oliver to enlist him as an ally against Adrian. Plus, he and Slade have a bit of history (they trained together at the Australian Secret Intelligence Service), which could be interesting.
Here’s the live stream information:
Date: Wednesday, May 24
Start time: 8 p.m. EST
Episode: “Lian Yu”
TV Channel: The CW
Live Stream: Stream 1 | Stream 2
Jesse Warn directs from a script by showrunners Wendy Mericle and Marc Guggenheim.