So far, this year’s Arrowverse crossover, “Crisis on Earth-X,” is making its bid at being the best DC TV mashup to date. Really, it’s utilizing the major players from each of the four shows making up this constellation, and flows like a true miniseries – not three distinct parts as was the case last year.
Tonight, we were treated to the first two installments via the latest episodes of Supergirl and Arrow, which saw the villains from Earth-X crash the wedding of Barry Allen and Iris West. Now, we already knew to expect that Oliver Queen and Kara Zor-El’s respective Nazi doppelgangers, Dark Arrow and Overgirl, were morbid reflections of them, but it’s the other reveals that came as a bit of a surprise.
For those of you who follow major spoilers, you may recall when set photos showing Tom Cavanagh under Blitzen’s cowl emerged some time ago. Naturally, we assumed him to be yet another doppelganger of Harrison Wells, but we were never prepared for the full breadth of the truth: That he is, in fact, Earth-1’s Eobard Thawne/Reverse-Flash!
As it turns out, Thawne continues to defy the laws of space and time, this time once again donning the face of Wells in order to better get inside Barry’s head. Well, there’s that and the fact the producers wouldn’t have to secure the services of yet another actor for the crossover. Regardless, seeing Cavanagh being evil again succeeded in playing to our nostalgia.
When it comes to Prometheus, we knew not to expect Adrian Chase under the cowl, but those who theorized that it’d be Tommy Merlyn will now feel vindicated. After “our” Tommy died back in Arrow season 1, we’ve seen him return only in flashbacks and the like, so this twist really did a number on Oliver Queen’s emotions. It was pretty much a cameo, sure, but it was badass nevertheless.
One other takeaway that we’d like to discuss is that of a new addition to the Arrowverse, that being a mysterious girl played by Jessica Parker Kennedy (Smallville‘s Plastique). To put it mildly, her gushing over meeting Barry has caused some to theorize she has a connection to him and Iris, and is possibly the Scarlet Speedster’s granddaughter, XS, from the future.
Now, we don’t want to jump to conclusions, but when you consider that she was credited as a special guest star, it stands to reason that Greg Berlanti and company have big plans for her. Right now, the only people who truly know what’s up are in Vancouver, but we can rest assured knowing that it’ll be fun learning the truth.
The Arrowverse crossover continues tomorrow night, November 28, with The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow.