Crisis On Infinite Earths 2019: Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Their Story

[BkWurm1]

5 minutes ago, Starfish35 said:

I wish once, just once, everyone else could be pulled into the Legends’ world for the crossover instead of the other way around.  I’d love to see a crossover filled with everyone dealing with Legends-level insanity.  It would be so fun.  

Oliver vs a unicorn.  I want it.  Or Felicity meeting Ada Lovelace.  The possibilities!  

[Sakura12]

3 minutes ago, Starfish35 said:

I wish once, just once, everyone else could be pulled into the Legends’ world for the crossover instead of the other way around.  I’d love to see a crossover filled with everyone dealing with Legends-level insanity.  It would be so fun.  

That would be great. I think Kara would enjoy it and Barry would be looking around saying this, is a normal day for you, while a T-Rex chases Amelia Earheart around ancient Greece. 

[scarynikki12]

35 minutes ago, Starfish35 said:

I wish once, just once, everyone else could be pulled into the Legends’ world for the crossover instead of the other way around.  I’d love to see a crossover filled with everyone dealing with Legends-level insanity.  It would be so fun.  

At the very least it should be Diggle.

[legaleagle53]

36 minutes ago, Sakura12 said:

That would be great. I think Kara would enjoy it and Barry would be looking around saying this, is a normal day for you, while a T-Rex chases Amelia Earheart around ancient Greece. 

You'd think that Barry would know something of how the Legends work from hearing stories from Wally, at least.

And wait until Barry finds out that John and Charlie broke time by creating their own version of Flashpoint.  Finally, BARRY will have someone to yell at for breaking time!

Edited December 11, 2018 by legaleagle53

[Trini]

'Ruby Rose's Batwoman Debut on The CW Leaves Huge Clues for Potential Spinoff Series'

Quote

Rose's introduction sets the table for a potential Batwoman series, which Dries revealed has been in the works since the early part of this year. In fact, they cast Rose in August without a script. Though there hasn't been any official word on a series order (we're betting it'll only be a matter of time), Dries dropped hints that Easter eggs like Bruce Wayne/Batman's years-long absence, the abandoned Wayne Enterprises building and Kate's plans to redo it and Kate saying "World's finest" (a hint at more team-ups to come) are seeds planted for a larger story should Batwoman come to fruition. 

"Nothing really that would stand out, but in hindsight might resonate," Dries confirmed when asked about significant Batwoman clues.

Speaking more specifically to Kate's frequent comments about fixing up the skyscraper, Dries coyly teased that that could play out in a potential Batwoman series: "Yeah, we created it with a bigger story in mind, for sure."

[Starfish35]

I’m dying. 🤣 From Tumblr:

[scarynikki12]

Taking to Zari's thread.

[TV Anonymous]

What is with Berlanti Production and casting real-life spouses of their main actor? First it was Melissa Benoist and her then-husband Blake Jenner. Then Brandon Routh and Courtney Ford. And now Stephen Amell's wife Cassandra Jean? Does the production get spousal discount or something?

[benteen]

12 hours ago, Starfish35 said:

I wish once, just once, everyone else could be pulled into the Legends’ world for the crossover instead of the other way around.  I’d love to see a crossover filled with everyone dealing with Legends-level insanity.  It would be so fun.  

Damn, that would be so much fun.  They need to make this happen.  Plus, it would give the Legends ratings a boost, at least for that episode.

[Sakura12]

13 hours ago, scarynikki12 said:

At the very least it should be Diggle.

Diggle would probably be speechless from all the crazy. Especially when a werewolf comes riding in on a unicorn. 

[Delphi]

4 hours ago, TV Anonymous said:

What is with Berlanti Production and casting real-life spouses of their main actor? First it was Melissa Benoist and her then-husband Blake Jenner. Then Brandon Routh and Courtney Ford. And now Stephen Amell's wife Cassandra Jean? Does the production get spousal discount or something?

With the latter two, I'd imagine it's because their spouses are also actors presumably looking for work and it would be kind of a favour to keep them in Vancouver instead of heading off to LA to be constantly away from their spouses when they can't leave Canada for large chunks of the year.   Cassandra...would just have to be a favour to the Amell's.

