Ahead of tonight’s episode of Arrow, The CW has released a clip from the episode titled “Invasion”. Part three of the four-night crossover is the 100th episode of the series and features the return of many cast members including Katie Cassidy, John Barrowman, Neal Mcdonough, and Susanna Thompson thanks to The Dominators sidelining Oliver in a dreamlike form of stasis.
The clip has Felicity introducing Cisco to the new members of Team Arrow just before he vibes Oliver’s original bow. In what seems like a major leap requiring a serious suspension of disbelief, the team plans to hack alien tech to figure out exactly where Oliver, Diggle, and Thea are.
Executive producer Wendy Mericle takes us inside the episode which brings us back to the more realistic days of the series in the midst of the shows most fantastical crisis. Die hard fans of the comics are going to lose their shit as they are about to get a taste of what it could have been like for Oliver and Laurel if they had gotten married like their characters were in the comics.
Last nights episode of The Flash introduced us to an Earth 19 Harrison Wells dubbed “HR”, or as I called him in my review, Tom Cavanaugh. HR seemed equally as humourous as Harry but with without the snarky attitude. While Cisco and Caitlin instantly took a liking to him, Harry was immediately distrusting in what seemed like jealousy but was all too obvious of a misdirect.
Last nights episode of The Flash introduced us to an Earth 19 Harrison Wells dubbed “HR”, or as I called him in my review, Tom Cavanaugh. HR seemed equally as humourous as Harry but with without the snarky attitude. While Cisco and Caitlin instantly took a liking to him, Harry was immediately distrusting in what seemed like jealousy but was all too obvious of a misdirect.
In a promo released by The CW, Cisco has begun to grow suspicious of HR just as a mysterious meta-human monster goes on a rampage in Central City.
The synopsis for the episode also reveals that Dr. Caitlin Snow will reach out to her mother for help after her newfound powers have begun to manifest in unexpected and uncontrollabe ways.
The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.
CAITLIN CALLS ON HER MOTHER FOR HELP WITH HER GROWING META POWERS — Desperate to understand what is happening to her, Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) visits her mother, Dr. Tannhauser (guest star Susan Walters), a renowned biomedical researcher, in the hopes that her mother can provide some answers about Caitlin’s growing meta-human powers.
However, when Dr. Tannhauser treats her daughter like a test subject, Caitlin grows cold and brings up past wounds causing the two to have a major blowout. Meanwhile, after a mysterious new meta-human attacks Central City, Barry (Grant Gustin) tries to convince Julian (Tom Felton) to let him assist on the case.
Two weeks ago executive producer Marc Guggenheim revealed that this year’s D.C. crossover event will see Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, and Legends of Tomorrow team up against The Dominators. In the comics the alien race was interested in harnessing the metagene (the gene that gives metahumans their abilities) to enhance members of their own race.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Marc dished on the upcoming crossover which he said will be the most ambitious filmmaking in the history of network television.
This year, we’re doing by far the most ambitious crossover we’ve ever done. It’s basically a huge three-part story that also brings in Supergirl, so it’s crossing over all four shows. It’s telling one big epic movie of a story. It’s not setting up any other spin-offs, it’s just big, bombastic, huge action. There’s also some really poignant character moments. There’s a lot of plot lines, particularly I would say in Flash and Legends, that come to fruition in the crossover. It’s by far the most ambitious thing we’ve ever attempted. I want to say it’s by far one of the most ambitious things anyone in network television has ever attempted. It’s completely insane.
Whether or not they will succeed in what they’re attempting is yet to be seen. Sometimes these shows try to do too much at once and end up collapsing on themselves. But the crossover this year will no doubt be better than previous years due to its tighter focus. It won’t be concerned with introducing a slew of new characters to launch another series, and rather than having a different plot for each episode of the crossover — the three hour event will see characters from all four shows come together to face The Dominators. I’m most excited to see how Supergirl engages with the heroes of Earth One, and more so how the heroes react to her abilities. Especially Diggle — who was already seen dropping his burger as Martian Manhunter transformed from human to alien form right before his eyes in the Superhero Fight Club 2.0 video.
The crossover is set to begin in November.
Supergirl airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT, The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT, Arrow airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m., and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.
Barry has to deal with the consequences of Flashpoint.
The second episode of season three opens with a little crossover action as Barry travels to Star City and confesses to Felicity that he has changed the timeline. Immediately we find out what all the differences are over on The Flash side of things as well as what the major effect Flashpoint has had on Arrow. It’s actually quite interesting. Baby Sara is no longer. Instead we have Baby John who we all know will later take the name of Connor Hawke before he picks up the mantle of Green Arrow.
