Hey Folks,
Last week in the Arrowverse, each show was in rare form as they prepared for the ends of their seasons. On Supergirl, Kara and the DEO tried to stave off the invasion by Rhea and the Daxamite as they tried to take over National City and then, everywhere else. Plus, we finally got the return of Cat Grant (Calista Flockhart) who has been missed all season. On The Flash, Iris met her end at the hands of Savitar as she was killed. For all the preparation done, Barry could not save her in time. On Arrow, Adrian Chase kidnapped all of Team Arrow forcing Oliver to go back to Lian Yu to rescue them. Lucky for him, he knows someone there to help him: Slade Wilson.
So how did everything in the Arrowverse go this week? Let’s take a look at this week’s episodes:
Supergirl: “Nevertheless, She Persisted”
First off, I LOVE the title of the episode. Given how most of the Arrowverse is LGBT-friendly, culturally diverse, and even tackles issues like deportation and gun control, it’s quite clear that the creators of the shows are quite progressive. Making the title of the season finale of their “girl power” show based on our real world Trump-based problems: when Senator Mitch McConnell’s silencing of Senator Elizabeth Warren during the confirmation hearing of our now Attorney General Jeff Session (which became a feminist mantra for women to continue to “persist”), is a genius idea. Not only does it ring true for the story within the episode, but it once again gives a nice jab at some conservative policies and politics that we are seeing in our headlines. It’s usually Entertainment that leads the country on social issues (Star Trek showing Black, Asian, and everything in between, as well as Ellen coming out of the closet, which a big deal way back in the day, now there are LGBT people in all areas of life, even a part of our “Modern Family”).
OK… Rant over back to Supergirl.
This entire episode focused on the Daxamite invasion. Last week when the episode concluded, the population of National City was in the process of “resisting” (another jab at Trump) being overtaken by their new alien overlords. Supergirl stormed their ship and was about to face off against Rhea when she was knocked out by someone just out of eyeshot. This week, we find out who the culprit is: it’s her own cousin Kal-El, AKA Superman (Tyler Hoechlin). Rhea has poisoned him with some sort of silver Kryptonite, which causes him to hallucinate and think that she is his mortal enemy, General Zod. Superman relentlessly beats on her and she is forced to defend herself. The two engage in a fierce battle all over National City. The show drastically increased their pyrotechnics budget for this fight. It was very reminiscent of the Superman/Zod fight from Man of Steel, but a little more dramatic (and fewer buildings falling all over the place). In the end, Supergirl proved to be the victor and defeated her cousin in combat.
She and Superman awaken in the Fortress of Solitude where he has been purged on the silver Kryptonite. As they go through his database to try and figure out a way to defeat Rhea and the Daxamites, they come across their trial by combat. Supergirl is chosen to represent National City (and Earth’s) interests in this fight against Rhea, as she defeated her cousin. He even proclaims her as Earth’s champion. Supergirl then reached out to Rhea and invokes the right to trial by combat. The victor will do whatever they want with Earth. Rhea gladly accepts. Meanwhile, Cat Grant and the rest of the media are treating this like WrestleMania, and not the potential end of mankind. Clark and Cara try to get her to tone down the media hype, as that will draw people to the fight, potentially getting injured.
Lilian Luthor and her daughter Lana have another heart to heart. This time, Lilian proposes using a weapon that Lex (can we please get Lex on the small screen???) created as a means to kill Superman: a weapon that would disperse Kryptonite into the atmosphere. However, she plans on using it to instead disperse lead into the air. It was small enough to not be fatal for mankind, but not small enough that it wouldn’t kill any Daxamite who was on Earth. Supergirl isn’t sure she wants to go through with it, as her love, Mon-El would be forced to leave Earth. But this is for the fate of everyone on the planet, she tells them to prepare the weapon just in case.
For the big showdown, Rhea and Supergirl faced off against each other. However, Rhea was never going to honor the rules of trial by combat and as they fought, she unleashed the Daxamite army against the citizens of National City. Lucky for everyone, Mon-El and Superman help rescue people and fight off the Daxamites. They are also joined by a finally awake J’onn, who telepathically reached out to M'gann, who brought a few “good” White Martians to join the battle. Of course, Supergirl’s ace of the sleeve, was that she possessed the trigger to the Luthors’ lead bomb. As soon as she pulled the trigger, Rhea started dying, as did many Daxamites. The remaining ones got in their ship and left Earth. Just a Supergirl feared, Mon-El was also feeling the effects of the lead and he would also need to leave the planet. As she escorts him back to the spaceship he arrived in earlier this season, the two declared their love for each other and said their goodbyes.
With everything back to normal, life continues in National City. Alex and Maggie get engaged, so expect a wedding episode next season. Kara, however, had to say goodbye to the man she loved forever and is stuck in a rut. Who else could give her a good pep talk but Cat Grant? Calista Flockhart’s presence has been missed this season. After Cat gives Kara the pep talk she needed, she overhears someone in trouble and goes into action as Supergirl. As she leaves, Cat acknowledges that she knows that Kara is really Supergirl. Meanwhile, the stinger at the end shows that Kara wasn’t the only one to escape an exploding Krypton. Expect a new villain next season.
