I am pretty sure that saying that the expectations about this episode of THE FLASH were sky high is the understatement of the year. I am the first to admit that – at the same time that I am always super excited about this highly anticipated episodes – I kind of always dread watching them, for fear that they will never live up to my expectations.
But you know what, last night’s THE FLASH did live up to my incredibly high expectations about this crossover, but in a different way than I expected. “Legends of Today” starts off with a creepy guy – who we soon find out is Vandal Savage – killing a bunch of people single-handedly, after getting off a ship. Then he immediately tracks down Kendra Saunders, who is on a date with Cisco at Jitters. He believes she is the reincarnated Priestess Chay-Ara and he needs to kill her. Cisco manages to alert Barry by pushing a neat little panic button on his phone, so the Scarlet Speedster makes it to Jitters just in time to save them. They take Kendra to Star Labs and from there, Barry decides that taking her to Star City is their best bet. After all, Oliver has experience in dealing with mystical villains and they don’t. So off they go and it’s a great reunion for Team Arrow and Team Flash and there are some great moments in the Arrow Cave and in Oliver’s loft. I lost count of how many times I laughed out loud and the camaraderie between the teams was just wonderful to watch.
That said, the first act felt a little rushed to me. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I felt that way for most of the episode – especially in the first act. There was so much going on, that it almost felt like there was way too much information squeezed into a single episode. It all worked out in the end, but I admit my head was spinning a little when my screen faded to black. “Legends of Today” was an action-packed episode for sure and it definitely topped last year’s FLASH portion of the crossover by a large margin.
Barry asks for Oliver’s help in order to protect Kendra and the vigilante is a little cranky about having a new mystical villain putting his team in his crosshairs. When it turns out that the guy is immortal, things just go from bad to worse. And when things seem like they can’t get any worse, a dude with wings kidnaps Kendra. Oliver and Barry go after them and manage to rescue her, taking Hawkman with them back to the Arrow Cave. Turns out his name is Carter Hall, but he is the reincarnation of Prince Kofu. He explains that he and Kendra, who is really Priestess Chay-ara, are soulmates (and have been for four thousand years!) and are drawn to each other in each life. Savage’s life force is tethered to theirs, so every time he kills them, he gets stronger. He has already done so 206 times, so we can all imagine how powerful the guy is. Hawkman tells Kendra she needs to emerge and remember who she really is and – while she is still processing all this – he tells her that what she needs to do is throw herself off a building and that her instincts will take over and she will emerge – meaning her wings will come out – which is easier said than done, buddy. Eventually, Kendra musters up the courage to do just that and her true self finally emerges and she gets some awesome wings.
To make matters even worse, though, Malcolm Merlyn shows up and – being a ray of sunshine as he always is – tells them that they will never beat Savage and that Kendra is as good as dead. Also, he has heard from his associates that the guy is after a powerful staff and, if Vandal Savage gets his hands on it, they are all doomed. Felicity quickly locates the staff in a church in Central City, so Barry and Oliver rush over there, where they have an epic battle with Savage – who already has the staff, so our heroes are too late – and nearly get themselves killed. Oliver summons everyone to Central City, so they can regroup and figure out how they are going to defeat this guy.
That’s where we are probably picking up on ARROW tonight. Now, let’s talk about a few different aspects of this episode:
Barry and Oliver
I don’t have enough good things to say about these two. I had high hopes for their scenes together, but they completely surpassed my expectations. The way they portrayed their friendship and partnership was my very favorite part of “Legends of Today” and I absolutely loved every single moment. It’s great to look back and see how far they have come. Even from last year’s crossover, the difference in their relationship is palpable and I really hope we get to see more of that in future episodes. The camaraderie between them was great and I loved seeing Oliver joke around with Barry. I mean, this is Oliver Queen we are talking about – the guy is an expert when it comes to brooding – and we got to see him joke and laugh and share a drink with friends, while still being a badass hero.
I also loved how Barry opened up to him about how he is just feeling overwhelmed with everything that has been going on. For a while, it seemed like he was just taking it in stride, but it looks like he has just been bottling everything up. He is just as overwhelmed about all the changes in his life as we are, and the whole Zoom thing is really taking a toll on him. It was great that he felt comfortable enough to talk to Oliver about this and I really think that they are developing an amazing friendship.
Cisco
Poor Cisco Ramon. Seriously, I just felt bad for the guy the entire episode. He is clearly falling for Kendra and now he finds out that her soulmate is a guy with wings and that they are destined to be together. My heart broke for him. I hope this doesn’t hurt him too much when Kendra and her Hawkman move on to LEGENDS OF TOMORROW.
Velocity 6
While I get that this subplot is important and will probably play a bigger role in future episodes, it just didn’t really fit in with the crossover. Remember when I said it felt rushed? Maybe if they had cut that part out and focused on Star City, things would have run a little better? Also, I still don’t get what Jay Garrick is still doing here. I am assuming a bigger storyline is coming his way.
Oliver’s Long Lost Son
This is going to mess things up big time, I can feel it. Although it didn’t really happen the way I thought it would, I am guessing this is going to play a big part on tonight’s ARROW. And I am willing to bet that Oliver is not going to tell Felicity about it and when she does find out, it will blow up in his face in a huge way. I am already dreading this.
Overall, excellent first part of the crossover. I am so excited about tonight and I can’t wait to discuss it with you guys tomorrow. What did you think? Are you as excited as I am for tonight’s episode? Hit the comments below and tell me all about it, or come talk to me on Twitter.
Don’t miss the conclusion to this epic crossover event on ARROW tonight at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on The CW and catch the midseason finale of THE FLASH on December 8 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT.