Arrow Review: Crisis on Earth-X, Part 2 (Season 6 Episode 8)

Arrow Season 6 Episode 8, “Crisis on Earth-X, Part 2″ delivers a solid hour of fun. Featuring enjoyable character moments and exciting action sequences.

Let’s take a look at the good and the bad!

The Good

Tommy! Even though Tommy is evil, seeing Colin Donnell back in the Arrowverse is delightful. We get a nice scene with him and Stephen Amell.

Oliver and Felicity relationship woes being, mostly, well-written. Some viewers may be having flashbacks to the Arrow Season 4 crossover, Legends of Yesterday, kicking off the awful Baby Mama Drama, but the Olicity angst is handled much better here.

Felicity: I love you. I just don’t want to be married.

Instead of poor communication (or lying) coming between them, there is a legitimate internal conflict taking place. Oliver wants to get married, Felicity does not. And they talk to one another about it.

Both of them. Together! To each others’ face.

Plus, Felicity gets to talk to Iris, another female character, about her issues! It’s a double rainbow of well-executed character moments.

In fact, Felicity’s interactions with Iris are one of the better parts of this episode because Arrow is currently so lacking in female friendships. The small gesture of Iris putting her arm around Felicity is worthy of a tear (or two).

The writers allowing the space in this crossover for great character moments like this, without losing the momentum of the plot, is a credit to them. At the end of the day, the appeal of the crossovers is having the opportunity to see all of these characters mixing it up.

Mick Rory and basically everyone he exchanges words with is a particular highlight. Also, always great whenever grumpy Oliver gets to play off of Barry and Kara.

Mick Rory: You people have breaches but no mustard.

Oliver: Just a quick reminder. Super speed – I don’t have it.

Kudos to Chyler Leigh, as well. I’m not a Supergirl viewer and I know next to nothing about Alex and Maggie’s relationship. However, thanks to a strong performance, she made me really feel for Alex and her struggle over the Sanvers break-up.

The Bad

No Diggle. I can’t believe we are being deprived of seeing John Diggle’s reactions to alt-Earth Nazis. Maybe it’s because the villians would give up at the first sight of David Ramsey’s massive biceps.

I love Felicity and Emily Bett Rickards, but I cannot understand half of her lines during the heart-to-heart with Oliver. Please stop speed mumbling.

The Olicity drama works, though it feels a bit like a quickly manufactured hurdle. They just reunited, the marriage talk seems a bit soon.

Also, Felicity saying the end of their first engagement began with her being shot on Arrow Season 4 Episode 9, “Dark Waters” feels like another attempt to retcon the first, dreadful Olicity break-up. It was Oliver’s fault, Arrow, stop trying to sell us something else.

This being a show about superheroes, you know the good guys are going to win in the end. Well executed villains and a decent plot are necessary to create any kind of tension. Unfortunately, “Crisis on Earth-X, Part 2” fails on both points.

The overall, “bad guys take over the world,” plot is generic, predictable, and repetitive for the Arrowverse. Better villains might help overcome this, but we are at the midpoint of the crossover, and I am not impressed.

Okay — Reverse Flash’s distorted, blurry figure is still pretty freaky. However, Nazi!Oliver and Nazi!Kara are not scary or intimidating. At all.

This is partly an issue with the performances. Stephen Amell is great as Oliver, especially in his scenes with Tommy and Felicity, but there just isn’t much to his evil version. Amell plays him just like regular Oliver, except he is wearing a different colored suit and saying mean things.

Season 1 Oliver could be a scary, brutal guy. Not sure why we are not seeing a version closer to that considering the dark regime influencing Nazi!Oliver.

Melissa Benoist is at least trying to do something different with Nazi!Kara . . . it just isn’t really working for me. Is she doing an accent? I couldn’t tell.

Nazis. Given current events, this premise is more than a little problematic. Including actual historical footage of Nazis is a poor choice from production. There is no educational value in that moment, nor is it necessary to the storyline.

However, “Crisis on Earth-X” is an ongoing tale and this only the half-way point. Perhaps the choice to use Nazi imagery and characters will prove an important aspect in the end.

What did you think of this episode of Arrow? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

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Arrow airs Thursdays at 9/8c on The CW.

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