[TDT]

The Legends may have refused to take those calls from Barry.Kara,and Oliver but if whom"The Monitor" might be implying will cause the big Crisis in next year's x-over they may want to pick up the phone..

and plus CW should go all in for this one..not only intro Batman and Green Lantern(whether it's either John Stewart or Hal Jordan,dont care which) but also Wonder Woman and Aquaman,and get Black Lightning and Thunder involved somehow

Crossover title could be called CRISIS:JUSTICE RISING or something

So Batwoman might get her own series,and possibly so will Superman..interesting casting for Supergirl of Jon Cryer as Lex Luthor

Edited December 11, 2018 by TDT

[Starfish35]

7 minutes ago, TDT said:

interesting casting for Supergirl of Jon Cryer as Lex Luthor

Yeaaaahhhhh.....I’m super skeptical (no pun intended) on that one, but we’ll see I guess.  The Arrowverse generally does a good job with casting, but they’ve had some major missteps.  See:  Savage, Vandal; also Al Ghul, Ra’s.

Edited December 11, 2018 by Starfish35

[legaleagle53]

3 hours ago, TDT said:

The Legends may have refused to take those calls from Barry.Kara,and Oliver but if whom"The Monitor" might be implying will cause the big Crisis in next year's x-over they may want to pick up the phone..

and plus CW should go all in for this one..not only intro Batman and Green Lantern(whether it's either John Stewart or Hal Jordan,dont care which) but also Wonder Woman and Aquaman,and get Black Lightning and Thunder involved somehow

Crossover title could be called CRISIS:JUSTICE RISING or something

So Batwoman might get her own series,and possibly so will Superman..interesting casting for Supergirl of Jon Cryer as Lex Luthor

Actually, they're just going with Crisis on Infinite Earths.

[scarynikki12]

I’m shamelessly stealing the first from @MarkHB but I need to flail!!!

[Trini]

I'm not a comic reader, so the Crisis teaser does nothing for me. And after seeing how the Berlanti-verse has adapted other comic stories, I'm not expecting Crisis to be anywhere near as good or significant as it's supposed to be.

[BkWurm1]

I'm not a comic reader either but from what I've absorbed about it, Crisis on Infinite Earths is like a holy grail wish of stories to see come to life where stuff happens and people die. So while It's highly unlikely as many heroes would die as in the comics (and Oliver has already saved two that were supposed die in the comics) I'm expecting for there to be some real consequences.  I fear Arrow will pay the bulk of them but there's spec of Kara's Earth merging in reality with Barry and Oliver's so that could make things complicated.  Who knows how characters might be rewritten suddenly.  

Edited December 12, 2018 by BkWurm1

[Starfish35]

I’m both intrigued and terrified.  I could definitely see them using it as a way to phase out or “reboot” some of the existing shows, or write out or change existing characters.  They could do anything really.  Or nothing (thinking about how they wasted Flashpoint).  

And yes, I’m definitely most fearful for Legends, as second lowest rated of the CW DC shows right now.  (Black Lightning is slightly lower, but also younger, and probably cheaper.)

Edited December 12, 2018 by Starfish35

[Starfish35]

TVLine has a poll at the bottom of their recap of Elseworlds Part 3, asking readers to vote for their two favorite crossovers.  I thought the results (as of right now) were interesting.  Lol at Legends of Yesterday/Today being the least favorite - no surprise there.  😂 

[Delphi]

1 hour ago, Starfish35 said:

I’m both intrigued and terrified.  I could definitely see them using it as a way to phase out or “reboot” some of the existing shows, or write out or change existing characters.  They could do anything really.  Or nothing (thinking about how they wasted Flashpoint).  

And yes, I’m definitely most fearful for Legends, as second lowest rated of the CW DC shows right now.  (Black Lightning is slightly lower, but also younger, and probably cheaper.)

