Legends of Tomorrow: Crisis on Earth-X, Part 4
November 28, 2017 7:56 PM - Season 3, Episode 8 - Subscribe

Barry and Iris' wedding brings the gang together, but things go awry when villains from Earth-X attack the ceremony. (Conclusion)

*In the conclusion of the crossover, Stein dies to save Jax, Overgirl goes supernova, Oliver kills his doppleganger, Flash lets Thawne go (because it's kill or nothing I guess, or just more of Barry Is Not Smart), all the Legends that weren't in parts 1-3 show up for the big final fight, The Ray goes back to Earth-X while Citizen Cold decides to stick around Earth-1 for a bit, and Iris & Barry and Felicity & Oliver get married in a park by Diggle.

IGN - Central City faces a Nazi invasion.

Den of Geek - DC TV Crossover 2017 - Crisis on Earth X Easter Eggs and References
posted by oh yeah! (23 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
* so much tears *

I DID NOT WANT THIS, CW. YOU COULD'VE JUST LET STEIN GO HOME ALIVE YOU FUCKING ASSHOLES.
posted by numaner at 2:12 AM on November 29, 2017 [9 favorites]


When they were all assembled on the steps of the Waverider I expected them to break out singing "We are the World."
posted by Catblack at 5:53 AM on November 29, 2017 [3 favorites]


Overall, this was a lot of fun, and I was impressed by the amount of stuff they were able to pack into it within the constraints of a TV budget, including Metallo and a better-looking Red Tornado than "Supergirl" was able to manage a couple of years back.

I'm somewhat disappointed that they chose to kill Stein, as the character could have just been retired, and I'm curious now as to what happens with Firestorm. They don't really seem to have the budget to show him powered-up every week, so I wonder if they will find some other, easier-and-cheaper-to-depict super-power or advanced tech for Jax to wield. (Maybe Ray Palmer could build him something?)

There's got to be something more to it, as I don't think Jax just being a good mechanic is enough to justify his continuing presence (within the show's continuity - clearly the producers like the actor and want him to stick around).

Agree completely that Barry just letting Thawne go was dumb - they couldn't have concocted some sort of emergency escape plan for him to use when cornered? Maybe the equivalent of a one-shot portal gun, for use only when about to be captured?

And if Wentworth Miller really wants out of playing Captain/Citizen Cold, why make a point at the end of the story about him deciding to stay on Earth-1? Wouldn't it have been simpler just to send him back to Earth X along with The Ray, and if they want to use the latter for future guest appearances back on Earth-1, he could justify not bringing Citizen Cold with him because "he's back home fighting what's left of the Nazi regime."

These are all minor nitpicks, though. My inner 10-year-old is quite happy today.
posted by Nat "King" Cole Porter Wagoner at 6:55 AM on November 29, 2017 [2 favorites]


When they were all assembled on the steps of the Waverider I expected them to break out singing "We are the World."

And what the hell was Dan Aykroyd doing there, too?
posted by Servo5678 at 7:53 AM on November 29, 2017 [4 favorites]


I'm pretty much with Nat "King" Cole Porter Wagner: this was a really fun crossover overall, but I have some notes.

Some thoughts:
* Killing Stein was wasteful.

I mean, they have a timeship, they can bring him back any time. Even so, you want to make it narratively simple for Victor Garber to be on your show, no matter what that show is. I thought everyone understood that rule.

* Thawne stuff was stupid.

Servo already talked about this in an earlier thread, but I also wanted to mention that I don't really buy Eobard Thawne throwing in with Nazis. We've seen what he's like when he wins: during the whole Legion of Doom arc, he's an asshole, but his vision of getting whatever he wanted wasn't really compatible with all this. Like, he might want to kill Barry, but his vision of ruling the world is more about him looking good than destroying life as everyone knows it.

Also, handwaving his reappearance with time travel doesn't really wash because *Barry* didn't kill him, the Black Racer did. I mean, he was taken out by a zombie speedster at the behest of the Speed Force - going to that well is different than bringing back someone like Darkh.

