We did it! We made it through another crossover! And even though, as always, Supergirl felt sidelined, even in her own episode, I think this was my favorite crossover yet. So let’s dive into it, because there was a lot to unpack.

Previously on the SuperFlarrow Crossover Event called Elseworlds, Oliver and Barry switched bodies but no one else on Earth-1 could tell so they went to Earth-38 to get Supergirl’s help. An all-powerful being called The Monitor gave a not-so-powerful human named Deegan a book that could rewrite reality to test out to see if this universe was ready to face something bad that’s coming. Oliver, Barry, and Kara enlisted the help of Batwoman, but the Monitor just hit the reset button as soon as they reached the big boss level. Rude.

Just like Barry took over Oliver’s opening credits, Deegan took over Supergirl’s, telling his own origin story, about how he was working in Arkham until he was given the power to do whatever he wanted. And now he’s the Superman in all black Oliver and Barry ran into at the end of the last episode.

And so there we pick up, with Dark Superman facing off against the adorably named Trigger Twins in their cute little matching cravats. I kept wanting them to burst into Greased Lightning or something. I was a big fan of their outfits. ANYWAY, they figure out that Dark Superman is actually Deegan and tell him that he can dress like a hero but he can’t fake being a hero. Deegan is determined though, so Oliver gives him his chance by knocking over a tower, forcing Deegan to choose between saving the children or stopping Barry and Oliver. He decides to play the part so Oliver and Barry book it. (Barry adorably hates being bad; it gives him a tummy ache.)

Dark Superman goes back to Star Labs, which is now more like SuperLabs, and has Diggle and The Meta Formerly Known As Killer Frost in tactical gear, applauding their leader.

I love Caitlin, I do, but I LOVE Frost and wish she could be with us more often.

An agent comes in to tell them of a disturbance in the cells, and Frost says it’s Subject 1, who has been fussy all morning, but Dark Superman says he’ll handle it. Subject 1 turns out to be Kara, who can tell from the look on Deegan’s face it’s not her cousin, even though they technically have the same face.

“You might be able to fool my x-ray vision but not my HEART.”

Kara asks him why he’s playing Superman and he says that in the first go-round he wanted to be The Flash, but then he saw her in action and knew she was the superior hero. She challenges him then, wanting to know why he choose Superman’s face, not her own. “Too afraid to be a woman?” she asks him, and it’s a miracle it didn’t shatter his male ego and save the day right then and there.

He ignores her question though and points out that she technically doesn’t exist on this Earth. So there’s no one to stop him from being a hero. Kara gets fired up but all of a sudden her ears are ringing, and it’s because Agent Alex Danvers is there bringing the pain.

I mean this IS kind of typical big sister behavior.

Alex threatens her and talks to her like she’s a stranger, or worse, an enemy, and Kara looks back at her like Alex just threatened to kill her pet bunny.

“Et tu, sestra?”

Deegan sees this exchange and realizes Kara must know Alex on her Earth; he didn’t even plan that one. But he uses it to his advantage, saying that Kara better behave or he’ll kill Alex.

Oliver and Barry decide they need to go find Cisco so he can breach them to Earth-38 so they can get the real Superman and sort all this out. But on their way to find Cisco, they get scooped up by The Monitor. Oliver demands he tell them what the heck is going on, and The Monitor reads him as willing (though not eager) to die. Which is intriguing to him. He says that survival will be found if they can know their true selves, which is exactly the kind of riddle-tastic bullshit I expected him to say.

So Barry and Oliver restart their mission to find Cisco, and since everything in this reality is flipped on its head, Cisco is probably one of the bad guys, too. So they head to a baddie bar and find Gary bartending. Because of course he is. And even though he’s technically a bad guy, he’s still Gary at his core, nerding out about seeing his favorite criminals. (Even calls them Legends. Ba dum kss.)

Gary leads the boys back to Cisco aka The Boss, who is counting money and looking more serious than our Cisco ever dares.

