This year’s long-awaited DCTV crossover is finally here! “Crisis on Earth-X” started with this week’s episode of Supergirl, with Parts 2, 3, and 4 airing as this week’s episodes of Arrow, The Flash, and Legends of Tomorrow. There’s a lot going on! Barry and Iris are finally getting married, and they’ve invited all their super-friends to help celebrate. And they would’ve gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for those meddling, alternate-Earth Nazis. Welcome to Season 3, Episode 8, “Crisis on Earth-X, Part One.”
**THIS IS A RECAP – SPOILERS ARE PART OF THE TERRITORY.**
image: Bettina Strauss/The CW
S3, EP. 8 – THE RECAP
- It’s a dark, dark world full of swastikas. Damn, they just kinda threw us in there, didn’t they? OK, here we are. Earth-X. Complete with X-versions of Green Arrow, Guardian, and Supergirl. There is a resistance against the X-Earth Nazis, and X-Guardian is a part of that fight. Well, not for long. X-Green Arrow totally kills him in cold blood with many sharp, pointy things, which is how you know he’s X-Green Arrow. Well, that and his creepy full-face mask.
- CUE THE ORIGINAL-TO-THIS-CROSSOVER TITLES!
- MONTAGE: Flash fights bad guys in Central City with Iris in his ear telling him that they still need RSVPs from some of their friends for their wedding; Green Arrow fights ninjas in Star City with Felicity in his ear confirming that they will be attending; the Legends are in England in the time of Robin Hood as they debate whether or not they’ll be going (Mick’s not really a wedding guy); and Supergirl fights a dominator in National City. The wedding doesn’t come up for her.
- Enter the main reason the wedding doesn’t come up for her: Mon-El is at the DEO asking if Kara is okay. Alex: “She’ll be fine. She’s Supergirl.” Dude, you’re married and she’s messed up about it. Stop trying to be “normal.”
- At Kara’s apartment, she and Alex are drinking and depressed, Kara over Mon-El and Alex over Maggie. As she pours herself another drink, Alex sees the invitation to Barry and Iris’ wedding (addressed to Kara and Mon-El, natch) on Kara’s table. At first, Kara has no intention of going, but as Alex gives her a glimpse into their mutual, depressed future, Kara becomes inspired to go, determined not to wallow. And since she gets a plus-one, she decides to take Alex instead.
image: Bettina Strauss/The CW
- Iris, Kara, Sara, Caitlin, and Felicity are getting their nails done at a nail salon, drinking champagne, and getting excited for Iris’ big day. Felicity dodges the suggestion that she and Oliver will be “next,” saying that there’s too much going on with them right now. Meanwhile, when the topic of Mon-El comes up, Kara doesn’t elaborate on her situation. PS – I feel sorry for the nail technician who has to attempt to buff and file Supergirl’s “super-strong” nails.
- Meanwhile, the dudes are trying on their wedding tuxes. Barry expresses nervousness about his vows, but Oliver gives him a pep talk, saying that whatever comes from his heart in the moment will work. Then, the tables turn and Barry gives Oliver a pep talk, when Oliver expresses doubt about ever marrying Felicity, even though he’s in love with her, because of the life he leads. Barry says that “guys like them” still get to have love. It’s what makes the fight worth it. Oliver seems to consider it.
- Cisco and Wells find Stein and Jackson, and Cisco tells them that he’s created a “cure” for Firestorm. He’s developed a serum that, if one of them drinks it, the Firestorm connection between them will be destroyed forever. Stein is thrilled, saying that this is everything they’ve wanted. Jackson, on the other hand, seems much less thrilled.
- Back on Earth-X, X-Green Arrow is walking with some older Nazi in uniform past what looks like a warehouse full of people milling about who all stop to shout “Heil, Fuhrer!” a bunch. (So, this isn’t back-in-time Nazi Earth-X, this is a present-day Earth-X with all-new Nazis who aren’t Hitler) Nazi in Uniform is supposed to be working on something, and he says whatever it is is almost ready, but he needs time to test it. X-Supergirl flies over and tells him he has one day. She seems to maybe be in charge?
image: Bettina Strauss/The CW
- Caitlin chats with Stein, asking him what his plans are for when he’s no longer half of Firestorm. He’s excited to get back to his family. To be a better husband, father, and grandfather to his grandson.
