Arrow Season 5 Finale Teases All-Star Team-Ups

[SPOILERS for those not caught up on Arrow ahead.]

The fifth season of Arrow is only three episodes away from its conclusion. Oliver Queen has been home for the same amount of time he was away for - five years. Due to the show's use of flashbacks to show what happened to Ollie during his five years in hell, the audience has seen how the carefree young playboy has matured into a vigilante hero, and how that hero has grown. While Arrow is returning with a sixth season, an era of the show has come to an end, as the fans will have some closure on Ollie's now ten year journey.

Much of who Ollie has become and how he has changed has come from the various people in his life. From those he met on Lian Yu to the family and friends he reunited with when he came home to the various people who have joined him on his quest, everyone Oliver knows has shaped the man he has become - for better or for worse. And during these past ten years, there have been a number of betrayals. People Ollie thought were friends turned on him time and again, while conversely several former enemies have allied with The Green Arrow.

And according to the synopsis for the Arrow season five finale, the last episode of the season will be filled with friends and enemies. But not all of them are fighting for who you might expect them to:

DEATHSTROKE, NYSSA AL GHUL, MERLYN AND DIGGER HARKNESS JOIN OLVER’S BATTLE AGAINST PROMETHEUS — 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. Jesse Warn directed the episode written by Wendy Mericle & Marc Guggenheim (AR523). Original air date 5/24/2017.

Most of these returning actors have been previously announced, but it is still an incredible thing to realize when all of these names are listed together And there are certainly a few surprises. This will be the first time sisters Nyssa and Talia al Ghul will be seen together in the show's history. Considering their very different feelings towards Ollie, specifically in regards to their father's death, it will be interesting to see their family reunion happen on opposite sides of the battlefield.

But not only is Nyssa fighting against her sister, she is also fighting on the same side as Malcolm Merlyn. Considering their battle for control of the League of Assassins, and the part she played in Merlyn losing his hand, there is certainly no love lost between these two. How well they get along and work together remains to be seen, but history shows that it is not really promising.

There is also the fact that nearly everyone on both sides of the fight has been Ollie's friend at one point, and his enemy at another. Some - like Merlyn and Nyssa - have gone back and forth depending on their personal wants and needs in the moment. The big exception to this is Digger Harkness, aka Captain Boomerang. He has only ever been an enemy, but now it looks like he will be fighting for Ollie. Maybe his freedom is promised in exchange, or perhaps his time on Lian Yu has changed Digger as much as it once changed Oliver.

So not only is there a question of who will win this upcoming battle - and who will survive it. But there is also the possibility that some of those who are fighting for Ollie are actually playing a long con, and planning on betraying him again. Of course, that also means that help might come from Chase's side of the battle. In any case, the episode is poised to show one explosive reunion.