The Flash: “Finish Line"
Last week was a major bombshell. Despite everything that Barry and Team Flash did all season, they were unable to stop Savitar from delivering the death blow to Iris. The episode ended with him holding his love’ lifeless body after the God of Speed defeated him.
Lucky for us, the first few minutes revealed what most had correctly theorized. HR used his face swapping technology from Earth-19 and traded places with Iris. So when Savitar delivered the killer blow, it really was to Iris. The often pointless member of Team Flash ended up being a true hero as he willingly sacrificed himself to make sure the prophecy did not come true.
While the team knows they will grieve for HR, they have to make sure that Savitar was in fact, stopped. As the team heads to the time vault, they see the infamous article about The Flash vanishing in a crisis, and it is once again written by Iris, so she does survive. This means that Iris doesn’t die… Barry doesn’t create time remnants of himself to fight Savitar… one of them doesn’t live to eventually become Savitar. But of course, Savitar will not go down quietly. He’s now a paradox, which means that the Black Flash (that hunted Eobard Thawne on Legends of Tomorrow, the one that used to be Zoom) will be after him. As Savitar “killed Iris” he stole the speed canon that the team had been working on, so he’s going to try to use it to save himself from Black Flash. Savitar also kidnapped Cisco as leverage as well. They have to rescue Cisco and find a way to stop Savitar, from whatever he’s planning on doing.
Meanwhile, Savitar speaks with Cisco, telling him that he needs his help working on the speed canon, so he can complete his task of becoming a god of speed and time. Cisco relishes in the fact that his plan didn’t come to fruition and refuses to help him. However, Savitar, being Barry, knows how Cisco cares for his friend Caitlin. He secretly tells Cisco that he will kill her if he doesn’t do what he wants. Cisco then breaks ad starts to work on the weapon. If done correctly, Savitar will be able to scatter himself across time, essentially becoming a god.
Barry makes a surprise decision. He opts to help Savitar build the weapon and bury the hate he has for him and Team Flash. He invites Savitar to STAR Labs, to everyone’s surprise. After all, he just killed HR! That doesn’t go over well with Team Flash, especially Tracey as the two fell in love. However, they all trust Barry. If he thinks t=it’s a good plan, then they support him in doing so. Iris even has a tender moment with Savitar (as he has all of Barry’s memories). Unfortunately, it is short-lived as he betrays the team by exploding the Philosophers Stone, destroying STAR Labs. Barry is able to use his speed to get everyone out safely though.
At his lair, Savitar reveals to Killer Frost that his plan succeeded (thinking he destroyed them) and now they can use the speed canon to turn him into a god and avoid the time paradox. With the weapon completed, he has no use for Cisco and orders Killer Frost to kill him. At the last moment, Gypsy teleports in to save the day. She and Cisco now are so in synch with their vibe powers (and their mutual attraction to each other), that she was able to tell he was in trouble across the multiverse. They quickly reunite with Team Flash and enact a plan to take on Savitar once and for all.
Savitar and Killer Frost open a time portal where she destroys the Black Flash with her ice powers as soon as he comes out. Now she uses the speed canon on him to split him across all time. However, it doesn’t work. Cisco reveals that he never went through on the correct modifications, and instead, used it to free Jay Garrick from the Speed Force. With Barry, Wally, and Gypsy joining the fight, they all take on Savitar and Killer Frost. Cisco still goes easy on her as he know’s that Caitlin is still in there somewhere. He also reveals to her that he and Julian (with her mother’s help) found a cure to revert her back to normal. In a turn of events, she joins the fight against Savitar, saving Cisco’s life as he’s about to strike a death blow. As the fight goes on, Barry finally gains the upper hand by phasing into Savitar’s suit and kicking him out of it. He then vibrates so hard that he destroys the suit. Savitar knows he’s lost and tells Barry to kill him, which Barry refuses. As Barry has his back turned towards him, Savitar tries to strike, but Iris shoots him in the back, saving Barry. She even comments later that all this time he tried to save her, but it was she who ended up saving him.
With Savitar dead, it looks like our heroes reign triumphant, having defeated a third evil speedster. They hosted a funeral for HR and remember him as a true and blue hero. Caitlin shows up after the ceremony, but she refused to take the cure. She ma no longer be Killer Frost, but she’s also no longer Catlin Snow. As she leaves the team, she tells them that she needs some space to figure out who she really is. Iris and Barry hang out after the funeral, happy that events have worked themselves out and they plan for their wedding.
Unfortunately, all hell breaks loose as there are earthquakes and lightning storms all across Central City. It’s not a normal storm, it’s the Speed Force reacting to no longer having a prisoner in it. Barry then makes the decision that he has to pay for causing Flashpoint and become the Speed Force’s prisoner. As he is having his tearful goodbyes with Team Flash, the Speed Force appears as his mother, which is kind of what he’s always wanted. Barry tells everyone that Central City will still have a Flash even with him gone, as Wally will now become The Flash, which echoes the comics perfectly. The hardest goodbyes are for Joe and Iris as they loved Barry the most. As he enters the Speed Force with his mother, the storms stop and the city is once again saved.
