THIS is how you should do a crossover. CRISIS ON EARTH-X checks off all the boxes – spectacular action, high-impact emotional content, opportunities for each character to shine, and significant implications for future storylines all around. Best of all, no one talked about having a mother named Martha (sorry, just had to add that)! We will have minimal spoilers here, because you really should see this – if you haven’t you are truly missing out on the best effort from DCTV yet! Want to know more? Follow us after the jump!
Some Spoilers Ahead!
NOTE: This review is posting before the finale of CRISIS ON EARTH-X airs in the Pacific Time Zone USA. If you haven’t seen the show yet, STOP HERE and check back later! You will be very glad you did!
We pick up where we left off last night, with our heroes in a concentration camp on Earth-X. All the horrors of our Earth’s World War II are there, down to the yellow stars and pink triangles on those kept at this terrible place. Our heroes have collars that both dampen metahuman powers and provide a shock to down both regular humans and metas alike. Just when all is about to be lost, we find a hero on Earth-X…
Citizen Cold!
Yes, the version of Len Snart (call me Leo) we saw in the comics of FLASHPOINT is here on Earth-X, and he frees not only our heroes but also his love, the Ray! They are taken to the main base of the Resistance on Earth-X, run by that world’s version of Winn Schott. There is a way back to Earth One…but the race is on to get there before Winn’s ace in the hole blows it up. Let’s just say they do get back, taking Cold and the Ray with them. The way it goes down is well worth watching, so we’ll leave it there for now. There is one major thing that comes out of this…
…Stein is mortally wounded. More on that later.
Meanwhile, the clock is ticking for our Kara, as Thawne is ready for a heart transplant for her evil doppelganger Overgirl. Iris and Felicity give a valiant effort and manage to delay the worst, then the appearance of the rest of the Legends helps to turn the tide.
What we learn is that Overgirl (evil Kara) may turn supernova when she dies from this bad heart…but that doesn’t stop the battle for now. It is a HUGE fight.
Yes the good guys eventually win, but how we get there is done in exceptional battle scenes, mixed with some great emotional content. The biggest loss is Stein, in a heart wrenching scene. But, with the eventual win for the good guys, we start to see things come back together. Speaking of coming back together…
We finally get the wedding(s). Yes, TWO weddings! Barry and Iris…and Ollie and Felicity!
…and yes, I’m purposely skipping over MAJOR scenes in this review. You really should see the whole thing. It’s worth it!
NOTES:
- The action sequences were handled even better than in night one. Much less use of (un)SteadyCam, and great use of CGI when appropriate.
- As was true last night, everyone got their chance to shine. That trend continued even as the rest of the Legends came to play. This was a true ensemble cast. Yes, led by the big three of Flash, Arrow and Supergirl, but still handled as well as anything I’ve seen.
- Mick continued to supply some great comic relief moments, and his interactions with Citizen Cold were priceless.
- There were great lines that were sneaked in to the dialogue in both nights, with some Marvel-related quotes last night and several DC (and other) lines tonight, like:
- “Come with me if you want to live”
- “You need to fly her up, up and away”
- “figured the man of steel would catch the girl of steel”
- And that march out with all the heroes combined was definitely Avengers-reminiscent
- Stein’s loss was treated with respect. It wasn’t just a throwaway, but was followed up by Jax’s visit to the family, and by the funeral in the epilogue. For a character who has been so integral to the Legends (and to the Flash before) this was fitting.
SUMMARY: This is what the Justice League should have been – it sets the high mark for DCTV and for future superhero team ups. This did what a crossover should do. It recognized prior continuity and didn’t shy away from the baggage each character brought to the story. It gave us significant emotional impact and provided implications for future stories for every show afterward. It gave us a true ensemble approach that respected each show that came into the crossover, and provided excellent plot lines and spectacular action sequences. What more could you want?
This ended up a full 10/10 for me – I absolutely loved this show! That’s just my opinion though – what do YOU think? Leave your comments below!
Great crossover!
three interesting points. though…Both Victor Barber and Wentworth Miller announced a few months ago that they were leaving the Arrowverse.
Ok. Victor’s departure is pretty much finalized in how Martin Stein’s story played out.
BUT!
It seems as if there’s more of Snart to Come as he chose to stay on Earth One and send his boyfriend (the Ray) back to Earth X. I actually expected for things to go the other way around where Cold would go back to Earth X and Ray would stay behind on Earth one and eventually join the Legends (as a substitute for Firestorm)
Those were One and two. Here’s three.
Ok so Thawne is back (and through the malleability of time travel and Flashpoints, we now know for certain that he is the same Thawne who seemingly died in the season one finale.
All headaches aside, this means we’ll see him again. (fine, I like Reverse Flash as much as the next villain fan) My question is….Not why did Barry not kill him. (we all know Barry’s not a killer…….yet) but, why did Barry Let Thawne go? Thane is no longer before his proper time, so imprisoning him in the pipeline would no longer be a danger to Cisco as it was in season two. Letting Thawne go is just asking for all kinds of trouble in future episodes this season and in future seasons.
All that being said, I really enjoyed both nights.
I’m glad about the Smoak/Queen wedding surprise
BTW
My geek out moment was when Kara said “General. would you care to step outside?”
I was going to mention that line of Kara’s as well. That was such an awesome homage/nod to Superman II!
This is what the Justice League should have been – it sets the high mark for DCTV and for future superhero team ups.
There is still time, next month.