SuperGirl Season 4 Episode 9 Review “Elseworlds Part 3”
Written by: Marc Guggenheim
Directed by: Jesse Warn
Starring: Melissa Benoist, Mehcad Brooks, Chyler Leigh, Katie Mcgrath, Sam Witwer, David Harewood
Official synopsis “Supergirl, The Flash, Green Arrow and Superman engage in the battle of their lives.“
Welcome back to Elseworlds, part 3 the finale. The annual cross over event is always a spectacle and this year was no different. Having been to Smallville during part 1 The Flash and Gotham during part 2 Arrow, Part 3 takes place in an altered Central city on earth 1.
Having the book of Destiny returned to John Deegan and told to “think bigger” by the Monitor, Deegan has made himself Superman. Barry and Oliver are on the run as criminals The Trigger Twins.
We find Supergirl looked in the star labs prison with her powers dampened. Kara, Barry and Oliver appear to be the only people aware of the changes to reality.
Barry and Oliver are looking for Cisco so he can vibe them to Earth 38 and find the real Superman. During their search they are confronted by The Monitor who tells them to win this test they must find their true selves.
There was a nice little cameo by Gary from Legends, as a barman in a Cisco run criminal bar. Mr Ramone as he is now known refuses to help The Trigger Twins and has his hired muscle Jimmy Olsen teach them a lesson.
Having convinced Cisco to help them, Barry and Oliver are Vibed to the hall of justice on Earth 38 to find Superman and Lois Lane.
Kara has a really heart felt moment with Alex as she tries to convince her about the changes to reality. This not only wins over the audience but also Alex as she releases Kara from her cell, only to be stopped by Superman. Just in time Earth 38 Superman arrives with Barry and Oliver. We see Superman fight Superman in a fantastic flying sequence as they crash from building to building. Barry and Lara find the book of Destiny and have Clark ‘re write reality to how things should be.
We then get a little Dark Knight Returns reference as Oliver threatens to take down fake Superman with a Kryptonite arrow. Barry convinces Oliver not to give into his dark side as Deegan aka Fake Superman manages to escape with the book and start ‘re writing reality.
Oliver confronts the Monitor and tries to convince him that if Earth 1 is being tested then The Flash and Supergirl are the best and need to be saved. This is because Earth 38 Superman witnessed them dying when he was reading the book of Destiny.
The rest of team Supergirl turns up to help during the final showdown. Brainy battles Amazo and Martian Man Hunter protects the civilians from collateral damage. Flash and Supergirl are busy trying to slow the Earth’s rotation to stop the reality changes.
Oliver arrives back just in time to hit Deegan with and arrow and disable the book, allowing reality to reset itself. A reference back to part 1 as Clark catches Lois Lane from falling when she told him he would catch her while on the Smallville farm.
A fun little exchange between the trinity in Star Labs as Kara jokes “This is becoming an annual thing”. Team Supergirl then return to Earth 38 and in Smallville Clark and Lois tell Kara they are having a baby. Are we getting Jonathan Kent? They will also be returning to Argo to have the baby, just before Clark proposes to Lois.
Then we get the biggest cliff-hanger in the history of these shows. Oliver gets a phone call from none other than Batwoman. She says that Deegan is back in Arkham and he has made a friend The Psycho Pirate and then we see the words FALL 2019 CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS.
One thing that stood out for me was how this still managed to feel like a Supergirl episode with the tone and direction. Out of the 3-part cross over this was the weakest episode in my opinion, but with the standard of Flash and Arrow being so high it was always going to be difficult to maintain. That being said this was still a fantastic episode full of heart, humor and action. Supergirl easily stands shoulder to shoulder with The Flash and Green Arrow and delivered an excellent end to Elseworlds.
See you all in the new year when Supergirl and co return. If you cant wait till then feel free to let me know your thoughts on twitter.
