History Recap / ArrowS6E23LifeSentence

** Oliver tells Rene that he is proud of him do and that he has become a man that the city needs.

* BittersweetEnding: The list of people under Diaz's influence is exposed, finally freeing the city from his corruption. However, [[VillainExitStageLeft he's still in the wind]], Quentin dies, Team Arrow's bases of operations have been destroyed in [[Recap/ArrowS6E22TheTiesThatBind the previous episode]], and Oliver goes to prison after publicly exposing himself as the Green Arrow. This also counts in a meta level, as infamous showrunners Marc Guggenheim and Wendy Mericle are finally leaving the series after this episode even though the series took a decline in both quality and popularity for years for most of their tenure.

* EndOfAnAge: Oliver's six-year hard work to keep his SecretIdentity finally comes to an end. In a meta-example, the season concludes with both the departures of two original [[Creator/WillaHolland cast]] [[Creator/PaulBlackthorne members]] and showrunners since the third season.

* StormingTheCastle: The episode's opening has all of Team Arrow, along with the FBI, assaulting the SCPD precinct and taking out the corrupt cops one by one.

* TheDreaded: The Longbow Hunters. Even the League of Assassins were afraid of them.

* BittersweetEnding: The list of people under Diaz's influence is exposed, finally freeing the city from his corruption. However, [[VillainExitStageLeft he's still in the wind]], Quentin dies, Team Arrow's bases of operations have been destroyed in [[Recap/ArrowS6E22TheTiesThatBind the previous episode]], and Oliver goes to prison after publicly exposing himself as the Green Arrow. This also counts in a meta level, as showrunners Marc Guggenheim and Wendy Mericle, who brought the show to life but also were responsible for some of its creative decline, are finally leaving the series after this episode.

** Played straight with Laurel. Her sonic scream knocks Diaz into the water but leave him alive, allowing him to escape.

* SoProudOfYou: Rene tells Zoe how proud he is of her when he calls her while being surrounded by bombs.

* BittersweetEnding: The list of people under Diaz's influence is exposed, finally freeing the city from his corruption. However, [[VillainExitStageLeft he's still in the wind]], Quentin dies, Team Arrow's bases of operations have been destroyed in [[Recap/ArrowS6E22TheTiesThatBind the previous episode]], and Oliver goes to prison after publicly exposing himself as the Green Arrow. This also counts in a meta level, as infamous showrunners Marc Guggenheim and Wendy Mericle are finally leaving the series after this episode.

* KarmaHoudini: For the very first time in any season finale of ''Series/{{Arrow}}'', the BigBad is known to still be alive and to have fully evaded justice[[note]]Keep in mind that while Merlyn was technically a KarmaHoudini for season 1, it was assumed by both the audience and characters that he had died at the time, making it only a retroactive example.[[/note]], meaning he'll likely return in the same role next season.

* KarmaHoudini: For the very first time in any season finale of ''Series/{{Arrow}}'', the BigBad is known to still be alive and to have fully evaded justice, meaning he'll likely return in the same role next season.

* WhamEpisode: Although this is expected for a SeasonFinale, the fact that Oliver publicly exposes himself as the Green Arrow ''and'' goes to prison for it has major, permanent implications for the whole series going forward, potentially even with ripple effects throughout the whole ''Franchise/{{Arrowverse}}''.

** Much like when [[Recap/ArrowS4E18ElevenFiftyNine Quentin]] arrived too late to see Laurel before her death, Sara arrives too late to see her father before his. What's worse is that both Laurel and Quentin were expected to [[KickTheDog make full recoveries]] in their respective episodes.

* Overcrank: Used in some of the fight scenes, particular the final fight on the roof between Oliver and Diaz, and when Sara arrives in the hospital.

** Played straight with Laurel. Her sonic waves knock Diaz away but leave him alive, allowing him to escape.

* SequelHook: Despite his empire being destroyed, Diaz is still in the wind, plotting his revenge, and apparently now has the aid of the [[GreaterScopeVillain Longbow Hunters]].