My theory, Merlyn pulled Boomerang close enough to use his body as a weight replacement cause Digger had no idea Merlyn was standing on a mine and because he had time, he went to the other side of the island to get a boat and save the gang...I 'm sure Talia's large army did not come in that small plane, they had their own plane or boat out there.

I hear Vigilante will be one of the main villains next season (possibly the first half)

As disappointed as I was with The Flash finale, this one surprised and very much entertained me. Although John Barrowman has announced he won't be around next year, that doesn't mean Merlyn is dead. I agree...he's a survivor. This might even bring him and Thea closer.

I honestly did not expect Chase to take his own life. One thing is for certain...William is going to need some serious therapy. But...doesn't everyone who's in Oliver's life?

@Warpath said:

My theory, Merlyn pulled Boomerang close enough to use his body as a weight replacement cause Digger had no idea Merlyn was standing on a mine and because he had time, he went to the other side of the island to get a boat and save the gang...

Expect the unexpected my friend, because I have no idea how anyone could survive a whole island explosion, plus there is no Flash to help this time.

I mean, most of them will probably come out alive somehow; that seems like a given. But I do agree, it ended on a better, more climactic note than the Flash. It'll be interesting to see how anyone survives, and if they the guts to have anyone be dead. Nessa seems like the most disposable, from an ensemble cast stand point; in that she's recurring at best, and not to hat high profile of character. Plus it would be something to hit home on Legends, when Sara finds out.

Hard to say about Malcolm. They were certainly playing it as his swan song, making him pay the ultimate sacrifice for his daughter, and Thea's conflicting thoughts afterwards. It would be so pointless if he turned up alive; yet still entirely possible, especially since we never saw a body. John Barrowman's comments might just be that, as far as her knows he's down, but that could always change I'd he gets a call from the producers. On the other hand, he does seem to like to be busy, and maybe he felt it was time to close that chapter.

It didn't occur to me until part way through the episode, how it felt a little disingenuous putting him in any type of heroic or sympathetic role, after making him one of the villains during Legends' season...

@GForce59 said:

William is going to need some serious therapy. But...doesn't everyone who's in Oliver's life?

I wish it was his real comic universe son Connor Hawke, that would be the decisive moment for him to become the next Emerald Archer.

@stargazer1682 said:

It didn't occur to me until part way through the episode, how it felt a little disingenuous putting him in any type of heroic or sympathetic role, after making him one of the villains during Legends' season...

TBF that version of him was the past Merlyn who still had his hand. And the scene where he pushed her and took her place was really touching, felt so genuine and that man despite his flaws really does love his daughter.

@Jassem said:

@stargazer1682 said:

It didn't occur to me until part way through the episode, how it felt a little disingenuous putting him in any type of heroic or sympathetic role, after making him one of the villains during Legends' season...

TBF that version of him was the past Merlyn who still had his hand. And the scene where he pushed her and took her place was really touching, felt so genuine and that man despite his flaws really does love his daughter.

Agreed. Excellent acting by Barrowman. You could see the love in his eyes for his daughter when they parted.

@Jassem said:

@stargazer1682 said:

It didn't occur to me until part way through the episode, how it felt a little disingenuous putting him in any type of heroic or sympathetic role, after making him one of the villains during Legends' season...

TBF that version of him was the past Merlyn who still had his hand. And the scene where he pushed her and took her place was really touching, felt so genuine and that man despite his flaws really does love his daughter.

No it wasn't. Thawne found him at the point he had been defeated; living in a rundown hotel or apartment. It was only after using the spear (and the promise that got him involved in the first place) that Malcolm was "whole"; which invariably meant when the so-called "Legends" prevented the use of the sphere, he went back to not having it. I think Malcolm and Darhk even discussed Malcolm's brief tenure as Ra's al Ghul, since that was a position Darhk had once coveted, but that would have only been past tense after Malcolm lost his hand.

Overall, it was a pretty good finale. But I have 3 minor gripes. 1) how the heck did they have time to plant hundreds of bombs all over the island. 2) I hate season ending cliff hangers. 3) I hate the fact that Oliver and his team of heroes are so useless and incompetent that he has to recruit a team of villains to save all of them.

