Another CW crossover season has now come and gone, and this was not only the biggest, but by far the most ambitious yet. The two-night, four-hour event played out like on long movie, rather than letting the timeslots dictate the story content. In the “Invasion” crossover,Supergirlwas barely a part of things andArrow’s hour was dedicated mostly to its 100th episode. This time around, “Crisis on Earth-X” did away with each shows' individual titles, and it was much better for it. Barry and Iris’ wedding took place technically onSupergirl,The Flashhad the darkest episode of the four (in contrast with its light tone this season), and fittingly, all of the heroes came together to wrap things up onLegends of Tomorrow. The crossover didn’t waste much time on exposition for those who don’t follow all of the shows, and instead took that time to give us some excellent character moments.
For a detailed analysis of both nights, check out Kayti Burt’srecap of Parts 1 and 2, and Carla Day’srecap of Parts 3 and 4. But I also wanted to talk about the highlights — and lowlights — of the two-night event:
Best: Unexpected Character Pairings
The true joy of anyArrow-verse crossover is seeing our favorites from each show interacting with other characters they never see (or have never met). Heatwave’s crush on Killer Frost, the team-up between Alex and Sara (more on that later), and Curtis strategizing with Zari and Amaya were all delightful. Even pairs we’ve seen before (like Felicity and Iris) were a joy. The best moment, though, may have been the one where it’s revealed Oliver and Kara are married on Earth-X. Seeing those two lock lips was a serious moment of cognitive dissonance, and it was amazing. The crossover didn’t hold back, and threw so much into its four hours of storytelling. But seeing our heroes (and villains) mix and match was incredibly fun.
Worst: Felicity’s Kanye Moment
Girl, bye. Iris and Barry have been trying to get married for ages now, and actual Nazis prevented their wedding from happening. So just before the two are about to say “I do” thanks to the help of John Diggle, Felicity pulls a “Imma stop you right there,” on them, and makes it all about her relationship with Oliver. Seriously? You guys already got a wedding (grant it, a fake one), and could have another on a futureArrowfor all we know. Barry and Iris haven’t gone through one ceremony without an interruption. Not cool!
Best: The Dopplegangers
The arrival of Dark Arrow and Overgirl were no surprise to those who watched the crossover teases and saw the many images released, but the conversations between Overgirl and Supergirl turned out to be particularly potent drama. However, Dark Arrow didn’t seem that different from Green Arrow, other than the fact he is a Nazi and has a clear sense of himself. In light of that, the crossover wisely kept the pair out of very many scenes together, versus the many scenes shared with the two Karas.Melissa Benoistwas really outstanding here, but let us not forget the other evil doppleganger: Quentin Lance! He was bone-chilling as a Nazi officer.
There were some great non-evil dopplegangers as well, most especially Citizen Cold rather than Captain Cold, and the no-nonsense General Schott instead of our typical adorkable Winn. It probably would have been too much to show us any more Earth-X dopplegangers, but I really never get tired of it.
Worst: The Return of Wellsobard
Hear me when I say that Wellsobard (i.e. Eobard Thawne in the body suit of Harrison Wells 1.0) is probably my favorite villain of theArrow-verse. However … he had a pretty definitive end that was explored not only at the end ofThe FlashSeason 1, but throughoutLegends of TomorrowSeason 2 (via the excellent Legion of Doom), where his remnant was on the run from being destroyed by Black Flash. Ultimately, Black Flash did get him and erased him from the timeline. Yes, all timelines.
So if you’re going to bring Eobard Thawne back, why not bringMatt Letscherback as well? I knowTom Cavanaghloves playing various versions of Wells, but it made no damn sense here. Again, to be clear, I’m ok with Eobard as a villain, but Wellsobard is old news. However, it did set up Eobard as taking the face of another Flash ally in the future to confuse the team.
