Hello and welcome to part one of my mega-recap of this two-night, four-show amalgamation of badassery! Today’s recap will feature hours one and two of the crossover event, and then tomorrow’s will round us out with hours three and four. The reason we’re doing this is because both Alex and Sara are featured heavily in all four hours and praise Rao for it. Let’s get right to it, shall we?
Previously on Supergirl, the man Kara thought she maybe sent to his death came back, very much alive, and in fact SO alive that he was married to someone else entirely; Alex slowly but surely started to work through the pain of her and Maggie splitting up due to irreconcilable differences; and Lena apparently took a break from crime-fighting because of the whole almost dying thing because she was missing last week and also this week and I have someone else I’d happily exchange for her if you know what I mean.
This week the crossover begins in full swing. We start on Earth-X, where swastikas are on proud display and the sky is red and in a constant state of thunder and lightning. Someone called Doc (not Holliday) says he wants to bring hope back to this obviously hopeless universe, but before he can reveal how he plans to do so, he’s struck down by someone dressed like Arrow but all in black, cleverly called Dark Arrow.
Dark Arrow takes down a bunch of guards but then finds himself face to face with someone who looks like our Guardian but now with 200% more American flags. They fight, but Guardian is eventually overpowered, and de-masked. James-X says that he’s not alone in the rebellion, that the US flag still means something to some people, but Dark Arrow says that flag is dead and makes sure James-X meets the same fate. In case you weren’t sure Nazis were bad, this was sign #1 that they are irredeemable.
Dark Arrow goes into the Doc’s warehouse and sees a UFO/portal-looking thingy and announces his plan to use it to help the bad guys stay in charge forever.
Then we zip around to all our favorite fictional cities. We start in Central City, where Iris laments to Barry (who is fighting a sharkman) that some people haven’t RSVP’d to the wedding yet that she’s pretty sure this crossover can’t happen without.
Hi my name is Iris West and I am the most underused character on the show The Flash.
And I love this (and the upcoming) scenes because I think the idea of talking about everyday things while doing extraordinary tasks is so amusing and there’s not usually enough time in the regular shows to explore them. So Iris’s question takes us to check in on those who haven’t RSVP’d yet.
In Star City, we have Oliver fighting ninjas while assuring Felicity they’re definitely going to the wedding. In 1183 AD England, the Legends are fighting some knights in Nottingham forest and after catching a flaming arrow, Sara asks if they’ve told Iris and Barry they’re coming to the wedding yet. Memory is a funny thing like that.
Arrow…cupid’s arrow…cupid…OH GODS THE WEDDING
In National City, Supergirl is fighting a dominator and barely breaks a sweat, lamenting that those bad guys are so last year. A stray Daxamite wanders into the DEO to ask if Kara is okay, and Alex scoffs and says that of course she is. She’s Supergirl.
Back at Kara’s apartment, the sisters can’t believe Kara’s ex showed his pasty face and tried to pretend like everything was normal. Kara goes off about it for a minute, but eventually stops because she thinks her pain isn’t anything compared to Alex’s. But Alex, while still being sad, isn’t consumed by her pain anymore to the point where she shuts down when someone mentions it; and besides, misery loves company.
Sorrow Sestras
Alex sees the invite for the wedding — addressed to Kara and would-be plus one — and Kara tells her she’s simply too bummed to go to a lovefest right now. Alex jokes about how they couldn’t possibly go anywhere and dare have FUN and this makes Kara realize how ridiculous she sounds; of course they should go hang out with their friends and eat, drink and be merry! So she gets her little breach-brooch Cisco made her and they hop on over to Earth-1 to have themselves a good time.
Iris and some of her girls get mani/pedis and it’s very cute and sweet, and when Kara thanks Iris for letting her exchange her original order of wet noodle to her badass sister, Iris says she was more than happy to do it, and is excited to meet Alex.
We didn’t pass the Bechdel test but cheers anyway.
On Earth-X, Dark Arrow finds Doc’s contraption and says he’s taking over this rebel tech. Dark Supergirl gives their nervous nerd one day to test it to make sure it’s not a trap, then their wicked plans will unfold.