* I appreciate that Supergirl/Overgirl are consistently depicted as stronger than everyone else put together.

This was probably my favorite thing about the last crossover: watching the entire combined team's firepower bounce harmlessly off of Kara during practice. This time, it was fun to watch stuff like Barry and The Ray desperately throw everything they had at Red Tornado, an opponent Kara completely destroyed solo.

* Sara/Alex was a very thoughtful pairing.

At first, the two of them having a one night stand was hilarious, ("How's your butt?" about killed me), but seeing them interact over the course of the crossover was really nice. Alex basically features the only relationship drama I enjoy in the CW-DC universe, so this shouldn't have surprised me.

* Good use of a lot of characters.

In particular, they're going the 'Hulk' route with Killer Frost, which is exactly what I've been vocally wishing for. I also love any scene where Mick Rory says anything at all, and he was great the entire crossover. (Shaking hands with Singh and being all, 'I *hate* cops!' was probably my favorite bit, but it was all gold. I've got to start calling anachronisms 'cronies.')

* Any storyline that returns Wentworth Miller is aces with me.

Losing Garber was a blow, but gaining Miller was encouraging - he was a large part of my sticking with Legends during its terrible, awful, no-good S1. Having him back when the show is awesome? Count me in.

So... yeah. Largely good stuff. I'm looking forward to more, and I'm reconsidering maybe picking up Arrow.
posted by mordax at 11:03 AM on November 29, 2017 [3 favorites]


I'm trying to figure out when Thawne had the time to go do this Earth-X stuff. So far I've come up with the idea that when Thawne was in disguise as Earth-1 Wells in 2014-15, he had to be friendly and helpful which really grated on him, so sometimes he would zip off through time and the multiverse (small jumps only since his speed is diminished) to go do some really evil, reprehensible stuff to get it all out of his system before he had to go back to STAR Labs and be Barry's mentor some more. When Barry let him go at the end of this story, he went back to 2014 and sat down in the wheelchair again. Nobody missed him since he was only gone for a second or two. That's my headcanon and I'm sticking to it.

But yeah, I didn't like how Thawne was used in this story. Without some handwaving, his actions don't fit his established personality and goals. Aside from what mordax covered, Thawne also told Ray Palmer in the Apollo 13 episode of Legends that he legitimately enjoyed working with Cisco and Caitlin, but in this story he said that he hated every minute he spent in STAR Labs as Harrison Wells.
posted by Servo5678 at 11:32 AM on November 29, 2017 [4 favorites]


I've got the biggest, most embarrassing—I'm a middle-aged man, for the love of god, this is just all too silly—crush on both Wentworth Miller and Russell Tovey, so seeing them together left me all a-flutter.

I haven't kept up with these series that much the past few years, but Stein's death, though sad, seemed kind of awesome too. I liked the fact it was a jewish man kicking nazi ass while he did it. If you're gonna go out in style, that's certainly one way. I hope his family knows just how badass his sacrifice was in the bigger picture—he saved Earth 1 from nazis, how cool is that! He's never been portrayed as a physically brave man that I remember, so seeing him gather his resolve and simply be heroic, even at the expense of his life, felt extra poignant.
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 11:57 AM on November 29, 2017 [4 favorites]


Aside from what mordax covered, Thawne also told Ray Palmer in the Apollo 13 episode of Legends that he legitimately enjoyed working with Cisco and Caitlin, but in this story he said that he hated every minute he spent in STAR Labs as Harrison Wells.

Also very true. Really, I would've been happier if he'd just been Earth-X Thawne. That's the characterization we got, and it would've made a ton more sense.

I've got the biggest, most embarrassing—I'm a middle-aged man, for the love of god, this is just all too silly—crush on both Wentworth Miller and Russell Tovey, so seeing them together left me all a-flutter.

I was so happy to see Cold portrayed as gay here, especially having read a bit about Miller. (For that matter, this crossover made it hit me that two of these shows have badass gay women in positions of authority, which is awesome.)

I liked the fact it was a jewish man kicking nazi ass while he did it. If you're gonna go out in style, that's certainly one way.