Best: The Fight Choreography
The fights were fire, y’all. From the showdown at the wedding (where Alex and Sara had some great moves, as did Wally in an unexpectedly awesome short sequence) to the slow-mo from Oliver’s POV during the warehouse fight, the choreography was on point. It was fresh and complex, and helped make the crossover feel even more special. When I visited the CW sets in Vancouver, we got to see demonstrations from all of the stunt teams. Folks, these guys and gals are absolutely amazing, and the commitment they have coupled with their immense skills are really something to behold. Don’t forget them!
Worst: Half-Baked Use of Nazis
Nazis have become a shorthand for evil (and yet they have horrendously gained prominence again culturally). The crossover used the Nazis of Earth-X as a way to not have to explain the origin or ultimate evil plan of the Evil Dopplegangers besides “Aryan dominance!”, but it was pretty muddled. Why was the aniti-Flash Thawne there and helping them when their main goal was just to capture Supergirl to get her heart for Overgirl? The use of a concentration camp was also shaky stuff. Other than The Ray, the heroes pretty much ignored the other prisoners, and didn’t seem to think it was important to free them. Yes, they killed Dark Arrow and Overgirl imploded, but there were plenty of people still on Earth-X to continue that evil regime.
Also, as great as it was to have Felicity talk about her grandparents surviving the Holocaust, and the impact of seeingEarth-X Felicity as a quiet resistance fighter in the camp, there wasn’t any mention of Stein being Jewish, or the fact that the Nazisdid actually succeedin killing him. Ultimately, just a lot of missed opportunities with this particular Earth-X villainy.
Best: Stein and Jax
Since we first heard the news thatVictor Garberwould be departingLegends of Tomorrowfor Broadway, Jax and Stein have been getting more screen time and stories together. It’s been a very good thing, and also fairly overdue. The body swapping was fun, but the crossover went for the dramatic jugular. Just when we think Stein is set for a nice retirement (leaving Jax’s position uncertain — can be he Firestorm alone?), he gets shot up by Nazis. Yes, he does end up saving everyone by turning off that main switch, but it still sucks. It did, however, lead to some wonderful scenes with Jax about their father / son dynamic. Stein died a hero’s death of sacrifice. However ….
Worst: The Death of Stein
Why did he have to die?! It felt powerful enough for Jax to admit that what was bothering him even more than losing his powers was losing his partner in Stein. Did they really need to kill him off?You could argue that it added some stakes to the crossover, but come on — we already knew he was leaving. And while no one really leaves theArrow-verse until we see a body in the ground (and even then it’s suspect), I would have felt very comfortable just wishing Grandad Stein a nice life with his family. He explained many times why he was choosing this, and why it would be permanent. Even worse, his funeral got usurped by a double wedding!
Neutral: The CG
Let me start by saying: God bless the visual effects teams in theArrow-verse. They are an extremely hardworking bunch, and they have a crap ton to do each week. Some of it looks better than others, but they always make it work. Red Tornado, for instance, was a tip to tail improvement over his first appearance onSupergirl, where he looked like a CG villain from 1997. But the crossover leaned very heavily into full CG battles between Supergirl and Overgirl, the Flashes, The Ray, and more. Because of that, zooming around Nazi-fied Earth-X was pretty janky, and some of those digitally constructed fights were cartoonish. But Metallo looked great, as did the ATOM’s powers of embiggening, and the return of King Shark, among others. Overall, it matched those show’s typical aesthetic, so good on the CG team for what was surely a few hellish weeks of work.
Best: Alex and Sara’s One Night Stand
Chyler Leighdoesn’t get a chance to do much comedy onSupergirl, but that should be fixed immediately. Her reactions in the wake of her hookup with Sara were hilarious, and she was a stand-out in “Crisis on Earth-X” as a whole. Sara being stone-cold (but amused) after their night together was very much in character, and the way it slowly played out over the two nights was really fun. Plus, it gave Alex something a little bit of a lighthearted storyline after the heavy drama of the Maggie breakup.
