A new podcast episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at our website: couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, recorded in January 2021, our DC Television Universe or DCTU Series panel – including moderator Chief Couch Potato Kylie, Hilary, Kyle, Spencer, Kristen, and Nick – reconvenes Around the Water Cooler for the twenty-ninth episode of our DCTU ongoing series. In this episode, the panel discusses Season 5 of the Arrowverse’s third spin-off, Supergirl. If you have not watched any of the DCTU/Arrowverse/CWVerse (through May 2020), be aware that there are MAJOR SPOILERS! Tell us what you think, and/or if there are other shows you’re interested in CPU! covering, below; email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com; or check out our Guestbook at the website, our Facebook page, our Twitter (@cpupodcast), our Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), or our Patreon at http://www.patreon.com/couchpotatoesunite. Until next time, until next episode…buh bye!
Executive Producer/Chief Couch Potato: Kylie C. Piette Associate Producers: Krista Pennington and Selene Rezmer
Editor: Kylie C. Piette Logo: Rebecca Wallace Marketing Graphic Artist: Krista Pennington
Theme Song: Written by: Sarah Milbratz Singers: Sarah Milbratz, Amy McDaniel, Kels Rezmer Keyboard: Kels Rezmer Bass: Ian McDonough Guitar: Christian Somerville Engineer/Production: Kyle Aspinall/Christian Somerville
Who: “Supergirl” is a superhero action-adventure drama based on the DC Comics character Supergirl aka Kara Zor-El, created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino, which airs on the CW, though it is currently on hiatus.
What: “Supergirl,” a series developed by Ali Adler, Greg Berlanti, and Andrew Kreisberg (the latter two having previously created Arrow and The Flash) and starring Melissa Benoist in the title role. This series is considered a spin-off from Arrow and is part of the so-called “Arrowverse,” recently rebranded the “CWVerse.” Supergirl is a costumed super-heroine who is the cousin to Superman and is one of the last surviving Kryptonians.
SYNOPSIS
Kara Zor-El (Benoist) was sent to Earth from the doomed planet Krypton as a 13-year-old by her parents Zor-El and Alura. Alura gave her instructions to protect her infant cousin Kal-El and informed her that she, like her cousin, would have extraordinary powers under Earth’s yellow sun. Kara’s spacecraft was knocked off course by a shock wave from Krypton’s explosion and forced into the Phantom Zone, where it stayed for 24 years. During this period, time stopped for Kara, and when the spacecraft eventually escaped the Phantom Zone, she still appeared to be a 13-year-old girl. By the time the spacecraft crash landed on Earth, Kal-El had grown up and become Superman. After helping her out of the craft, Superman took Kara to be adopted by his friends, the Danvers family. The series begins eleven years later, when the now 24-year-old Kara is learning to embrace her powers after previously hiding them.
When: Season 5 aired from October 6, 2019, to May 17, 2020, on the CW, with a total of 19 episodes (the season was cut short due to a production stoppage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic).
Where: The action is primarily set in the fictional National City, presumably a West Coast location in the DC Comics Universe.
Why: To find out why individual podcast panelists started watching this show, listen to the podcast episode covering Season 1 via the link below! It should be noted that CPU! Chief Couch Potato Kylie previously picked up this show during the 2015 Fall Preview, noting:
Pro: Melissa Benoist doesn’t offend me. As the erstwhile Marley on Glee, she’s actually the only [new] New Direction-er that didn’t annoy the pants off me. Pro: Dr. Lexie Gray (Chyler Leigh) plays Kara Zor-El’s adopted sister, and her departure was one of a series of missteps that paved my shark-jumping abandonment of Grey’s Anatomy. I missed her. I do believe the “adopted sister” motif deviates from the canon slightly, but then again, Supergirl does not enjoy the consistency of the threads underlying the Man of Steel’s long history. Pro: James “Jimmy” Olsen (Mehcad Brooks) is black. Hey, that doesn’t often happen. Pro: this is not Smallville’s version of the same character. I despised their take on Supergirl and the actress who played her. Con: this seems very teen drama relatively speaking; despite Kara being 24, according to the synopsis, Marley grows into her cape in her own version of Smallville? Could get very old very quickly and be a bit too derivative of the Superman tellings.Con: Ally McBeal herself (Calista Flockhart), post-face-lift and scary contacts, plays the editor. Con: who could they possibly stunt cast as cousin Kal-El, i.e. Supes the Man himself? Because they should stunt cast him, even though they’ve already said they won’t. I think they must (is that who Dean Cain is playing…someone freaking page Tom Welling already!? Or, Henry Cavill if one must). The pros outweigh the cons as far as adding it to my already miles long list, plus it’s a DC property, so I’m along for the ride. I just hope that the earnestness that Melissa Benoist brings to her roles renders her a convincing “Kara Zor-El.”
How – as in How’s It Going? – THOUGHTS
This is the twenty-ninth episode in CPU!’s DCTU series. Here are only the prior Supergirl episodes in the series; as we flush out seasons of all Arrowverse shows, older episodes will be searchable via the website – click the upper right dialog box in the header, the picture of the couch full of TV watchers. Listen to each episode here:
DCTU Series, Episode 5, “Supergirl,” Season 1
DCTU Series, Episode 8, “Supergirl,” Season 2
DCTU Series, Episode 16, “Supergirl,” Season 3
DCTU Series, Episode 21, “Supergirl,” Season 4
DCTU Series, Episode 23, “Crisis on Infinite Earths – LIVE!”
In our last DCTU episode, our cheeky and feisty DCTU panel – namely Kyle, Hilary, Spencer, Kristen, and Nick – continued addressing the most recent full seasons of each of the four “Arrowverse” series in order of the airing of each season finale by discussing the inaugural/first season of Batwoman. Tonight’s episode finds the panel returning to the Water Cooler for the fourth time this go-round to talk the fifth season of Supergirl, in the twenty-ninth episode of our DCTU series. The discussion herein heavily dissects the season-long focus on villainous organization “Leviathan” and the incorporation post-Crisis on Infinite Earths of Superman ultimate baddie Lex Luthor (guest: Jon Cryer) as well as his effect on the National City section of the Arrowverse/”Earth Prime” (post-Crisis). In fact, the panelists note that Supergirl maintained its several-season decline in overall quality, particularly in writing and in direction, to the point that the entire conversation and speculation over what will now be the final season, Season 6, in tonight’s podcast episode was largely deflated, as several panelists struggled to care or to stay invested in the “Girl of Steel” and her corner of this TV multiverse after multiple consecutive seasons of disappointing story progression and middling entertainment payoff ranging from genuine if sparse moments of excitement to profound stretches of dissatisfaction. This latest discussion is, therefore, spicy as always; however, the panelists, especially those devoted to the “Superman” and “Supergirl” DC annals, continue to deem this deterioration in quality and in story direction more than a little disappointing, even as panelists universally determined that the series improved, albeit slightly, from a far messier and more tedious fourth season. Unfortunately, this purported rebound does little to renew any single panelist’s faith in the show, especially that of the Superman/Supergirl devotees of the comic and other source material on the panel.
This particular episode was recorded in January 2021, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as the panelists cover key plot points of the penultimate Season 5 of Supergirl. Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@cpupodcast), Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), Pinterest (@cpupodcast), or email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com – or subscribe to this blog, the YouTube channel, our Apple/iTunes channel, our Stitcher Radio channel , find us on Google Play, on Spotify, on Castbox, on iHeartRadio, on Amazon Music, and now on Patreon(!) to keep track of brand new episodes. In the meantime, let us know what you think! Comment or review us in any of the above forums – we’d love your feedback!
Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly! Next Wednesday, a new panel gathers at the Water Cooler to begin a seven-part “Looking Back to Look Forward” series covering all television properties associated with all-time acclaimed neo-Western crime drama Breaking Bad, a highly requested show for Couch Potato-led discussion here at the podcast. In the first episode of the series, our new supersized panel begins with the show that started it all, featuring infamous characters now permeating the pop culture consciousness, namely Walter White, Jesse Pinkman, Saul Goodman, Mike Ehrmantraut, and Gus Fring. Stay tuned for Part One of our “Breaking Better Series,” wherein we ruminate upon the first three seasons of the critically acclaimed – say its name! – Breaking Bad. It all happens next week!
Questions, Impressions, and Future Considerations
Old Questions
1) REPEAT QUESTION: Will Lena Luthor (Katie McGrath) be driven to evil impulses, either by her genetic link to Lionel or by her grooming from scorning adoptive mother Lillian (since, spoiler, Lena’s biological mother was a mistress of her father Lionel’s), as her brother Lex was?
REPEAT(ISH) ANSWER: This season, Lena flirts more with the evil side of the moral spectrum, propelled as she is by two primary impetuses: 1) her brother Lex (Cryer)manipulates her into believing that Supergirl is not to be trusted, which he first does by revealing Supergirl’s secret identity, i.e. Lena’s best friend Kara Danvers, to Lena and then continues by fanning the flame of Lena’s mistrust of Kara by constantly reminding Lena of this withheld truth; and 2) by aligning with Lex post-Crisis, in a world in which Lex is considered a hero, philanthropist, and an all-around good guy, and by working together on Lena’s lofty science. In Season 5, Lena focuses upon repurposing Q-waves, discovered when used by J’onn J’onzz’s (David Harewood) long-lost brother, which transmit thoughts and emotions; she attempts to manipulate them to quell evil and/or deceptive impulses in other human beings. Of course, this all translates into Lena becoming another cog in Lex’s machinations, but these developments spur a sizable rift between Kara and Lena throughout the season, with Lena contemplating actions against Kara that feel more like revenge for Kara’s “betrayal” of withholding her secret/not being honest with Lena more than anything else, while Kara wrestles with whether her friendship with Lena can be repaired, despite all the erstwhile secrecy. Naturally, by the end of the season, Lena begins to see that her heart has strayed too far toward the dark side and toward becoming a repeat of Lex’s pre-Crisis past (which she is able to recall post-Crisis), and she attempts to make amends with Kara in the end, as the two reconciled friends resolve to team up to stop Lex in this new Earth Prime world in the Season 5 finale. The panel is not here for the “melodramatic” ups and downs resulting from Lena’s perpetual perch upon the line of moral ambiguity, however. Listen to the podcast episode for reactions.