- Wedding rehearsal dinner at Jitters: Alex is drinking away her blues when Sara comes over to introduce herself. After confirming Alex’s gayness, Sara toasts “to making things go away.” They proceed to drink some more. Mmmm-HMM! Barry and Kara talk about the Mon-El situation, and Kara is determined to just remain depressed and alone. Barry attempts to distract her from herself by asking for the use of her non-super power…Stein approaches Jackson with a serum he’s developed to give Jackson superpowers of his own that apparently involve…sticking to things? Stein is trying to leave Jackson with something that he wants, but Jackson remains upset. He is not down with being Sticky-Man.
- Joe calls everyone to attention for a toast to Barry and Iris. He thanks them for showing him what true love is, and for teaching him how to love again (he calls Cecile to his side. Aww…). As they’re toasting, ALEX AND SARA ARE MAKING OUT WHICH WAS ONLY MY DREAM COME TRUE. Oliver inelegantly, but in a heartfelt way, finally proposes to Felicity. And she says no. Actually, she says “Oliver, I don’t want to marry you!” In a really loud, embarrassing way that draws attention to them from the whole room. She walks away, leaving him alone and looking pitiful.
- MORNING OF THE WEDDING MONTAGE: Barry is awake and happy next to a sleeping Iris. He races out to get her breakfast and leaves it for her, because it’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding. Oliver seems miserable and Felicity seems to feel like garbage, even as she watches Kara sleep while floating and wishing she could do that, too. Mick is wearing one of Stein’s robes as he eats cereal and disturbingly reveals that Stein’s daughter saw him walking around naked. And Alex…Alex is sharing a bed with Sara, and she is mortified. She gingerly gets out of bed trying not to wake Sara, but falls onto the floor with a thump in the process. She tries to sneak out as best she can.
image: Bettina Strauss/The CW
- Later, outside the church, Alex finds Kara and she is severely hungover and asking why it’s so loud and bright. She’s also really, really defensive about where she absolutely was not last night. That is, until Sara arrives and asks her how she’s doing after she fell out of bed, totally blowing her cover. When Sara leaves, Alex reveals that she feels squicky about having had a one-night-stand, because it’s such a “guy” thing to do (I wonder who she thinks many of those guys are having the one night stands with. That is, unless she thinks only gay men have one night stands?). Kara, however, tells her to chill the fuck out, because she’s just a healthy woman with a sex drive who had some rebound sex. (I love that it’s Kara who’s encouraging her to not be ashamed about the sex she’s having. She really is a hero!)
- Inside the church, everyone is preparing for the wedding. Barry is approached by an overly-enthusiastic server who tells him that she’s so happy to be there, and that his marriage to Iris will be “one for the ages.” It’s a little creepy, and Barry totally looks freaked out. The ceremony begins with Kara singing a beautiful version of “Running Home to You,” which is the song Barry sang to Iris in the musical episode “Duet” just before he proposed. The ceremony continues, and the officiant asks if anyone has a reason that these two should not be wed.
- Well, it seems as though the Nazis from Earth-X couldn’t hold their peace. FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT. As Wells and Wally get the guests out safely, the heroes take on these mysterious, masked Nazis. Cisco suggests to Caitlin that Killer Frost should come out to play. Supergirl fights X-Supergirl, Green Arrow fights X-Green Arrow, Alex and Sara fight some unknown dude, and OH MY GOD DID SARA JUST RIP A SLIT IN HER DRESS JUST BY FLEXING HER THIGH MUSCLE? GAH.
