The most recent CW Cross-Over was such a bright spot in my week this past week. There has been so much focus on the dark and gritty aspects of Super Heroes recently–and while movies such as Logan and Deadpool have been very well received and fabulously done, some times it is so refreshing to just have a little fun with the Super Hero Universe.
Of course with a background in dance and theater I am pretty partial to this genre, but I love that the CW took advantage of the cast they have and wanted to exploit their special skill set. Before he was Barry Allen or The Flash, Grant Gustin was a regular on Glee as the reigning king of the Warblers and all around resident bad guy. But his voice was amazing. Something we haven’t seen much of in his role as The Flash obviously. Meanwhile, Melissa Benoit is also a former leading lady from the next generation of Glee with an amazing set of pipes as well. Both Gustin and Benoit left their singing roles behind as they embraced their superhero powers, but this cross-over was a great chance for them to get to use them again! Furthermore, Jeremy Jordan, who plays Winn on SuperGirl is also an incredibly talented musician. Known for his role on the brief series Smash, where he played a troubled artist, he has also starred in Newsies on Broadway. And of course Darren Criss (another Glee alumni) guest starred in this cross-over episode as well.
It was also refreshing and fun to see other actors that we have known for iconic super hero roles bring a little melody to their personality. Stein and Malcolm Merlyn also appeared in this fantasy episode and were fabulous. I think the biggest surprise for me was what a fantastic singer John Barrowman (who plays Malcom Merlyn) was. By adding these two characters there was an unspoken presence of Arrow and D.C.’s Legends of Tomorrow in the episode.
This week’s episode of SuperGirl left me with a bad taste in my mouth, after an incredibly judgmental and unforgiving Kara once again told Mon-El they were over (hasn’t she done this like 10 times??), because he is the Prince of Daxem and did not tell her. Despite his pleading, the ever-self-righteous super hero gave him the boot. Thankfully, during this cross-over episode they seemed to get back together, as did Barry & Iris. So there was some resolution.
No it was not an incredibly moving episode, and it was cheesy and silly, but in all the right ways. Austin & Benoit’s duet as “Super Friends” was clever and just fun. Sometimes we need a little more fun and light-heartedness in all of the dark and intense shows we are constantly bombarded with.
