In Elseworlds Part 1, Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) became The Green Arrow and Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) became The Flash, courtesy of Dr. John Deegan (Jeremy Davies). Dr. Deegan was given a book with the power to rewrite reality. They had a hard time convincing Team Flash of the identity swap, but luckily the reality rewrite only applies to Earth 1. So the dynamic duo called upon their Earth 38 friend, Kara Zor-El (Melissa Benoist), aka Supergirl to help find out who did this to them and why.
RELATED: Read the Full Recap of ELSEWORLDS Part 1
Return to Star City
ARGUS, led by John Diggle (David Ramsey) are on a mission when Joe Wilson (Liam Hall), Slade Wilson’s son arrives and threatens Diggle’s team. The Flash, Green Arrow and Supergirl arrive in time to save Diggle from being shot. Diggle says when the three of them show up, it usually means they’ve got one huge problem.
The super trio explains the situation to Curtis (Echo Kellum) and Diggle. They aren’t shocked and are quite accepting of what Barry and Oliver are telling them. Is it a Freaky Friday or Quantum Leap kind of thing? Or a mix of both? Anyway, Supergirl says they think the red skies and lightning strikes have to be related to what is happening to the dynamic duo. They ask Curtis and ARGUS to solve it while they are in Gotham. Curtis says they need a pattern recognition algorithm. Bring in Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards)! Oliver…the Flash Oliver, called Felicity, but failed to tell Barry…as Oliver, that they were having marital problems. So when Felicity arrives, Barry doesn’t know how to act.
Diggle asks why they didn’t tell Felicity. Oliver wants her to think everything is normal and when they told the team at STAR labs, they got locked up. Supergirl asks for any information about the red skies as soon as they get it. The super trio leaves for Gotham. Oliver asks Barry not to go to Gotham because he might attract attention they don’t want. Barry says if Gotham can handle the Batman, they can handle the Green Arrow. But Oliver doesn’t believe in the Batman! he says Batman is an Urban legend concocted by the police to scare criminals. He’s the original vigilante!
Gotham City
Supergirl and Green Arrow arrive in Gotham City. Oliver follows, still trying to get the hang of his speed. (LOL) Oliver knows a radio personality in Gotham that may be able to help them. But he might have had sex with her and she may not help them at all. Oliver is unsure. Barry finds the Bat signal and is sure that Batman is real.
The next morning, the wonderful residents of Gotham City greets the trio and tries to rob them. Supergirl stops a bullet aimed at Oliver. Barry goes full Green Arrow on them and takes one of their guns. The police arrive, but are alarmed when they see Oliver Queen (Barry). They take the trio to jail.
Oliver and Barry continue to bicker in jail. Oliver was trying to handle their situation the way Barry would have. And Barry did handle the situation exactly like Oliver would have. Kara neither of them did anything to help their situation. She would have super-sped them out of there. Someone posts bail for the super trio. When they get outside, a car is waiting for them. The driver, equipped with a gun, insists they go with him.
SCIENCE!
Felicity and Curtis complete the pattern recognition algorithm, but Felicity doesn’t think it will work. She wants to bring in Cisco (Carlos Valdes) to help. And he appears just as his name is mentioned. Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker) is with him. Team Flash says they had the same red skies and lightning that Team Arrow is experiencing now. It ended when Barry and Oliver left town. Caitlin says the phenomenon has to be related to Barry and Oliver’s body swap. Oops…Felicity doesn’t know anything about a body swap.
Caitlin and Cisco are amazed that Felicity didn’t know about the body swap. Curtis says they are still trying to figure out if it’s a Freaky Friday or Quantum Leap kind of thing, which he and Cisco start debating the possibilities. Diggle brings them back to the focus. Felicity joins them, she is just a little freaked out that her ex is her husband and vice versa. Cisco says Iris (Candice Patton) was a little freaked out as well, to which Felicity is shocked that Iris could tell the difference. Diggle says there is something strange going that is not a commentary on her marriage. She says her marriage is strained because she and Oliver have become two different people, literally in Oliver’s case.
Felicity turns her attention back to the task at hand. If the lightning strikes are temporal breaches, there might be a way to stabilize the quantum flux to allow whatever is trying to get through to get through. The Nerd Squad gets back to work on figuring out what the red skies and lightning means.