At SuperLabs, Kara calls out to Alex and tries to reason with her. Alex says she’s heard about horrible, evil things Kara has done, but Kara promises that isn’t true, that none of this is real. But Alex won’t listen.

“Sorry, can you repeat that, I couldn’t hear you because of the wig.”

At the Bad Bar, Oliver and Barry fight Cisco’s henchpeople, lead by James Olsen. Who I’m pretty sure called himself, “Superman’s Worst Pal” and honestly if I’m wrong don’t correct me because I got a good hearty chuckle out of it.

Before James can kill Barry and Oliver, Barry uses his knowledge of Cisco’s brother to get him to at least hear them out. They think he’ll like their plan: to get rid of Superman. But they need Cisco’s breaches (which he has thus far only been using to rob banks) to do it.

Back at SuperLabs, Frost tries to get Alex to go home early, kick back, relax, maybe go on a date. Frost asks her if she has any boyfriends, and an eavesdropping Kara is confused. Alex says she doesn’t have a boyfriend, just went on one bad date or two with a guy from another department. Frost tells Alex to let loose and is maybe almost sort of flirting with her? But also that’s sort of Frost’s whole ~thing.

Are your lips naturally blue or is it because you’re dead inside?

She warns Alex about letting her heart turn to ice, but Alex would really rather work. Frost shrugs and leaves her to it, and Alex watches her leave in what could be a, “Wow she almost found out my secret,” way or a, “Damn I wish I had been brave enough to use that opening to ask her out” look. Either way, we have a very unhappy Alex on our hands.

Honestly “unhappy but still gay” is a 2018 mood.

Oliver, Barry, and Cisco breach to Earth-38 and find themselves in the Fortress of Solitude, where I guess Superman and Lois Lane hang out sometimes. Anyway, Lois knows Superman has got to go, so go he does.

Back in the SuperLab cell, Kara tries to talk to Alex but Alex zaps her again.

This reminds me of the age-old gag of pointing the remote at your siblings and shouting things like “Mute!” or “Off!”

But this time she’s stopped when Kara starts speaking in another language. Kara tells her it’s a phrase Alex Danvers taught to her in her reality, a phrase that means “pinky swear” that Alex taught her the first night they went flying together.

“Sometimes she punches people right in their stupid face. Also she has a motorcycle!”

Kara tells this Alex that her Alex is similar to her in some ways, drawn to service, for example. But that her Alex is in charge. She’s a leader. Kara says that her Alex won’t just follow orders if she knows they’re wrong, she’ll “give them hell” and do what she believes is right. Her Alex doesn’t have powers, but she’s a hero with a big-ass heart. She has a found family, and she doesn’t have to hide who she is.

Alex is quiet now, looking at this stranger who is telling her things about herself she wishes she could see, too. Kara looks Alex in the eyes and says confidently that her Alex wants a wife and kids, and is optimistic that she’ll find them. It’s not an if, but a when.

“Are you saying she kisses the girls she wants to kiss?!”

Alex is a little floored by this but tries not to look too shaken. But Chyler plays the subtlety so well. Her eyes never leave Kara but there’s this intake of breath and you can feel it knocking one of her walls clean over. Being able to talk about it in the third person helps too, this is some other Alex she’s talking about, she says that Kara’s Alex sounds pretty awesome, and I think we can all agree she is.

ALL VERSIONS OF ALEX DANVERS SHOULD HAVE SOMEONE TO HUG THEM WHEN THEIR FACE DOES THIS

Kara says that she might not be Alex’s sister in this reality, but she can tell that there’s still all the best parts of Alex in her. And it’s true; Alex was always Alex. Kara didn’t change her, not at her core. But when Kara came into her life, she gave her a fierce maternal instinct and sense of responsibility that might have taken longer to develop otherwise. Watching Kara come into her own as Supergirl (and helping her do so) gave Alex stepping stones to do the same. Having Kara there to test coming out on, even if it didn’t go the way she hoped the first time, having Kara there to hold her when she got her heart broken for the first time, having Kara at the dinner table when she wanted to come out to her mother. These were all factors in Alex becoming the Alex we know and love today. Maybe she would have gotten there eventually on her own, but why risk it with a Kara-less existence?