 See,  I'm never fearful for legends.   They will continue,  or they won't,  (which I would hate).  But it's going to be what it's gonna be.   I'm more fearful that they make crisis as a reason to get rid of Supergirl and spin some sort of Superman show.   Not that I'm opposed,  I've loved Tyler as Clark.  I just don't want Kara dragged for him. 

I'm also fearful for Arrow because it,  much like my pet beta fish is getting up there in years,  easy pickings for a show that will end soon. 

[BaggythePanther]

I’m curious if CoIE will just be the big crossover, or if other little things will be happening in the shows leading up to it. Maybe I’m thinking too big and this crossover will be the only build up until next year.

[doesntworkonwood]

I think that this comment goes here because it's about the crossover as a whole, and not the individual episodes. 

The crossover really didn't work for me at all for several reasons. 

First, I thought that the characterisation was non-sensical. I mostly noticed it with Arrow because that's the only show I watched, but I still don't think it's fair to any of the characters to effectively boil them down to a few personality traits that don't actually match their history. I thought it would have been a lot better if rather than saying that Oliver uses his 'darkness' and Barry uses his 'lightness' to actually do the opposite. Show that Oliver finding a family has made him a happier person, and that fighting for them makes him better. Show that Barry has had a tough time, and that he uses those experiences to become a better person. It would have been much more interesting for the characters, and this particular viewer, to make them confront the ideas and prejudices they've had about eachother rather than imply that those prejudices are correct even after years. 

I think that if you're going to keep the side characters on seperate shows, it would have been much more fun to lean into that more. We saw how Oliver reacted to Team Flash, and it would have been really fun to see how Barry reacts to Oliver's life. There was slight tinges, but things like him wondering about how the team works now that they're based at Argus and being utterly confused about the changes would have been fun. And also being easily recognised as former Mayor etc. Basically, since this is a smaller crossover than last years, they could have made the most out of it by showing the differences and similarities on both sides. 

It was also a blatant set up for Batwomen. I expected this, but I didn't expect them to go about it so badly. It was unfair to add this to an already bloated cross over. It made for really boring scenes since RR seems to have little charisma. It was mainly full of Easter Eggs that, as a non-comic reader and someone who isn't particularly interested in Batlore, just flew over my head. It reminded me of the previous cross over starring 'The Hawks' and Vandal Savage which was just used to set up LOT, and reminded me of just how bad it was. There's a reason I never watched LOT, that episode and a strong dislike of Ray Palmer. This episode is the reason I will not watch Batwoman (should it ever reach the air). 

Finally, as predicted, it was a dickfest. Even on her own show, Supergirl barely had anything to do. Last year was really fun because we had pairings like Iris/Felicity. We got to see how they'd work work together, and whilst I understand why we couldn't get that this year, I don't get why we couldn't see Kara work with the others on their individual shows. 

The whole cross over could have been much more tightly written. Instead it was bloated with the addition of Batwomen and fell on old stereotypes that don't even apply to the shows and characters any more. It had to be smaller than last years cross over, but they simultaneously tried to make it more 'epic' and that didn't work. They should have used the fact that it's a smaller cross over to show the more day to day aspects of Barry, Oliver and Kara. They could have shown how the shows have changed since that first cross over, but instead I'm left feeling like Barry is exactly the same as season 1 Barry, who is the reason I stopped watching the Flash. I doubt that that can be true 5 seasons later, but they squandered the opportunity to show me, and other people who gave up on one of their shows or who never started watching, just what has changed. 

[tv echo]

[MarkHB]

Compared to CoEX, this was a much smaller-scale crossover.  Last year, they effectively combined the production companies and made one giant movie where the individual installments are nominally episodes of their respective shows at best.  This year was more like Invasion!, where each part was much more identifiable as an episode of its own series, Gotham notwithstanding.  But in the comics the Monitor lurked in the shadows, testing heroes, for a year or more before Crisis #1, and I think this was the shows' attempt to do something like that, really be a prelude to Crisis while also being the comics-action-adventure fest that the crossovers lean into.

