The CWNever before did we realize how badly we needed some superheroes to swap...bodies? Minds? Identities?
It's sort of unclear so far what's actually happening here or why or what other swap movie or show we (or any of the characters) can compare this to, but all we can say after seeing the first part of the latest Arrow/Flash/Supergirl crossover is that we've never laughed so hard. We've also perhaps never before geek-gasped as hard as we did when the camera panned over the actual Kent farm from Smallville while the actual Smallville theme song played.
Did we even love Smallville as much as we felt like we did during that transition? We genuinely don't remember, but regardless, that little nod was incredible.
Anyway, we're getting ahead of ourselves. Let's break this whole thing down with the night's best moments!
The whole thing started with Oliver waking up in Barry and Iris' bed and slowly realizing that he was now apparently Barry Allen, and even had Barry's powers. Iris just thought he was acting weird because he was tired and not getting enough sleep because of Cicada, so he ran (literally) to find Oliver/the real Barry to help him sort it out.
Team Flash, unfortunately, did not believe their story that Barry was Oliver and Oliver was Barry, and under Iris' orders, Barry and Oliver got knocked out and locked in the pipeline together. Oliver taught Barry how to dislocate his thumb and Barry taught Oliver how to phase through solid objects, and together, they escaped the prison and ran off to the Kent farm (cue "Save Me" by Remy Zero) to get help from Kara, who happened to still recognize them for themselves.
Kara was there hanging out with her cousin Clark (Tyler Hoechlin) and his girlfriend, Lois Lane (Bitsie Tulloch), and let's be honest, Lois was the star of that whole scene, even as she was just watching Barry and Oliver teach each other how to use their abilities, mostly by shooting/making fun of each other.
Then, Cisco and Caitlin showed up to give some bad news: there was a power-stealing robot on the loose in Central City, and they needed Barry and Oliver's help, whichever Barry and Oliver they were. Supergirl and Superman came too, just for fun.
With the new knowledge that Barry had to get angry to use Oliver's abilities and Oliver had to smile, or something, to use Barry's, they took down evil power-stealing robot and got a chance to find out that Cisco had a vision of a scene we saw at the beginning of the episode—the Monitor, giving Dr. John Deegan a fancy book and telling him to rewrite reality with it. After Barry and Oliver checked out the vision as well and Oliver used his Flash speed to draw the scene, they saw that they'd clearly have to go to Gotham City to find these dudes. And that's where we now are going into tomorrow night's episode of Arrow!
A few other bits and pieces:
A Pipeline Prison Mystery Solved
Everyone has always wondered at the apparent abuse going on of the meta prisoners held at STAR Labs in those incredibly bare cells, but tonight, we learned that a toilet can be found by kicking a random part of the wall.
Clark and Lois on the Smallville Farm Is Our Aesthetic
Those cozy fall clothes, that farm, that playful and sweet relationship. It's everything we've ever wanted and we'd like to move right on into that portion of this crossover.
That West-Allen Moment
Executive producer Todd Helbing had promised us that the crossover would reaffirm Barry and Iris' love, and boy did it ever. Iris only momentarily didn't believe that her husband was her husband, but real Barry knew exactly what to say to convince her he was telling her the truth. And let's not forget Barry's instant and absolute panic when he discovered that Oliver had woken up in a bed with Iris (especially since Iris has, in the past, said she's attracted to Oliver Queen).
So what comes next?
We're forbidden from telling you, but let's just say that a lot is about to happen. Oliver and Felicity will get just about as much time as Barry and Iris did, but we'll also see Gotham City and Batwoman and get a little idea of what that world is like. There are some fights, some serious superhero easter eggs, some more incredible Barry and Oliver swap moments, and some things that made us both cackle and wonder, "WTF?"
Stay tuned after tomorrow night's portion to hear some behind-the-scenes bits and pieces from the executive producers!
Elseworlds continues Monday at 8 p.m. with Arrow, then concludes with Supergirl on Tuesday at 8 p.m. on the CW.