Alex asks Kara if she’ll really stop Dark Superman if she lets her out, and Kara pinky swears. So Alex agrees.

I love how everyone else totally flip flopped — good to evil, evil to good — but Alex stayed true to who she is.

They start to make their escape, but before they can get too far, they’re stopped by Dark Superman and his crew. Frost snarks at Alex in a way that sort of implies she thinks she broke Kara out of her cell to take her on a date? It’s a little unclear but it’s Frost snark so I’ll take it.

tfw you thought a girl rejected you because she was straight then you see her on a date with another girl

Kara starts to cover for her, saying she tricked her, that it was her idea, but Alex steps in and says, firmly, “She’s my sister.”

When the boys get back from Star Labs with Superman in tow, they’re just about finishing telling him that they have no idea where Kara is when who do they run into but Kara. And also Alex. And everyone they’re facing. Fighting ensues! The Supermen fly off together, Cisco breaches back to safety, Oliver draggs Diggle and Frost into an elevator to fight them, leaving Barry alone with Kara and Alex.

And hilariously, Alex immediately attacks Barry. Barry’s not even mad about it, calling her a “badass in every reality” before Kara calls her off. Once she’s convinced Barry is a good guy, Alex leads them to Dark Superman’s Fortress of Solitude which is what we know as the Time Vault. They find the book in there, and Kara tries to open it so she can fix reality.

“So. many. porn. pop-ups.”

But unfortunately, she can’t do it and it looks a little like it’s trying to suck her brain out. They think it might be because she’s still weak from the power dampeners in her cell.

Alex says they can’t stay or they’ll get caught, so Kara decides to take the book to her cousin for help. When Superman gets the book, he opens it, and at first it seems like he’s fixing reality, but then Dark Superman grabs Barry and threatens to kill him if Superman doesn’t stop. Oliver appears, equipped with his Green Arrow suit, a kryptonite arrow notched and ready.

But Barry doesn’t want that. He doesn’t want another death on Oliver’s conscience, not because of him. He calls to Oliver, telling him that he doesn’t have to channel his darkness, that he can be better. So Oliver puts the kryptonite arrow down.

Unfortunately, this means Dark Superman has an opening to grab the book and fly away.

Alex has more questions about this whole rewriting reality stuff, and Kara does her best to explain. But she reassures Alex that no matter what, deep down, she’s still Alex. Alex recognizes that it must be this open-hearted but strong, bold but kind woman who helped this other version of herself. She says, “Your sister is a very lucky woman,” and Kara responds that she’s a lucky sister. The Danvers sisters will save us all.

I’m pretty sure even Frost’s heart would be melted by this kid sister smile.

Alex, in her Alexy way, knows Kara will save the world, and Kara flies off to do just that.

Deegan is working hard to change reality again, and Barry says that if he and Supergirl go around the earth enough times they can slow down time. Superman says he saw in the book that they’ll burn up and die if they do this, but Barry and Kara have to try because of who they are as people. So they zip off together.

Oliver smashes his way back to The Monitor and yells at him to cut this shit out. The Monitor thinks it’s funny that Oliver is barking orders at a godlike being but Oliver is determined. He says the Monitor told them they had to know who they were, and he does. He’s full of darkness. But you know what else he knows? Barry and Kara aren’t. That’s right, Oliver “Oliver First” Queen is actually defending and complimenting other people. Calling them good, calling them better. It’s truly a groundbreaking achievement. He says Barry and Kara inspire hope, and that they’re the best of us and that they can’t die. The Monitor is impressed. But he demands balance.

Back in the chaos, Deegan is still holding the book when the real Superman comes to fight him. Things are looking bleak when all of a sudden, Lois Lane shows up to save the day. With a cosmic anvil hammer.

Sure, why not.

Also with Brainy and J’onn in tow.

