Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Arrow and The Flash Crossover Part 1: "Legends of Today" (2x08)

Last week, the DC world saw the second epic Arrow and The Flash crossover event: Heroes Join Forces. Together, Barry and Oliver must find a way to defeat an ancient enemy in order to save new friends--and begin the round-up of DC's Legends of Tomorrow (airing in January of 2016).

Let's find out what happened in part one: "Legends of Today."


The episode begins with Caitlin and Harry measuring Barry's speed. No matter how much he pushes himself, he is still too slow to fight Zoom. (Zoom is three to four times faster.) Caitlin and Harry team up to figure out a solution to his speed force problem.

At night, a ship docks. The crew finds a stowaway and brings him to the dock officer. The stowaway is found with a coat full of ugly knives--and a personal vendetta to hunt someone down. He manages to slip out of his handcuffs and places them on the dock officer...with magic. He then proceeds to kill the crew and dock officer, saying:
"Soon the sacrifice will be made." 

Joe, Patty, and Barry look over photos from the dock slaughter. Barry analyzes that the murders were performed by one man only. Meanwhile, Cisco and Kendra meet after hours at the coffee shop for a dinner date. (Oh, she's going to break his heart.) However, the mystical, murder man promptly interrupts, calling Kendra "Priestess Shayera." He pulls out his knives and threatens them. Cisco sends a distress signal to Barry, who arrives just in time to knock the dude off his feet. He manages to stop a knife from lodging into Cisco's chest, who then reveals to Kendra, on accident, that Barry Allen is the Flash. (Good one, Cisco. Good thing she's a hero.)

They take her to STAR Labs, where they discuss the guy and his fancy knives. They decide to take her to Star City in order to get help from Team Arrow, since they're more experienced with "magic." However, Team Arrow is fighting their own battles. Damien Darhk is killing people and taking bombs. Team Arrow arrives to fight them off.


During the fight, Darhk grabs Oliver's chest and starts to... heart choke him? But Barry--as the Flash--arrives in time to zoom Ollie out of the way. When they've re-grouped, Thea is surprised that they know the Flash (That's what you get for ditching your brother and hanging out with Malcolm Merlyn). Barry asks for their help.


They take Barry, Cisco, and Kendra back to the new Arrow bunker. Barry comments on Oliver's new suit: "Won't you get cold?" Felicity greets Barry with enthusiasm while Cisco complains they set up the new bunker design completely wrong. They introduce Kendra.
Cisco: "She's my new, beautiful friend, who kisses me occasionally."
(Cisco, I love you. Please don't change. Please.)

They get started on the investigation of the mystical, murder man. They find a picture of him from the 70s, which would make him over 80 years old, yet he hasn't aged a day. Team Arrow bombard Kendra with questions she can't answer. This upsets both Cisco and Barry, which results in Oliver getting mad. In order to appease the argument, Felicity steps in to calm everybody down by inviting them to their apartment to relax and rest.

Meanwhile, Caitlin and Harry work on a speed force drug, which should be able to temporarily enhance Barry's speed. Harry's been trying to complete it for years, but he doesn't have the knowledge to do so. Luckily--or maybe not so luckily?--Caitlin has the knowledge.

In Oliver and Felicity's apartment, Cisco tries to convince Thea to let him re-name her. Felicity and Barry catch-up, discussing the not-so-dead Ray Palmer, the appearance of Jay Garrick, and Patty. Barry and Oliver also chat, making up after their little spat in the bunker.
Barry: "Didn't you tell me the hero doesn't get the girl?"
Oliver: "I was wrong."

Barry reassures Cisco, who then reveals to him his "vibe" of Kendra as Hawkgirl (Squeeee!). He's worried if he mentions it to her, he'll sabotage what they have. She is very special to him: she laughs at his jokes and she loves movies. (So cute. This is going to end terribly.) Then the mystical murder man crashes through the window and threatens to kill them. He tosses an array of knives toward them, but Barry knocks them out of the air. Oliver shoots the man, but he catches the arrows in his hand. They fight. Thea then shoots an arrow into his throat. He falls backwards out the window. But when they look for the body, he's gone.