2) REPEAT QUESTION: Are they truly gearing to launch a new “Superman” television show with the potential and foretold return of Superman, as played by Tyler Hoechlin, and the casting of Lois Lane with Grimm alumna Elizabeth Tulloch, as the panel and the press have speculated and/or reported?
NEW ANSWER: Yes! The Supergirl “spinoff” Superman & Lois premieres on the CW on February 23, 2021, and stars Hoechlin and Tulloch in these respective roles – which means that our DCTU Series just picked up another show to cover. Our panel is so thrilled…maybe!
3) Will much of Supergirl’s fifth season, first half, be devoted to development toward the foretold, much ballyhooed, mid-season mega-crossover event, Crisis on Infinite Earths? And just how much?
ANSWER: Not as much as one might expect, given Supergirl’s comic-based involvement in said Crisis, and certainly far less than the pre-Crisis setup employed and depicted on The Flash and on Arrow. Hints and glimmers are dropped in episodes immediately preceding Supergirl’s entry into Crisis on Infinite Earths, but the show mostly ignores the impending Crisis until it officially starts. This probably has something to do with the fact that Supergirl and Superman exist on Earth-38, whereas the “Crisis” is triggered on Earth 1 by Harrison Wells doppelganger Nash Wells. Listen to the DCTU Series Panel’s Crisis on Infinite Earths analysis for details (linked above!).
4) How is it that J’onn J’onzz has a brother now? And why is he on Earth? Do the Supergirl writers even known the Martian Manhunter story?
ANSWER: It seems that the memory of J’onn’s brother was purged from J’onn’s mind by his father because his brother possessed a powerful sense of mind manipulation and control over those so-called Q-waves, in which Lena becomes highly interested – in fact, she abducts J’onn’s brother to mine those Q-waves and later works further on this science with Lex and with Eve Teschmacher (Andrea Brooks). J’onn’s brother believes that J’onn caused his exile in concert with their father and comes to Earth seeking his revenge. Our panel believes that the Supergirl writers think that it’s cute to rewrite the Martian Manhunter’s source story or something, as they seem to forget that J’onn is supposed to be one of the last remaining Martians. While there are not a lot of Martians left in the universe portrayed on the CW, there are more Martians than typically described in the comics and/or in other DC vehicles; thus, our panel proves frustrated with the ongoing inclusion of the Manhunter, as so often his story is repetitive, featuring the discovery of new not-dead/extinct Martians, and does little to advance the overarching plot of the series titled Supergirl. Listen to the podcast episode for rants on the subject.
5) Lex isn’t really dead – or dead for long – right? We predict that Lex will factor heavily in “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” since the Superman character seems to be the crossover focal point, what with all the stunt casting, like a certain erstwhile Smallville dreamboat Tom Welling.
ANSWER: Our panel’s prediction proves correct. In fact, the Monitor (LaMonica Garrett) resurrects Lex, seeing a specific role for our favorite megalomaniacal super-genius in the aforementioned Crisis. Lex survives the “Crisis” and becomes a “good guy” in the collapsed multi-verse post-Crisis, or so he would have the world believe. Our panel thinks very highly of Cryer in this role, by the way.
6) How are they going to write Jimmy Olsen off the show, since Mehcad Brooks is rumored to be leaving it?
ANSWER: James “Jimmy” Olsen is removed from his position as CEO of CatCo when Andrea Rojas (Julie Gonzalo) and her related companies buy up the company from Lena Luthor. Only too happy to start disconnecting from his life in National City and to distance himself from his time as Guardian, no longer a secret to the National City citizens at large, James eventually accepts the role of editor of his small hometown newspaper, reporting on the trend of increasing local industrial corruption and crime. He seems content to downsize his life and is conveniently alive and offscreen, should his presence be required for Superman & Lois, though our panel is not excited to see him have a larger role on that show, either, since his James Olsen is nothing like the Jimmy Olsen so often depicted in the comics and in other DC sources. Listen to the podcast episode for protracted opinions on the fate of James “Jimmy” Olsen.
7) Why must Supergirl wear pants? Why is that the major promo focal point? This isn’t 1940, Supergirl writers and producers! Le sigh…
ANSWER: The pants are not flattering. Melissa made the skirt/tights combo rock much harder than her onscreen adoptive mom Helen Slater did with her bare legs in the 1984 Supergirl movie and did not need a caped onesie costume for any identifiable reason, especially since it’s not exactly chic. Our panel’s female contingent votes down the pants, which lack pockets and eliminate the thumb holes in the top half of the costume; we are also not a fan of Melissa’s bangs this season. Don’t fix what isn’t broken, Supergirl costume designers!
8) If Jimmy is bolting from National City, does that mean that Kara will become CEO of CatCo? Or, alternatively, will Lena take a more hands-on approach with the media empire she came to buy in a previous season?
ANSWER: Neither. Lena sells CatCo to Andrea, removing her hands altogether, while Andrea turns CatCo Media into a center for tabloid journalism and clickbait online listicles in another timely, on-the-nose commentary courtesy of Supergirl’s production team. This, of course, makes Kara hopping mad, complete with furrowed brow, pursed lips, and determined pluck. She does very little about it, however – I mean, herSupergirl activities distract from her day job an awful lot – but, somehow, she wins a Pulitzer Prize for a piece that she writes as part of this newly reformed CatCo conglomerate. It’s all very confusing, and this story thread perplexed our panel in an almost so-bad-you-have-to-laugh-at-it kind of way.
9) The panel tires of Alex’s (Chyler Leigh) personal life. Get her some success or some forward momentum. If she is going to date Jimmy’s sister Kelly (Azie Tesfai), then let it stick for awhile.
ANSWER: Alex stays with Kelly all of Season 5, but this stability doesn’t seem to provide her any sort of sustained happiness. Perhaps, she is clinically depressed…but the show has not taken on mental health and associated stigma as a social commentary subtext (so far). Alex is a sad sack for the entire fifth season, and it bummed our panel out, as it seems that Alex is always a sad sack and is never satisfied with what she has built or gained for herself. Love yourself, Alex! We can’t take much more of this!
10) Why was Brainy (Jesse Rath) so quick to revert back to his normal, nice self? It would have been interesting to see Brainiac-5 or Brainiac Prime become more of a factor over the course of the end of the season or as a seed for Season 5.
ANSWER: Something about love, maybe? As Brainy and Nia Nal aka Dreamer (Nicole Maines) start and end a relationship this season, perhaps Brainy rightly surmised that going full Brainiac probably doesn’t help with the ladies.
11) Are they going to give Martian Manhunter anything interesting to do? Please?
ANSWER: According to our panel, the Martian Manhunter storylines in Season 5 do not qualify as “interesting.” Listen to the podcast episode for details.
12) Can the show improve? The panel is struggling almost more with this show than with Arrow, since Arrow, at least, maintains a tone and seems to try, even if the storytelling is repetitive. Supergirl is literally all over the place, from tone to writing to direction, and the show’s lack of a solid storytelling through-line – particularly given the fact that it had to bring Lex Luthor on as an apparent correction of its most basic and most glaring faux-pas of past seasons – is rendering our panel full of the sadnesses.
ANSWER: The panel agrees that Season 5 managed a slight improvement over the dreadful mishmash of story spaghetti representing that which was Season 4; however, the emphasis here is on “slight.” The panel most enjoys the show when Lex Luthor appears; otherwise, every single story thread and/or character arc not directly involving Lex in Season 5 fell flat for our intrepid DCTU experts. Listen to the podcast episode for all of those details and amply passionate opinions.
New Questions
1) How and where can the show possibly end? The panel does not hold high hopes for a satisfying conclusion, given the trend of what has essentially been a downward slide in story quality and entertainment value since Season 2.
2) Will Supergirl appear on Superman & Lois? Will Superman appear on Supergirl? A foretold crossover between Supergirl and Batwoman was canned; does this mean that neither character will appear on the other’s series? Will there be any crossovers at all this coming season?
3) Will Alex finally decide that she is happy in her own skin? Will she marry Kelly?
4) Is Brainy really gone after his seeming self-sacrifice to help Kara, Nia, and the others escape Leviathan and wriggle out of Lex’s grasp in the Season 5 finale? Will we see the other surviving Brainiac beings spawned by the “Crisis,” who visited Brainy early in the show’s fifth season second half? Will they form or reform the primary Brainiac organism/system in Season 6?
5) What is Leviathan really? Why have Wonder Woman and Batman villains been smushed together to form this antagonistic force? How will this story resolve in the final season?
6) Someone give J’onn something more interesting to do! Also, is the romance (cringe) between J’onn and M’gann (guest: Sharon Leal) going to last? It’s not a favorite development for our panelists (so few developments are, though).
7) Is William Dey (Staz Nair) Kara’s “happily ever after?” Or, will Kara find someone else? Or, will the Klena shippers finally get their wish?