One Easter egg I'm not sure was ever pointed out: Oliver's insistence that Batman's not real and that he's the original vigilante.  I think that was a meta-comment, as for years in comics fandom (going back to the Fifties) Green Arrow was derided as nothing more than a Batman knock-off with a bow.  And Kara's look at him when he started going on about it was priceless.

I

[tv echo]

Elseworlds Producer Confirms Nod To Smallville’s Green Arrow
By Eric Joseph   Dec. 11, 2018
https://wegotthiscovered.com/tv/elseworlds-producer-confirms-nod-smallvilles-green-arrow/

Quote

Well, apparently there’s more to come on that front, and it may very well pertain to that show’s version of Green Arrow. If you’ll remember, eagle-eyed viewers were able to spot a fallen Emerald Archer sporting Justin Hartley’s threads during the prologue scene taking place on Earth-90.

Confirming the return of the classic costume was that of executive producer Marc Guggenheim, who posted a cryptic picture of it over on Twitter. Furthermore, he had this to say about tonight’s conclusion:

 

Edited December 12, 2018 by tv echo

[tv echo]

[tv echo]

DC Daily Ep.63: Exclusive interview with CW ELSEWORLDS crossover star, Lamonica Garrett
Published on Dec 11, 2018, by DC

[tv echo]

The Arrowverse's 'Elseworlds' was almost named after another DC Crisis
CHANCELLOR AGARD   December 12, 2018
https://ew.com/tv/2018/12/12/arrowverse-crossover-elseworlds-identity-crisis/

Quote

In this exclusive clip from the forthcoming “Inside the Crossover: Elseworlds” bonus feature, Arrow consulting producer Marc Guggenheim reveals that the crossover was almost called “Identity Crisis,” which is also the name of Brad Meltzer and Rags Morales's 2004 limited series. And the fact that it shared a name with another story that looms large for DC fans is why they decided not to do it.

“The problem is that ‘Identity Crisis’ is another different iconic DC story. While the title would work perfectly for this, it would really be false advertising, because we’re obviously not doing the Brad Meltzer, Rags Morales Identity Crisis story,” says Guggenheim, who wrote the Arrow hour the crossover with Batwoman‘s Caroline Dries, in the clip. And he’s right, Identity Crisis definitely isn’t about a wacky body swap.
*  *  *
In the seven-issue series, Green Arrow, the Flash, Atom, Hawkman, Zatana, Black Canary, and Green Lantern team-up to find out who murdered Elongated Man’s wife Sue Dibny. Their investigation and quest for revenge ends up bringing several dark and traumatic secrets about the Justice League of America to light, specifically that the Teen Titans villain Doctor Light infiltrated the Watchtower and raped Sue many years ago, and that the aforementioned group of heroes (save Flash) decided to erase his memory and alter his personality. Not only that, but it was revealed that they used this tactic on others, including Batman, because stories about the good guys making morally questionable decisions were big in the mid-aughts. While Identity Crisis has its fans, it has also been criticized for having an unnecessary amount of violence against women (a.k.a. fridging) and for being grim-dark just for the sake of darkness.

Although this year’s crossover obviously ended up not using the title because Elseworlds was not that story, Guggenheim and the other producers don’t rule out ever adapting it later down the line. “Maybe one day,” says Guggenheim.

Once they passed on “Identity Crisis” as a title, they returned to the drawing board. “We had a list of titles that could work, and I think we all kind of gravitated towards ‘Elseworlds.'” he says.
*  *  *
The full “Inside the Crossover: Elseworlds” special feature will be included with any season pass purchase of The Flash: Season 5, Supergirl: Season 4, and Arrow: Season 7 on Friday, Dec. 14.

Edited December 12, 2018 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Batman Is Still Off-Limits To The CW’s Arrowverse
by D.J. RIVERA on DECEMBER 11, 2018
https://heroichollywood.com/batman-off-limits-cw-arrowverse/

Quote

The Elseworlds event is underway and fans are noticing more things from DC Comics coming into light, but Batman remains off-limits.