Wayne Tower
The driver drops the super friends at the Wayne Tower. Kara is surprised that Bruce Wayne would bail them out of jail. Oliver tells her that Bruce Wayne left Gotham three years ago. So it wasn’t him who bailed them out. They go inside and meet a woman who knows Oliver Queen. She says Gotham has enough problems without the Green Arrow around. She says the faster they find what they are looking for, the faster they can get out of her city. Kara asks for her name. Kate Kane (Ruby Rose)
Oliver shows Kate the drawing from Cisco’s vibe. She suggests using facial recognition technology, but they tried that already. Kara mentions that it’s weird that Bruce Wayne and Batman left around the same time. Kate covers saying when Batman left, the city went through hell and that took a toll on Bruce. She’s still trying to figure out why Bruce left. Barry returns to let the team know that Oliver’s hook up will not help them.
Kate lets them work on the rooftop and gives them a wifi password…Alfred. They are back to step one in their search. Oliver lifted the entire database from the Gotham City Police station to help in the investigation. He finds the information on John Deegan. Deegan’s profile says he’s been arrested for illegal experimentation and torture. He was acquitted though and there’s no recent information about him.
Love is All You Need
Caitlin talks to Felicity about Oliver situation. She and Iris have a little more experience with alternate realities so they can detect difference in people. She says when Barry and Oliver told them about the switch, Team Flash knocked them out and put them in the pipeline. That may have something to do with why Oliver didn’t tell Felicity himself. Felicity says she and Oliver have become two different people. Love isn’t enough, there has to be trust and respect. Caitlin says as long as there’s love, she can’t give up on it. To distract herself, Felicity designs a quantum flux anchor. If they build it, whoever is trying to break through will come.
Frenemies?
Kara decides to do an xray flyby around the city to look for Deegan. The boys discourage her, but she’s not worried about anything. When Kara goes inside, she finds Kate in a dark office. She apologizes for giving her the third degree about Bruce Wayne. Kate is used to it. She says Bruce is her cousin. What a coincidence! Kara’s cousin Clark is Bruce’s frenemy!
Kara asks if keeping Bruce’s private life out of the public eye is what broke him? Kate says he sat at his desk and watched the city they grew up in rot to the core. He found a way to not break. She says Bruce didn’t leave Gotham without a fight. Kara asks Kate if she knows who John Deegan is. She does! Deegan is a doctor at Arkham asylum. Kara leaves quickly to tell the boys.
After Kara leaves, Kate gets in an elevator. She steps out into a cave below the Wayne Tower. And stands in front of a super suit with a red Bat logo on the front.
Break On Through to the Other Side
The nerd squad activate the quantum flux anchor. Diggle asks questions about what it is and what it’s supposed to do. Felicity says he needs five PhDs to understand the dumbed down version. HA! Basically it helps stabilize the quantum field so whoever is trying to breach can get through. They see the Flash that looks like Jay Garrick from Earth 2. He tells them to get the book and they can fix this.
Barry, Oliver, and Supergirl arrive at Arkham to find Dr. Deegan. Diggle, Cisco, and Caitlin arrive to let them know that the Flash was trying to get through to this Earth. He said to fix the situation, they have to get the book. Kara remembers that Dr. Deegan was reading a book in Oliver’s drawing. Uncharacteristically, Barry asks why they are listening to another Flash that appears out of nowhere. They have to in this situation.
Arkham Asylum
Kara poses as a doctor from Gotham Central Hospital. Her patient is Caitlin, who is using her power to freeze people. Caitlin looks crazy enough that the nurse admits her. Oliver and Diggle pose as ARGUS agents to get into the hospital. They find Dr. Deegan’s office and confront him about the book. Deegan was trying to make himself the Flash, but it didn’t work. Deegan pushes an alarm and throws a flash bomb to get away.
The doors to the hospital rooms open and several of the patients escape. Diggle and Oliver go after Deegan. Barry tries to stop patients from escaping the grounds. A group of patients hit Cisco with a van, but are stopped by Batwoman. She tells Green Arrow to get out of her city. Barry and Cisco are amazed by Batwoman.
Caitlin encounters Nora Fries (Cassandra Jean Amell). Nora uses a cold gun on Killer Frost. Killer Frost calls for backup but by the time the Green Arrow gets there, Killer Frost is knocked out. The Flash arrives to and goes after Nora. He accidentally knocks over a box of gas that makes him hallucinate. The gas affect the Green Arrow too.
Nemesis
They look at each other, but don’t see the real Flash and Green Arrow. Barry sees Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman) and Oliver sees Reverse Flash Eobard Thawne (Tom Cavanagh). They end up fighting each other thinking they are fighting their greatest foes. Caitlin wakes up and sees them fighting. She also sees another figure standing behind them. It’s Batwoman. She stops the fight between the Flash and Green Arrow, allowing them to clear their heads.