8) How will Kara and Lena take down Lex Luthor?
9) What will Dreamer’s end be? Will she somehow be sent to the future? Will she save Brainy? Will she do something interesting?
10) Will Kara survive the series?
PARTING SHOTS
Supergirl Season 5 improved upon previous seasons somewhat, according to our DCTU panel, but the improvement proved negligible and insufficient to restore our panelists’ initial enthusiasm for this series. Hearteningly, our panelists no longer see Supergirl as the worst of the existing TV universe and, instead, unanimously rank it as the third best of the current five Arrowverse shows on the network, the other four being The Flash, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Batwoman, and Black Lightning; of course, without our panel’s scathing reviews of the latter two shows, Supergirl might not have been rated as high, relatively speaking. To wit, the panelists opined that the appearance and inclusion of Lex Luthor reinvigorated the show’s general energy, even as all panelists saw such a sizable use of the character as problematic, given that Luthor is not Supergirl’s main antagonist at any point in the comic history but her cousin’s. All panelists remain appreciative of Benoist’s portrayal of the “Girl of Steel,” owing to her winning charisma and “adorkable” pastiche and regard the departure of James “Jimmy” Olsen as a good call on the part of whomever made it. Yet, the panelists also have lost both interest in and patience with many of the arcs of the supporting characters, including Alex’s maudlin struggle to come to terms with her identity as a gay woman and with what she wants as a working female in today’s society; with the neutering of the Martian Manhunter character and the general confusion around how any Martian still survives apart from him; and with the supporting characters, particularly since so few of the original cast remain. Plus, the panel quickly reached consensus around the success of Leviathan as antagonist this season, in that every panelist observed this god-like force to be misplaced in this series and in the position of being Supergirl’s foe, especially since the writers devoted precious little organic story development toward selling the viewer on such an idea and did not convincingly establish why Lex would be interested in aligning himself with them, even if as a move in his never-ending gamesmanship.
Furthermore, the focus on romantic relationships on Supergirl continues to bog down and to stymie the show’s creative potential; unlike the other Arrowverse shows, romance remains a main, rather than a supporting, theme of this program, even if Kara is not involved, which becomes tedious and repetitive, at least in the opinions of all of our DCTU panelists. Thus, the panelists continue to question their trust in the storytelling and direction of the entire series, in light of the first two uneven (now in hindsight) seasons and because of the panel’s struggle with the subsequent three seasons, including Season 5. As a result, the panel is apprehensive about the now final upcoming season and whether the series can achieve any kind of satisfactory ending. Will the already over-extended producers and writers of the Arrowverse and of this show be able to recover from the various missteps taken within this specific property along the way, or will Supergirl‘s decline in quality and in story logic be so complete that it ends on a sour, distasteful note at the last? Ultimately, our panel hopes that Season 6 improves dramatically and achieves a fulfilling conclusion, though the panelists are not optimistic about such prospects. since they rightly predicted an end sooner rather than later for this Super chapter of the DC Television Universe.
LOOKING AHEAD
The CW renewed Supergirl for a sixth and final season in January 2020; a premiere date for this final season has not yet been announced, as production was postponed both by the COVID-19 pandemic and by Benoist’s real-life pregnancy. The DCTU podcast panel will next reconvene later this year to discuss the fifth season of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, in Episode 30 (!) of our series. Further, the panel will next chat Supergirl at some point following its series finale! So, hold onto your capes until then, and stay tuned!
A new podcast episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at our website: couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, recorded in December 2020, our DC Television Universe or DCTU Series panel – including moderator Chief Couch Potato Kylie, Hilary, Kyle, Spencer, Kristen, and Nick – reconvenes Around the Water Cooler for the twenty-seventh episode of our DCTU ongoing series to discuss Season 6 of the Arrowverse’s/CWVerse’s first spin-off, The Flash. If you have not watched any of the DCTU/Arrowverse/CWVerse (through May 2020), be aware that there are MAJOR SPOILERS! Tell us what you think, and/or if there are other shows you’re interested in CPU! covering, below; email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com; or check out our Guestbook at the website, our Facebook page, our Twitter (@cpupodcast), our Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), or our Patreon at http://www.patreon.com/couchpotatoesunite. Until next time, until next episode…buh bye!
Executive Producer/Chief Couch Potato: Kylie C. Piette Associate Producers: Krista Pennington and Selene Rezmer
Editor: Kylie C. Piette Logo: Rebecca Wallace Marketing Graphic Artist: Krista Pennington
Theme Song: Written by: Sarah Milbratz Singers: Sarah Milbratz, Amy McDaniel, Kels Rezmer Keyboard: Kels Rezmer Bass: Ian McDonough Guitar: Christian Somerville Engineer/Production: Kyle Aspinall/Christian Somerville
Who: “The Flash” is a superhero/action/mystery drama centered on events and characters inspired by The Flash franchise of the DC Comic Universe, which airs on the CW, though it is currently on hiatus.
What: “The Flash,” a series developed by Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, and Geoff Johns, based on the DC Comics character Barry Allen / The Flash, a costumed superhero crime-fighter with the power to move at superhuman speeds. This series is considered a spin-off from Arrow. The series follows Allen (Grant Gustin), a crime scene investigator who gains super-human speed, which he uses to fight criminals, including others who have also gained superhuman abilities.
SYNOPSIS
After witnessing his mother’s supernatural murder and his father’s wrongful conviction for the crime, Barry Allen (Gustin) is taken in by Detective Joe West (Jesse L. Martin) and his family. Allen becomes a brilliant but socially awkward crime scene investigator for the Central City Police Department. His obsession with his tragic past causes him to become an outcast among his peers; he investigates cold cases, paranormal occurrences, and cutting-edge scientific advancements that may shed light on his mother’s murder. No one believes his description of the crime—that a ball of lightning with the face of a man invaded their home that night—and Allen is fiercely driven to vindicate himself and to clear his father’s name. Fourteen years after his mother’s death, an advanced particle accelerator malfunctions during its public unveiling, bathing the city center with a previously unknown form of radiation during a severe thunderstorm. Allen is struck by lightning from the storm and doused with chemicals in his lab. Awakening after a nine-month coma, he discovers he has the ability to move at superhuman speeds. Dr. Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanaugh), the disgraced designer of the failed particle accelerator, describes Barry’s special nature as “meta-human.” Allen soon discovers that he is not the only one who was changed by the radiation. Allen vows to use his gifts to protect Central City from the escalating violence of meta-human and other criminals. He is aided by a few close friends and associates who guard his secrets.
When: Season 6 aired on the CW from October 8, 2019, to May 12, 2020, with a total of 19 episodes.
Where: The action is set in fictional Central City, one of the primary settings of The Flash franchise.
Why: To find out why individual podcast panelists started watching this show, listen to the first Flash podcast episode via the embedded link below! It should be noted that CPU! Chief Couch Potato Kylie previously picked up this show during the 2014 Fall Preview, noting:
The DC comics universe is attempting some major expansions now that Marvel is push and shove proliferating on big and small screens everywhere. The Flash is a classic hero; he was given an appearance on Smallville, and there is some crossover with Arrow, which I’ve decided to catch up on, since the CW is offering DC Comics a chance to implement those crossovers. Also, I like the choice for the title role. The Flash is a non-flashy guy, almost DC’s equivalent of Spider Man, given an extraordinary ability, as opposed to several. It could be an engaging new take on an old superhero story.
How – as in How’s It Going? – THOUGHTS
This is the twenty-seventh episode in CPU!’s DCTU series. Here are only the prior The Flash episodes in the series; as we flush out seasons of all Arrowverse/CWVerse shows, older episodes will be searchable via the website – click the upper right dialog box in the header, the picture of the couch full of TV watchers. Listen to each episode here:
DCTU Series, Episode 3, “The Flash,” Seasons 1-2
DCTU Series, Episode 9, “The Flash,” Season 3
DCTU Series, Episode 15, “The Flash,” Season 4
DCTU Series, Episode 20, “The Flash,” Season 5
DCTU Series, Episode 23, “Crisis on Infinite Earths – LIVE!”
In our last DCTU episode, our cheeky and feisty DCTU panel – namely Kyle, Hilary, Spencer, Kristen, and Nick – continued addressing the most recent full seasons of each of the four “Arrowverse” series in order of the airing of each season finale by discussing the third season of recent Arrowverse/CWVerse addition Black Lightning. Tonight’s episode finds the panel returning to the Water Cooler to talk the sixth season of The Flash in the twenty-seventh episode of our DCTU series. The discussion herein considers the success of Modern Age villains “Bloodwork” (guest: Sendhil Ramamurthy) and what is ostensibly a revised, post-“Crisis” Mirror Master (Efrat Dor); the effects caused by Crisis on Infinite Earths, leading up to that Crisis and following it; the continued dual nature of Caitlin Snow/Killer Frost/Frost, no “Killer” (Danielle Panabaker); the Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanaugh) enigma caused by the Crisis; and how the Central City section of the Arrowverse is faring as a whole. In fact, the panelists’ typically unanimous and stalwart support of The Flash as the best of the CW’s DC Universe offerings continued to wane a little this time, with some of the panelists expressing dissatisfaction with repetitive story-telling and questionable character decisions, while other panelists still see The Flash as the most consistent and, therefore, most enjoyable property of the five (current) Arrowverse shows.
