After the epic beginning of the Flash/Arrow crossover (which I reviewed here!), one had to wonder if the second part would hold up the momentum, and give this a true superhero finish. It did. And yet again, it was epic!
“The Brave and the Bold” (which numerous DC fans will have a connection to in one way or the other) delved deep into the mystery of one Digger Harkness. All the while also digging deeper into the relationship between Barry and Ollie. I noted yesterday how I loved that the writers showed off the differences in personalities between Ollie and Barry. In this episode though, we really got to see it first hand. From how Ollie deployed his troops to handle a situation, only for Barry to speed through it in no time flat. To how Ollie used torture of sorts to get information, something that Flash (as of yet) would never do.
While some will no doubt call this the “Boy Scout vs. Dark Knight” argument, Flash and Arrow put their own spin onto this. Making it a very compelling thing to watch unfold. I truly enjoyed how Ollie revealed that he felt he was trading parts of his humanity to do the things that needed to be done in order to protect the city. That’s something you’d honestly never hear from Batman, who in many incarnations would gladly give up his humanity if it meant fulfilling the promise he made to his parents.
Moving on to the central conflict, Captain Boomerang truly arrived on the scene this episode, after only being mentioned in the Flash half of the crossover. Thankfully, the character was truly something to behold. From his numerous boomerang puns, to his skills with said weapon, to a surprisingly deep (and foreshadowing) backstory. You truly believed that he was a threat that would make any opponent of his nervous.
Harkness was also shown to be crafty though, a true trait of the character, as he used Ollie’s habits against him to get to his target: Lyla. I loved how they used Lyla as a catalyst for numerous storylines of this episode. You could see the fear in Felicity and Ollie’s eyes as Lyla laid on the table, fearing that another person had died in their care. Truly though, the best part of using Lyla as a catalyst was allowing Dig to finally ask her to marry him again! Dig’s role has been lessened in the last half season or so. But with Season 3, you kind of get the feeling that they’re using Dig to show that even the good guys in Starling City can get the happy ending they deserve.
Easily though, my favorite part of “Brave and the Bold” was the interactions between Team Arrow and Team Flash. You’d think that seeing them interact last night would be enough for a lifetime. You would be WRONG! Cisco alone was worth the price of admission, showing his geek and tech pride as he got to see the Arrow Cave (“see what you started!?!”) up close and personal. Add to that Diggle, Felicity, Roy, Caitlin, Lyla, and of course Barry and Ollie, and you got a recipe for epicness.
The climax for this episode was superb, as Barry had to literally think fast in order to diffuse five bombs set by Captain Boomerang. How did he do it? He put all the members of Team Arrow and Flash in action to help save the day. That’s creative!
The ending (both ones depending on how you count) truly gave this crossover a satisfying endnote. As Ollie truly welcomed Barry into his…league…ha, ha, ha. Both of them got to show off their friendship in a way truly becoming two heroes, and it was so cool.
The only small drawback in this episode was the flashback. On the whole it was good, and perfectly tied into the episode’s story about Ollie struggling with his dark side and use of torture. On the other hand though, why did Waller NEED to have Ollie do the torturing? If this was such a crisis, why not use a specialist? If the attack was in a week, sure, use Ollie, test him. But an hour at best? Doesn’t seem logical.
Very small gripe though, as “The Brave and the Bold” was a perfectly satisfying conclusion to this crossover. I’m a geek, or a nerd, however you want to call me. And as both my parents will note, I geeked out numerous times during these two episodes. They were that epic to me. I hope we can have more in the future, cause they set the blueprint for how it should be done.
Todd Black
Todd Black is reader of comics, a watch of TV (a LOT of TV), and a writer of many different mediums. He's written teleplays, fan-fictions, and currently writes a comic book called Guardians (guardians-comic.com). He dreams of working at Nintendo, writing a SHAZAM! TV series, and working on Guardians for a very long time!
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