Arrow 7x9 : Elseworlds (2) revew

Be warned there will be *SPOILERS* involved in this review. With that being said let's get into it

Part 2 of the crossover between Arrow, The Flash and Supergirl begins in Star City where lightning strikes are scattered across the skyline. Curtis and ARGUS come into contact with Deathstroke's son whom they attempt to take down. Things don't appear to be going all that smooth however as he gets the upper hand of the ARGUS agents. That is until Oliver, Barry and Kara show up to offer some much needed help. Back at the ARGUS safe location and Oliver, Barry and Kara ask Dig and the others to keep Star City safe while they all go to Gotham City to try and find out and reverse exactly what happened to them. Oliver and Barry actually talk about Batman as they leave the building. Oliver thinks he is a myth created by the GCPD to cause panic among criminals while Barry really does believe he exists. And exists he does as Kara flys Barry into Gotham City and Oliver speeds up a building they find the bat signal where we once again see Batwoman standing high above a building. As our hero's continue their journey to find what happened to them they learn of John Deegan and also of The Book Of Destiny that was used to alter reality. 

As they go deeper in Gotham Barry, Oliver and Kara are greeted by some thugs who threaten them. Kara stops a bullet with her hand but Barry ends up losing control in his Green Arrow persona. The GCPD arrives and actually arrests all 3 leaving them in a Gotham City jail cell. They are all eventually bailed out by none other than Kate Kane who is played by Ruby Rose. Ruby looks the part especially when she suits up later in the episode. Kate who is now using Bruce Wayne's office as her sort of digs tells Kara that John Deegan is a doctor who works at Arkham Asylum. So it's a trip to Arkham for everyone as inside plenty of villains are namedropped on their cell doors. First of we see B Karlo which is a nod to the original Clayface. Then we see riddles on the wall next to the words E Nygma on the cell door. There was others too but they were the biggest ones I found. Deeper into Arkham and eventually Oliver who is with Dig end up finding John Deegan who tells them what he did and also says he isn't going to reverse it. Oliver threatens him but he lets the prisoners out of their cells as all hell breaks loose in and around Arkham Asylum. This is when Batwoman shows up and helps Barry on the outside as he struggles with the inmates. She tells them that Kate Kane told them to leave Gotham but they didn't listen. Inside however Kara manages to get the Book Of Destiny from John Deegan and returns it to Star City where Felicity, Cisco, Curtis and Caitlin all work on trying to open it. 
                               
I really liked Ruby Rose as Batwoman / Kate Kane. While she wasn't on screen all that long she did offer a glimpse into how good she could play the role and what a Batwoman show could be like. Back at the ARGUS safe location and the Earth-90 Flash who we saw at the beginning of this crossover vibes into the room telling everyone just what has been happening. The Monitor has been travelling from earth to earth testing it's hero's for a crisis that is coming. Someone is coming who is even more powerful than The Monitor himself. Speaking of The Monitor he too shows up in the streets of Star City and is met by all hero's including the 90's Flash Barry Allen. The Monitor makes quick work of The Flash but leaves the others but not before taking the Book Of Destiny back by just a click of his fingers. He returns it to a distraught John Deegan in Arkham Asylum and tells him to think bigger and better. This leads to him changing reality once again where we see Barry and Oliver have now become The Trigger Twins. Two criminals who are on the run after a bank robbery. The cops show up and it's actually Malcolm Merlyn, Deathstroke's son and Ricardo Diaz which was pretty funny. Oliver and Barry make a run for it but are ultimately met by the black suited Superman who tells them that no matter where they run he will always find them. And that is how the episode ends as the third and final part of the crossover will begin on Supergirl.

Overall this episode was a bit of a mixed bag for me. Some parts were truly epic like the various Batman villain references and the introduction of Batwoman but other parts like Oliver and Felicity's relationship just dragged the whole thing down. It is nowhere near as good as part 1 but it is a solid part 2 which leaves me hoping for a grand finale in part 3. 

★★★