I just realized that this recap is going to be longer than Gone With the Wind if I mention every little side story and scene — like Cisco, Wells and Caitlin trying to split Firestorm up so Stein can teach his grandson chess, or Stein trying to help give Jax powers even after they’re split, so I’m probably going to skip over a lot of those things and focus on our girls, and then the overall plot stuff. Which leaves us with plenty, don’t you worry!
Rehearsal dinner is at Jitters, which is hilarious, but whatever, it’s nice to see all our friends gussied up and in the same room. Alex is taking shots at the bar when Sara comes over to do them with her.
“Straight people, amiright?”
Sara just likes the taste of scotch, but Alex is trying to chase away her feelings. She says she just called off her engagement, and Sara inexplicably says, “Catch him cheating?” Now, I know Sara has been too busy saving lives across time and space to hang out with a bunch of queers and go to things like, say, Bad Lesbian Movie Brunch, but most queer women I know — especially bi/queer women who also date men and/or are mistaken for straight all the time — wouldn’t assume another woman is straight. But I’m just going to guess it’s because someone identifying as straight hasn’t ever stopped Sara Lance from flirting, and anyway, Alex immediately corrects Sara and says “her” and says it was just a conscious uncoupling. And when Alex says “her” Sara’s interest is quite piqued.
“I knew you pinged my gaydar.”
Sara gets that this means the wedding is probably not Alex’s idea of a great time, so she pours them another shot and they toast to making feelings go away and to loving the taste of scotch.
“Emotion, devotion, to causing a commotion.”
It’s such an…adult conversation. That sounds more boring than I mean it to, but I think I’ve just been so used to watching teenagers figure out their queer on my teevee (which is great and fun and I hope it never stops) that whenever there’s a situation like this — two out women bonding and flirting over shots — that looks more like my current life (or least, my current friends’ life…I’m bad at flirting) it feels very surprisingly refreshing. Like I didn’t realize how little of it I’ve seen on TV (especially outside Shondaland) until I do see it.
So while, like Alex, I’m still mourning the end of Sanvers, this baby step toward healing, this seeking of comfort in booze and a friendly face, this makes sense to me.
Anyway, Barry sees this going down and asks Kara about it, and when Kara looks down and sees Sara and Alex linking arms to take more shots, she just laughs it off, saying no one can drink Alex under the table.
Say what you will about the pairing romantically, but never have two people been better suited to be drinking buddies.
Kara does that thing again where she says she has to stop having human problems, and Barry tries to tell her she can be Supergirl and be in love, but she is really into this notion lately and nothing will shake her. And besides, Barry isn’t here to talk about her love life, he’s there to ask her to use her one superpower that has nothing to do with the yellow sun to make his wedding the very best. (Spoiler alert, it’s singing. He asks her to sing.)
Later, Joe West makes a toast about learning how to love in many different ways, and the camera pans to a few of the couples in the crowd, and I thought it was going to pan to a sad-faced Alex, so I braced my whole self, but instead it panned to something much better: Alex and Sara making out.
Get. it. girls.
They sneaked off to make out!
And then they must sneak off to do more than that, because Alex wakes up hungover and slowly but surely feeling the full weight of the canary wing draped across her naked self.
Sara is a big spoon, pass it on.
She tries to sneak out but falls off the bed and her little embarrassed face is very cute.
What’s the opposite of “coyote ugly”? “Canary beautiful”?
She looks just as embarrassed (and just as hungover) when she runs into Kara at the wedding the next day. Kara is salty she just disappeared from the rehearsal dinner, until Sara struts up and she puts the pieces together. Alex and Sara barely remember each other’s names, but there’s no mistaking what happened when Sara asks Alex how her butt is from falling out of bed this morning. No, she literally says, “How’s your butt?”
I personally have laughed by butt right off, thanks for asking.
Is that code for something gay?
