"The Flash" and "Arrow" exist in the same universe, but the tone of each show is quite different. Bringing the two together for a crossover two-episode event was a challenging proposition, but we gotta say it was a pretty big success. The blend of action, drama, humor, and even soul-searching was highly entertaining, and left us wanting more Barry and Ollie team-ups in the future. Here are 10 of the things we loved best about "Flash Vs. Arrow" and "The Brave and the Bold":
1. Ollie as the older and wiser sage. Former rich playboy Oliver Queen has been around the Island a few times, in contrast to the naive and nerdy Barry. It was fun seeing Arrow take on the big brother role to The Flash, teaching the young'un a thing or two about battle strategy and the dangers of rushing headlong into a fight. And like any big brother, Ollie didn't pull any punches, shooting Barry in the back just to make a point. Well, two points, to be precise. Ouch.
2. The badass fight between Flash and Arrow: Fans were waiting for a really good reason why our two heroes would be battling each other, and we got it. Barry got "whammied" by a metahuman who could bring out someone's anger issues with just a meaningful stare from his glowing red eyes. A simmering Barry got a lot of his inner angst off of his chest, telling off his boss, roughing up Iris' boy toy, and eventually trying to beat the crap out of Arrow with a thousand angry super-speed punches.
Barry may have superhuman abilities, but as we saw in the training scenes, Oliver has heaps more experience and intuition. It was a worthy battle, where we could see the true power and danger of The Flash's epic speed, but also the way Arrow's ingenuity and intuition could still best the blur in front of him. Entertaining stuff. And best to leave the friendly battle at the end to the imagination....more fun for us to all keep arguing over who would really win a fight to the finish with these two.
3. Cisco geeking out over the Arrow cave: Cisco is a man who loves his job. It was entertaining as hell to see him squeeing like a fanboy when he got allowed into the Arrow hideout where he could lust over gadgets and sleek leathery outfits. It was also amusing to see Ollie flabbergasted at Roy adopting that whole "Arrow Cave" nonsense the ever-nicknaming Cisco came up with.
"We can talk about you giving your enemies silly codenames later."
"You mean over coffee w/Deathstroke and Huntress?"
"Point."
#ArrowVSFlash
— Dar[k] Vader (@_A1va) December 3, 2014
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| Are we showing *everyone* the Arrow Cave now? |
4. Digg's reaction to seeing The Flash: Since we're so used to Barry, we kind of forgot not everyone has experienced that streaky dude kicking up a cloud of dust (or pile of paperwork) everywhere he goes. Digg's stunned, babbling reaction, "I knew someone who got struck by lightning. He just ended up with a stutter," was pretty hilarious. It's not often we see tough-guy Digg this befuddled.
5. The teams combining their mad skills: Arrow and Flash get a lot of the glory, but it was cool to see Cisco, Caitlin, Felicity, Digg, and Roy teaming up to get their bosses in and out of trouble. When you've got scientific, mechanical, medical, and tactical skills all coming together, those bad guys don't have a chance in hell.
We also loved that Oliver's Arrow senses were tingling over Dr. Wells...something about that scientific mastermind ain't right for sure, Ollie!
6. Girl power: Caitlin and Felicity may not be ninja assassins, but it was cool to see them turn that whole "damsel in distress" idea on its head. Lyla fended off their boomerang-wielding enemy long enough for Felicity to literally drop a bomb on the guy. Then Caitlin swooped in to treat Lyla's wounds until Barry arrived to zap her quickly to the nearest hospital. Nice to see the ladies saving their own bacon before the cavalry arrived.
And we always have to love Felicity for speaking to the fangirl population. We couldn't help sporfling in agreement when Caitlin asked about the salmon ladder in the "Arrow Cave" and Felicity sighed wistfully over the "distraction from work."
Props to #ArrowVSFlash for that "It's so nice to be able to talk to a woman" line...hahah. #AboutGeekyAwesomeScienceStuff :))
— Valerie David (@ValerieDavid) December 3, 2014
7. Creaking leather boy talks: When Barry and Oliver had their heart to heart, it was tough not to be reminded of the "Supernatural" meta episode that pointed out all those emotional boy talks next to the Impala. It takes metahuman manliness to pull off a scene with two guys in body-hugging leather and masks talking about their feelings. Somehow Gustin and Amell did it beautifully, and we were all better for it. I mean, Barry telling Ollie that he really does have a light inside made our little fangirl hearts expand more than we thought possible.
8. The light vs. dark: Putting the two heroes together really highlighted their contrasting styles. Arrow has always been hardcore, but he seemed pretty beastly through Barry's more innocent eyes. Like the Time Lord on "Doctor Who," it's not a bad idea for Ollie to be periodically reminded to scale back the violence a bit.
On the other hand, Barry and his team realized they'd been playing heroes sort of like they'd play a video game, not entirely associating any of this mayhem with real life. They got a healthy wake-up call at the same time Ollie was learning not to take himself so damn seriously. It was a great way to play the different tones of the two shows off of each other.
9. Ollie's Roy Wonder: Despite the Flash Vs. Arrow focus, we got to see some cool moments with Arrow and his sidekick Arsenal doing damage together. Synchronized ass-kicking is twice as entertaining as the lone wolf doing his thing, must say. And Roy has become quite the sexy little demon in that totally hot red-fade-into-black hooded gear. Even Cisco couldn't find a way to improve on that laced-up costume perfection.
10. Ollie being Teh Sex: Excuse us while we continue our drool fest. Something about "The Flash" universe seems to make Oliver even warmer and dreamier than usual. Maybe it's the slight escape from his own dark reality that helps.
We get to see a lot more of that winning grin, and that affectionate admiration for Barry's squeaky shiny hero aspirations. It's nice to see the softer side of the man with the killer abs, and we swooned as much as Iris did over the famous Oliver Queen. We would so totally make him a fresh pot of coffee, too.
What about you, "Flash" and "Arrow" fans? What were your favorite parts of the episodes?
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