[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Director: James Bamford
Writers: Marc Guggenheim & Andrew Kreisberg
Starring: Stephen Amell, David Ramsey, Willa Holland, Emily Bett Rickards, Echo Kellum, Rick Gonzalez, Juliana Harkavy, Katie Cassidy, Paul Blackthorne, Melissa Benoist, Tom Cavanagh, Grant Gustin, Chyler Leigh, Caity Lotz, Wentworth Miller, Danielle Panabaker, Candice Patton, Russell Tovey
Summary
The second part of the “Crisis on Earth X” Event. The team learns the identities of who invaded the wedding and the history behind Earth X
Positives
Part 2! I got to say, this episode is fully packed! I’m telling you, it has almost everything. Drama? Check; Action? Check; Twists? Most definitely check!
First positive point for this episode is the reveal behind Prometheus’ mask. A few months ago, news had surfaced that our old buddy Prometheus would be returning for the crossover event, but that Josh Segerra would not be reprising his role as the mad man. Then, fan theories began circulating on the Internet about who it would be under the mask, and tonight we got the reveal! Prometheus is none other than Tommy Merlyn! Yes, you read that right! Tommy freakin’ Merlyn of Earth X.
Last year, everyone was expecting Colin Donnell to reprise his role as Ollie’s best friend, but unfortunately that never happened. But with him here on a special night, it really means a lot to the fans, especially me. It was, however, short because after a short convo with Oliver, he took out a cyanide pill embedded in his teeth and poisoned himself (I know, right. Typical Nazis). Still, Colin Donnell’s presence on the show means a lot to all those Arrow fans out there.
Also, this is a great nod to the fan theory last year that Prometheus was Tommy behind the mask. Many fans of the show were hoping that Prometheus was Tommy but that fan theory was debunked when the reveal was made that it was actually DA Adrian Chase instead.
The next positive note is the bad guys for this episode. Although they are still having a hard time working together, they can still work as a team. They can accomplish things that they want to do. But there’s this scene that is amazing and so tense, you are going to be on the edge of your seat, literally. It is when Eobard (yes Thawne is back) and Oliver from Earth X were ticked off with each other. Oliver drew one of his arrows and pointed it at Thawne’s throat while Eobard began to vibrate his hand. Then Overgirl came in between them, slowly crushing Eobard’s wrist. It was a great reversal from what we see usually see from these heroes, except for Eobard who is still as evil as ever. We were used to seeing Kara and Ollie being optimistic and compassionate but here we see an Oliver who has no remorse in killing his enemies while Kara has a God complex where she thinks she is above everyone else.
Then a shocking revelation. On Earth X, Oliver and Kara are married. Yup, you read that right. There was this moment where you can feel that there is something romantic happening between the two, and then they kissed. It may be a minimal detail, but this can add some interesting complication in the plot of this crossover event. And mind you, the theme of this crossover is “love for something/someone.” We saw that love in the first part of the crossover with the short-lived wedding of Barry and Iris. We heard it in Joe’s speech back at Jitters.
With the absence of Overman (Earth X Superman), Overgirl became the Nazi General and took over for Adolf Hitler. Which brings me to another great point in this episode – the reason why they invaded Earth-1. Yes, the first reason is because they want to conquer it, however, the second reason is the more interesting on as Kara-X is dying from solar radiation. She mentions that she flew too close to the sun, and if you are a DC Comics fan, you may recognize this scenario from the storyline All-Star Superman where Clark had the same situation. It is a great homage to one of the best Superman story arcs there is.
In part two of this great crossover, Jax finally reveals to Stein the reason why he is upset. It is not that he doesn’t want to be The Spectacular Sticky-Man, it is because he is afraid that he will lose Stein. We all know Jax’s backstory. His father served in the military, but died on the battlefield, so Jefferson grew up without a father. Then when Martin Stein came along, Jax bonded with Dr. Stein and he became his father figure, and now that Stein is leaving, he feels like becoming a Legend is not that satisfying. It was an emotional moment because it shows how Jax and Stein grew so close throughout their time as Firestorm.
The CGI in this episode was awesome for a television show. It is pretty impressive. I can see the distinction in their fighting styles, which I truly appreciate now. My favorite action sequence in this episode is when Oliver-X infiltrates S.T.A.R. Labs. Mick and Killer Frost try their best to defend the grounds but are defeated. Then, Team Arrow shows up. Black Canary, Wild Dog and Mr. Terrific come onto the scene and try to stop Oliver-X ,but he was still too much for the team.
Also, I love the humor they brought in this episode, especially with the dynamic between Caitlin Snow and Mick Rory. It was a hilarious moment when Mick was trying to scare Caitlin to make Killer Frost emerge. The faces on Felicity, Alex and Caitlin were priceless.
The part where Green Arrow, The Flash, and Supergirl were going to meet their enemies was great as well. As usual, The Flash zooms in and Supergirl landed right next to him, and then there’s Green Arrow on a motorcycle. After an awkward silence, Oliver broke it by saying, “Just a quick reminder. Super speed, I don’t have it.” What a great line!
Negatives
Even though this episode is as awesome as it seems, it still has its flaws. In the episode, we get to see the side story of Ollie and Felicity where they discuss the future of their relationship. In the first part of the crossover, Oliver actually proposed to Felicity, but was turned down, like in a really rude way. Felicity then clarifies to Oliver that she loves him but doesn’t want to go to that end yet. She then reveals to Iris the reason behind this is because she is afraid that the bad things will happen again to both of them. I know that Felicity’s sentiment is valid, but it seems that she is just a total shut off with Oliver. If she loves him, she must not keep secrets because she knows what happens when secrets are kept too long.
Verdict
Part 2 of the crossover event is great. So far I am thrilled, and can’t wait to see the next parts! It’s been action-packed, filled with drama, and I can’t wait to see how they will escape from Earth X and save Earth-1, and drive all those damn Nazis away.
