Our heroes have saved the world! Or did they?
I must admit it was surprising that Legends of Tomorrow got the final episode of this massive 5-episode crossover. Surely since Arrow was the start of this whole franchise, it would be fitting to end on that note. But I quickly figured out why Legends was the perfect show to finish “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” even if it didn’t end the way I expected it.
Basically, Legends of Tomorrow is my favorite of the Arrowverse shows because it is the only one that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Well, since season 2, at least. The plot-lines are ridiculous and almost always humorous. This is the perfect antidote to the super serious Arrow episode as part 4 because the show is filled with so much joy and hope.
A Merged Universe
After the events of part 4, which left Oliver sacrificing himself yet again to bring about the “Dawn of Time,” we first see Kara waking up at her apartment and almost killing Alex by accident. Kara receives a phone call from Nia about the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony where LEX LUTHOR is receiving the prestigious award. Oh yeah, this new world is definitely going to take some getting used to.
Kara is so thrown by this revelation, and the fact that Lex pretty much owns everything, including the DEO, that she jumps at the chance to fight a meta, the Weather Witch. Only Barry comes by to finish the job. Turns out, the Dawn of Time has caused the multiverse to no longer exist and our heroes are now on the same Earth!
This is completely mind-blowing and I assumed the episode would revolve around the Legends trying to fix this somehow. That didn’t happen, but I can’t say I’m mad about how the episode wound up.
Meta Humor
Again, why I love Legends of Tomorrow so much is because of the humor. And they did not disappoint here. After not being included in “Elseworlds” last year, the Legends made a few jokes about it in some episodes.
Only the Paragons retained their memories of what occurred in the previous parts of “Crisis”. When Sara meets up with Ray in this new Earth and tries to explain what happened, he excitedly asks, “Was there a crossover? Were we invited? Did we win?”. And this left me super giddy. Then, J’onn J’onzz gives him the memories back and Ray sees his Superman-self and honestly, seeing Brandon Routh in that suit again is what made this whole crossover worth it for me.
I also very much enjoyed Nate’s indignation about Sara getting roped into the crossover as well as Rene and Diggle’s reactions to seeing a giant Beebo (!!!!) attacking the city.
Team-Ups
What I loved most about this crossover is all the team-ups. Even when they haven’t focused on the action sequences. Kara and Kate’s excursion to Earth-99 to find Bruce Wayne was wonderful in Part 2, and seeing how excited Kara was to see Kate during the Beebo fight was heartwarming. I also enjoyed seeing Rory and Rene conversing briefly about alcohol. It’s really the little things for me sometimes.
The most emotional scene in this episode for me was the scene with Sara and Barry. Sara was reminiscing about her childhood with Laurel, and how she’s always been a sore loser. She wants to believe they can bring Oliver back, but can’t figure out how. Barry tries to comfort her by saying that the world is safe now and it’s due to Oliver’s sacrifice. I feel like we got a lot more of Sara’s internal struggles in this episode, and it was greatly appreciated. I’ve always liked her, but she tends to be on one mode most of the time. It was nice to see her slow down and express herself this way.
While the quiet scenes made me happy, I also want to point out how exciting it was to see everyone during the Anti-Monitor fight. Especially Rory and Killer Frost getting some help from Black Lightning! And Barry helping the science team of Ray, Nash Wells, and Ryan Choi! Seriously, the combinations they came up with this crossover event were the best.
A New Beginning?
After a lackluster fight with the Anti-Monitor (the CGI looked wonky and it was just not fun to watch), our heroes won for a second time. This time, without Oliver. To be honest, I’m very shocked that Oliver remained dead this episode. There are still a few episodes left of Arrow, which leaves me confused about what’s going to happen there.
Before the end of the episode, they dropped a few more small bombshells on us. Creating this new world brought back Sara Diggle (!) and Lois and Clark now have two sons. What?!
But the biggest reveal had to be that the Arrowverse is really now one universe, Earth-Prime. There were some shots to other Earths of the other DC shows (and a final shot of Routh as Superman *tear*), but it seems like they’re really going through with this. The team set up a memorial for Oliver in a condemned building, which Barry has turned into a headquarters of sorts.
They ended the crossover all taking seats at a table which could be like the Justice League, but they didn’t call themselves anything in particular. And it included Jefferson Pierce/Black Lightning, which is awesome. I’ve hated that Black Lightning deals with metas, but wasn’t technically part of the Arrowverse until this crossover. Finally allowing him to interact with the rest of the crew was wonderful and I’m looking forward to how his show handles all of this.
While “Crisis on Infinite Earths” has been a bit of a mess narratively, I’ve enjoyed this crossover for many reasons. The amount of Easter eggs thrown into this was incredible. And the joy on every actor’s face from getting to hang out with the other heroes is very infectious (No! I will never get over Constantine meeting Lucifer, have you??). I wish Oliver wasn’t dead (“dead”), but I’m curious to see what the crew comes up with the remaining groups.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of Crisis on Infinite Earths? Share with us in the comments below!
Legends of Tomorrow airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on the CW.