Sara goes inside the church, bidding them a pleasant adieu, and Kara smirks and demands an explanation from her sister. She admits that she spent the night with Sara, and that it was a three-time thing. Alex is freaking out about it — she’s never had a one night stand. She says she’s like a horrible guy, but Kara thinks it’s hilarious. Sara’s feelings are obviously not hurt and all Alex did was have a little fun after a rehearsal dinner; somebody had to, it’s the rule. Kara also says that Sara is awesome, her main flaw being the whole assassin thing. Alex just laughs nervously about the sassy assassin she just went three rounds with.
The fiercest and most tactical agent of the DEO being an awkward gay gives me life.
Inside the wedding, a waitress comes up to Barry and is being all awkward and goofy and is so glad she gets to see this wedding and says explicitly that she’s a stranger, and also she’s Jessica Parker Kennedy aka Max from Black Sails so I was already capital-S Suspicious that this was not just a “look how cute it is that Barry and Iris have local shippers” moment, when my friend Carly Lane on Twitter suggested that maybe it’s Barry and Iris’s future daughter.
I mean, you don’t get JPK on set and just have her be a fangirl waitress.
That would also explain the weird comment Iris made earlier at the nail salon about not being ready for kids yet.
But that is neither here nor there at the moment. Kara goes up to the altar and starts to sing the song Barry sang to Iris when he proposed to her in the last mini musical crossover and I’m not usually one for sappy gooey lovey dovey stuff but damn if I didn’t get emotional when I realized it.
She’ll always be Sweet Marley Rose to me.
Iris comes in and she looks beautiful and perfect and I whisper that to her because maybe sometimes she forgets since The Flash underuses her so.
You’re also a very good reporter and probably could give Kara some tips.
But it’s all too good to be true, because as soon as the priest gets to the “speak now or forever hold your peace” he is immediately zapped to bits by Dark Supergirl. Nazis flood the church and everyone gets to fighting, including Alex and Sara who both rip their dresses to proper kick height.
Everyone is fighting and using their powers and skills and teamwork. Cisco coaxes Caitlin to let Frost come out and play, Arrow uses a Vibe breach to get to the balcony, etc. Sara and Alex are fighting side by side and are generally unamused by Nazi quips.
“We’re here, we’re queer, we’re fabulous, don’t fuck with us.”
All of the big group fight scenes in these first two hours of the crossover are beautifully choreographed and shot. It can’t be easy to manage this many humans in one room just for normal wedding type stuff, I can’t imagine these fight scenes were easy. I have a feeling I’ll want to watch them a few times to catch every little detail. One detail I for sure did not miss, though, was Sara and Alex taking down a Nazi and then high fiving about it.
“Caity Lotz gives the dykeiest high five I have ever seen and I played basketball in college.” – Heather Hogan
After a sky-fight for the ages, Kara claps back at Dark Supergirl — literally, she does this badass boom-clap that knocks her down. With Dark Supergirl looking worse for wear, Dark Arrow calls the whole thing off and all the bad guys start to fall back.
They did keep the Dark Archer Sara and Alex took down in custody, though. Our heroes, lucky they’re pretty and strong, thing it’s so strange and a very weird coincidence that the leaders of the evil crew matched them in size, shape and skillset, right down to the unicorniness of Supergirl’s hair.
And in case we, the audience, didn’t catch on somehow, we now get to see for sure that Dark Arrow is Oliver-shaped, Dark Flash is Wells-shaped (but is actually Thawne), and Dark Supergirl (apparently called Overgirl) is Kara-shaped…with killer lipstick.
Probably called something like Sinfully Sinister.
And that’s all for Supergirl hour! Moving right along into Hour Two, we shift our focus a little more on Team Arrow.
And to remind us we’re definitely in Oliver Queen’s world now, the Dark Archer in the Star Labs holding cell is revealed to be Tommy Merlyn.
So now they know for sure that the invaders are from a different Earth. Wells says they must be from the 53rd Earth, the worst Earth, Earth-X, where the Nazis won the war and everything is the actual literal worst. The thought of it makes Felicity (and me) sick. So they set to work to make this right.
“Kara, I don’t think we’re in National City anymore.”
