Spoilers for those not caught up on Arrow

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The CW releases a series of images from the season 5 finale of Arrow, titled 'Lian Yu'. In the past five years on Arrow, Oliver Queen has faced some truly evil villains threatening to hurt the people he loves. His mother, his best friend Tommy, and his ex-girlfriend and fellow vigilante Laurel have all been killed by some of the show's main bad guys. And pretty much everyone else in his life has at some point been held hostage or otherwise threatened in order to get to Ollie. It's a classic move to use against superheroes, and the various evil characters on Arrow have utilized it to various success.

But never to this extent. By the end of the episode 'Missing', Adrian Chase and his own team had kidnapped virtually everyone Ollie cares about. All five current members of Team Arrow, Thea, Lance, and Ollie's son William are at the mercy of a man bent on revenge against Ollie for his past sins. Oliver has known for a long time that his team not only helps him by providing backup and tech support, they also keep him grounded and prevent him from losing control. They give him his humanity. By the end of the last episode, Oliver knew he could not save them by himself. Nor will he have to.

The CW has released a gallery of pictures from the upcoming Arrow season 5 finale. Chase may have captured his team. But these images show that Ollie is ready to assemble another, a task he has already begun.

[vn_gallery name="Arrow Season 5 Finale Images" id="970441"]

Everyone who Ollie brings into this new team has been his adversary at some point. Slade and Malcolm have both killed people that Ollie loved dearly. It's clear that in order to save his friends and family, Oliver Queen will work with whoever he has to and do whatever must be done.

And it would appear in these pictures that once Ollie's friends are free, both teams will be merging into one large group to fight Chase and his followers. Many of the photos show characters like Deathstroke and Captain Boomerang mixed in with Ollie's friends. There is a lot of bad blood between many of these characters, so the likelihood they can all work together is not strong.

Oliver's son does not seem to be in these pictures, though his mother appears in a few. It's possible that William is separated from the other hostages and that Chase still has him somewhere when he and Ollie come face to face. After all, it was for William that Ollie finally broke down and helped Chase escape from custody. It's likely that Chase would consider him the most important hostage and keep him someplace even more protected.

While these pictures do reveal a few spoilers from the episode, there is still plenty more to discover before the season comes to a close. And with a big cliffhanger promised, there is also the distinct possibility that things with these various friends and foes will continue into next season.

Next: Arrow to Air on A New Night Next Season

Arrow season 5 concludes Wednesday, May 24 with 'Lian Yu' at 8pm on The CW.

Source: The CW