The malevolent alien race of the Dominators are on Earth, looking to take over. This world’s heroes join together with Supergirl from Earth-38 to take them down, but the most experienced member of the team – Oliver Queen – and his closest associates have been taken. It’s the penultimate chapter of the Invasion! crossover!
Previously, on The Flash…
The Flash might be the fastest man alive, but he JUST WASN’T FAST ENOUGH to stop the alien Dominators from teleporting Oliver Queen, Thea Queen, John Diggle, Ray Palmer and Sara Lance – Green Arrow, Speedy, Spartan, The ATOM and White Canary – away from the heart of the action. As we open this part of the crossover, Oliver is out for a run on the grounds of Stately Queen Manor, and he comes home to Laurel Lance in the shower – and she’s alive! And engaged to Oliver! What manner of sorcery is this?
This week’s episode of Arrow had to serve two masters – move the Invasion! crossover forward while also celebrating the show’s 100th episode. The mental trap the Dominators put the five heroes in gives the show a chance to bring back Katie Cassidy (Laurel Lance), Susanna Thompson (Moira Queen), Jamey Sheridan (Robert Queen), John Barrowman (Malcolm Merlyn) and Neal McDonough (Damian Darhk) as a bit of fan service.
But this idyllic life for the Queen family starts to come unraveled when Oliver starts getting visions of his real life. And then, when a mysterious archer saves Oliver and his father from a mugging, Oliver investigates based on these encroaching memories. It brings him face to face with Diggle as the Green Arrow, working with Felicity (who is also engaged to Ray Palmer), and the façade starts to crumble.
After convincing Sara, Ray and Thea that things aren’t what they seem (although, no one bothers to check if Felicity is real or not, which I thought was weird), the group battles Merlyn, Darhk and Deathstroke (who was decidedly not Manu Bennett) before finding their way out.
Over on Earth, Felicity, The Flash, Cisco and Supergirl work with Arrow’s recruits Wild Dog, Rag Man and Mr. Terrific to get through the alien technology. Supergirl and Flash aren’t really given much to do this episode, outside of saving Wild Dog from a scientist enhanced with alien tech. It’s a shame, because we miss out on the interactions I think we were all hoping for more of when the crossover was announced.
The kidnapped heroes escape the pods where the Dominators have them only to discover they’re out in space. Arrow in space. No one thought that would happen back in the first season… Thankfully, between the five of them, they figure out how to pilot an escape pod, but they’re being chased by Dominators. Enter the Waverider. Nate Heywood saves the quintet and sets everyone up for the final battle.
The false life the team experiences was a fun trip down memory lane, and it allowed for a level of nostalgia, but I think it really took away from the crossover, as Flash and Supergirl were basically sidelined and Heat Wave, Firestorm and Vixen didn’t even appear. We’ll see how well the episode flows when watched all together with the other CW shows, but on its own, it felt a little flat. Although, it was good to see Laurel again. Hopefully, her alternate Earth counterpart Black Siren starts making some more appearances soon.
The Invasion! finishes up on Legends of Tomorrow, so stay tuned!