I "just discovered" this show and finished it tonight. Thank you for these phenomenal reviews of a great series.

I love this episode. The Dukat and Winn thing was terrible, but by and large I thought it was an extremely gratifying and satisfying conclusion to a great show.

True. I hope they keep the focus squarely on him.

Arrow's not required viewing. It's not a great show (though it has some great moments and episodes). The characterization is borderline inane, some of the acting poor, etc. But that doesn't matter to me. Arrow this season is the right kind of enjoyable schlock, in that it's actually enjoyable. "Checkmate" was just…

Yea but Worf

It doesn't matter their skin color-they happen to have really awesome scary voices.

Except Felicity's storyline has impacted the main storyline-Helix helped them break John out of prison, and might do something else down the line.

"Arrow is truly Arrow again, and it’s a joy to behold."

Haha. They better do Black Canary justice.

If Laurel is actually back from the dead, the Lance sisters death/resurrection cycle is absolutely ridiculous. So, Sara was presumed dead, was then revealed to be alive, then was killed off, then resurrected, then Laurel was killed off, and everyone made a big deal about that, and now she's resurrected. Poor Quentin.

Yes! Sara was a massive asset to the show, just a really awesome presence I always wanted more of. Laurel….not so much. Despite her comics-mandated connection toe Oliver, the two had zero chemistry.

I agree. I thought it didn't work at all. Thea becoming a vigilante after just a few months training under Malcom Merlyn was a bit of a stretch, but Laurel becoming a competent fighter after sparring with Ted Grant was just absurd. I didn't buy it for a second; there's no way she could even be close to Sara's level.

The episode was really lacking in tension.