This particular episode was recorded in December 2020, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as the panelists cover key plot points of Season 6 of The Flash. Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@cpupodcast), Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), Pinterest (@cpupodcast), or email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com – or subscribe to this blog, the YouTube channel, our Apple/iTunes channel, our Stitcher Radio channel , find us on Google Play, on Spotify, on Castbox, on iHeartRadio, on Amazon Music, and now on Patreon(!) to keep track of brand new episodes. In the meantime, let us know what you think! Comment or review us in any of the above forums – we’d love your feedback!
Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly! Next Wednesday, our “Star Trek 50+ Series” returns to the Water Cooler to continue their mega-sized Retrospective Series covering all shows under the Star Trek franchise banner. Next week’s episode will talk Season 4 of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Stay tuned!
Questions, Impressions, and Future Considerations
Old Questions
1) REPEAT QUESTION: Will the Trickster, as played by Mark Hamill, ever return?
REPEAT ANSWER: Unknown. Luke Skywalker has no shortage of work
2) REPEAT QUESTION: Was Cecile’s (Danielle Nicolet) meta-ability of being able to read minds exclusive to just her pregnancy, as Caitlin initially theorizes, or is Cecile some lingering type of meta herself? Alternatively, will her baby daughter one day be a meta?
REPEAT(ISH) ANSWER: Cecile’s meta ability persists throughout Season 6. As to their daughter’s potential meta-ness…that remains to be seen.
3) REPEAT QUESTION: Who is the new female speedster that Jay Garrick said he was training as he transitions into retirement from being Earth 3’s Flash?
NEW ANSWER: Unknown/still a question. The answer to this question is not clarified in Season 6 and will likely never be clarified as the Earth 3 Jay Garrick no longer exists – because Earth 3 no longer exists following the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths.
4) How much of Season 6 will be devoted to setting up the mid-season crossover mega-event Crisis on Infinite Earths? Some of the panel wants a balance of setup and routine Flash shenanigans; some of the panel wants this show particularly to exclusively work toward that setup, since the Flash is central to that story.
ANSWER: The latter “some” of the panel got their wish. The entire series of episodes leading up to The Flash’s entry in the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover was devoted to setting up Barry’s role in that Crisis.
5) Where in time is the version of Eobard Thawne that we watch in Season 5? Is he pre-Season 1? Post Crisis on Earth X? A time remnant? Or something else?
ANSWER: Unknown at this time, and because of how the Harrison Wellsmanifested in the events of The Flash following “Crisis,” we cannot rule out that any additional appearance of Eobard Thawne is not somehow connected to the Season 5 appearance of him. Listen to the podcast episode for ponderings about this character.
6) How much will the show explore the Negative Speed Force in Season 6? Will we see Eobard Thawne again, in his Season 5 incarnation, next season?
ANSWER: The show does not further explore the Negative Speed Force in Season 6. We do see Eobard again, but we cannot as yet determine what incarnation he truly is because of what the Crisis on Infinite Earths did to the infinite number of Harrison Wells, including those who would wear his face. Listen to the podcast episode for details.
7) Panelist Kyle proved giddy in light of the appearance of Godspeed in Season 5. Will we see him again? Will he become a season “big bad?”
ANSWER: We see Godspeed again in Season 6, but the use of the character does not ultimately please Kyle (listen to the podcast episode for details). Godspeed is not, however, the “big bad” of Season 6.
8) How will Cisco (Carlos Valdes) function and/or be in Season 6 without being Vibe? Will he make the adjustment well? Will he still be with Kamilla at the start of Season 6? Will he be truly at peace with his situation or jealous of all of his super-friends? Or something in the middle?
ANSWER: At first, Cisco seems to feel free and easy about no longer being Vibe, carefree of the need to be part of the metahuman side of the team and enjoying the prospect of a longer life expectancy not otherwise reduced by the physical effects of opening portals to other places, spaces, and dimensions. He appears to adjust well until he is temporary reconstituted with his Vibe powers during the Crisis on Infinite Earths. His temporary return to meta-status seems to inspire and foment some inner regret for Cisco throughout the second half of Season 6 once he loses those powers again, though these tendencies and emotions might yet be evolving.
Cisco does start the season linked to Kamilla, who is a supportive and loving girlfriend to Cisco. He does not exhibit any characteristic indicative of envy or jealousy of his super-friends; however, he does appear to be wistful, once his Vibe powers disappear again following the Crisis, that he is unable to call upon those abilities, and there even seems to be some indicators that Cisco feels left out, particularly when the Mirror-Verse or Mirror Dimension becomes a factor in the second half of Season 6. Listen to the podcast episode for speculation.
9) Will Barry and Iris (Candice Patton) try to have kids now, knowing that Nora once existed?
ANSWER: While we believe that they have not ruled out having children, they do not make any further attempts in Season 6; they begin the season grieving Nora’s loss.
10) Will we see Caitlin’s mother’s full transformation to meta-human in Season 6? Will Caitlin/Killer Frost have to help her adjust? Will Caitlin’s mother also take on a “dark personality,” like her erstwhile husband and daughter?
ANSWER: Caitlin’s mother does not appear again until what is the aired season finale of Season 6, a season that was cut short due to halts in production caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is unclear whether the remaining unaired and/or unproduced episodes would have addressed these questions, so we will leave this inquiry for our Season 7 recap and review.
11) With Captain Singh’s promotion to police chief and his admitted knowledge that Barry is the Flash, will we see him again? How will Joe adjust to life as precinct captain?
ANSWER: Yes! We see Chief (!) Singh again – in more ways than one – in Season 6. Primarily, he does show up to consult with Captain Joe West for some situations, but is it really Chief Singh that we are watching? That becomes a legitimate question for the viewer in the second half of Season 6. Listen to the podcast episode for details.
12) What will trigger the now moved-up headline (new date: 2019) in the Time Vault foreshadowing Barry’s disappearance and/or Crisis on Infinite Earths? Will Oliver Queen have to sacrifice himself to save Barry from his prognosticated fate, as the Arrow scene tag from Elseworlds, shown in Arrow’s season finale, seems to indicate?
ANSWER: What accelerates the Crisis to 2019 is that Harrison “Nash” Wells, the Season 6 version of the Wells doppelganger, opens a secret vault/tunnel that was designed to lock away the Anti-Monitor (LaMonica Garrett), a being that seeks to destroy the Infinite Earths. Oliver Queen sacrifices himself to save the entire universe in that pesky Crisis; listen to the Crisis on Infinite Earths podcast episode for details.
13) Which version of Harrison Wells will we meet in Season 6? Tom Cavanaugh: our panel salutes you, sir!
ANSWER: The Season 6 Wells likes to be called Nash. He is from another, unspecified Earth. He is something of a treasure hunter/seeker/thief, and he has a bone to pick with Mar Novu aka the Monitor (also Garrett). Unfortunately, he triggers the Crisis on Infinite Earths by unlocking the cavern sealing in the Anti-Monitor, the being to which the Monitor was really referring all along.
14) Will we at least get to see if Sherloque Wells (Cavanaugh) and Renee Adler live happily ever after?
ANSWER: We do not get to see Sherloque and Renee’s post-Season 5 existence in Season 6 prior to their Earth’s assumed destruction and inclusion within Earth Prime following the ballyhooed and several times aforementioned Crisis.
15) If Crisis on Infinite Earths foretells the collapse of the multiverse, as proffered by the comics, which version of Harrison Wells will be Harrison Prime?!
ANSWER: It seems we are left initially with Nash post-Crisis; however, Nash is beset by a curious conundrum. The infinite consciousnesses of all of the Harrison Wells of all of the Infinite Earths are somehow bound to and stored within Nash’s subconscious – including that of the Eobard Thawne wearing Wells’ face. What does it all mean? This is one of our primary questions rolling into Season 7. In answer to the above question, the viewer does not know or understand fully which Harrison is the Prime Harrison.
16) The show toyed with the idea of Caitlin and Ralph (Hartley Sawyer) getting together, though they, as in the characters themselves, poo-pooed the very notion in Season 5. Still: the chemistry is undeniable. Will Caitlin and Ralph reconsider? They seem to have a special rapport.
ANSWER: Caitlin and Ralph have not developed their friendly chemistry into romance; then again, “Caity” let Killer Frost aka Frost, no Killer, “drive” for much of Season 6, and Ralph is not exactly Frost’s type. He did provide Frost assistance via his special brand of life-coaching, though!
17) Alternatively, will Ralph find a romantic relationship that sustains beyond twelve steps (or however many steps there are in Ralph’s various self-authored self-help guides)?
ANSWER: This is a BIG question as of the end of Season 6. During the season, Ralph does not strike up a romantic relationship with anyone specifically or officially, though he surely sends flirtatious sparks toward a spunky socialite turned thief superior by the name of Sue Dearbon; as panelist Kyle reminds us, Ralph and Sue are married in the DC Comics. Unfortunately, Ralph’s romantic life and possible future with Sue are jeopardized by the real-life actions of Hartley Sawyer, Ralph’s portrayer, who was fired from the show after Tweets including racist, sexist/misogynistic, and other potentially offensive “ist” language were uncovered during 2020’s socio-political unrest. Though the producers and writers have gone on record to indicate that they do not plan to remove Ralph as a character permanently, he will likely return with a transformed face provided by a new actor and only sporadically. Thus, any chemistry that Ralph might have had with Sue or Caitlin or Frost is pretty much in question with the likely impending arrival of a Ralph Dibny no longer portrayed by Mr. Sawyer.
15) Will we see any first-half-of-season crossovers on The Flash, in spite of the mega mid-season crossover on the horizon?
ANSWER: No. No character from any of the other Arrowverse/CWVerse shows crossed over to The Flash (and no one from the cast of The Flash otherwise crossed over to another show) prior to the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover.