Oliver enlists Detective Lance to dig up anything on their mystical man. Cisco reveals to Kendra--and the rest of Team Arrow--his powers in order to get more info on the mystical man.
Felicity: "A. You're a meta-human. And B. She's one too?"
Then, Malcolm Merlyn makes his timely arrival (surprise, surprise.) He announces he knows more to what is going on, of course. Caitlin and Harry finalize the speed drug. Jay Garrick arrives just in time--courtesy of Harry--to test the drug. He's not happy. (Is he ever?) He says no one can mess with the speed force. He warns Caitlin not to give to Barry before leaving again. Harry doesn't agree, but instead, he leaves STAR Labs to gather the materials they need to make the speed force serum. Patty spots Harry while he's outside.

Merlyn explains the mystical man is Vandal Savage, an immortal who has been at the side of every great leader in the past. He also says there's no way to save Kendra; she's locked in a cycle. Barry, however, doesn't agree. Cisco chases after Kendra, who left the bunker to clear her head, to talk to her about everything. He shares his experience of discovering his powers.
Cisco: "Every day gets a little bit more normal."
Then, a man with wings pops out of the sky, grabs Kendra, and flies away. Team Arrow and Flash search Star City for Kendra. "Birdman" drops Kendra on the roof of a building, calling her "Priestess Shayera." She starts to have a memory flash of another time, another place. She's still confused. He asks her to trust him and flies off. But Oliver catches visuals of him flying and shoots at him. He lands; they fight. Barry arrives to help. Together, Oliver and Barry capture him and rescue Kendra.


Caitlin tries to convince Harry not to give Barry the serum, but he, of course, still won't agree. Then Patty, who followed Harry, arrives at STAR Labs and tries to arrest him. When Harry doesn't comply--and tries to explain that he's not that Harrison Wells--she shoots him. Caitlin rushes into the room. She tells Patty to call Joe, not 911. She does.

Team Arrow and Team Flash have the "Birdman" (aka Carter Hall) tied up, with a lot of chains, in the bunker. He demands to be released so he can save his one true love, Kendra. He explains who they are: partners for 4000 years. They are always drawn to each other in every lifetime, and Vandal Savage always hunts them. If he kills them, he becomes stronger. Merlyn gives more info on Savage, who is trying to locate the staff of Horus.
Cisco: "Since when did our lives suddenly become an Indiana Jones movie?"
Joe arrives in STAR Labs, tells Patty to leave, and goes to find Jay at Caitlin's request. It's the only way to save Harry.

Carter tells Kendra to jump off a building in order to "merge" as Hawkgirl. She tells Barry and Cisco, who don't like the idea, that she has to try. However, when she gets up on the ledge, Carter pushes her off. Barry is able to catch her before she hits the ground. He gets mad, but Oliver talks to Barry to convince him to let Kendra jump. However, Oliver just then figures out the staff must be in Central City since Kendra said she felt drawn to the city. Barry and Oliver head to Central to locate the staff.


Jay arrives in STAR Labs and takes the speed force serum so he can remove the bullet from Harry. It works. Harry wakes up. Jay vows to never take his serum again. He tells him to keep the drug away from Barry.

Cisco and Kendra sit on the rooftop. He tries to reassure her but she says she needs to do it by herself. So, she jumps. And she flies.


Oliver and Barry go to a cathedral where the staff is held. But Savage got there first. They fight: magic, speed force, arrows. Savage slams the staff down, which creates an explosion. Barry zooms Oliver out just before the building collapses.
Barry: "So that's like a tie, right?"
They hang out in Central City to decide their next  move. They go to the cafe, Oliver admiring the Flash coffee drink. A boy drops his Flash action figure on the ground; Oliver scoops down to give it back. He looks up to watch the boy greet a lady, presumably his mother; the woman is the girl, Samantha Clayton, that Moira Queen bribed to lie to Oliver about her pregnancy ten years earlier.


My thoughts:

This episode brought two of my favorite shows together again. The action was fun, the plot kept me riveted to my computer screen, and the character interactions were perfect. Thea and Cisco win the award of having the best lines. There were many great moments: Kendra flying, the fight sequence with Carter, the ending!!! Plus, Jay Garrick returned, so this is one happy fangirl.

A lot was packed into the first part of the crossover event. Things can only get better, right?

Onward to part two...


What did you think of "Legends of Today"? 

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