When Arrow made its debut, Batman was not allowed to even be mentioned on the show. Now that has all changed. The latest chapter of the crossover event had the heroes reference the iconic hero by name. This solidifies that the Caped Crusader exists in The Arrowverse. Caroline Dries, who wrote Monday’s Arrow episode and is developing the Batwoman pilot, had this to say on the matter.

“DC doesn’t let you say ‘Batman,’ [or] have anything about Gotham City, Now, all of a sudden, you can do stuff. For a bunch of geeks like us, you’re in heaven.”

Arrow showrunner Beth Schwartz added:

“We tried, so many times. It was kind of shocking.”

Oliver Queen has never been one to believe in Batman. Schwartz opened up a bit about the reasoning behind this.

“We introduce him as being the first vigilante so it was kind poking fun at that a little bit, and him being very defensive.”

Edited December 12, 2018 by tv echo

[calliope1975]

34 minutes ago, tv echo said:

“Maybe one day,” says Guggenheim.

Ugh. No. I loved Identity Crisis (and Michael Turner's covers; I've been trying to find that Wonder Woman cover as a poster for years) and I don't want MG's grubby hands anywhere near it.

[benteen]

I'm a Marvel reader and never read Crisis but I am REALLY looking forward to the crossover next year.

BTW, someone noted that Gary was wearing a Time Bureau pin during his scene last night.  So is it possible that he was there undercover?

Edited December 12, 2018 by benteen

[MarkHB]

1 hour ago, tv echo said:

DC Daily Ep.63: Exclusive interview with CW ELSEWORLDS crossover star, Lamonica Garrett
Published on Dec 11, 2018, by DC

 

I watched that the other night and was very impressed that he mentioned Krona!

 

9 minutes ago, benteen said:

I'm a Marvel reader and never read Crisis but I am REALLY looking forward to the crossover next year.

BTW, someone noted that Gary was wearing a Time Bureau pin during his scene last night.  So is it possible that he was there undercover?

Get the TPB and read it, if for no other reason than to see just how big a badass OG 80's Headband Kara Zor-El actually was!  Trust me, she didn't go out in a fridge.  As for Gary... if you were Ava, or any competent administrator (or even Rip), would you send Gary on an undercover op?  (Actually, Gary wearing his pin/badge on an undercover op... sounds about right.)

[Starfish35]

1 minute ago, MarkHB said:

(Actually, Gary wearing his pin/badge on an undercover op... sounds about right.)

True. 😂

[Trini]

2024 has always been the date for Crisis on The Flash; did they really move it up earlier just because Arrow is getting cancelled?

Just wanna put that out there to see whether it turns out to be true.

The thing is, I don't think they really needed to change the date to have the characters/actors from the greater Berlanti-verse involved, even if the other shows are off the air. But I guess "better safe than sorry" -- even though it messes up The Flash's planned arcs.

[Sakura12]

I doubt they were planning to have crisis air in 2024. They have no way of knowing if they would still be on the air then. All these shows have dropped in ratings, even this crossover didn't do as well as last years. They can all jump into the future and have it be 2024 for the episodes. 

[DavidJSnyder]

17 minutes ago, Sakura12 said:

I doubt they were planning to have crisis air in 2024. They have no way of knowing if they would still be on the air then. All these shows have dropped in ratings, even this crossover didn't do as well as last years. They can all jump into the future and have it be 2024 for the episodes. 

I don't know how much ratings matter for CW shows anymore, as I think the studios mainly depend on backend money from selling the shows to streaming and internationally.  But no one can have an expectation that Grant Gustin is going to be willing to keep doing this show through 2024. 

They might use Nora's changes to the timeline as an excuse to move the events up rather than having some or all of the story set in in 2024.

[scarynikki12]

I think Arrow season 8 will be its last (on purpose) but that’s independent of the Crisis crossover. I think the plan, once they realized it was a possibility vs Easter egg, was always to do it earlier than what the article says. It’ll be a way to change Barry’s fate (and Kara’s) and still have the event. 

[tv echo]

[Starfish35]

From Lord Mesa:

[scarynikki12]

PUPPETS OF TOMORROW!

