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| Scene from "Elseworlds" |
Welcome to a new column called Channel Surfing, in which I sporadically look at current TV shows and talk about them. These are not ones that I care to write weekly recaps for and are instead reflections either on the episode, the series, or particular moments. This will hopefully help to share personal opinions as well as discover entertainment on the outer pantheon that I feel is well worth checking out, or in some cases, shows that are weird enough to talk about, but should never be seen.
Earlier this year, Kevin Feige touted that Avengers: Infinity War was to be the most ambitious crossover event in movie history. It's a fair enough argument, though it seems old hat when compared to what The CW has been doing for the past five years. While they may not have as many actors competing for screen time, their characters within the Arrowverse have made it an annual tradition to get together for awhile and fight crime. Sure, it's on a smaller scale given the smaller budget for TV, but what's incredible is how accomplished each entry has felt in understanding these universes. It may have started with Arrow, but the evolution with The Flash and Supergirl (as well as Legends of Tomorrow, which was not included in this year's crossover) has become one of the funnest superhero events of the year. Last year marked their most ambitious event yet with "Crisis on Earth-X" which wove ongoing plots over four shows into one narrative that is still effectively emotional and entertaining as a four hour piece of TV.
This year's "Elseworlds" was more challenging in a different way. Given that The Flash established early on the idea of multiple universes, it makes sense that the show would choose to use that tool to its full potential. What this story has in a subversion of expectation, mostly relying on The Flash and Arrow's personal actors switch roles due to their worlds having opposing elements. It's one of the most fantastical of plots and develops over the course of The Flash's entry to the crossover. Some of it is amusing, but mostly it helps to create a sense of what's to come. It's a story about identity and the importance of having heroes that fight for what's right in the world. Though of course just in general it's fun to see the casts play against type in memorable parts as they jump from world to world in the search for their ultimate villain, someone who's out there to destroy everything.
While this is the crux of the crossover, this year's biggest buzzword was the new girl in town. In Arrow's second part, the show introduces Batwoman, played by popular action star Ruby Rose. It's maybe the only thing that the three episodes will be remembered for, especially as The Flash, Arrow, and Supergirl travel to Gotham only to discover that Batman has gone missing. In his place is a vigilante of a different ilk. Much like the other series, what makes the promise of 2019's Batwoman series so promising is that the characters are more diverse with Rose playing a lesbian superhero (Supergirl has LGBT-friendly supporting cast members, but Rose will be the first of the Arrowverse to lead her own show). In what amounts to an episode-long cameo, she gives off the bad girl persona that's necessary to make her stand out, managing to feel grungy and different in a field full of more upbeat characters.
Batwoman as a character design has generally been silly, especially given that it looks like a Batman mask with a wild wig sticking out of the top. It's maybe the least appealing part of the new series. However, it's a testament to the Arrowverse that they're on the fourth spin-off of Arrow and still managing to be appealing. It's hard to tell with the limited exposure to Gotham what Rose will bring to the character, but there's already a sense that she will be dark and gritty, relying on her wits more than special powers. All things considered, that's going to help her stand out. However, the series does little else but tease Batwoman as she spends most of the episode providing exposition that is intriguing, but also is more in service of the plot. We get a whiff of her personality, but it's the general vibe that Rose has always played. While it's great that she's getting her own show, "Elseworlds" does little to create deeply rooted interest in her.
Though that may just be the issue with "Elseworlds" in general. It's a high concept crossover and it doesn't really have much time to explore more complicated ideas, especially without Legends of Tomorrow adding an extra hour. It's a crowded world with supernatural phenomenon to be explained in accessible terms. It's more of an agenda crossover than one that forwards any one plot, and thus feels like one of the weaker specials that the Arrowverse has produced. It's fun, but there's little emotional catharsis for the individual series as a whole, save for the Supergirl episode that ends with Supergirl having an emotional farewell with her cousin Superman. Given that the series has been dealing with the dual personalities since the second season, it's a heartfelt moment (and one accentuated by a Smallville reference) and also maybe one that is meaning that Supergirl is on her own for the rest of her series, never to see Superman again.
