The CW has had a busy fall! In between introducing new shows and re-vamping (pun intended) some old ones, its superheroes have been busy as well. And while Supergirl and The Flash have continued to stay intriguing with new storylines, and battling new enemies, Oliver has been stuck in prison having an entirely different experience, causing Arrow to have a lackluster season that has truthfully lagged quite a bit. I have to admit that while I did enjoy The Flash and Supergirl this season, despite some hiccups in the beginning, I have not been enjoying Arrow. Not sure if it is because I am just really tired of Diaz as the bad guy, or a zillion other small things, but this story arc, although necessary after so many seasons, has just not held my attention. Having both the original and the new teams so divided and living separate lives, with Oliver in prison and Felicity gone to the darkside, has not kept the normal superhero feel that previous seasons have offered. However, the last couple of episodes leading up to the cross-over vastly improved–mainly because Oliver finally left his whole “prison-break” storyline with a fantastic riot and redemption episode, and once again the show seems to be moving forward. Although, with Oliver finally out of prison he begins to see how different his friends and his city have become since he has been gone. Even he and Felicity are struggling in their marriage with these new versions of themselves. The constant “flash forwards” to an adult version of William with Roy and Black Siren in the future don’t help either. They seem to divulge a future in which both Felicity and Oliver are dead and Star City has ultimately fallen to the Glades—as the viewer, knowing this is Team Arrow’s future is not inspiring at all!!
However, while Oliver has been trapped in prison battling inner demons, psycho doctors, and other inmates, Kara has been at the DEO without Jonn, Winn, or Mon-el, and adjusting to her new normal as well. Although things are vastly different for her, with Alex in charge things have still been going well. Until a new threat disguised as the Agent of Liberty, appear and begins to spread havoc by insighting riots and protests against aliens. A whole new level of bigotry and hate begins to spread and although Supergirl does her best to fight against it, the tide has definitely shifted. In the end, the new President of the United States demand that supergirl reveal her secret identity or leave the DEO. In an effort to continue to protect her loved ones, Kara knows that she cannot reveal who she really is and instead chooses to leave Alec and the DEO.
Meanwhile, on The Flash, Barry has met his daughter from the future and has been having all sorts of adventures as her as they rally to try and beat Cicada–an infamous serial killer that was never caught in XS’ lifetime. Cicada also has the power to essentially still all meta’s powers from them, rendering them helpless before he kills them. The team cannot find a way to beat Cicada, and Barry and his daughter even journey back in time to some of his scariest moments to retrieve all of the elements they believe to be necessary to stop him once and for all. At first the crazy plan seems to work and it appears that they have truly won! But Cicada is more powerful than even they realize and it is only Killer Frost–who once again is able to appear on demand–that saves the gang at the last minute. What is even more shocking, is that we discover in the final moments that Nora, Barry’s daughter, has actually been working with and reporting to the Reverse Flash all this time!! And the newest version of Harry to join the team, Sherloque, has picked up on the fact that something is not right with Nora, but he is the only one.
These three dramatic endings are where we leave our heroes when the cross-over “Elseworlds” comes into motion. This cross-over was excellently done. Stephen Amell, Grant Gustin, and Melissa Benoist have such an excellent on-screen chemistry together, that their cross-overs are always good. All of their powers and personalities are so complimentary that its truly wonderful when they combine. It’s usually more humorous, more exciting, and just plain better. This cross-over was not about Aliens, Nazi’s, or evil-dopplegangers, but instead was more of a”Freaky-Friday” plot, with the entire world thinking Barry was Oliver and Oliver was Barry. They take on each other’s lives and powers and for a little while they get to truly experience what it would be like to have the other one’s lives. This ultimately gives them more appreciation for each other and for their own lives as well. As they work together and convince their teams of what is going on, they must discover who exactly would like the timeline changed and what it all means. One of the largest differences with this cross-over is that The Legends of Tomorrow were not a part of it. Instead our team of heroes headed to Gotham City and encountered Batwoman for the first time. While it is not yet a done deal that Batwoman will be getting her own show, The CW has put forth Kate Kane (Batwoman) for consideration. And although there is already a lesbian super hero on Black Lighting, this would be the first lesbian superhero as a main character on a mainstream cable station.
All in all, having their mid-series finales be part of a cross-over that introduced new characters, new threats to multiple earths and had the heroes reconnect was definitely a great way to pause the season. I am not sure where each storyline will go for the rest of the season, but I am really looking forward to another cross-over to tie up loose ends and have my favorite television superheroes all together again.
