Arrow Review: “Invasion!”

The twin premises aren’t original, but the four-show crossover has been improving with each installment. For the Arrow-centric episode, Ollie and his traditional associates encounter pretty much everyone of significance from the show’s history, while Supergirl, the Flash, Cisco, and the new Team Arrow work to rescue the captured heroes and prevent an alien invasion.

Title: “Invasion!”

Cast and Crew
Director: James Bamford
Writers: Marc Guggenheim, Wendy Mericle, Greg Berlanti

Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen / Green Arrow
Grant Gustin as Barry Allen / The Flash
Caity Lotz as Sara Lance / White Canary
Melissa Benoist as Kara Danvers / Supergirl
Katie Cassidy as Laurel Lance
David Ramsey as John Diggle / Spartan / Alt.Arrow
Willa Holland as Thea Queen / Speedy
Brandon Routh as Ray Palmer / The Atom
Emily Bett Rickards as Felicity Smoak
Echo Kellum as Curtis Holt / Mr. Terrific
Rick Gonzalez as Rene Ramirez / Wild Dog
Joe Dinicol as Rory Regan / The Ragman
Carlos Valdes as Cisco Ramon / Vibe
Josh Segarra as Adrian Chase
Paul Blackthorne as Quentin Lance
John Barrowman as Malcolm Merlyn
Manu Bennett as Slade Wilson / Deathstroke
Colin Donnell as Tommy Merlyn
Neal McDonough as Damien Darhk
Danielle Panabaker as Caitlin Snow
Jamey Sheridan as Robert Queen
Susanna Thompson as Moira Queen
Nick Zano as Nate Heywood

Premise

Several captured heroes find themselves living a shared virtual reality as the Dominators mine their brains for important data.

Meanwhile, Supergirl, Flash, Cisco, and the New Team Arrow attempt to rescue the captives.

High Points

For most of the episode, “Invasion!” delivered a solid comic-book multi-part crossover ep, with some real reflection on Oliver Queen’s journey.

Low Points

Given that the Waverider was already involved in the hero’s escape, did Arrow and associates really need to accomplish so much after breaking out of their virtual reality prison? It beggars belief, even in a comic-book show, that a handful of humans could quickly and easily activate unfamiliar super-advanced alien technology, and that the Dominators1 would have such disastrously poor security. S.T.A.R. Labs has better security than these starfaring extra-terrestrials.

The Scores:

Originality: 1/6 Aliens invasions aren’t any more original than brain-in-the-jar/Matrix plots, and this particular Matrix plot bears a strong resemblance to an episode of the groundbreaking Batman animated series. However, it has, for the most part, been well-executed.2

Effects: 5/6

Acting: 5/6

Story: 4/6

Emotional Response: 5/6

Production: 5/6

Overall: 5/6 The Legends step into the lead role tomorrow.

In total, “Invasion!” receives 30/42

Note

1. Does anyone else think that “Dominators” sounds like a local sports team?

2. Speaking of similarity to other shows, was there a deliberate reference to Dallas‘s notorious Bobby-Ewing-in-the-shower moment?

4 replies on “Arrow Review: “Invasion!””

  1. It certainly was fun, though! I liked that this feels totally like a comic book crossover, where each show’s installment gets to focus on their stars yet still factors into the big picture.

    Bonus: you get a lot of the show history for the 100th episode!

    (It was good to see John Barrowman! Weren’t we supposed to get him for all four shows?)

    • The shows don’t have the budget of the DCU movies, but they’re winning in the Fun Department, which, sue me, I’ve always thought was part of the point of comic-book characters and their adventures.

      Even Marvel’s most serious Netflix shows remember that.

  2. I know this was mentioned in the Flash episode but why is Sarah Lance’s sexuality so blatant? Its almost like they want to completely forget that she was in a long affair with Oliver both before and after the island?

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