Crisis on Infinite Earths (Part 1, 2, 3, and 4) concludes with the second half of the double header, looking forward to Tomorrow to give us the shape of this brave new universe we will be living in from now on. It might not have been surprising, but did you really expect any more.
Title: Crisis on Infinite Earths (5)
Cast and Crew
Directed: Gregory Smith
Written: Keto Shimizu & Ubah Mohamed
Brandon Routh as Ray Palmer / The Atom
Caity Lotz as Sara Lance / White Canary
Jes Macallan as Ava Sharpe
Amy Louise Pemberton as Gideon
LaMonica Garrett as Anti-Monitor
Dominic Purcell as Mick Rory
Jon Cryer as Lex Luthor
Grant Gustin as Barry Allen / The Flash
Rick Gonzalez as Rene Ramirez / Wild Dog
Juliana Harkavy as Dinah Drake / Black Canary
Cress Williams as Jefferson Pierce / Black Lightning
David Ramsey as John Diggle / Spartan
Tom Cavanagh as Harrison ‘Nash’ Wells / Pariah
Danielle Panabaker as Caitlin Frost / Killer Frost
Chyler Leigh as Alex Danvers
David Harewood as J’onn J’onzz / Martian Manhunter
Nicole Maines as Nia Nal / Dreamer
Tyler Hoechlin as Clark Kent / Superman
Elizabeth Tulloch as Lois Lane
Ruby Rose as Kate Kane / Batwoman
Melissa Benoist as Kara Danvers / Supergirl
Osric Chau as Ryan Choi
Reina Hardesty as Joss Mardon / Weather Witch
Audrey Marie Anderson as Lyla Michaels / Harbinger
Eileen Pedde as The President
Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen
Marv Wolfman as Autograph Seeker
Premise
High Point
The ending, though predictable, was upbeat. Seeing how all of the pieces landed was enjoyable, without trying to leave memories erased.
Low Point
Comic Book Death is never permanent. This may be a television show, but it’s still Comic Book Death. As such, spending an entire show mourning a loss when the audience isn’t convinced the character will stay gone was excessive. Also, for as many cameos they have to cram into the show to keep the narrative flowing, other characters become very conspicuous by their absence. Felicity couldn’t stop by? Cisco isn’t part of the nerd team in his own lab? The Paragon of Love can’t stop by to see his wife when he returns?
The Scores:
Originality: 3/6 While the final universal outcome might not be a shock to anyone with even a passing familiarity with the source material, it isn’t something that we get on television very often. Beyond that, all we get is a conclusion that is your standard CGI disposable army fight scene and a McGuffin to make the big bad go away.
Effects: 5/6 While I don’t think anyone will mistake this for movie quality budget effects, it is the top of their game for television budget effects.
Acting: 6/6 Everyone is able to sell their parts, even those with unbelievable plot to get through.
Story: 3/6 The ending is where the ending has to land, but there are a lot of unnecessary filler pieces and a lot of time spent trying to convince the audience that Comic Book Death is real death. They could have used that time to explain why the entire multiverse was back except a few choice consolidations.
Emotional Response: 4/6 The show fulfills its role as a capper to the big event, but parts in the middle held much more emotional resonance.
Production: 5/6 Each piece was pulled together well.
Overall: 4/6 The ending wasn’t as much fun as the mid-season finale, but still enjoyable.
In total, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow receives 30/42
You’re quite right about the missing characters, but other aspects of the epilogue were excellent.
I don’t really follow these shows much anymore, but I likely will tune in to the first big meeting of the JL. Maybe this version of the DCU will get its own Wonder Woman and a return of Batman.
I mean, I can hope.
Or a Snapper Carr who’s closer to the source material, but updated for 2020? Then again, I wouldn’t be too surprised if we got the Wonder Twins instead.
I had to explain to my wife who Gleek was and what that last stinger was about. This shocked me because we’ve both made Wonder Twin Powers, Activate! jokes, but apparently that’s not just part of the common lexicon.