The Flash S4 E.8 ‘Crisis on Earth-X Part 4’ Review (Spoilers)
Crisis on Earth-X is easily the biggest and best of The CW’s Arrowverse crossovers. As promised the four-part two-night crossover didn’t feel like four separate episodes for four different shows, but instead, it felt like a four-hour movie played out across 2 nights and four shows. The episodes picked right up where the last one left off and each episode not only advanced the plot of the crossover but advanced the plots of their individual shows seamlessly. I’m going to need the Arrowverse to do more crossovers like this one because it gave us some of the best comic book moments I’ve ever seen played out on live tv. I had to pinch myself when I came to the realization that I was literally watching The Flash, Supergirl, Vibe, Firestorm, The Atom, and many others battling Metallo with other heroes fighting in the background.
This weeks episode of the Flash operated as the 3rd part of the Crisis on Earth-X event. The episode opens up with the team waking up in a concentration camp on Earth X. Over the course of the entire crossover event I haven’t been a fan of the Nazi imagery or the concentration camp imagery, because I think in 2017 with everything that’s been going on that’s just not something you want to play fast and loose with. Especially when Nazi versions of Supergirl, The Flash, and Green Arrow are featured heavily. This episode introduces us to a Nazi general version of none other than Quentin Lance. The entire opening of the episode seems to be dedicated to giving us a glimpse at the bigotry and hatred that is literally the lifeblood of Earth X. We get a pretty nice moment where Earth 1 Sarah Lance stands up to the Nazi version of her father in relation to her bisexuality as well as for the other LGBTQ people in the camp. It’s during this scene that we are introduced to The Ray.
One of my absolute favorite parts of the episode comes when Wentworth Miller’s Leonard Snart makes an appearance as the savior of our heroes just before they are shot by a firing squad. The Earth X version of Snart is actually probably my favorite version of the character because he’s so charming and fun to watch. Miller’s has always been a fan favorite since he was introduced on the Flash and it was good to see him return for the crossover. His appearance was made even better by the fact that he was wearing the classic comic book Captain Cold glasses. Over the course of the episode, we find out that Snart and The Ray are actually in love with each other, and to be quite honest….theyre absolutely adorable.
The focus of the episode is trying to stop get the Earth 1 heroes through a portal that would return them home much to the protests of Earth X’s version of Win who happens to be a revolutionary. His focus is on blowing up the facility and the portal before Earth X Supergirl and Green Arrow can return back to Earth X. After much protest and after Alex pleading with him he allows the mission. After breaking in and defeating the majority of the Nazi’s inside the group once again comes under heavy fire. Everyone is pinned down and in a moment of self-sacrifice, Professor Stein decides to do everything he can make his way over to the manual switch and turn on the portal. However just as he is about to make it…….he is shot and the episode ends with us believing Professor Stein has taken his last breath.
The episode featured some pretty dope moments like The Ray and The Flash battling the Earth X version of Red Tornado, who by the way got a serious design overhaul. Another one of the shows most interesting moments is when Kara tells Eobard that her cousin, Superman, would find him and he then reveals that at some point in the future the two of them fight….and Eobard wins. Hopefully, at some point in the near future or maybe even the next crossover we can get Superman in on the action and we can see this battle come to fruition.
Overall the episode was pretty good and back on Earth 1 we get to see Iris and Felicity really pull through for Kara while Eobard and Nazi Oliver and Kara try to cut the heart out of our Kara. Iris and Felicity get just as much attention this episode as the superpowered characters and honestly, this is something that I wish the CW shows did more. Let Iris and Felicity be as crucial to the show as everyone else, having or not having powers shouldn’t be the determining factor in who is important.
I’d rate the episode a solid 9/10 not just as a crossover episode but as a Flash episode as well.