[legaleagle53]

Yeah, I can just see what the Legends will think when they hear about Elseworlds: "Someone tried to re-write reality?  Around here, we call that 'Tuesday'!"

[BkWurm1]

16 hours ago, doesntworkonwood said:

I think that this comment goes here because it's about the crossover as a whole, and not the individual episodes. 

The crossover really didn't work for me at all for several reasons. 

First, I thought that the characterisation was non-sensical. I mostly noticed it with Arrow because that's the only show I watched, but I still don't think it's fair to any of the characters to effectively boil them down to a few personality traits that don't actually match their history. I thought it would have been a lot better if rather than saying that Oliver uses his 'darkness' and Barry uses his 'lightness' to actually do the opposite. Show that Oliver finding a family has made him a happier person, and that fighting for them makes him better. Show that Barry has had a tough time, and that he uses those experiences to become a better person. It would have been much more interesting for the characters, and this particular viewer, to make them confront the ideas and prejudices they've had about eachother rather than imply that those prejudices are correct even after years. 

I think that if you're going to keep the side characters on seperate shows, it would have been much more fun to lean into that more. We saw how Oliver reacted to Team Flash, and it would have been really fun to see how Barry reacts to Oliver's life. There was slight tinges, but things like him wondering about how the team works now that they're based at Argus and being utterly confused about the changes would have been fun. And also being easily recognised as former Mayor etc. Basically, since this is a smaller crossover than last years, they could have made the most out of it by showing the differences and similarities on both sides. 

It was also a blatant set up for Batwomen. I expected this, but I didn't expect them to go about it so badly. It was unfair to add this to an already bloated cross over. It made for really boring scenes since RR seems to have little charisma. It was mainly full of Easter Eggs that, as a non-comic reader and someone who isn't particularly interested in Batlore, just flew over my head. It reminded me of the previous cross over starring 'The Hawks' and Vandal Savage which was just used to set up LOT, and reminded me of just how bad it was. There's a reason I never watched LOT, that episode and a strong dislike of Ray Palmer. This episode is the reason I will not watch Batwoman (should it ever reach the air). 

Finally, as predicted, it was a dickfest. Even on her own show, Supergirl barely had anything to do. Last year was really fun because we had pairings like Iris/Felicity. We got to see how they'd work work together, and whilst I understand why we couldn't get that this year, I don't get why we couldn't see Kara work with the others on their individual shows. 

The whole cross over could have been much more tightly written. Instead it was bloated with the addition of Batwomen and fell on old stereotypes that don't even apply to the shows and characters any more. It had to be smaller than last years cross over, but they simultaneously tried to make it more 'epic' and that didn't work. They should have used the fact that it's a smaller cross over to show the more day to day aspects of Barry, Oliver and Kara. They could have shown how the shows have changed since that first cross over, but instead I'm left feeling like Barry is exactly the same as season 1 Barry, who is the reason I stopped watching the Flash. I doubt that that can be true 5 seasons later, but they squandered the opportunity to show me, and other people who gave up on one of their shows or who never started watching, just what has changed. 

There's a lot I agree with.  I will say that despite the crappy crossover that launched some of the characters, Legends has become something wonderful all on it's own terms, but yeah, first they had to ditch Vandal Savage and the Hawks but it didn't take long for Ray to get rehabbed into the best.   Legends is great with characterization and taking the poorly done or overdone characters and making it all better.  So while the introduction to Batwoman was what I'd call lackluster, If it makes it to tv, I'll give it a fair shake because you never know. 

I think what we got in this crossover with harping on this "motivated by darkness" which is so season one with some regression in season five was all just to get Oliver making his deal with the Monitor whatever that was so something can happen next year.  So yeah, talk about plot over characterization. 

It's one thing to simplify who a character is but at this point how they are characterizing Oliver as filled with this darkness that's so pervasive that Iris views it almost like a contagion that could corrupt Barry just by being the GA for a couple days (without ANY of the memories or experiences to shape him).  Well, that's not a simplification, it's just getting who he is wrong.  Serious and focused does not equal dark.  

