I was very disappointed with the first 2 episodes of the crossover. I thought they were making terrible decisions, and it was a massive mess. However, I am glad to say this episode was a MASSIVE improvement. This is definitely one of the best crossover episodes. It all came together to make a surprising, touching, and strong conclusion to this first half (well more than half) of Crisis On Infinite Earths.
First I have to thank everyone for making my favorite cameo happen. Lucifer and Constantine meeting is a dream come true. I will never forget this moment. I'm glad he had actual significance to the plot. His cameo was funny, surprising (since his appearance had not been confirmed), and it didn't go on for too long.
Continuing on from that plot thread I am very happy with the direction they took with Oliver's character. I was really hoping after his death he would become the Spectre, and thankfully they did. I still think killing Oliver off in episode 1 was lame. It could've been done much better, and it just felt like a ploy for shock value, but out of the outcomes from that early death, Spectre Oliver is definitely one of the best. I just feel like if they would've revived him to kill him off again normally it just wouldn't have worked. Having him as Spectre from the start works well.
Moving along to the main section of the episode there were many surprisingly touching moments. Mar Novu talking about his family, Ryan Choi's "humanity", Jefferson dealing with the death of his family, and more. I mean these were some really strong slower moments that really added to the episode. I was worried Supergirl was going to save her earth with book of destiny, completely undermining everything that happened earlier. With the death of all the earth's it is obvious that some or at least one of the earths with come back at the end, but I think bringing Earth 38 back like that would've been a massive mistake. On top of that it also brought for one of Kate's strongest scenes.
This episode took a lot of risks. I'm surprised they went with killing off all the earths, and only letting the 7 paragons survive. I mean of course they're coming back, but it's a good way to keep the storyline more concise for the next episodes. There were some real surprises and twists this episode. I have to mention Earth 90's Flash. Since the last crossover I thought either Jay Garrick or he would die instead of Barry. It was pretty obvious to me, but I thought it was really well handled. The old Flash show never got a conclusion to his arc or character, and with this episode we finally got closure to his character. The flashback was definitely touching. Apart from that twist being predictable though, I thought there were some genuinely surprising twists. Evil Harbinger was fairly plausible, but the Anti Monitor actually winning like that, and only the 7 paragons surviving was definitely a surprise. And then what came after. Lex erasing Superman to become a Paragon was an awesome moment, and genuinely shocking. Though I hope this isn't the last we see of Routh's Superman, because that would be disappointing.
Now this episode has it's problems. There are many plot holes from things like the book of destiny or the monitor's powers, but I've come to expect these conveniences, contrivances, and holes from these crossovers, and shows in general. It does bring down the episode and crossover as a whole, but I've come to ignore it with these shows unless it becomes too stupid, or repetitive. There are always cheesy moments, and silliness on these crossovers, but the touching moments really balanced it out well. I mean if I'm being honest the entire episode doesn't make much sense. Like how can you track paragons? Why didn't The Monitor, or for that matter the Anti-Monitor, do this or that. I hope they have proper explanations for these things eventually because this will bring down the entire crossover significantly for me. Although I won't let it hurt this episode too much because of the pleasant surprise it was.
Overall, I am really happy with this episode. This is what I wanted Crisis On Infinite Earths to be. The first 2 episodes were definitely weak, and there were a lot of questionable decisions, but it seems they've brought the best outcomes from those decisions. It seems like this crossover is gearing up to be a strong one after that uneven start. The silliness, plot holes, and all those problems are still present in this crossover, but it's definitely made up by some strong emotional scenes, cameos, and big surprises.
First I have to thank everyone for making my favorite cameo happen. Lucifer and Constantine meeting is a dream come true. I will never forget this moment. I'm glad he had actual significance to the plot. His cameo was funny, surprising (since his appearance had not been confirmed), and it didn't go on for too long.
Continuing on from that plot thread I am very happy with the direction they took with Oliver's character. I was really hoping after his death he would become the Spectre, and thankfully they did. I still think killing Oliver off in episode 1 was lame. It could've been done much better, and it just felt like a ploy for shock value, but out of the outcomes from that early death, Spectre Oliver is definitely one of the best. I just feel like if they would've revived him to kill him off again normally it just wouldn't have worked. Having him as Spectre from the start works well.
Moving along to the main section of the episode there were many surprisingly touching moments. Mar Novu talking about his family, Ryan Choi's "humanity", Jefferson dealing with the death of his family, and more. I mean these were some really strong slower moments that really added to the episode. I was worried Supergirl was going to save her earth with book of destiny, completely undermining everything that happened earlier. With the death of all the earth's it is obvious that some or at least one of the earths with come back at the end, but I think bringing Earth 38 back like that would've been a massive mistake. On top of that it also brought for one of Kate's strongest scenes.
This episode took a lot of risks. I'm surprised they went with killing off all the earths, and only letting the 7 paragons survive. I mean of course they're coming back, but it's a good way to keep the storyline more concise for the next episodes. There were some real surprises and twists this episode. I have to mention Earth 90's Flash. Since the last crossover I thought either Jay Garrick or he would die instead of Barry. It was pretty obvious to me, but I thought it was really well handled. The old Flash show never got a conclusion to his arc or character, and with this episode we finally got closure to his character. The flashback was definitely touching. Apart from that twist being predictable though, I thought there were some genuinely surprising twists. Evil Harbinger was fairly plausible, but the Anti Monitor actually winning like that, and only the 7 paragons surviving was definitely a surprise. And then what came after. Lex erasing Superman to become a Paragon was an awesome moment, and genuinely shocking. Though I hope this isn't the last we see of Routh's Superman, because that would be disappointing.
Now this episode has it's problems. There are many plot holes from things like the book of destiny or the monitor's powers, but I've come to expect these conveniences, contrivances, and holes from these crossovers, and shows in general. It does bring down the episode and crossover as a whole, but I've come to ignore it with these shows unless it becomes too stupid, or repetitive. There are always cheesy moments, and silliness on these crossovers, but the touching moments really balanced it out well. I mean if I'm being honest the entire episode doesn't make much sense. Like how can you track paragons? Why didn't The Monitor, or for that matter the Anti-Monitor, do this or that. I hope they have proper explanations for these things eventually because this will bring down the entire crossover significantly for me. Although I won't let it hurt this episode too much because of the pleasant surprise it was.
Overall, I am really happy with this episode. This is what I wanted Crisis On Infinite Earths to be. The first 2 episodes were definitely weak, and there were a lot of questionable decisions, but it seems they've brought the best outcomes from those decisions. It seems like this crossover is gearing up to be a strong one after that uneven start. The silliness, plot holes, and all those problems are still present in this crossover, but it's definitely made up by some strong emotional scenes, cameos, and big surprises.