@stargazer1682 said:

@Jassem said:

@stargazer1682 said:

It didn't occur to me until part way through the episode, how it felt a little disingenuous putting him in any type of heroic or sympathetic role, after making him one of the villains during Legends' season...

TBF that version of him was the past Merlyn who still had his hand. And the scene where he pushed her and took her place was really touching, felt so genuine and that man despite his flaws really does love his daughter.

No it wasn't. Thawne found him at the point he had been defeated; living in a rundown hotel or apartment. It was only after using the spear (and the promise that got him involved in the first place) that Malcolm was "whole"; which invariably meant when the so-called "Legends" prevented the use of the sphere, he went back to not having it. I think Malcolm and Darhk even discussed Malcolm's brief tenure as Ra's al Ghul, since that was a position Darhk had once coveted, but that would have only been past tense after Malcolm lost his hand.

Sorry I probably forgot that the spear made him whole I just assumed he was the past one. My mistake :p

@Taylorfirst1 said:

Overall, it was a pretty good finale. But I have 3 minor gripes. 1) how the heck did they have time to plant hundreds of bombs all over the island. 2) I hate season ending cliff hangers. 3) I hate the fact that Oliver and his team of heroes are so useless and incompetent that he has to recruit a team of villains to save all of them.

1- Plot duh. 2- Me too, but I give them a pass for the epic finale. 3- He wanted some people he can dispose of to concentrate on saving the people he loves which is f*&%ing disgusting tbh.

@GForce59 said:

@Jassem said:

@stargazer1682 said:

It didn't occur to me until part way through the episode, how it felt a little disingenuous putting him in any type of heroic or sympathetic role, after making him one of the villains during Legends' season...

TBF that version of him was the past Merlyn who still had his hand. And the scene where he pushed her and took her place was really touching, felt so genuine and that man despite his flaws really does love his daughter.

Agreed. Excellent acting by Barrowman. You could see the love in his eyes for his daughter when they parted.

Too bad he is leaving the show :(

@Jassem said:

Best Arrow season finale to date, it trumps The Flash's IMO. The cliffhanger is better too I can't wait for next season I'm already excited even though I seriously was considering to bail mid-season but I'm glad I kept watching.

Do you think they'll survive? Did Malcolm really die because, we didn't actually see him blow up and if I know one thing about him is that he's a goddamn first class survivor lol.

8/10 episode

P.S. Surprisingly still no Vigilante!

We were on the same page, I was gonna bail mid-season too but decided to at least stick with it to the end of the season, glad I did as well. I was not feeling this season in the beginning or even a few episodes after it came back mid-season. It started getting interesting to me after we found out about Chase being Prometheus.

I really liked the finale and glad it was left with a cliffhanger because it's something different. Not to say I didn't appreciate the happy endings the other season finales had, but the team actually being in real danger upped the ante and I actually look forward to next season even though everybody will probably make it.

@Jassem said:

@Taylorfirst1 said:

Overall, it was a pretty good finale. But I have 3 minor gripes. 1) how the heck did they have time to plant hundreds of bombs all over the island. 2) I hate season ending cliff hangers. 3) I hate the fact that Oliver and his team of heroes are so useless and incompetent that he has to recruit a team of villains to save all of them.

1- Plot duh. 2- Me too, but I give them a pass for the epic finale. 3- He wanted some people he can dispose of to concentrate on saving the people he loves which is f*&%ing disgusting tbh.

Agreed, it's disgusting. But Slade would've died in that bunker if Oliver didn't come and get him for help. You feel bad for Nyssa.. God she's hot.

@danithang said:

@Jassem said:

Best Arrow season finale to date, it trumps The Flash's IMO. The cliffhanger is better too I can't wait for next season I'm already excited even though I seriously was considering to bail mid-season but I'm glad I kept watching.

Do you think they'll survive? Did Malcolm really die because, we didn't actually see him blow up and if I know one thing about him is that he's a goddamn first class survivor lol.

8/10 episode

P.S. Surprisingly still no Vigilante!

I really liked the finale and glad it was left with a cliffhanger because it's something different. Not to say I didn't appreciate the happy endings the other season finales had, but the team actually being in real danger upped the ante and I actually look forward to next season even though everybody will probably make it.

Agreed . The cliffhanger made the finale great imo, although many people hate cliffhangers. They'll probably will but I'm itching to know how will they exactly?!