To say the least, "Elseworlds" isn't a terrible crossover and is a testament to the strong central casts of every series involved. With Batwoman coming on board, next year should be even more interesting. However, there should be concern of overcrowding the market with characters, especially if a hypothetical five series crossover is in the works. It would be an astounding achievement, especially on the TV side of things, but it does seem like it gets harder to find the emotional core of these characters, especially since it becomes difficult to keep track of them all. It was a good crossover and one that feels like a quaint addition to the canon. However, it does end up feeling like the bigger accomplishment of the event wasn't so much that there's this gigantic story to tell, but that we're going to get a Batwoman series in 2019 that looks really good. There may be a breaking point for the Arrowverse at some point, but thankfully this isn't it. It's just a minor work, that's all.
This year's "Elseworlds" was more challenging in a different way. Given that The Flash established early on the idea of multiple universes, it makes sense that the show would choose to use that tool to its full potential. What this story has in a subversion of expectation, mostly relying on The Flash and Arrow's personal actors switch roles due to their worlds having opposing elements. It's one of the most fantastical of plots and develops over the course of The Flash's entry to the crossover. Some of it is amusing, but mostly it helps to create a sense of what's to come. It's a story about identity and the importance of having heroes that fight for what's right in the world. Though of course just in general it's fun to see the casts play against type in memorable parts as they jump from world to world in the search for their ultimate villain, someone who's out there to destroy everything.
While this is the crux of the crossover, this year's biggest buzzword was the new girl in town. In Arrow's second part, the show introduces Batwoman, played by popular action star Ruby Rose. It's maybe the only thing that the three episodes will be remembered for, especially as The Flash, Arrow, and Supergirl travel to Gotham only to discover that Batman has gone missing. In his place is a vigilante of a different ilk. Much like the other series, what makes the promise of 2019's Batwoman series so promising is that the characters are more diverse with Rose playing a lesbian superhero (Supergirl has LGBT-friendly supporting cast members, but Rose will be the first of the Arrowverse to lead her own show). In what amounts to an episode-long cameo, she gives off the bad girl persona that's necessary to make her stand out, managing to feel grungy and different in a field full of more upbeat characters.
Batwoman as a character design has generally been silly, especially given that it looks like a Batman mask with a wild wig sticking out of the top. It's maybe the least appealing part of the new series. However, it's a testament to the Arrowverse that they're on the fourth spin-off of Arrow and still managing to be appealing. It's hard to tell with the limited exposure to Gotham what Rose will bring to the character, but there's already a sense that she will be dark and gritty, relying on her wits more than special powers. All things considered, that's going to help her stand out. However, the series does little else but tease Batwoman as she spends most of the episode providing exposition that is intriguing, but also is more in service of the plot. We get a whiff of her personality, but it's the general vibe that Rose has always played. While it's great that she's getting her own show, "Elseworlds" does little to create deeply rooted interest in her.
Though that may just be the issue with "Elseworlds" in general. It's a high concept crossover and it doesn't really have much time to explore more complicated ideas, especially without Legends of Tomorrow adding an extra hour. It's a crowded world with supernatural phenomenon to be explained in accessible terms. It's more of an agenda crossover than one that forwards any one plot, and thus feels like one of the weaker specials that the Arrowverse has produced. It's fun, but there's little emotional catharsis for the individual series as a whole, save for the Supergirl episode that ends with Supergirl having an emotional farewell with her cousin Superman. Given that the series has been dealing with the dual personalities since the second season, it's a heartfelt moment (and one accentuated by a Smallville reference) and also maybe one that is meaning that Supergirl is on her own for the rest of her series, never to see Superman again.
To say the least, "Elseworlds" isn't a terrible crossover and is a testament to the strong central casts of every series involved. With Batwoman coming on board, next year should be even more interesting. However, there should be concern of overcrowding the market with characters, especially if a hypothetical five series crossover is in the works. It would be an astounding achievement, especially on the TV side of things, but it does seem like it gets harder to find the emotional core of these characters, especially since it becomes difficult to keep track of them all. It was a good crossover and one that feels like a quaint addition to the canon. However, it does end up feeling like the bigger accomplishment of the event wasn't so much that there's this gigantic story to tell, but that we're going to get a Batwoman series in 2019 that looks really good. There may be a breaking point for the Arrowverse at some point, but thankfully this isn't it. It's just a minor work, that's all.
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