This series will be a brief, semi-comedic review of the CW superhero shows. You can check out last week’s review post here, or see the tally of winners below. The only shows discussed will be ‘Arrow’, ‘Flash’, and ‘Supergirl’. There WILL be some spoilers discussed, so only look at the reviews you’re up to date on!
Supergirl, “Medusa” (Nov. 28)
This week’s Supergirl wasn’t as central to the crossover as the other CW shows. It’s not a weak episode, but it doesn’t feel as important, despite trying to tie up several big plot lines. The episode hits some of the same notes as last week’s episode, but not as strongly. The various mother-daughter relationships take center stage, to varying levels. The Lena Luthor double-cross was rather predictable, and the snide remarks that fly between the two Luthors quickly gets annoying. The Danvers duo has slightly better dialogue, but the mom might’ve hit the “gay isn’t normal but I’m cool with it” beat too long. There’s some standard good action, but nothing quite as amazing as we’ve seen before on Supergirl.
SCORE: 7.5/10 Alien Gas Bombs
The Flash, “Invasion!” (Nov. 29)
The first big episode in the CW crossover sees Flash call everyone together to fight the aliens known as “Dominators.” The majority of the episode is a rehash of this season’s “Barry made a timeline whoopsies” plot, but there’s now real anger behind it. Cisco legitimately has problems with Barry, and the other heroes that don’t know him well won’t follow his lead. The S.T.A.R Labs-owned Hall of Justice makes such little sense – why wouldn’t the team live there so HR can open his Tomorrowland? That being said, this episode featured some stellar action and inner-team conflict. Wally getting hurt in action adds a more interesting element to his storyline. The episode feels somewhat rushed, as they have to establish the team and threat, but all things considered, it does a good job.
SCORE: 8/10 Apparently Pointless Future Voice Memos
Arrow, “Invasion!” (Nov. 30)
Oliver and the primary Arrow gang struggle to get out of the alien’s weird Matrix world. It’s hard to feel that there’s a real threat to Oliver in the world – the aliens didn’t make the world as enticing as you’d think they would. They gave him back his parents and one true love (who he was cheating on with her sister), but they also PUT A GREEN ARROW IN THE WORLD SO HE REMEMBERS REALITY! It feels like the episode wants to stress Oliver’ love for Laurel, to shut down any lingering Olicity fans. Unfortunately, they kept Laurel around so long on the show as a tertiary character that this no longer feels genuine. There was no real threat to the gang in the mind palace, but there is some phenomenal action with throwback villains. It’s not a perfectly reasoned episode, but it’s a nice tribute piece.
8/10 x10 Episodes (get it? Because this was Arrow’s 100th episode? Oh, whatever)
Legends of Tomorrow, “Invasion!” (Dec. 1)
The “DC on CW’s” first review of Legends of Tomorrow! Steel gets his new Iron Patriot suit, and quickly takes over as team leader. It’s unclear why the aliens hate Barry specifically for his time travel shenanigans. How do multiple timelines put the aliens at more risk? However, the resolution of Barry learning more about responsibility is nice. Arrow’s anger towards Supergirl makes very little sense, but it thankfully takes up little time. Cisco learning to forgive Barry through action is way better than an Iris/Caitlin pep talk. By the way, the Caitlin-Dr. Stein discussion of Stein’s new daughter is insufferable. There’s very little Legends character action, actually, outside of the awesome action sequence on the “not airport” helicopter bay, as the main focus is on the Big Three. But it’s an episode with great action and nice resolution, so it’s an important and lovely addition to the crossover.
SCORE: 8/10 Daughters
(But to be clear – when I hear “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes,” this is the only show I’m thinking of)
WEEKLY WIN TALLY:
Supergirl: 3 Weeks
Arrow: 3 Weeks
The Flash: 2 Week
Legends of Tomorrow: Is Here This Week
What show did you think won the week? Does Legends of Tomorrow take your vote? Do you think A.o.S. or Gotham outshines all the CW shows? Let us know in the comments below!