Tommy has a little fake heart-to-heart with Oliver before Oliver realizes there’s no humanity in Nazis and Tommy kills himself. It was nice to see his face again, and I know this actor is a damn delight and probably great to bring back over and over in different ways, but I’m a little bummed our new last Tommy sighting was an evil Tommy.
The anti-hero goon squad has some dissention in the ranks, but Dark Supergirl puts the boys in line and they all calm down. Then, as if them just generally being Nazis wasn’t enough to be making ew-faces the whole time they were on screen, Kara-X KISSES Oliver-X. Like puts her mouth on his mouth. It’s so awful.
Oh also Oliver keeps trying to get Felicity to marry her but last time they were engaged she got shot and also they ended up breaking up so she would rather not thank you very much.
The only reason I miss recapping Arrow is because I miss screenshotting Felicity’s face.
Back at Star Labs, Sara and Alex run into each other in the hall, and Alex is as awkward and stammery as Sara is calm, cool and collected. Alex says she liked punching Nazis with Sara, and Sara smirks at her.
Sara “corrupted” a whole town of witches; she’s had her share of flustered girls.
Sara asks Alex if she’s going to make this weird, and Alex promises she won’t, but as soon as Sara is gone, Alex runs into Kara and starts freaking the freak out. She’s in a full-fledged tailspin and is starting to wonder if the one-night stand was a mistake, if breaking up with Maggie was a mistake. Maggie’s words are in her head; yeah, she wants kids, but what she had with Maggie was real. Was it really the best decision to let her go?
You’re doing great, sweetie.
Kara calms her sister down by saying the truest truth: Maggie was amazing, Maggie and Alex were amazing together, but Maggie is gone. The best thing Maggie did for Alex was teach her how to be true to herself, and Alex will always carry that with her.
But it’s hard. Alex didn’t fall out of love with Maggie before she ended their relationship. So now that the relationship is over, she has to climb and crawl and drag herself out of love with her. And during this process of trying to get over Maggie, she happened to get drunk with another queer badass who understands the complexities of her life better than most would, and who is always down for a no-strings-attached fun time. They got drunk, they had fun, no one got hurt. But the thing that’s tricky is, sometimes it’s hard to reconcile the combination of those feelings. It’s uncomfortable to have broken-heart feelings and holy-shit-that-was-fun feelings about two separate people all taking up space in your chest at the same time. And especially when the one-night-stand type feelings are brand new? Of course Alex is freaking out.
But what Kara said was true, too. Nothing Alex did was wrong. It wasn’t even new. People have been having rebound one night stands and promptly freaking out about them since the dawn of time. But Alex made the right decision — for her and for Maggie — and Sara isn’t going to make this weird, so if she stops making it weird, everything is going to be okay. This is just the next step in her queervolution.
There’s something to be said for the moment you realize your “first” is no longer your “only.”
One moment of lightness that I appreciated (and that doesn’t happen enough in Arrow proper) was when Supergirl and Flash zoom onto the scene and have to wait for Oliver, who doesn’t have superspeed, just his motorcycle. It’s very cute.
Anyway, the trio faces off with their counterparts — Overgirl, Dark Arrow, and Thawne. Overgirl talks like an old-timey villain, like she should have a martini in one hand and a cigarette holder in the other. When Kara finds out that Kara-X and Oliver-X are married she says, “Ew!” with such fervor it would make Lena Luthor proud. Fighting ensues and the bad guys get a prism that will be important later and the good guys save some late-night construction workers from untimely death.
The squad at Star Labs realize that the prism the bad guys stole can be used to make a bomb, which can’t be good for anyone. Also, Alex is still having a hard time wrapping her head around the idea that there is more than one Kara, let alone 53 Karas.
“That is a lot of little sisters.”
The team talks about using the Kryptonite arrow Oliver shot Overgirl with to track her, but by the time they decide that is in fact the best course of action, Alex already figured out that they can use the extra-high solar radiation in Kara-X’s blood to track her.
Scienced!
