#FlashxArrow Part One: The Flash Season 2, Episode 8 Review
Poor Cisco. That guy cannot catch a break.
Just when he and Kendra Saunders finally get to the "beautiful friends who kiss a lot" stage - Cisco's description, not mine - he vibes out that she's Hawkgirl and now she's being chased by this guy (Carter Hall/Hawkman) who wants her to jump off the roof of a building?
But then this other guy crashes their romantic dinner and he's the real killer? Vandal Savage, whose parents apparently hated him, with a name like that. He's already tried to kill the Hawks 206 times, which puts his knife-throwing skills in question.
This isn't crazy talk: it's The Flash.
The cast of Arrow comes to the rescue, but I'm not sure why because this seems to be a problem The Flash cast could've handled all on its own. Oh, right. It's because they need to introduce these new people and story lines for Legends of Tomorrow. To be fair, it's also the Flash/Arrow Fall Crossover Tradition.
A little bit like Thanksgiving. The whole family shows up and even though it's fun to see almost everyone, bad stuff inevitably happens.
(Having said that, I wouldn't have missed the Oliver/Felicity cocktail party for the world, nor the Felicity-isms sprinkled throughout the episode when the actually sane people on the show were about to kill each other. Only she can make life-and-death, hero-defying situations seem like just another day of bickering in the Arrow cave.)
Malcolm Merlyn - hello, John Barrowman! - and his henchman show up in person to deliver a warning about Vandal Savage that he could've just as easily sent with WhatsApp. Damian Dhark shows up, too, presumably to steal the chemical bomb that he could've ordered from Bombs 'R Us while Team Arrow was busy in "crazy town."
Add to the guest list Oliver's baby mama. We already knew from the season 1 crossover that Jitters is her coffee place, so we suspected she and Oliver would run into each other again in Central City this fall.
Now that Oliver and Felicity are a couple and the possibility of Oliver being a halfway decent father wouldn't be a punchline, it's the right time for him to meet his son and start hating his mother Moira all over again for lying to him.
And worrying that Felicity will react so badly she'll break up with him. Oh, Oliver. Just last week it was she who told you that you two were going to be fine. Give your honey some credit.
Still on Earth-1 but in a parallel storyline, Caitlin and Harry are getting a little too friendly - scientifically, I mean - in the lab. I get it that speed-enhancing drugs are the future to developing Barry's skills vs. Zoom (and hello again, Jay Garrick, the first test subject), but let's not forget the Earth-2/Dr. Wells backstory Harry is mixed up in.
Personally, I think this is the Killer Frost setup. Now that's a show I'd watch.
As I would the Barry and Oliver Show, even though Oliver isn't shooting Barry in the back anymore - "you heal fast" - to make a point, and they're not competing - "see, mine's faster" - in the parking garage like third graders.
We really have come full circle from the season 1 crossover, in which "Guys like us don't get the girl." Really? Barry is relishing this brotherly payback moment, but also genuinely happy to see Oliver so happy.
It's also not lost on Barry that it's Felicity who's giving those two guys relationship counseling!
The proof is right in front of you, Barry. Relationships in your line of work really can work. Speed right on over to the precinct and tell Patty you're The Flash. At this point, only she and Damian Darhk don't know your identity. Secret-keeping isn't a well-developed skill in your circle of friends.
I love crossover episodes, but let's be honest: this one was a hot mess. Too many people, too many plots, too much of everything. However, one crossover perk is that the writers have another whole hour the very next night to explain what doesn't quite track.
Although nothing that happens tonight or any night is going to change my mind about Vandal Savage. Yawn.
Vandal Savage in any other season of either show might have been scary. He's immortal, after all, and didn't even need the Lazarus Pit to do it. Problem is, he's competing with Zoom and Damian Dhark.
And comes up short. Literally.