This is a fair point - Stein's heroic sacrifice was pretty badass.
posted by mordax at 12:18 PM on November 29, 2017 [3 favorites]


I was pretty bummed about Stein's death last night. Alias was the show that made me a Victor Garber fan - I mean, I'd seen him in things before that, but I don't think he'd made it past "Hey, it's that guy" recognition-level in my brain until he was "Spy Daddy" Jack Bristow. I adored that show when it started, and it went so far downhill at the end that I quit watching 3 episodes before the finale because it became painfully clear that I was never going to get the 'Sydney, Spy Daddy, and Spy Mom live happily ever after' resolution that I wanted. So not getting a happy reunion/retirement for Stein had a little extra sting to it.

But, I have to agree that, as Arrowverse deaths go, it didn't seem as arbitrary and preventable as other character deaths. It seemed more organic to the story, rather than something entirely designed to be a source of angsty 'man-pain'. Though I did feel put off by Clarissa and Lily having to do emotional labor for Jax at the funeral. (Also a kinda weirded out by the Star of David being on the casket -- I'm not a 'good Jew', or even Jewish at all by most standards since my mother's mother was Catholic and I never went to Hebrew school or converted to make up for the non-matrilineal thing, but, the majority of funerals I've been to have been Jewish funerals, and as far as I know the coffin is always supposed to be a plain wooden box. Seeing dirt shoveled onto the symbol felt wrong, like leaving the flag on a casket instead of folding it up before the casket is lowered.)
posted by oh yeah! at 7:20 PM on November 29, 2017 [3 favorites]


Aside from the typical Arrowverse quibbles I found the crossover highly entertaining. I would have loved to have seen Barry needing to ask DeVoe for help ("Your issues with me won't matter if the Earth X Nazis kill us.") or Black Siren coming to rescue Oliver at some point.
posted by plastic_animals at 9:57 AM on November 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


I find it officially weird that the leads of Flash and Arrow had their wedding ceremony shown on this other show. Even in crazy crossover-mad print comics land you'd never see that. It'd be in their own books or some sort of special.
posted by phearlez at 11:06 AM on November 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


Aside from the typical Arrowverse quibbles I found the crossover highly entertaining. I would have loved to have seen Barry needing to ask DeVoe for help ("Your issues with me won't matter if the Earth X Nazis kill us.") or Black Siren coming to rescue Oliver at some point.

Man, now I really want the heroes and villains to team up for next year's crossover to solve an outside-context problem. Barry and Eobard need to put aside their mutual hatred for the greater good, Sara and Damien Darhk show us what that League of Assassins training can really do...
posted by Servo5678 at 12:04 PM on November 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


That was everything a crossover should be: action, mega team-ups, unwanted/unexpected character death (they really didn't need to kill Stein), introduction of a new character (The Ray), shoehorning in some cameos, a few good one-on-one character moments, and a nice happy ending. I don't really see how they're going to top that, unless they add Black Lightning to the same universe (which they say they won't) and make it a five-night event. Even then, this will be tough to beat. Apparently, Amell agrees. I read something that he was speculating that next year, if they do this again, they may go smaller and be more character driven.

I have some quibbles about Kara X's solar disease and about the fact the writers never understood Firestorm (or realized that even from a distance he could have transmuted Metallo's kryptonite power source into Jello and wiped him off the bard). Also, like everybody else the whole Thawn thing doesn't make doesn't make sense to me, plus the CGI was a bit shoddy, but taken on balance those issues barely register against what the four production teams managed to achieve.

And yes, as a rapidly aging comic (and especially DC fan) this is the kind of thing that we would have never expected to see back when we were buying issues off of spin-racks in the drug store.
posted by sardonyx at 4:38 PM on November 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


Yeah, I wanted Stein to have a happy retirement too. Sigh. But you gotta milk the drama and he went out pretty well. I do wonder what they do with Jax now though. Poor guy.

Cisco's pop culture references! EarthX Rory went out saving cops! Snart's plans!