New Questions
1) What exactly is Caitlin’s mother hoping to do with Frost (other than to provide a convenient excuse for Danielle Panabaker to leave for maternity leave)? What will Frost discover about her/Caitlin’s mother?
2) Bloodwork, the primary villain from the first half of Season 6, is currently imprisoned in a special, power-dampening cell. When he is confronted by Eva McCulloch’s mirrored versions of Kamilla, Iris, and David Singh, he indicates that he does not want to leave his special cell, though these mirror clones are willing to free him, because to do so would interfere with his own plans. What plans are those?
3) Will Barry regain his powers? Will he be able to build a new Speed Force? Will he be able to resuscitate the one that died as a result of Barry’s actions in the Crisis on Infinite Earths?
4) Will Barry be able to rescue Iris from the Mirror-Verse? Or, will Iris save herself as well as the correct versions of Kamilla and Chief Singh?
5) Will Cisco regain his Vibe powers somehow, and how will it happen?
6) Is Eva McCulloch really a new Mirror Master? Now that she has slain her ex-husband, what exactly are her plans and how do her specific meta-abilities, which allow her to manipulate mirrors, factor into those plans?
7) Panelist Kyle believes that the three episodes unproduced/unaired as a result of COVID-19 would have born witness to the return of the Reverse Flash. Does this mean that Eobard Thawne in Harrison Wells’ face will break through Nash’s controlling consciousness? Will he consume or subsume all other Wells doppelgangers’ consciousnesses inside Nash? Will he be able to suppress them while he “drives” Nash Wells’ body? Or, will we be watching a “Jekyll and Hyde” situation in which Eobard vies for control against the other Wells consciousnesses, and will we see Tom Cavanaugh playing several Harrison Wells at once?
8) Is Harrison/Nash/Eobard responsible for the return of Godspeed? Who is making the Godspeed clones, what is the purpose of the clones, and why are they clones? Where is the real Godspeed? Is Eobard working with the real/original Godspeed?
9) How will the writers/producers/directors facilitate the departure of Hartley Sawyer’s version of Ralph Dibny from the show?
10) Now that Eva McCulloch succeeded in murdering her ex-husband, what will become of Doctor Light, Ultraviolet, and Sunshine, aka the agents of Black Hole?
11) Wally West (guest: Keiynan Lonsdale) returned for one episode in Season 6, despite Mr. Lonsdale’s prior indication that he planned to retire from acting. Wally’s purpose for his return to Central City is to explore why the Speed Force is waning/dying and how he can prevent it, though he also chastises Barry for some of his universe-altering decisions during Crisis. Will Wally be part of the solution for restoring the Earth Prime’s speedsters’ speeds? Will he help Barry construct a new Speed Force or resuscitate the old one? Will Keiynan Lonsdale make other future guest appearances in Season 7?
12) Why is Cecile not able to emotionally read or sense Mirror-Iris?
13) Will we continue to see Flash’s wider gallery of villains and what their post-Crisis iterations are and who will we see? This season, we met a post-Crisis Pied Piper, Turtle, Blacksmith (guest: Katee Sackhoff), Goldface, Gorilla Grodd, Rag Doll, and the members of Black Hole.
14) Will The Flash and/or other shows within the TV universe cobble together their version of the Legion of Doom or a Justice League? Will Warner Brothers finally allow Arrowverse entries like The Flash to use characters recently portrayed in film, such as Batman and his villains or Captain Boomerang? The panel votes all of the above.
15) David Ramsey, the erstwhile John Diggle of Arrow, is rumored to be returning for a multi-show arc across the CWVerse this coming season. Will Ramsey be returning as Green Lantern, and what will his contribution be to The Flash?
PARTING SHOTS
The CPU! DCTU panel continues to, now somewhat cautiously, universally recommend The Flash to fans of comic books, particularly from the DC universe, and of the Flash franchise, though some of the panel’s members remain more restless with The Flash generally in these later seasons compared to the show’s strong two first seasons. Still, most if not all of the panel continues to believe, generally, that even casual comic book/superhero fans will find something to love in what the panel primarily regards to be the Arrowverse’s most consistent if not best series. The panel also continues to universally praise the ensemble cast as the series’ most solid feature as well as the general direction of the show, though there are some panelists who quibble with writing decisions, particularly around the primary villains of the seasons after Season 2 and how the members of Team Flash respond to those villains in the moment. As several panelists note in tonight’s episode, however, even though this season might not be as mesmerizing as Seasons 1 and 2, the weakest seasons of The Flash still surpass the strongest seasons of many other series, including all of the other Arrowverse series. The panel, though, continues to appreciate, overall, the faithful and loving adaptation of a hero who may not have received the same star treatment as his Justice League compatriots and co-founders, Batman and Superman, at least in modern memory. Further, the panel will always laud Grant Gustin’s portrayal of Barry Allen, readily and enthusiastically. As always, take a listen, and see if you agree with the panel’s general thoughts on these matters.
LOOKING AHEAD
The seventh season of The Flash is slated to premiere on Tuesday, February 23, 2021, at 8:00 PM on the CW. CPU!’s next DCTU episode, which will focus on the inaugural season, Season 1, of Batwoman, will publish in February! Like, follow, and/or subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts, on Patreon, or via our social media accounts to stay abreast of new episodes in the DCTU podcast series as well as of new episodes for all of our podcast panels! And, if you feel so inclined, please leave us a review. Thank you!
A new podcast episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, recorded in May 2020, our panel of comic book and superhero enthusiasts – including moderator Kylie, Kristen, Nick, Hilary, Kyle, and Spencer – reconvenes Around the (Quarantined) Water Cooler for the twenty-fourth episode of our DCTU ongoing series. In this episode, the panel discusses Season 8, the final season, of the Arrowverse’s namesake, Arrow, as well as Looks Back at the entire series, now that the series is all said and done. If you have not watched any of the DCTU/Arrowverse through the final episode of Arrow, be aware that there are MAJOR SPOILERS! Tell us what you think, and/or if there are other shows you’re interested in CPU! covering, below; email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com; or check out our Guestbook at the website, our Facebook page, our Twitter (@cpupodcast), or our Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite). Until next time, until next episode…buh bye!
Executive Producer/Chief Couch Potato: Kylie C. Piette Associate Producers: Krista Pennington and Selene Rezmer
Editor: Kylie C. Piette Logo: Rebecca Wallace Marketing Graphic Artist: Krista Pennington
Theme Song: Written by: Sarah Milbratz Singers: Sarah Milbratz, Amy McDaniel, Kels Rezmer Keyboard: Kels Rezmer Bass: Ian McDonough Guitar: Christian Somerville Engineer/Production: Kyle Aspinall/Christian Somerville
Who: “Arrow” is a superhero/action/crime drama centered on events and characters inspired by the Green Arrow franchise/DC Comic Universe, which airs on the CW.
What: “Arrow,” a series developed by writer/producers Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, and Andrew Kreisberg that is based on the DC Comics character Green Arrow, a costumed crime-fighter created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp. The series follows billionaire playboy Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell), who, five years after being stranded on a hostile island, returns home to fight crime and corruption as a secret vigilante whose weapon of choice is a bow and arrow.
SYNOPSIS
The series follows Oliver Queen (Amell), billionaire playboy of Starling City (now Star City), who spends five years shipwrecked on the mysterious island of Lian Yu. Upon his return to the city, he is reunited with his family, including his sister, and friends. Oliver awkwardly survives his days back in the city by rekindling his relationships, while he spends his nights hunting down and sometimes killing wealthy criminals as a hooded vigilante. John “Dig” Diggle (David Ramsey) and Felicity Smoak assist Oliver in his crusade as does his ex-girlfriend, Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy); flashbacks show how Oliver spent his time and gained the skill-set that he uses as (now) the Green Arrow.
When: Season 8 aired on the CW from October 15, 2019, to January 28, 2020, with a total of 10 episodes.
Where: The action is set in the fictional metropolis of Starling City, the primary setting of the Green Arrow franchise – though as of Season 4, the city was finally re-branded to be Star City like in the comic books. The action does branch out in flashbacks to international locales, including Hong Kong, the Middle East, Russia, and a fictional island called Lian Yu. In Season 8, some scenes occur in Star City twenty years into the future as well as on other Earth(s) in the multiverse, at least preceding Episode 8, Arrow’s entry in the Arrowverse 2019-2020 mid-season crossover event, Crisis on Infinite Earths.
Why: To find out why individual podcast panelists started watching this show, listen to the first DCTU podcast episode, where our panel covers the first two seasons of Arrow, via the embedded link below! It should be noted that CPU! Chief Couch Potato Kylie was hesitant to watch it, feeling somewhat loyal to Justin Hartley’s portrayal of the Green Arrow on Smallville, which ended in 2011, while Arrow premiered in 2012. Also, the Chief CP is pretty leery of character fatigue in comic book properties of late, which may be the subject of a separate podcast or blog entry. So, what finally convinced me to watch it? Other than a few good recommendations from viewers like you, listen to that first podcast episode to find out the reasons why I finally picked up the show in the end.
