10) “The Brave And The Bold” – December 3, 2014
The third season of Arrow didn’t have a lot of bright spots, but one of the few was definitely this half of the first major crossover with The Flash. Characters from both shows had started criss-crossing over before there even was a Flash show, but this was the big, official crossover. An adventure so big that it required both the Emerald Archer and the Scarlet Speedster to get together for the hour.
Really, the threat was just Captain Boomerang, a former intelligence operative with no powers, just a fetish for boomerangs, but the point of the episode was to highlight the strengths and differences of both heroes. Flash characters Barry, Cisco and Caitlin are introduced to the grim and gritty world of Starling where violence can come at anytime, while Team Arrow gets a taste of something more light-hearted, with silly villain nicknames, jokes, and the philosophical place of super-humans in the universe.
In other words, the two casts brought out the best in one and other. Perhaps it also proved that there’s more room in the world of Arrow to be less depressing and more fun. After all, the Green Arrow of the comics is a populist hero that sticks up for the downtrodden while still having enough whimsy to come to a fight armed with a boxing glove arrow. Perhaps it’s a sign that Arrow should shake things up for season four with friendlier Starling City vigilante…
I guess we’ll find out on October 7th.