Overgirl and Thawne talk about Oliver-X choosing the Fatherland over her and he’s afraid he won’t but she promises he will and blah blah blah. Frankly I don’t care. I don’t care that Oliver-X loves Kara-X, I don’t care that Kara-X would sacrifice herself, I don’t care if they rescue puppies for a living. They’re Nazis and they’ve got to be stopped.
Eventually Felicity tracks Overgirl and the team suits up to go take the bad guys down. It’s one of the best superhero sequences any of these shows has ever done. It pans from hero to hero as they get ready for battle, each of their own personal theme music layering over the last. I want to make this super-mega-mix my alarm tone so I can wake up every morning ready to punch some Nazis.
Oh hey it’s my favorite Blonde Badass Bisexual Bird
It’s so dramatic and cheesy in a good way the way that CW DC TV does so well.
Everyone gets their tasks, and Sara wants her and Alex to team up and asks if it’s okay with her, but as awkward as Alex is in her personal life, she is just the opposite on the field, and she’s ready to fight side by side with anyone who plays for her team. (Sorry, I had to.)
“We already know we move well together, so why not.”
They agree that Overgirl is their biggest threat and who they should take down first, which is also a way of saying that Supergirl is the strongest and best among them, which I know seems obvious, but it was nice to hear them say it.
It’s another beautifully choreographed fight scene, bigger than the last, more Nazis taken out, more heroes joining the fight. Specifically, Caitlin’s inner Frost, because Dark Arrow is in Star Labs.
I still don’t fully understand why Caitlin’s powers are a whole separate identity but that is The Flash’s problem.
At first it seems her and Mick can’t handle the Dark Arrow on their own, but then the good Team Arrow shows up and helps them out.
Back in the warehouse, our heroes regroup after they’ve punched all the Nazis, but then find themselves in trouble when Overgirl shows up with Metallo, and overpower the team and tie them up.
“Not how I would have liked to be tied up together for the first time, but here we are.”
At one point during her evil soliloquy, Overgirl doubles over in pain, and Oliver-X holds her and assures her she’ll be better soon. You see, Kara-X flew too close to the sun — literally — probably wanting to get more power from it, and made herself sick. She needs a new heart, and our Kara’s will do just fine. Alex is furious, which amuses Kara-X, because Alex-X was apparently staunchly anti-Nazi and tried to kill her evil sister.
All Alexes are good and pure.
And so, the prism isn’t for a bomb after all, but to weaken Kara enough that they can cut out her heart.
At Star Labs, things aren’t going much better, and everyone except Felicity and Iris have been overpowered by the Nazis.
Sara, Alex, Barry, Oliver, Jax and Stein must have been knocked out by their collars, because they come to in an unfamiliar place. Kara is missing and Alex is stressed about it, but Sara assures her that they’ll get out there and find her. Where is there? A concentration camp on Earth-X.
“Well, fuck.”
And here’s the thing. I don’t understand why they had to have full-blown, old-school Nazis with uniforms and concentration camps and the lot. It’s aggressive and upsetting, which I suppose is the point. But we have real life Nazis in 2017. I personally think it would have been more impactful if this Earth-X, where the Nazis won the war, had modern-day Nazis that look like our modern-day Nazis. I don’t know, maybe they’re not trying to send a big message, maybe they just wanted to punch some Nazis, but I think it would have been interesting if Earth-X wasn’t a war-torn hellscape with red, gloomy skies, but a world that looked alarmingly like our world, just full of the hatred and bigotry the Nazis stand for. Because frankly the concentration camp was hard to watch, and I imagine the upcoming hours of this crossover will be harder to watch, but Nazi Germany isn’t a thing we need to be reminded was a living nightmare. They could have used this, instead, as a warning about what our world could look like if we let self-proclaimed “white nationalists” make the “great again” America they want so desperately. And THEN we got to watch our heroes punch them all in the face.
But that’s just me.
Aside from the excessive use of Nazi imagery, I think this crossover has been super fun so far. I think the fact that they made it clear that they haven’t forgotten Sara is bisexual, and that they don’t intend to let Alex be alone and sad forever (though likely a little of both for a bit, based on her reaction to this one) means great things for both queer ladies’ futures. Plus, we usually see Sara leave behind her flings in other time periods, so her somewhat-awkward interactions with Alex are new and fun, and I look forward to what I hope is more fun scenes like the “How’s your butt?” scene. Plus, of course, I look forward to the Nazis being destroyed by our faves. See you tomorrow for more Legends of SuperFlarrow!