His traumatic past shaped him and brought him to Star City but it is not who he is now or how he chooses to live.  If they want the next crossover to have any respect, they need to respect who Oliver Queen actually is now and has been striving to be for the last six years not just who he once was. 

Should Kara be branded a coward for not using her powers to help anyone for more than a decade?  Should Barry be shunned as a immature and selfish because he was repeatedly willing to risk the world or the established lives of everyone in it because he in the past selfishly let his pain matter more than literally everyone else in the world?  Why does Oliver have to forever live with the stamp of darkness when that too is in his past?  

[johntfs]

51 minutes ago, BkWurm1 said:

Should Kara be branded a coward for not using her powers to help anyone for more than a decade?  Should Barry be shunned as a immature and selfish because he was repeatedly willing to risk the world or the established lives of everyone in it because he in the past selfishly let his pain matter more than literally everyone else in the world?  Why does Oliver have to forever live with the stamp of darkness when that too is in his past?  

Once upon a time Captain Sara Lance of the Waverider was a dumb, horny college girl who fucked her older sister's fiance, got in a shipwreck and wound up joining a murder cult.  Who she was still somewhat informs who she is, but the Sara Lance of, what?  10? 12? years ago is not the Sara Lance of today.  I don't mind characters being shaped by their pasts, but they shouldn't be utterly determined by it.  Otherwise they're not characters but caricatures.

[tv echo]

[MarkHB]

At least Flash's 100th episode wasn't actually in the crossover; it was the one from last week where Nora and Barry recapped the series.  Arrow's 100th was part of Invasion and dragged it to a halt.

[tv echo]

[tv echo]

The CW's "Elseworlds" b-t-s featurettes in one place...

Elseworlds | Behind-The-Scenes | The CW
Published on Dec 10, 2018, by The CW Television Network

Elseworlds | Inside: Elseworlds, Part 1 | The CW
Published on Dec 10, 2018, by The CW Television Network

Arrow | Inside: Elseworlds, Part 2 | The CW
Published on Dec 10, 2018, by The CW Television Network

Elseworlds | Inside: Elseworlds, Part 3 | The CW
Published on Dec 11, 2018, by The CW Television Network

Elseworlds | Behind The Scenes: Batwoman Begins | The CW
Published on Dec 12, 2018, by The CW Television Network

[tv echo]

Elseworlds: 10 Things We Loved About The Arrowverse Crossover (And 10 Things We Didn't)
by Stephanie Holland – on Dec 12, 2018
https://www.cbr.com/liked-disliked-elseworlds-arrowverse/

Quote

19 HATED: OLIVER'S DARKNESS
...
Now that we're seven seasons in, Oliver's dark motivations for becoming the Green Arrow are no secret. His quest to save his city has come at a very high and heartbreaking price. Felicity and Diggle are constantly lecturing him about giving in to the darkness inside him.

However, at this point in the universe, it's time to stop demonizing him for living a life full of hard choices. Iris makes a point of telling Barry not to give in to being Oliver Queen. Wow, that's very insulting to one of your closest friends and allies. It's true he can be an insufferable jerk, but he's still a hero, so maybe everyone could give him the benefit of the doubt.
*  *  *
17 HATED: NO LEGENDS
...
Even if the whole cast couldn’t appear, we would of appreciated seeing Sara and Ray interact with their old friends. Of course, it was hilarious to see the Custodians of Chronology ignore Barry, Oliver and Kara’s calls and pass on the annual crossover. Legends of Tomorrow has a completely different vibe from the rest of the Arrowverse, so it makes sense that it wouldn’t necessarily work with the darker tone of the crossover. However, that knowledge doesn’t stop us from feeling like something is missing.
*  *  *
7 HATED: FORCED MOMENTS
...
One of the few negatives that consistently shows up in these crossovers are the plot bending ways the writers use to get every character in on the action. It was cool of producers to include a new character like Nia, but what basically amounted to a cameo felt unnecessary.

