What do the most extraordinary people do during the most extraordinary crisis of their lives? They fight. They fight to save lives, to save universes. If need be, any of them would give their lives. But only one did. Thus far, anyway. And they will be missed. Although I have a feeling we.may be seeing more of them during this event. Or an alternate universe version of them, at least.
Oliver Queen is where it all began. The Vigilante. The Hood. Arrow. Green Arrow. We were introduced to a former playboy on a mission to fix his city after being stranded (more or less) on a mysterious island. He worked alone. He had no time for a personal life. It was all about the mission.
That is not the Oliver Queen that passed in this episode. This man had a family. He had a sister, wife, son, and daughter. But he also had Barry, Kara, Diggs, and a number of other found family members. He had a team he had built over almost a decade of protecting his city. But none of them become who they are without Oliver.
The majority of this episode is set on Earth-38, Supergirl’s Earth. As the antimatter wave nears this universe, our heroes devise a plan to move the planet's population to Earth-1. They fight to hold off an army of shadow demons to allow those people to escape. When the Monitor appears and, having determined the battle lost, begins to transport the heroes to Earth-1, Oliver immobilizes him.
The only hero left on Earth-38, Oliver is determined to fight until the entire planet is evacuated. Eventually, he runs out of arrows. What is the Green Arrow without arrows? A trained martial artist. Oliver charges the shadow demons, defeating as many as possible. The Monitor transports him to Earth-1 with just enough life to say goodbye to his comrades.
Oliver dedicated himself to his city. In the end, Oliver grew to be something much more. He is the shining example for all the heroes here. Not Superman or Supergirl or Flash. The Green Arrow. The man who just wanted to save his city, gave his life to save an entire planet, someone else’s planet. Rest in peace, Ollie. You deserve it.
Other Important Notes:
This is technically an episode of Supergirl and that cast took center stage when Oliver wasn’t around. Lena and Alex build the portal through which approximately 3 million escape to Earth-1. Their relationship is extremely contentious at the moment, but they work extremely well together. J’onn leads the evacuation effort directly. At the beginning of the episode, J’onn reminds us that the Monitor freed his brother to ensure J’onn was ready for an important role in Crisis. Hopefully the evacuation isn’t that role.
Lois, Sarah, and Brainy travel to Earth-16 in the year 2046, which Sarah previously visited in an episode of Legends of Tomorrow. Although it was acknowledged as the future of Earth-1 at that time, but can’t be because it contradicts Mia’s future. It’s all handwaved away and I don’t mind because Legends and Flash are all about messing with the timeline anyway. Sarah gets a goodbye scene with this Earth’s Oliver, reassuring him that he’s a good man here and on every Earth.
The reason behind that trip to Earth-16 is to find Jon Kent, whose rocket ship went into a multiversal, time traveling wormhole. The reason he’s on said ship is because Argo City was hit by the antimatter wave hours before Earth-38. So, Lois and Clark load him into the only transport pod and send him to Earth. This scene is my favorite reference in the entire show. The dialogue in this scene is the same as the dialogue in Superman when Clark is sent to Earth. It’s cool.
An early scene in the episode has Wil Wheaton as a man in the streets warning of doom and the end times. He is then attacked by Spike the Alien Dragon (First seen in Supergirl Season 4’s excellent “Call to Action”). He is saved by Supergirl, a constant metaphor for Hope and it’s power. This is expanded upon later in one of the episode's best scenes. Superman is on the verge of giving up. The multiverse is dying, his son and wife are in the future of a different Earth, and he’s just lost his people, again. But Kara explains to him that they’re not gone. Krypton isn’t gone. They are Krypton. Krypton is a symbol of hope because Clark and Kara are able to represent that and share with the price of Earth. They’re able to share their history with the people of Earth. Hope may be all they have left but it’s also the only thing that mattered to begin with.
When Oliver learns that the Monitor told Barry he must die in Crisis, he summons the Monitor to have a shouting match. Notably, the Monitor mentions at the end of the episode that this is not the end he foresaw for Oliver. This makes me think Barry or someone else (J’onn maybe?) will have to take his place in whatever situation that will be.
We get to see Earth-89 (Home of Batman) Michael Keaton) featuring Robert Wuhl's Alexander Knox, Earth-66 (Home of a different Batman) featuring Burt's Dick Grayson and Ace the Bathound, Earth-9 (Home of Titans, among others) featuring Alan Ritchson and Curran Walters as Hawk and Robin, and Earth-X featuring Russell Tovey's Ray decimated by the antimatter wave.
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