Nthing "don't let him go, come on." Also, why wasn't this Thawne/Wells just the EarthX version again? Made no sense.

I love me some Snart, but all of his "I'm gonna hang it up" talk makes me fear that he's just going to get killed off now. Please do not kill him off but just send him to EarthX to boink his cute boyfriend, pppleeeeeaaaaase.

And the double wedding (while being on Legends is a bit strange) was just adorable. I kvelled, especially at Olicity.

Overall I really liked this as a 4-hour movie, especially most of the end.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:10 PM on November 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


I find it officially weird that the leads of Flash and Arrow had their wedding ceremony shown on this other show.

I also thought this. But I suppose because they wanted to do a joint wedding, it'd be... unbalanced(?) to have it in either show, so they picked a third party. In which case they really should've let Sara officiate. Afaik any Captain of a ship can marry people, right? If it has to be on the ship they can just jump on real quick for that.
posted by numaner at 1:53 PM on December 1, 2017


I like that *everybody* is with me about Stein's death: booooo!
posted by Pronoiac at 8:37 PM on December 2, 2017 [1 favorite]


This was fun! I've never even heard of Legends of Tomorrow but watched it on the crossover from Arrow. I love Victor Garber and thought his demise in this episode was beautiful and moving. A big part of that success was Franz Drameh playing opposite him. That was a tough role to sell and he pulled it off. I'm glad he's not going to be sticky spider person, too.

Also really intrigued by Dominic Purcell. I mean he's just such a ridiculous character in the show, do they make that work week by week? Got a chuckle out of the Prison Break reunion with Wentworth Miller.

Anyway now I'm intrigued and want to watch more Legends of Tomorrow. Should I just start at the beginning? I saw a reference up thread to the "terrible, awful, no-good S1". I watch Arrow for its mix of schlock and fun soap opera so I'm OK with some cheese, but if it's really terrible should I skip it and start in season 2?
posted by Nelson at 7:46 AM on December 3, 2017


any Captain of a ship can marry people, right?

There are no laws that "automatically" grant captains this right.
posted by Pendragon at 8:13 AM on December 3, 2017


Anyway now I'm intrigued and want to watch more Legends of Tomorrow. Should I just start at the beginning? I saw a reference up thread to the "terrible, awful, no-good S1". I watch Arrow for its mix of schlock and fun soap opera so I'm OK with some cheese, but if it's really terrible should I skip it and start in season 2?

Go ahead and start with S1 - the main problems with S1 was mainly they had an uninteresting villain and no chemistry between the Hawks, but it probably isn't annoying in a binge-watch as it was week to week, and there are a bunch of fun moments throughout.
posted by oh yeah! at 8:23 AM on December 3, 2017 [1 favorite]


More than anything else, IMNSHO, S1 suffers from the show not yet deciding it's just gonna go ahead and be willing to pick fun over any other concerns. So I think if you watch S1 and think "I hate this with every fiber of my being," you're not gonna have a good time even in S2. If you watch it and think eh, has some fun people and fights but could be better then I think you'll appreciate S2 all the more for watching them try to figure their shit out.

And really, if you watch the first two episodes and don't feel like it's good enough to mess with, just jump to S2. The nice thing about declaring completeness bankruptcy is that you can do it at any time.
posted by phearlez at 9:09 AM on December 3, 2017 [1 favorite]


I'd add that Legends S2 means more if you've been watching Arrow and Flash all this time. I'd say more, but spoilers...
posted by Servo5678 at 2:57 PM on December 3, 2017 [1 favorite]


any Captain of a ship can marry people, right?

There are no laws that "automatically" grant captains this right.


The military should just require anyone attaining the rank of Captain to be ordained. I will gladly have my taxes go towards that.
posted by numaner at 2:54 PM on December 5, 2017


Nelson,
Don't know if you're still reading this thread, but this week's episode is a perfect follow-up to the crossover, and it's a not bad point for jumping into the series. I think you'd be well served to watch it to get a feel for what it's currently like now and how much time you want to invest in it.
posted by sardonyx at 8:24 PM on December 6, 2017 [1 favorite]


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