This also applies to all the jokes about them teaming up being an annual thing. Once is funny, two or three times is repetitive and akin to explaining the joke. Honestly, all of these moments took us out of the story of what was an otherwise fantastic event. We appreciate the meta humor, but next time use smaller doses.
*  *  *
3 HATED: OLIVER'S SACRIFICE
...
Unwilling to accept his friends’ sacrifice, Oliver confronted The Monitor and told him that he was not the hero they needed for the future battle, but the goodness of Barry and Kara was what the multiverse really deserved. Though we didn’t see it, it’s heavily implied that Oliver traded himself to save them. So, he made another life altering sacrifice without consulting anyone else? How many times do we have to watch this story before Oliver learns these decisions never work out?

20 LOVED: CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS IS COMING
19 HATED: OLIVER'S DARKNESS
18 LOVED: CHARACTER RETURNS
17 HATED: NO LEGENDS
16 LOVED: EASTER EGGS AND FAN THEORIES
15 HATED: NO ONE BELIEVES THEM
14 LOVED: CONTINUITY
13 HATED: FALLEN SUPERHEROES
12 LOVED: BARRY AND OLIVER'S FRIENDSHIP
11 HATED: JOHN DEEGAN
10 LOVED: SMALLVILLE EASTER EGGS
9 HATED: NOT ENOUGH JOHN WESLEY SHIPP
8 LOVED: GOTHAM CITY
7 HATED: FORCED MOMENTS
6 LOVED: BATWOMAN
5 HATED: THE MONITOR
4 LOVED: NO BATMAN
3 HATED: OLIVER'S SACRIFICE
2 LOVED: TYLER HOECHLIN
1 HATED: LOIS AND CLARK LEAVE EARTH

Edited December 13, 2018 by tv echo

[tv echo]

"Elseworlds" Is A Success Despite A Messy Plot
Linda Maleh   December 13, 2018
https://www.forbes.com/sites/lindamaleh/2018/12/13/elseworlds-is-a-success-despite-a-messy-plot/#f74d90952ee6

Quote

... The plot is half-baked, and mostly is just used to set up next year's larger crossover, "Crisis on Infinite Earths." Despite this, the crossover was a success in many ways, because of its compelling character-work and writing.
*  *  *
So, to sum up, we know nothing about the Monitor, his motivations for manipulating reality, or why he stopped (Oliver's argument is a pretty thin one to change the mind of a super-villain who has already destroyed multiple worlds). The message seems to be, "we know you're confused, but don't worry, because we're going to clear it up next year." A story, even a crossover of stories, should have a compelling villain that anchors the plot, lest things come apart at the seams. The only reason that doesn't completely happen here, is because even though the plot is a hot mess, the interactions between the characters are enjoyable enough.
*  *  *
Aside from the deep dives into Barry and Oliver's characters (it kind of feels like Kara got the shaft here), the dialogue between the different casts is also sharp and witty. They have a lot of fun playing with Barry and Oliver's body-swap, and some of the jokes are laugh out loud funny. They also play into their strengths. The lines delivered by team Flash were light, funny, and supportive, while the sentiments espoused by the conversation Kara has with her sister during the Supergirl episode were inspiring. It's classic The Flash and Supergirl, and gives you the flavor of each of the shows even within the crowded scenes of the crossover. (Arrow's episode took place in Gotham and spent more time setting up Batwoman than anything else.)

This year's crossover proved that even with the challenge of merging three shows, they are still extraordinarily capable of producing great dialogue and action. Now, if they can just combine that with a plot that actually makes sense next year, there'll be no disputing its success.

Edited December 13, 2018 by tv echo

[Trini]

'John Wesley Shipp on "Elseworlds" and The Excitement of Bringing Back His Barry Allen'

Quote

“I used to tell fans, if you keep asking about that, it’s going to happen,” Shipp told ComicBook.com recently. “All my horror stories about being in that original suit!”

...

“We established very early on that we weren’t trying to be 1990. It’s Earth-90, 27 years later,” Shipp said.

He added that he had more time for this than he did for Jay Garrick, and that he was able to work out and drop some weight to help accommodate the suit.

"Watching everybody's reaction" to his return as The Flash "makes my heart very full," he said.

...

More at the link.