Unfortunately for The Flash everything has gone to shit. Iris still hates Joe for lying to her about her mother still being alive and Cisco resents Barry for not going back in time to save his brother from dying in a drunk driving accident which is totally understandable. At first it seemed like these threads were going to be dragged out which wouldn’t have been interesting at all. But instead the writers made a smart choice and resolved both of these conflicts by the end of the episode. Well, mostly… Cisco still has some healing to do but things are definitely moving in the right direction.
There were a few frustrating bits about the episode though. First off, The Rival sucks. The character is poorly written which doesn’t allow for Todd Lasance to bring any depth to his performance. His motives didn’t work for me so I wasn’t able to buy into the character. But even if I could, I don’t know if I could get past his costume. The suit is just plain awful and it doesn’t even fit him. I understand they aren’t going to spend a whole lot of money to put together a costume for a character who is going to only be in a few episodes but lord, why even try if he’s going to look that silly? Poor decisions like this on the producer’s behalf can easily slip us into Smallville territory.
While on the subject of bad costumes I need to mention Dr. Alchemy. Lord, oh lord. What the fuck was that mask? Cisco’s quip about mask wearing monk metas was the only thing that made up for it. While Dr. Alchemy was present in the episode, he was pretty much pointless as he just pulled the string of The Rival from the shadows which ultimately proved to be ineffective.
Oh and, if they said the word ‘Rival’ one more time I think my head might have exploded. His name is “The Rival.” We get it!
Other than that it’s all positive.
Tom Felton as Central City’s newest forensic scientist is a breath of fresh air. Watching Barry try to navigate around his arrogant attitude was hilarious. I can’t wait to see more of him. The guy is smart and he is already figuring out there is something strange about Barry. If anyone can figure out Barry is The Flash, it’s this guy. He seems like he would be a perfect addition to the team as well.
I’m just going to call it now and say by the end of the season Julian and Barry will be friends.
Tom Felton as Julian Albert on The Flash (The CW)
What I loved most about this episode is that Barry is learning and starting to grow. Evident in the restraint he is now showing. Only five months ago Barry would have run back in time and changed the timeline in a heart beat but now he sees first hand not only how his actions can change his life, but also the lives of those around him. The scene featuring Jay Garrick (John Wesley Shipp) was fantastic and the Dawson’s Creek easter egg (which also starred Shipp) was hilarious.
Grant Gustin continues to just crush it as Barry. Every once in a while you get an actor in a role they were born to play and that is Barry Allen for Gustin. The scene in which he explained the multiple timelines he created both traveling to and from Flashpoint could have been your standard science fiction exposition but instead Gustin brought a range of emotions to the moment. He realizes how bad he screwed up and there is nothing he can do about it. Gustin packed so much guilt and pain into the moment along with his desperate need to repair his relationship with Cisco and fix Joe and Iris’ estrangement.
I was really happy when Barry and Iris kissed by the end. You knew it was coming because that light was shining in between them (typical CW). It was a cheap move to erase their first kiss from the timeline a second time so I was glad to see them get it over with so we can move forward. The whole will they won’t they dynamic is not interesting. Neither is relationship drama (cough cough, Arrow). My hope is that the writers give Barry and Iris something to go through together as a couple. Something challenging that can test their love for one another but result in them growing stronger together and coming out the other side better for it.
Watching Cisco deal with his tragedy was painful but worth it. Carlos Valdes is also an incredible actor. Seeing him deal with something so emotionally challenging added a new depth to his character going forward. It made it all the more satisfying when he showed up in the fight against The Rival donning his Vibe gear. No doubt a moment long time Flash fans have been waiting to see since day one. I can’t wait for the day he is out there fighting crime alongside his best friend Barry.
But that wasn’t it. Killer Frost is here. Danielle Panabaker plays Caitlin Snow with so much honesty and purity. She brings more heart to her character than anyone else in the show. Watching her begin her transformation as she breaks down and becomes the villain she is destined to be is going to be tragic.
Overall, it was a good episode that gets things moving forward. There is no going back to change the past anymore. Team Flash has to accept their reality for what it is and make the best of it. While Cisco donning the Vibe gear and the reveal of Killer Frost were moments we have been waiting to see for a long time, what makes this episode an exceptional one were the performances by Grant Gustin and Carlos Valdes. We already know how talented they are but the conflict they began to overcome together tonight raised the bar for the show. Good job guys. I can’t wait for the next episode!
Alternate World 