The Flash Review: Flash versus Arrow

In the first of a two-part crossover, the Arrow comes to Central City.

Title: “Flash vs Arrow”

Directed by Glen Winter
Written by Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, Ben Sokolowski, Brooke Eikmeier

Grant Gustin as Barry Allen / The Flash
Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen / Arrow
Candice Patton as Iris West
Danielle Panabaker as Caitlin Snow
Carlos Valdes as Cisco Ramon
Emily Bett Rickards as Felicity Smoak
David Ramsay as John “Dig” Diggle
Jesse L. Martin as Detective Joe West
Rick Cosnett as Eddie Thawne
Tom Cavanagh as Harrison Wells
Patrick Sabongui as Captain David Singh
Anna Hopkins as Sandra
Paul Anthony as Roy G. Bivolo / Prism aka Chroma aka Rainbow Raider

Full cast and crew information may be found at the imdb

Premise

Arrow and his associates arrive in Central City (coincidentally, while Oliver Queen wanders around in plain sight with the same associates) on the trail of Captain Boomerang, and team up with the Flash and his associates against an emotionally-manipulative metahuman. The heroes’ distinct styles clash when Ollie tries to train Barry—and Barry sees red.

High Point

While it is not new to the show, this episode really highlighted the difference between a trained person and one who possesses good weaponry. Barry has’’t really learned to think like a fighter yet.

We also have a fun introduction where the Flash pays it fast-forward.

Low Point

I know we handwave a good many problems away when we watch superheroes, but this episode requires the viewers have a case of obsessive-compulsive waving disorder. Apart from calling attention to the ridiculously implausible and entirely illegal prison being run by a handful of people, we have Ollie standing up to multiple high-speed punches without being significantly injured, Ollie practically trumpeting his secret identity but being surprised when Wells reveals it, Thawne experiencing few significant injuries when he’s thrown from a speeding car, and Felicity experiencing no worse damage than a fiery top after Barry runs high-speed with her.

The Scores:

Originality: 2/6 Heroes meet, fight, and unite against a common foe.

Effects: 5/6

Acting: 5/6 The combined casts interacted effectively.

Story: 4/6 The story was predictable, but fun. It cheated us of a key moment; I’m not certain how effective that was, narratively speaking.

Emotional Response: 5/6 It was good seeing these distinct heroes together.

Production: 5/6

Overall: 4/6 Does it still annoy anyone how easily everyone overlooks the Arrow’s early career as a serial killer?

In total, “Flash v Arrow” receives 30/42

5 replies on “The Flash Review: Flash versus Arrow”

  1. Anyone else hear “Batman” instead of “that man” when Wells was complaining about the Arrow?

  2. Ah, gratuitous Felicity. Actually this episode was fairly gratuitous in general, but it does seem like they’re all having fun with it, so I’ll just go with it.

    There’ve been a couple of things I’ve wanted to bring up about The Flash: first, I want to hate Detective Pretty Boy, but I just can’t.

    Second, Barry’s dad looks like a bad guy. There, I said it.

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