How – as in How’s It Going? – THOUGHTS
This is the twenty-fourth episode in CPU!’s DCTU series. Here are only the prior Arrow episodes in the series (as we flush out seasons of all Arrowverse shows, though, older episodes will only be searchable via the website – click the upper right dialog box in the header). Listen to each episode here:
DCTU Series, Episode 1, “Arrow,” Seasons 1 and 2
DCTU Series, Episode 2, “Arrow,” Seasons 3 and 4
DCTU Series, Episode 10, “Arrow,” Season 5
DCTU Series, Episode 14, “Arrow,” Season 6
DCTU Series, Episode 19, “Arrow,” Season 7
In our last episode, our cheeky and feisty DCTU panel – namely Kyle, Hilary, Spencer, Kristen, and Nick – met “Around the Water Cooler,” LIVE!, to discuss the awesome five (or six) show crossover event, Crisis on Infinite Earths. Now, we begin our annual review of the most recent full seasons of each of the “Arrowverse” programs in order of the airing of each season finale, beginning with the eighth, and final, season of Arrow. Thus, tonight’s episode finds the panel returning to the Water Cooler to talk TV universe progenitor Arrow following another rocky and disjointed final season in this, the twenty-fourth episode of our DCTU series, and to Look Back at the series as a whole, now that the show that started it all has taken its final bow, its arrows safely tucked into its proverbial green quiver.
The discussion herein evaluates the success of ten episodes covering Oliver’s adventures building toward the impending Crisis on Infinite Earths as well as the backdoor pilot positioning the future version of Oliver and Felicity’s youngest daughter, Mia (Katherine McNamara), as the new Green Arrow with her accompanying “Canaries,” Earth 2’s Laurel Lance (Cassidy) and Dinah Drake (Juliana Harkavy), and the series finale following (SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER) Oliver’s death in Crisis. Our talk also briefly reviews the projecting “flash forwards” to Future Star City and the goings-on of Oliver’s and other team members’ children in that later decade, which continued for a time this season. We also spend time deducing whether Arrow Season 8 services Arrow’s core story at all as much as it sets up the highly anticipated, highly marketed DC Universe crossover event, the television adaptation of seminal Universe tale Crisis on Infinite Earths. Did our panel believe that the writers found a way to leave viewers with a smile by the series finale, given the remaining ten episodes, as our panel apprehensively hoped in our last discussion? Listen to tonight’s episode and judge the panel’s reactions for yourself.
This particular episode was recorded in May 2020, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as the panelists cover key plot points of Season 8 and really all of Arrow. Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
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Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly! Next Wednesday, our Stranger Things panel returns to the Water Cooler after a two year absence to discuss Season 3 of the Netflix thriller, which was released last summer. In our defense, we watch quite a bit of TV around here, and we had to savor it a few more times before we could talk about it intelligibly – at least that’s our story, and we’re sticking to it! Stay tuned – this upcoming discussion might just flay your mind!
Lingering Questions
1) Where does the Monitor (LaMonica Garrett) take Oliver Queen in the series finale? Does Oliver help the Monitor to save other Earths in the multiverse, as panelist Kristen predicts?
ANSWER: The Monitor takes Oliver to Earth 2 under the guise of stealing the only existing dwarf star particles in the multiverse, which the Monitor tells Ollie will help in the upcoming “Crisis.” Unfortunately, the anti-matter wave spawned by the Anti-Monitor (also Garrett) begins to consume the multiverse, and Oliver is unable to stop the wave from obliterating Earth 2, including its versions of Moira Queen, Malcolm Merlyn, Tommy Merlyn, and others. Earth 2’s Laurel Lance manages to escape with Oliver and Dig (Ramsay), who figures out what Oliver is up to and who tracks him to Earth 2 in order to convince him not to undergo the Monitor-directed quests on his own. Listen to the podcast episode for further reflections.
2) Will any of Season 8 focus specifically upon tying up Arrow’s story, to the extent that it needs tying up, or will these final episodes particularly propel Arrow toward its segment within the “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover?
ANSWER: Almost every episode, with the exception of Episodes 8 (the Arrow “Crisis” entry); 9 (the backdoor pilot for Green Arrow and the Canaries); and 10 (the series finale), focuses specifically upon Oliver/the Green Arrow’s role in the development of the upcoming “Crisis.”
3) Will Emily Bett Rickards at least return for the crossover and/or the series finale, since she is no longer a series regular?
ANSWER: Emily, who plays Felicity Smoak, returns for the series finale.
4) Where will Season 8 begin in the Star City/Earth 1 timeline, considering that Katherine McNamara, who plays Mia Smoak, was promoted to series regular for Season 8? Will Season 8 continue to focus, exclusively or intermittently, upon Future Star City? Will it be FSC before, during, or after the Crisis on Infinite Earths?
ANSWER: Season 8 begins on Earth 2, present day, though the initial episodes of the season continue to contain “flash forwards” to Future Star City, wherein we watch the adventures of future Mia Smoak as well as future William Clayton (Ben Lewis) and future Connor Hawke (Joseph David-Jones). Season 8 intermittently focuses upon FSC for the first few episodes, until the Monitor becomes involved and sends the adult versions of William, Mia, and Connor back in time to assist their fathers in the present day, Earth 1, all of which occurs before the events of “Crisis.”
5) If Colin Donnell is returning to the show as a version of “Tommy that we have never seen before,” as panelist Kristen reports, will he appear as the official Merlyn, the villain as depicted in the “Green Arrow” comics, as panelist Kyle hopes? Or, will Oliver encounter Tommy, in addition to John Barrowman’s Malcolm Merlyn and Susanna Thompson’s Moira Queen, as other versions of themselves in other Earths of the DC multiverse?
ANSWER: Tommy Merlyn appears on Earth 2, wherein he apparently takes on the Dark Archer mantle instead of his father Malcolm. Thus, Oliver encounters Tommy, Malcolm, and Moira as other versions of themselves – but only on Earth 2. Oliver only visits one other Earth before the “Crisis” starts.
6) What is the “place of no return” to which the Monitor refers when taking future Felicity to meet future Oliver in the season finale?
ANSWER: Heaven or something like it. The Monitor is accompanying Felicity to her death and to her eternity alongside the equally not alive Oliver following the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths.
7) Will Oliver die in “Crisis on Infinite Earths?” More importantly, if he does die, and if the infinite earths collapse into one shared universe as the comic book story goes, will Oliver be resurrected and/or will he be an element or aspect of the new version of Earth that we presume will result from the “Crisis?”
ANSWER: Yes, Oliver dies in “Crisis.” As told by the final episodes of Arrow, Oliver’s death is permanent following the Crisis on Infinite Earths. He, personally, is not part of the new Earth Prime formed by the collapse of the multiverse in the crossover, but he does bequeath the Green Arrow hood to his grown daughter Miabefore the “Crisis” gets too far along. Listen to the podcast episode for details – also listen to Episode 23, the CPU! review of “Crisis” for full details.
8) Have Colton Haynes and Katie Cassidy permanently left the show? Panelist Kyle reports that a “Birds of Prey” spin-off was pitched to the network, which would be led by the Black Siren character, as portrayed by Cassidy.
ANSWER: No. Cassidy is still a series regular for Season 8, and she appears in almost all of the episodes. Haynes is reduced to a recurring character; he appears in approximately three episodes, including the episode preceding the “Crisis” entry, the “Crisis” entry itself, and the series finale.The “Birds of Prey” spin-off to which Kyle referred is actually the Green Arrow and the Canaries spin-off, which was backdoor piloted via Arrow, Season 8, Episode 9.
9) What effect will the “Crisis on Infinite Earths” have on each of the Arrowverse shows, Arrow included, since the cross-over is Episode 9 of Season 8, and Episode 10 is the series finale?
ANSWER: For the answer as to how “Crisis” affects The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, Batwoman, and now Black Lightning, listen to the DCTU Series panel’s upcoming annual reviews of each listed show. As to how “Crisis” affects Arrow, listen to the podcast episode, as the panel, beyond the collapse of the multiverse and the creation of Earth Prime; the resurrection of characters that previously passed away on Arrow, such as Moira, Tommy, and Emiko; and the fact that Dig’s child becomes children, as now baby daughter Sarah and baby son JJ co-exist in this new universe, became confused. In essence, the information provided in the Green Arrow and the Canaries backdoor pilot around the purported future following “Crisis” proved perplexing and disjointed at best.
10) How will Arrow end? Will it satisfy? Will it match the high quality of the first two seasons or be more of the same? And what will our DCTU panel’s reactions be in the end?
ANSWER: Arrow ends with all of the characters, including those who left the show in previous seasons, reuniting to both grieve the loss of Oliver in the “Crisis” as well as to find present day William, as he is kidnapped by John Byrne, who the Green Arrow (then the Hood) previously caught and imprisoned for child trafficking. As the team galvanizes at the Arrow Bunker around the idea of saving William, which Mia in the Green Arrow hood ultimately achieves, the characters in this new universe also reflect with sadness as well as respect regarding the legacy left behind by Oliver Queen and the Green Arrow, with more than a little meta self-reference to Stephen Amell’s contribution to the larger Arrowverse itself.
As for whether or not the episode satisfied, our panelists essentially determined that it did not. In fact, most panelists were disappointed if not outraged that these final ten episodes did little to redeem the seasons preceding it without ever matching the quality of the first two seasons, which remain the series’ best in all of our panelists’ estimations. As for the panel’s final reactions: we can’t write everything here! It’s a podcast! You should really listen to the episode.