Fantastic recap for two revolutionary episodes of queer TV! I know this episode got some blowback from some queer folks, and I definitely understand the pain and anger of losing a queer couple that means so much to you, but I honestly cannot even imagine how Alex’s storylines could have been handled with more care than they have been. I’ve been doing this job ten years and I can see storytelling growth here in ways I wouldn’t have dreamed of even three years ago. Thank you for being a part of that change, Valerie, for continuing to pour your heart into unpacking these stories and for bringing all your hard-won wisdom to bear on everything you write.
Thank you, Heather. As they say, “I learned it by watching you!” :)
I’ll read this later once I have a chance to see the episodes, but I just wanted to say that the picture on the post on Facebook is spoilery ? (I don’t know if that’s something AS has control over or not)
Seeing James get murdered right off the top was hard to watch. I’m not looking forward to the explicit WWII call backs tonight either. I agree with you,Valerie. They didn’t need to imagine a world where the Nazis won (and where all Jews, Rromani, etc are dead) to have high stakes. It could have still been Neo-Nazis from a world where they were trying to win the war or maybe time traveling Nazis trying to take a weapon back. Or they could have been the white supremacists who showed up in Virginia. Those would have still been really bad villains.
Oh, and I’m totally here for Alex and Sara. This is a storyline that seems like a real thing in real people’s lives.
Nice job Valerie! I overall enjoyed this so far, but there are definite issues.
I actually enjoyed the Sara/Alex stuff (and I’m a huge Sanvers shipper.) I think the fact that it wasn’t JUST played for laughs, that Alex had some mini-freak outs and did some A+ lesbian processing really helped sell it. Alex even said how this is not something she would normally do, and the fact is that when you are hurting so much, sometimes you do things you wouldn’t normally do. I thought they did a good job balancing the fun aspect of hooking up with intense feelings of guilt that may come along with it. I also appreciated that no one was being slut shamed- that Kara was all about it.
The Nazi imagery was just….really hard to watch. There were other ways they could have done this and gotten the same story. A mirror world where the heroes decide that in order for the world to be better, they have to rule. Boom- same story without the Nazi imagery.
– So, maybe JPK plays Dawn Allen, Barry and Iris’ daughter from the future. She also played Max on “Black Sails” who was gay. You know who else plays gay and time travels? Sara Lance. Future hook-up for Sara Lance. Party of one.
– It’s too bad that the priest had to die. He was a better hero than everyone else, because he was….The Greatest American Hero.
Such a wonderful recap Valerie, thank you! And please put me firmly on Team “Totally here for a Lancers inter-dimensional rebound hookup!” I loved all the Sara/Alex stuff, and I can’t wait to see what happens with them in the next two episodes.
However, because I only watch Supergirl, and not LoT, Arrow, or the Flash, I found myself REALLY REALLY confused at times. Can someone please explain the Wells/Thawne stuff, and why Wells/Thawne was Nazi!Flash not a Nazi!Barry? It doesn’t particularly matter for everything, I was able to enjoy the episodes regardless, and maybe it’ll become more clear after the Flash episode of the crossover, but I’m just curious because it made no sense to me.
Thawne using Wells’ face is the original from Earth 1. We thought he was dead because he got sucked into the speed force but clearly not. There is no way Earth X Barry (if alive) would ever support the Nazi regime. It’s already been established that on every Earth (all 53), Barry and Iris are always meant to be together and will. Iris being black wouldn’t survive Earth X. So an Earth X Barry would never choose a side that would hurt her.
Although Savitar-Barry did kill Iris…
I feel like there’s no way Earth X Kara would ever support the Nazis either (similar to Barry). It was a big stretch.
Thanks for the info, but yeaaaah I’m definitely still confused.
I need me some Sinfully Sinister, la vie boheme!
