Ratings The episode was watched by 1.72 million viewers with a 0.6/3 share among adults aged 18 to 49. This was a 19% increase in viewership from the previous episode, which was seen by 1.44 million viewers and a 0.5/2 in the 18-49 demographics. This means that 0.6 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode, while 3 percent of all households watching television at that time watched it.
Critical response "Lian Yu" received universal acclaim from critics, with many ranking it as the best episode of the show. Jesse Schedeen of
IGN gave the episode a "masterpiece" 10 out of 10 and wrote in his verdict, "
Arrow truly cemented its comeback with tonight's season finale. 'Lian Yu' is a high point not just for Season 5, but for the series as a whole. It succeeded in bringing Ollie's story full circle, making strong use of some very welcome guest stars and giving the Prometheus conflict the dramatic finish it deserved. The wait for the new season just got much, much more agonizing."
The A.V. Club's Alasdair Wilkins gave the episode an "A" grade and wrote, "Taken in isolation, 'Lian Yu' is a strong but probably not superlative episode. Other episodes have had bigger action beats, better observed character moments, stronger points to make about who Oliver is and what his existence as the Green Arrow means. But this episode climbs into the uppermost echelon of
Arrow episodes because it taps directly into everything that has come before it. That sense of culmination makes tonight's episode something special, bringing what is effectively a decade's worth of story to an end... only to blow everything up. What happens from here is uncertain, and this finale sure appears to challenge
Arrows sixth season to carve out something new for the show. But as a final affirmation, even celebration of
Arrows journey up to this point — an imperfect journey that has mostly been fun, and often good or better, at least when Oliver wasn't doing whatever he was up to in Hong Kong for that one year — 'Lian Yu' is just about perfect. This episode is all that
Arrow is... or perhaps, from now on, what it was." Andy Behbakht of
TV Overmind gave the episode a perfect 5 star rating out of 5 and wrote "Let's take a moment to applaud the brilliance of both Stephen Amell and Josh Segarra, who brought out the very best acting from each other this season on
Arrow. Any scene between Oliver and Adrian Chase this season was absolutely electric, and it had to do with these two performers sharing the screen together. I'll miss Segarra's presence on the show in Season 6, but his performance ensures that Prometheus will go down as one of the all-time best
Arrow villains." Sara Netzley of
EW gave the episode an "A" grade and stated: "Well, here endeth season 5, which was a bit of a roller coaster. The Russia flashbacks were a marked improvement over the season 4 flashbacks and Josh Segarra played a great villain, but the new team members were a bit of a mixed bag. Rene struggled to get beyond 'grating,' while Rory showed great promise before vanishing. And while Dinah's a welcome addition, let us never speak of reporter Susan again. Looking ahead, I'm hoping for a big bad who can top Adrian Chase, more Dinah, a swift resolution to Rene's custody battle, the return of Rory, Thea back full time, and a happy, drama-free Olicity in season 6." Lindsay Macdonald of
TV Guide wrote positive about the episode, stating "It's true that season finales usually come with a bodycount, but killing off the entire cast besides Oliver and his son? That seems farfetched, even for The CW." ==References==