PARTING SHOTS
Our DCTU panel universally agrees that Arrow Season 8 fared somewhat better than Season 7 (and than Seasons 5 and 6) in terms of storytelling quality; however, the panel also unanimously believed that the final ten episodes do not redeem the overall quality of the show and do little to provide a fitting ending for Arrow itself, particularly for Stephen Amell, who the panel entirely adores. Conversely, the panel also did not feel that the final season achieved the apparent objective of providing adequate set-up for Oliver Queen/the Green Arrow’s larger role in the Crisis on Infinite Earths. The panelists opined that the eighth season’s attempts to seed Crisis while mostly ignoring the end of Oliver’s travails as protector of exclusively Star City, in addition to the awkward insertion of the unanimously panned backdoor pilot of Green Arrow and the Canaries, left our panelists completely and thoroughly underwhelmed by the final season and, therefore, by the entire show, particularly as the last ten episodes rang, to our panelists, like a disjointed afterthought, produced only to serve as one long advertisement for the crossover, even as the eighth season also played through some of the “greatest hits” of Arrow seasons past in terms of locales and departed regular and recurring characters.
In the end, the panelists expressed a myriad of emotions, from irritation at having to watch it at all (Nick) to exasperated disappointment (Spencer), from lukewarm malaise at the fact that the show never improved (Kristen) to confusion (Hilary) and even mild anger (Kyle) at the fact that this Green Arrow never became more like the Green Arrow of the comics or of previous animated and live action portrayals, such as Justin Hartley’s turn as the character in Smallville. The panel further continued to mostly revile Green Arrow’s expansive team; panelist Kyle reiterated that the show should have centered most of its focus on just Oliver and Dig, for longer than the show actually did, while all panelists struggled to understand the purpose of each of the supporting characters beyond the convolution of a story already stretched too thin and a formula too often recycled from season to season.
Moreover, the panel members now fully agree and endorse the idea that Arrow altogether suffered from sloppy, regurgitated story mapping; an appalling lack of character evolution, particularly for the title character himself, despite his noble end, since the nobility is attained through fits and starts, not through anything satisfyingly organic created by the story being told; and a repetitive story structure utilizing a formula that the writers never abandoned or scrapped for any reason, even when the formula did not work – which our panelists, particularly Kyle and Hilary, ultimately contended has been true since Season 3. The panel, in fact, labeled the series finale unsatisfying and one that did not befit the story, even as it was nice, even touching, to see the return of so many faces that had once graced the main or supplemental credits. Still, the panel offered the appropriate props, as always, to the superb production values marking the Star City based quadrant of this television universe, especially for the fight choreography, which is better for this show than for any other Arrowverse entry and which has been good for all eight seasons. In the end, however, the consensus of the panel, perhaps but for moderator and Chief Couch Potato Kylie, is that the Arrow writing and production team, more than any other element of the show, might just have failed this city, this property, and this character, even as the existence of this show produced an entire universe of DC comic adaptations on one network. The panel notes the achievements but does not believe that they overshadow the parent show’s decline in storytelling quality or the fact that none of the panel wants to re-watch this series, except possibly the first two seasons, which are still deemed excellent and of sufficiently higher quality than all six of the subsequent seasons as aired. It is also telling that the panel’s initial recommendations to watch the show have been predominantly hedged at this point. Panelist Hilary even said, “I don’t know how I can recommend this to others when I don’t even feel I could have recommended it to you guys, if you hadn’t already watched it.”
THE FUTURE OF THE SHOW
Ended! Arrow concluded with this eighth and final season. All Arrow seasons are available to stream on Netflix.
Ultimately, and, perhaps, unsurprisingly, our DCTU Series panel does not recommend this show to anyone, not even to fans of the Green Arrow franchise or of comic book adaptations in general. Some panelists could not, in good conscience, recommend a show that offers “six bad seasons in comparison to two good ones” and indicated that they would recommend Smallville or the original Green Arrow comic book source material instead. Several panelists recommended watching the first two seasons only, unless a viewer felt that they needed to complete the series to complete their personal watch of the entire Arrowverse. One panelist suggested that a potential viewer and listener of this podcast could simply watch to judge if our panel is being too hard on the series but did not feel that such a listener would ultimately reach that conclusion. Only Chief Couch Potato Kylie described Arrow slightly more generously, praising Amell and the production values while simultaneously agreeing with the idea that the story was not well developed over eight seasons. In fact, none of the panelists, Kylie included, want to re-watch this show at any point (except for, possibly, the first two seasons), even as some panelists, Kylie included, did not express regret watching it. Take that for what you will, gentle listener, but it is important to note that the panel, upon review of the first season, rated Arrow an average of 4.8 out of 5 stars. Following this eighth and final season, the panel rating plummeted to an average of 2.3 out of 5 stars, and the only reason the rating finished that high is because Kylie generously awarded the show 3 stars, quite possibly owing to Stephen Amell’s physique; no one can quell the hearts hearts hearts. At the same time, and despite Kylie’s “love goggles” for Stephen, our panel cannot offer any kind of endorsement, much less a CPU! Official Endorsement ™ of this program, at least not to anyone who expects some quality from their superhero television viewing at the core for a sustained number of seasons, which proves to be an ultimately disappointing commentary for the show that spawned such an entertaining universe of several shows on one network.
In any event, while our Arrow coverage is primarily done, don’t be surprised if the series makes an appearance or two in coming discussions, from time to time. In the meantime, our DCTU panel will continue its coverage of the Arrowverse, even if the television universe changes its name, beginning with a catch-up miniseries covering Black Lightning, beginning this summer or fall. For now, we bid you adieu!
Oliver (Amell) reunites with Felicity (Rickards) in an afterlife that looks quite a bit like Star(ling) City, back when the pair first met in Season 1. Here the pair looks out from a window of an ethereal Queen Consolidated, hopeful for their eternity together.
A new podcast episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, recorded LIVE via Zoom on FACEBOOK in April 2020, our panel of comic book and superhero enthusiasts – including moderator Kylie, Kristen, Nick, Hilary, Kyle, and Spencer – reconvenes Around the (Virual and Quarantined) Water Cooler for a special, live streamed presentation of the twenty-third episode of our DCTU ongoing series. After specially requesting a separate recording to discuss the five episode mega-crossover Arrowverse event “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” our panel herein provides their review and recap of the 2019-2020 blending of casts from the CW series Arrow, The Flash, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, and Batwoman. If you have not watched any of the DCTU/Arrowverse through “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” be aware that there are MAJOR SPOILERS! Tell us what you think, and/or if there are other shows you’re interested in CPU! covering, below; email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com; or check out our Guestbook at the website, our Facebook page, our Twitter (@cpupodcast), or our Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite). Until next time, until next episode…buh bye!
PS: The contest mentioned in the live recording was only in effect during the live stream. A winner has been selected, and the contest is closed.
PSS: In addition, this audio episode has only been *lightly edited* to streamline for time; since the episode was live, (most of) our bugaboos were left in tact. There’s nothing like spontaneity, after all, and the show must go on!
Executive Producer/Chief Couch Potato: Kylie C. Piette Associate Producers: Krista Pennington and Selene Rezmer
Editor: Kylie C. Piette Logo: Rebecca Wallace Marketing Graphic Artist: Krista Pennington
Theme Song: Written by: Sarah Milbratz Singers: Sarah Milbratz, Amy McDaniel, Kels Rezmer Keyboard: Kels Rezmer Bass: Ian McDonough Guitar: Christian Somerville Engineer/Production: Kyle Aspinall/Christian Somerville
Who: The DC Television Universe or DCTU Series Panel – Kyle, Hilary, Spencer, Kristen, and Nick – plus Chief CP Kylie as moderator.
What: “Crisis on Infinte Earths,” the five-episode 2019-2020 Arrowverse crossover event melding cast members from “Arrow,” “The Flash,” “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow,” “Supergirl,” and “Batwoman,” the five shows that comprise the so-called “Arrowverse” on the CW, at least through the airing of “Crisis,” otherwise known as the DC (Comics) Television Universe or DCTU.
When: The “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover began on December 8, 2019, with Supergirl (8:00 PM) and concluded on January 14, 2020, with DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (9:00 PM).
Where: The action is primarily set in the DC Comics Universe, specifically in Central City (The Flash), Star City (Arrow), Gotham City (Batwoman), on Earth-38 in National City (Supergirl), and throughout space, time, and the multiverse in keeping with the Legends of Tomorrow.
Why: To find out why individual podcast panelists started watching each of these shows, listen to tonight’s episode and/or to our DCTU series in full by clicking the floating box at the top right of our website header, the picture of the couch full of TV watchers, to search for all of the prior DCTU series episodes. As for why we are covering this crossover separately, read on!
How – as in How Was It?
The Specially Formulated For Your Viewing Pleasure “Crisis on Infinite Earths” Crossover rating scale:
***** – HOLY SMOKES! This is the BEST. CROSSVER. EVER!!!!!
**** – Intriguing. Please make more, CW/Arrowverse producers. You get better each time, though you’re not perfect yet.
*** – It was fine/okay. Nothing special. There were parts I liked and parts I didn’t. Allow me to explain.
** – Meh. I was bored. Nice idea, but the execution left something to be desired.
* – Not your best, Arrowverse. Stop trying!
Crisis on Infinite Earths = 3.2, by average of the podcast panel.
SYNOPSIS
“Crisis on Infinite Earths,” inspired by the comic of the same name, continues plot lines established in the previous crossover, “Elseworlds.” The preceding episodes of Arrow Season 8 and much of The Flash Season 6 are a prelude to the crossover. In “Crisis,” the Monitor (LaMonica Garrett) gathers Green Arrow (Stephen Amell), the Flash (Grant Gustin), Supergirl (Melissa Benoist), Batwoman (Ruby Rose), Sara Lance (Caity Lotz), Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh), and several others from throughout the multiverse to stop the Anti-Monitor (Garrett) from destroying reality. The crossover’s events result in the Arrowverse being rebooted, affecting all composite shows of the TV universe.