Lois uses the hammer to get the book away from Deegan, and he retaliates, sending her flying through the air. Luckily, just then is when Kara and Barry successfully slow down time, despite the fact that their precious lil faces are burning up.

During this period of slowness, Oliver shoots the book with an arrow, and Superman catches Lois Lane, just like he always does.

“Remember the one time Supergirl caught Lena Luthor like this?”

Supergirl and Flash stop burning up, the book looks burnt to a crisp, and Deegan is starting to look like his comic book alter ego, Doctor Destiny, with a mummified looking face.

Kara and Barry return to their friends and Oliver is pleased. Goodness prevailed.

I know this isn’t the best screenshot in the world but I LOVE THE SUPERFRIENDS SO MUCH OKAY

The team heads back to Star Labs and Kara and Barry mock Oliver for smiling, not knowing the sweet, gentle things he said about them. Cisco opens a breach and sends the folks from Earth-28 home, and Kara says, “Peace out,” which makes me laugh because usually aliens are saying “We come in peace.”

Everyone else: *is tired and suffering from existential dread*
Kara: Who wants ice cream?!

Back on Earth 38, Smallville, Kara is saying goodbye to Clark as she gets ready to head back to National City. Clark tells her that regardless of what happens with the DEO, she’s still a hero, and Alex will always, always have her back. He reminds her that she’s so much stronger than him, and not in an accusatory way. He’s proud of his little older cousin, and he knows that the world is in good hands as long as she’s in its skies looking out for it.

Which is why he feels okay with his decision, and finishes telling her that news he was going to tell her back in Part 1 of this crossover.

“Can you make this quick, I’ve got to go tell Lena and Alex about this billionaire I met.”

Lois and Clark are having a baby!

And since it’s going to be a half-Kryptonian baby, they decided it’s best to go to Argo so the yellow sun doesn’t cause the fetus to claw its own way out of Lois’s stomach like a whole different type of Alien. They’ll live on Argo indefinitely, but like he said, Earth-38 is in good hands.

In fact, Lois interjects, it might even be safer because women are statistically better in a crisis than men. Which I guess is a fact that the writers learned at the end of this crossover script.

Also, are we getting an Argo spinoff with this Superman and this Lois Lane? Because we spent a lot of time in the Fortress of Solitude with just the two of them and Clark proposed and it was all sweet and cute but they already established they were leaving, so unless they’re planning on a spinoff, I’m not sure what the point of this was exactly. But it’s cute! It’s cute. I like Lois Lane. And wouldn’t mind seeing her be an investigative reporter on another planet.

Sure! Why not?!

Back on Earth-1, Central City, Oliver and Barry bond about how much they’ve learned by stepping into each other’s costumes. Oliver calls Barry a good man, and that he’s inspired to be better, and honestly if this is a turning point in Arrow, it could really do that show a lot of favors.

Their bro sesh is interrupted by a phone call: it’s Batwoman! She’s mad.

Say what you will, but Ruby Rose pulls off “hot and mad” rull good.

Deegan is in Arkham but the guy in the gold mask has been whispering through the cell walls, and those two together will surely end in chaos. Which I guess we’ll see on her potential new series.

The very last shot of this crossover event is a title screen that says something (I imagine another crossover?) called Crisis on Infinite Earths, coming our way in Fall 2019.

Overall I thought this crossover was very fun. Introducing a new problem for the crossover and having it more evenly span all three shows felt more successful and seamless this time around. Of course I’ll always want more women than they feature, but as much as I could have gone without two Supermen, I do like this actor who plays Clark on Supergirl so it didn’t end up being as obnoxious as it could have been. I loved the alternate realities and the heartfelt Kara/Alex moments, and I’m continually proud of them for exceeding my low, low bar and talking about queer stuff even on these crossovers when people who only watch Arrow or The Flash might not be expecting it. And I liked Batwoman a helluvalot more than I thought I would.

So now we rest our weary heads for a little over a month, and we’ll return with what will hopefully be an Alex-filled back half of Supergirl Season Four.

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