Meanwhile Deegan digs out the wall to reveal his hiding place. The book is in the wall and Supergirl is there to catch him. She blasts Deegan with cold air and takes the book. Deegan gets away though.
Afterward, Batwoman tells them all to get out of her city. Barry asks if he can get a lift in the Batmobile. Nope. Not a chance. Supergirl stays behind. She lets Batwoman know that she knows her secret identity. That’s cool because Batwoman knows who Supergirl really is. Supergirl says she has a feeling they would make a good team. The World’s Finest!
Revelation
The team returns to ARGUS and gives the book to Felicity. The Nerd Squad gets to work on trying to open it. Barry checks in with Oliver to make sure he’s okay. They both have a new found respect for each other’s lives and all they have to deal with. Barry tells him not to wait to work things out with Felicity. You never know how much time you have left in their line of work.
Oliver pulls Felicity aside. He says they are going to be okay. people change. It means they are evolving. The one thing that won’t change is how he feels about Felicity. It doesn’t matter who they are or what they become; Felicity will always be the love of Oliver’s life. Felicity starts crying and kisses Oliver.
The Earth 90 Flash arrives, but it’s not Jay Garrick. He’s another version of Barry Allen. And he knows Diggle. He comments that Diggle is not wearing his ‘power’ ring. Barry tells them that Mar Novu, the Monitor has been unleashing the Book of Destiny on different earths to test the heroes for a crisis. Novu thinks the book approximates a collision of realities.
Monitor
Cisco interrupts to show them that Mar Novu is in Star City on the news. The two Flashes, Green Arrow and Supergirl go to meet him in the street. Earth 90 Flash says he won’t let Mar Novu destroy this Earth like he did to his world. Mar Novu makes Earth 90 Flash disappear. He tells the super trio that someone more powerful is coming. He is preparing by testing how different worlds handle crisis. So far, Earth 1 is the only group of heroes that have retrieved the Book of Destiny. But it will not change anything.
Mar Novu takes the book back to Dr. Deegan. He tells Deegan to do better and think bigger. Deegan changes reality again. This time, Oliver and Barry become the Trigger Twins. The police, Merlyn, Ricardo Diaz (Kirk Acevedo), and Wilson arrive to arrest the duo. Neither Barry nor Oliver have any speed. Diaz approaches them, calling Oliver by his real name. Oliver realizes he has his strength. He hits Diaz, shoots at Merlyn and Wilson and the Trigger Twins get away. They get to a secluded area, but are met by Superman (Tyler Hoechlin), in a black suit. He says there’s nowhere for them to hide. It’s over.
RELATED: CW Elseworlds Crossover Update: Dark Times in the Arrowverse
Thoughts
There was a lot of science talk in this one, but it explains what Earth 90 Flash was trying to do. I did love the request for a very very dumbed down version of Felicity’s work. Sometimes I need that version too.
The bickering between Barry and Oliver is hilarious. It’s amazing that they haven’t fought before. I will say that I like the growth that Oliver is going through. He does need to lighten up a bit. As for Barry, it’s shocking to see him channel his dark side. I really hope nothing happens that will make him dig deeper into his dark side. After Iris’ request, I’m kind of scared what kind of man Barry Allen will be when this is all over.
And Kara. Somewhere in this crossover is a lesson, but I don’t know what. She has been dealing with being the bad guy on her earth. That’s something she’s not used to. She and Superman have always been the heroes. What could they possibly learn from being bad?
How about Batwoman? I knew we’d get the smoldering look that Ruby Rose is so good at, but I kind of felt like it was too much. Kate Kane is obviously a bad-a**, but she gave Oliver Queen a run for Best Brooding by a Superhero Award. It was just a little too much. Hopefully, when she gets her own show, she will have toned that down a bit. Don’t get me wrong. The brooding totally works as Batwoman, but not so much as Kate Kane…in my opinion.
News Editor, Senior Contributor, and Press Editor. Coordinate breaking news, trailers and press releases. I also contribute reviews, recaps and interviews. Creator of the Indigenerd Wire, a column dedicated to the Indigenous creatives in pop culture.
GGA's resident Indigenerd, a little bit rez, a little bit classy...with a love for all things Star Wars, zombies, science fiction, and Indigenous. My ultimate goal is to start my own podcast.
- INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE Recap: (S02E07) I Could Not Prevent It - June 24, 2024
- INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE Recap: (S02E06) Like the Light by Which God Made the World Before He Made Light - June 17, 2024
- INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE Recap: (S02E05) Don’t Be Afraid, Just Start The Tape - June 10, 2024