1. The Nazis made no sense, but that is neiher here nor there for the story I guess.
2. I don’t watch any of the other Arrowverse shows so I didn’t know who most of these people were supposed to be. It was very confusing.
3. Which brings me to my main thing: what is up with this Arrow guy? How is a person who is seemingly just supernaturally talented with a bow and arrow supposed to be a match for any of these other superheroes/supervillains? Supergirl could easily wipe out all of these people and they REALLY have to undersell her abilities to get the job done and she’s still such an obviously bigger threat. Jeez, I had such a hard time taking this Arrow person seriously as a match for Kara/evil Kara in a fight. Come on. They should’ve killed him 5 minutes in but I get that as the protagonist of a show that can’t happen. Still! HOW IS HE ON THEIR TEAM clearly those who can’t keep up stay back at the lab/spaceship/whatever it is so why is he out prancing about?
4. Sorry to say it but Chanel no.18 lipstick or no, Melissa Benoist could not sell an evil nazi version of Kara try as she might. Her one weakness being ‘can’t pull off a convincing nazi diatribe’ is not exactly the worst quality someone can have though.
5. ALSO NOT TO BE A DOWNER BUT if the nazis won WW2 the civil rights movement in the US presumably never happened and the horrors African Americans have faced routinely in the US were probably doubled and tripled down on. Presumably with broad enough public support that such a regime managed to hold on to power for a good 70 years, so IDK why the American flag is the symbol of resistance James/anyone has chosen. If the message here is that extreme nationalism is not great then what’s up with a nationalist symbol to express opposition in what to me seems like it would logically be a global anti-nazi movement anyway?
6. I lol’ed hard when they said Hitler died in 1994 on Earth X. He would’ve been 105. If this show does not deliver on ridiculous old-age Hitler oil paintings on Earth X this nazi premise has been wasted entirely.
7. The concentration camp was in poor taste. Really.
Yea, I was doing the math on Hitler too. Even if they won the war he wouldn’t have lived very long anyway. He was not healthy.
I know the Nazi imagery made people uncomfortable but that was the point. We are experiencing a resurgence of Nazi, skinhead, alt-right assholes. Now we have the NY Times writing fluff pieces on them. So while it’s arguably heavy handed, I think it’s a good reminder for those people who aren’t all that concern or doesn’t understand the real threat of those who think like that.
I was howling with laughter at Alex when she woke up. I have seen that face of gay panic the morning after a first gay one night stand more than once and I just enjoyed it tremendously.
Wait, hold on a sec, because I had to give up my cable and I’m behind on the show. Maggie and Alex broke up. That’s what it sounds like you are saying.
I need to go lay down. Then I need some alcohol.
I really liked that there wasn’t any slut-shaming crap going on because she had a one night stand.
Also, watching Sarah and Alex fighting side by side really turned me on.
I think the old school Nazi gear is apropos. Just like the Superman and Batman emblems and capes are a symbols of hope and heroism, the Nazi symbols and hats are symbols of desolation and despair. I, for one, find the old school symbols/gear more foreboding and honestly terrifying than the suit wearing skinhead neo-Nazis of today. The latter should be taken as seriously but they strike anger in me not fear.
I have to say that I almost cracked open when Alex said “sassy assassin”! Chyler is truly a blessing! She makes it look so easy to freak out and being cute at the same time that I guess I can consider myself spoiled!
I really liked the pairing Sara/Alex and I don’t hope they will become a thing, since they’re from different shows and it would be nearly impossible for them to be together, so I think is kind of crazy that people are shipping them romantically!
It was just sex! Two hot and empowered women looking for a good time!
I hope Alex will end this crossover with a much better understanding of herself because she allowed herself to experience something new. Do stupid things is part of growing up.
About the Nazis, I’m not much of a Comic reader but I think they wanted to insist on this theme because it was already in one of the comics (Justice League of America #107, so Google told me) so they took the opportunity.
I loved the Sara and Alex scenes. I’m glad they are having Alex process the breakup in the way she is, and not just skimming or rushing her.