Arrow: “Lian Yu”
This season of Arrow is without a doubt, it’s best season! For the past two seasons, it felt as though the show was treading water and creatively past its prime. This season though, showed us how a show could reinvent itself and pull out its best work. For one, they gave us a competent villain, who showed that actions have consequences, Oliver wrestled with his demons, and as a result, this season was a lot more personal.
Last week, Adrian Chase was putting in motion his plans for a final showdown with Oliver. He kidnapped all the members of Team Arrow and told Oliver that he knew where they would be. The one place Oliver hasn’t really been to since the pilot episode, Lian Yu. Last week ended with Oliver showing up on the island to recruit his former friend for help, Slade Wilson, who we haven’t seen for quite some time. Oliver offers to help him find his son, if he can help Oliver rescue his son and Team Arrow from Chase’s clutches. Also at the ARGUS prison was Captain Boomerang, who joined the team as well, tagging along with Malcolm Merlyn and Nyssa Al Ghul. It looks like Oliver's got the perfect Team Arrow backup full of assassins ready to put in work.
The team comes across Felicity, Felicity, Curtis, Thea, and Samantha (his son’s mother) locked in cages. Because Team Arrow is split up, he knows that this is a trap. Soon enough Talia Al Ghul and Evelyn show up with a few League of Assassins members. The tables get turned when it’s revealed that Chase already got to Captain Boomerang and he betrays Oliver and the team. He offers Slade the chance to join him, and Slade gives the impression that he does, only to turn the tables on them. Talia and the group are forced to retreat. With some members of Team Arrow freed, Oliver has to get the rest. He doesn’t want Felicity and Curtis getting hurt, so he tells them to escape from the island.
As Thea is heading with Curtis, Felicity, and Samantha, Malcolm accompanies them to safeguard his daughter. She continues to push him away as she hates him and everything that he has done, despite being his father. As soon as she does it, she steps on a land mind, one with no way to deactivate. Malcolm at first offers to take his daughter’s place, he then shoves her out of the way and steps on the land mind before it explodes, so that they can all get away safely. As Captain Boomerang and a few League of Assassins ninja show up, they depart. Malcolm remains behind where a taunting Boomerang gets his comeuppance when Malcolm takes his foot off and explodes them all. Thea, who hates her father, later on, breaks down at his sacrifice. Felicity tells her that her father was also a terrible person, who sacrificed himself for her and she also felt sadness at the passing of someone she hated for so long. Curtis notices a plane (the same plane from those flashbacks way long ago) and wants to see if its operable, so they can leave. He and Felicity notice an explosive, and thanks to their Wonder Twins tech abilities, they discover that there are thousands of explosives all over the island connected to a dead mans trigger.
Oliver and Slade walk through the jungle where the two talk about Oliver’s time with him on the island as well as Oliver “marrying” Nyssa when he temporarily joined the League of Assassins. Oliver fills him in on Chase and everything that has happened this season. Wilson tells Oliver that everything that has happened, s a result of his unresolved daddy issues. Despite killing his mother, Slade Wilson has always been a father figure to Oliver, even when they were enemies. He tells Oliver that he needs to forgive himself.
Oliver and his group arrive at a temple, the same one that Diggle, Quentin, Dinah, and Rene are being held at. Slade recommends the team split up where he then knocks Oliver out and delivers him to Black Siren (Laurel Lance from Earth-2). As soon as Oliver is locked p with his teammates, he delivers Curtis’s device that cancel out the Canary Cry power dampener. With that, Dinah is able to let lose her scream and free them all. They are then confronted by Chase and everyone on his team. It’s a full on showdown as its Team Arrow versus Team Chase in a full on fight. Excellent camera work and fight choreography is done for this entire sequence. Most movies don’t get fight scenes this well done, yet Arrow knocks it out of the park. Although the fight is hard, Oliver and his team prove victorious. In a last moment, Chase escapes. Oliver knows he still has his son, she he tells the rest of the team to catch up with Felicity and get off the island as Chase has a bomb.
Oliver catches up with Case on his getaway boat where the two face off as he holds his son hostage with a knife. He gives Oliver the ultimate gut punch of a choice. He has to kill Chase… ensuring the island will explode and kill every one of his friends, or allow Case to kill his friends. It’s a dilemma. Oliver does neither as he puts his bow and arrow down. As soon as Chase lets his guard down, he shoots him in the leg with an Arrow and grabs his son. All looks well, right? Nope, Chase proves the victor as he shoots himself in the head, trigging the island to explode. We will not know if Team Arrow survived or no until next season.
Flashback-wise, we finally get to see him face off against Kovar on the Island. Dolph Lundgren did a great job as the Russian mob boss who tormented Oliver in this season’s flashbacks. It also shows how Oliver ended up being “rescued” from the island and recreated the opening scene from the pilot episode of the show. Now that all the flashbacks are pretty much up to the first episode of the show, are we done with them? Or will they find a creative way of continuing the flashbacks, by showing other Arrow missions not covered on the show. Either way, this has been a spectacular season of the show!