- Just as it looks like X-Supergirl has Supergirl beat, Supergirl rallies and delivers a power that’s been heretofore unseen. She claps her hands together, releasing this SONIC BOOM CLAP that not only knocks X-Supergirl down for the count, but that radiates out to the entire church. It was like a lower-key version of this:
- Later, Barry rejoins Iris at STAR Labs and promises her that they will be married. They kiss. Meanwhile, Cisco was brought in unconscious after the fight, and so they have to figure out how to help him. And they brought in the guy whose ass Sara and Alex were whopping, and they put him in their bathroom-less criminal storage facility. They stand around bantering about who these mysterious Nazis could be before deciding that they should probably question the dude they just brought in.
- And back on Earth-X, X-Wells reproaches X-Green Arrow and X-Supergirl for going to the wedding to fight. They were supposed to be waiting. X-Wells mentions something called Prometheus. Supergirl is confident, and lets them both know that they will meet those heroes again and kill them all.
image: Bettina Strauss/The CW
S3, EP. 8 – THE RECAP
Of all the crossovers that the Super-Legend-Flarroverse has done, “Crisis on Earth-X” got off to the strongest start. Having it center around a huge other event, the wedding of Barry Allen and Iris West, certainly helps, grounding the story in something that’s not only meaningful to those two and to The Flash as a show, but something that emotionally affects characters on the other shows.
The writers have done a great job of leading up to this event by planting important relationship stuff on the other shows that can all come to a head during this storyline. For Supergirl, nothing says “get over the fact that your ex is married” quite like fighting Nazis. It certainly puts things in perspective. Having Oliver and Felicity’s relationship come to a head in this way, on the eve of another wedding, is also really powerful.
And let’s talk about that Alex/Sara hook-up, huh? I’m SO glad it happened, and I’m equally glad that I get the vibe that it’s super-casual, and they might end up becoming really good friends. Maybe friends with benefits. Point being, I love that we get to watch Alex freak out over her first lesbian one night stand, and we get to watch Sara be like “this is basically just Tuesday to me,” but in a really nice, fun way. It’s clear she likes Alex, but it doesn’t have to be A Thing. And again, I’m glad that Kara was advocating for casual. Supergirl believes in female sexual autonomy. Amen!
I’m also really touched by how they’re handling Victor Garber’s inevitable departure from Legends of Tomorrow through the relationship between Stein and Jackson. It’s clear that, for Jackson, it’s not about the super-powers. He’s upset with splitting up Firestorm, because he’s come to enjoy being with Stein. He seems upset because Stein doesn’t seem to acknowledge that Jackson could ever care about him or miss him as a friend.
The episode was the most successful when dealing with the character relationships and the storyline surrounding Barry and Iris’ wedding. However, just because I thought this was the strongest beginning to a crossover event doesn’t mean I think it was perfect. I really wish they hadn’t opened with X-Green Arrow and X-Guardian on Earth-X, or had that other scene where they talked about the experiment. I think the episode would’ve been much more effective if we didn’t see so much of the Earth-X crew at first; if they would’ve just shown up at the wedding all mysterious-like. I felt like the previous Earth-X scenes in the episode took away from the pacing of the episode while also undercutting the big fight at the end.
Something else annoyed me, too: the fact that our heroes seemed to not get that these were clearly alternate versions of themselves. Oliver saying things about the archer like, “he matched me, arrow for arrow,” and Barry asking Kara “how is that woman as strong as you?” IT’S BECAUSE SHE IS HER! It’s not as if they haven’t experienced things like time travel and Other Earths before. Having doppelgangers would be one of the least outlandish explanations. It seemed strange to me that they wouldn’t at least start to put that together.
As this is a crossover event, with this episode only being the first part, feel free to discuss both Supergirl and Arrow in the comments below. Just be mindful of the fact that this is a Supergirl recap and that it’s possible that some people reading this might have watched Supergirl but not Arrow. Mark your spoilers for Arrow accordingly!
What do you think of “Crisis on Earth-X” so far? Let’s chat in the comments below!
Supergirl airs Mondays at 8PM ET/PT on The CW.
(image: Bettina Strauss/The CW)
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