I definitely agree that the Nazi stuff could have been more subtle, and that would have a larger effect giving the current situation the world is on. I guess they are trying to not do too much commenting in the real world, but in this case it comes off kinda clumsy…
I loved all the team up stuff. I’m such a sucker for superhero things, and with Alex as part of the team up, it was even better! I love that they showed her being just as powerful as all other fighters in the CWDC universe!
Also liked to add (because I just watched it again)…had Nazi-ism continued on unchecked after WWII there is no way it would look the way it does today. It would have only gotten darker and more insidious which is I believe the show is closer to than today’s movements. What’s happening now is a glossed over (although still dangerous) version of what was because good won out but what if it didn’t?
Totally agree with 7. As a person who lives in Poland, read many books written by survivors, actually listened to two of them and visited a former camp in Oświęcim (Auschwitz-Birkenau) I can’t not find it a bit disrespectful to those who lived through and died in this unimaginable horror.
I think the Nazi Earth X is a poor idea, just like the Marvel comic book version is. For one, it gives the current dangerous swell of Nationalism canon symbols and pictures to use. Heroes in their image. They won’t care that they are out of context. For another, it asks us to suspend out disbelief and imagine that there’s a world somewhere where Kara supports a Nazi regime that has people in concentration/work camps. It makes no sense. Alex-X, Win-X, presumably Barry-X, James Olsen-X…they all resist, but Kara goes to the dark side. Ok, sell me another one. It’s just too contrived.
However, the crossover was fun overall. I agree about the great choreography in the big fight scenes. It was fun to see everyone using their different skills and powers. And Kara’s clap was pretty bad ass.
I also was a big fan of the Alex storyline, and her hook-up, and the processing she does. That is a delight, and important.
Still, I get kind of annoyed when there are important character moments like this on other shows, because I imagine future binge-watchers being really confused. Oh, well.
I think they made an overgirl to make a threat big enough for Kara.
I didn’t take Earth X Kara’s comments that her sister tried to kill me as Alex-X being anti-Nazi, but rather that Alex-X was not our Alex and her trying to kill Kara may have contributed to Kara’s trauma that made her support the Nazis. It is the story where Jeremiah is lost and Alex blames Kara for it but there is no Kenny to bring them together… And no Eliza to make her reasonable and teach her kindness. Kara says she is lucky she came to in Fatherland.
But… your way works too; except then, why would Kara be randomly evil? (Except for story purposes.)
About Nazis. I typically get irritated at the overuse of Nazis as the single most important and evilest threat in most US superhero shows.. But… well, next two episodes. I think the times and the mores needed them too.
And… CW shows are known for their sledgehammerish political statements.
And thank you for the wonderful recap. You cleared up some things for me. :)
Whew, I finally got through these 2 episodes and this recap.
I don’t want to be too critical because I only watch Supergirl out of the 4 series.
I will say I really liked how the stories were interwoven in every show so far. Like Barry and Oliver had a scene on Supergirl without Supergirl or any other Supergirl characters. In the last crossover they didn’t do that.
As for the story line it makes sense to bring everyone together but it kind of doesn’t make sense specifically we are told every Earth has a counterpart but yet it has been established that on Barry’s Earth there is no Supergirl and on Kara’s Earth there is no Green Arrow, Flash, etc.
As for Alex and Sara, I don’t mind them together.
Way behind on this, but the only thing I want to say that hasn’t been said already is:
I think Sara whomped Alex with her arm on purpose to wake her up. Like, “hey you idiot, you’ve got a wedding to get ready for”. But she was nice enough to do it in a way where Alex didn’t have to face her and have an awkward exchange. Sara clearly heard Alex fall out of bed, so she was clearly awake, but she allowed Alex to escape with (some) dignity.
Excellent one night stand etiquette, Sara!
Sara is a pro!
Good article however one serious error: “They did keep the Dark Archer Sara and Alex took down in custody, though”. Tommy Merlyn wasn’t the Dark Archer he was Prometheus X. They kind of looked alike but DA has red highlights on his suit and arrows. Other than that 2 thumbs up!