The Flash VS Arrow is the first of two crossover episodes for the two series; and while the shows both feature Justice League Members, they are quite different. If you haven’t been following Arrow for the past two plus years, it’s just about the exact opposite of The Flash. Arrow is very dark in both tone and visuals; while The Flash is much brighter and always filled with hope. The juxtaposition in dynamics is what left me with high hopes for this episode, and it’s safe to say it didn’t disappoint. Of course, if you’ve been watching both shows, you’ll know that Barry has been in Arrow, and Felicity has guest starred in The Flash a few episodes ago. But, this is the first official crossover.
As predictable as the episode may have been, especially after the reveal of the main villain, it was still fun seeing the interactions between the two teams. Barry’s younger, more inexperienced side really showed through with the contrast to Oliver’s much more seasoned demeanor. There was almost a big brother little brother vibe about the entire episode which was surprisingly nice and not campy as you may expect. The villain, and I say that hesitantly because the villain was the weakest we’ve seen yet, goes by the name of Prism (aka Rainbow Raider), aptly named by Cisco at the end of the episode. Prism uses an ability that alters brain patterns, altering the person’s emotional states, making them become chaotic. Prism first uses his ability to rob a bank, which is easily done by making everyone else try to kill each other.
Thus, Arrow enters the scene because he needs help with a boomerang-wielding bandit. Fans of DC comics are wondering if this villain is in fact Boomerang, an adversary of The Flash and a member of The Suicide Squad. Barry cannot be more ecstatic to have a partner in crime, but it’s Diggle’¬s reaction that is absolutely ridiculous. His awe-struck emotions are emphasized even more because he is the only one that hasn’t seen what The Flash can do. While Diggle is the one that is jaw-dropped on Arrow’s side, Iris is completely enamored with Arrow. The majority of the crew on both sides enjoy having Arrow on the scene, the same cannot be said for Wells and Joe. They see him the Arrow as the vigilante murderer rather than the savior of Starling City. He often uses questionable techniques to get the answers he needs, which doesn’t sit well with those trying to craft The Flash into what they want him to be. Only until they realize that Arrow is Oliver Queen do they employ for his help to stop The Flash after his mind has been brainwashed by Prism. It’s these interactions between the teams that make the crossover so much fun.
The majority of the episode revolves around Oliver teaching Barry how to become a better hero. Of course, Barry thinks he’s fine as is and quickly gets two arrows to the back. The arrogance played out perfectly because it’s almost exactly how Arrow was early on.
Of course, the huge pay off for this episode was the Arrow/ Flash battle, and it was definitely fun. I am almost always amazed at how well the visual effects are in this show, especially considering that it isn’t on a major network. Coming from Smallville, it’s a huge step-up in the visual department and makes for that much greater of a show. After the awesome battle, that only took place because Barry couldn’t battle the Prisms abilities, Prism is suddenly caught. Sure, they just had a huge battle, but I felt like they could have at least commented on Prism and how they caught him. But, not a word was even spoken on that matter.
The backstory in this episode was Eddie’s determination to catch The Flash. At first, Iris argues that The Flash isn’t bad, but once Prims’ abilities took ahold of Barry and caused him to act out aggressively, she now begins to agree with Eddie. This backstory was great because it sets up so many questions for future episodes.
Two scenes really stood out and are easily going to be building blocks for the future. Oliver’s ex, the one Moira paid one million dollars to disappear, has made her way to Central City. And, as always, the last scene was great and showed Firestorm taking on a couple guys that were trying to rob him.