THOUGHTS
This is the twenty-third episode in CPU!’s DCTU series. Because we have reached double digits for this massive series, from here on out, we are only going to embed prior episodes from the immediately previous season at mid-season or only the previous episodes of the show in particular that we are covering if we are covering any of the series individually, which you can listen to for reference in advance of the current podcast episode. All of our episodes, however, are searchable here at the website or, for audio-only types, you can find our page at our file host, the Internet Archive (archive.org), which has all of our episodes compiled in one handy menu. It’s pretty nice, actually. If you feel so inclined, please also donate to the Archive, so garage podcasts like your humble CPU! can continue to thrive.
For now, here are the DCTU series episodes since the DCTU 2019 Mid-Season Roundup:
DCTU Series, Episode 17, the DCTU 2019 Mid-Season Roundup
DCTU Series, Episode 18, “Elseworlds”
DCTU Series, Episode 19, “Arrow,” Season7
DCTU Series, Episode 20, “The Flash,” Season 5
DCTU Series, Episode 21, “Supergirl,” Season4
DCTU Series, Episode 22, “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow,” Season 4
Our cheeky and feisty DCTU panel, again this year, specially requested a separate discussion to dissect the five episode mega-crossover Arrowverse event entitled “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” Why, might you ask? Well, we might answer. Though the panel’s average reception to the latest Arrowverse crossover proved surprisingly lukewarm compared to crossovers past, the panel enjoyed at least the concept of the new crossover event, especially given the fact that the Arrowverse’s producers and writers never fail to jam-pack the crossovers with all of the DC Comic Universe goodness, including a number of highly nerdy Easter Eggs and pop culture references outside of comic books (DC or otherwise). The panelists additionally felt, yet again, that a separate recording was necessary to digest everything included in this special event; plus, given our globally quarantined status in light of the current Coronavirus Pandemic, and in light of the fact that we had a gift card to give away, the panelists also felt motivated to go Live…at least the only way we could in these, our current times! Our DCTU panelists, therefore, went LIVE on Facebook on April 30, 2020, to talk about their generally and unfortunately middling assessment of the latest crossover of casts from Arrow, The Flash, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, and Batwoman, as some of our panelists genuinely exhibited more qualms overall with this crossover compared to last year’s entry, “Elseworlds,” and to several of the preceding crossover entries as well. Watch below or listen at our typical outlets, and let us know if you agree or disagree with our thoughts!
This particular CPU! episode was recorded – LIVE via Zoom and Facebook – in April 2020, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as the panelists cover key plot points of the “Crisis on Infinte Earths” crossover. Listen/watch at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@cpupodcast), Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), Pinterest (@cpupodcast), or email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com – or subscribe to this blog, the YouTube channel, our Apple/iTunes channel, our Stitcher Radio channel , find us on Google Play, or on Spotify (!) to keep track of brand new episodes. In the meantime, let us know what you think! Comment or review us in any of the above forums – we’d love your feedback!
Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly – except this week! This week is special because this Thursday, Couch Potatoes Unite! ispleased to sponsor an encore presentation of an episode of a podcast on which Chief CP Kylie and frequent panelist Nick appeared on behalf of CPU! The podcast is called “Connect Grand Rapids;” the hosts, Rick and Brian, interviewed us about our podcast panelists’ recommended quarantine binge TV, as we fancy ourselves the local TV experts (naturally), and we were only too happy to oblige. Of course, the conversation didn’t stop at that topic – you’ll have to listen to find out how, but this also means that CPU! is providing you a rare two-episode week! Hey, it’s how we are filling our quarantine time. We’re also calling it even for late March, when we had to scramble as the pandemic began. Fair? Stay tuned!
Questions, Impressions, and Future Considerations
1) The predominant question arising from this crossover is what Earth Prime really looks like compared to the other Earths developing in the newly reconstituted multiverse. Does Earth Prime contain aspects of all of the Infinite Earths that were lost prior to Oliver Queen’s move to recreate the universe as Spectre? Are the Earth 2 characters that we’ve grown to love, such as Harry Wells (Tom Cavanaugh), Jessie Quick, and Laurel Lance’s (Katie Cassidy) Team Arrow, alive again? Are they on Earth Prime? Is Breecher alive again? Is he back the new Earth 19, or is he on Earth Prime? These are the unanswered questions…which we feel certain will unravel in some way on the remaining Arrowverse shows.
2) Does Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes) retain his Vibe powers, or will he revert back to being an ordinary, non-meta human?
3) Are we left with only one Harrison Wells now, and is that Harrison Wells the Nash Wells we meet in The Flash Season 6? The panel would be disappointed to learn this news.
PARTING SHOTS
Our intrepid DCTU panel. almost unanimously but for Chief CP Kylie’s somewhat generous mood at the time of assessment, offered surprisingly middling, even lukewarm reviews of “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” especially compared to “Elseworlds” and to “Crisis on Earth-X,” the previous two crossover events. The general panel consensus noted that this latest special presentation proved far more uneven in terms of pacing and story plotting, with the first two hours, the Supergirl and Batwoman episodes, deemed by our panel to be the strongest of the lot; the middle two episodes, The Flash and Arrow chapters, faltering with shoddy continuity and a lack of sufficient plotting for major devices used to advance the story forward; and the whole affair ending adequately if somewhat anticlimactically in the Legends of Tomorrow segment. The panel was quick to note that the network and the Arrowverse’s various producers and show-runners spent a year (possibly) over-hyping this crossover, given its adaptation of a seminal set of events in DC Comics history, without paying closer attention to the plotting of not only the five episodes of the event itself but of the episodes of Arrow Season 8 and The Flash Season 6 that were devoted to setting up the “Crisis” story arc. In fact, panelist Kyle said it best: the creators and writers behind “Crisis” appeared to spend more time trying to secure stunt casts, awesome though they might have been, than they did actually crafting the chronology and continuity of the story events themselves, since this live action version of “Crisis” deviates from its comic source material dramatically. As a result, the panelists expressed a variety of mixed emotions about what they saw, though no one could mistake the cautious disappointment on display as the panel discussed the crossover in the episode (and you, gentle listener and viewer, can actually watch facial expressions this time).
On the other hand, the panel feels strongly, especially those panelists who have watched the five constituent shows beyond the crossover, that the “Crisis on Infinite Earths” treatment, including the collapse of the initial version of the multiverse, may do well to inject new and fresh energy into several of the Arrowverse shows, particularly Supergirl, which has struggled to galvanize around a convincingly plotted and paced story arc in recent seasons. In addition, the crossover further cements and legitimizes the presence of Batwoman, the rookie on the Arrowverse block, which has also unfolded via a somewhat disjointed beginning season, though all signs point to improvement, as described by the panelists who have watched more of the season beyond the midway point. As such, the panelists find themselves excited to continue to explore the shows comprising the Arrowverse, but for Arrow itself, which has since aired its series finale, and with the addition of Black Lightning, which has been folded into this television universe via the deft stroke of the multiverse compression as depicted in “Crisis.”
Furthermore, in their review of “Elseworlds” in 2019, our DCTU panel postulated that the “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover event would not be an exact copy of the major DC comics story of the same name. Because this prognostication became fact, our panelists are more reluctant to recommend “Crisis” to anyone who does not already love superhero/comic book adaptations, particularly from the DC universe. The panel believes that viewers who have tuned into previous crossovers will likely enjoy the plethora of new Easter Eggs as well as the cameo appearances by DC character actors from television and film past. The panel also surmises that Arrowverse and comic book fans will enjoy the nostalgia conjured up by the use of those Easter Eggs and cameos as well as the use of the story itself, given its importance to the DC Comics lexicon. Still, the panel strongly cautions that a potential viewer not expect to see a carbon copy of the comics story and to be aware that some segments of the five episodes feel bloated and consequentially fall flat while, at the same time, fail to properly introduce key character insertions as well as to appropriately flush out important plot points, such as the characters of Harbinger, Spectre, Pariah, and the ability of science-oriented characters like Ray Palmer (Routh) and Lena Luthor (Katie McGrath) to develop large, novel pieces of technology in what seems like hours or even minutes. These underdeveloped elements left the panelists underwhelmed and, at times, especially if not already familiar with the original “Crisis” story, confused by the action and unfolding story that they were watching. To that end, if we were confused or caught off guard by these developments, we expect that casual and even some devoted and comic knowledgeable viewers would no doubt feel the same, which does not bode well for the overall success of “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” In fact, our panel would likely characterize this crossover as “barely successful” but still largely entertaining, given the ambitious concept and the efforts of the writers to cater to DC fans of all types.
LOOKING AHEAD
The five Arrowverse shows returned from their mid-season hiatuses as follows:
Batwoman: Sunday, January 19, 2020, 8:00 PM Supergirl: Sunday, January 19, 2020, 9:00 PM Arrow: Tuesday, January 21, 2020, 8:00 PM DC’s Legends of Tomorrow: (premiered) Tuesday, January 28, 2020, 9:00 PM. The Flash: Tuesday, February 4, 2020, 8:00 PM
In January 2020, the CW renewed all Arrowverse shows except for Arrow, which has since ended, for an additional season, all of which will likely premiere some time in fall 2020 and likely in or around October, if the trend from prior seasons holds (and based upon the progress of the COVID-19 pandemic). In the meantime, the DCTU podcast panel will next convene around the CPU! Water Cooler next week, and not live, to review and to recap Season 8, the final season, of Arrow as well as to Look Back at the show as a whole, now that all is said and done. Until then! Stay tuned!
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