Supergirl S04 EP09 spoiler review (crossover episode)

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The annual crossovers have always been fun, but they have never left me as pumped as I was throughout this year right up to the third and final episode of the "Elseworlds" crossover.
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Just like how the previous episode began with Barry in place of Oliver during the opening of the show, this episode gave us a new kind of opening with John Deegan explaining how he was a Arkham doctor until a strange being gave him a book to rewrite destiny, and now he is Superman. That's right, the black suited Superman was John Deegan who made himself the city's hero. In effect, he made Barry and Oliver the villains, with the episode picking up with the three of them squaring off on the rooftop. Oliver managed to use Deegan's desire to be the hero against him though as he sent a crane falling towards a group of innocent bystanders, forcing Deegan to go save the day while Barry and Oliver escaped. I loved the scene of the two of them afterwards with Barry ready to throw up after having done something bad, which was funny and a good way to show that he will never be as dark as Oliver.

They sought out Cisco, but find themselves in an astral plane atop a UFO-esque disc courtesy of the Monitor who told them that they were doing the best that any universe had thus far done. These shows have gotten so crazy that Oliver and Barry can hop into the Monitor's own dimension talking about alternate realities and it doesn't seem out of place. The two of them found Cisco as the head of a crime organization, keeping up the streak that any Cisco in any alternate realities aren't that great (Earth-2 Reverb, Flashpoint millionaire dick), but Barry was able to appeal to his inner true-Cisco and they used his vibe powers to travel to Earth-38 where reality had not been altered, and where they could find the real Superman.

Meanwhile, on Earth-1, things are very Injustice-y as Super-Deegan returns to Star Labs where soldiers wearing his emblem load on heaps of praise for being so amazing and heroic. Deegan is calmed by their compliments, after being furious over losing Barry and Oliver, and goes to visit Kara who is locked in the pipeline. He questions who she is, telling her that both her and Superman were blank slates in the book of destiny. He knew nothing of them except that they fought Amazo, meaning that she must come from another world; while he did not directly say that he wanted to conquer other worlds as well, it was pretty evident that would be his intent and that just followed along with the whole Injustice call outs. She managed to escape though by appealing to the Earth-1 version of her sister, Alex.

Barry, Oliver, and criminal-Cisco vibe into the Fortress of Solitude, find Clark and Lois, and immediately tell them the situation, including the fact that Kara is nowhere to be found. Superman accompanied them back to Earth-1 just as Deegan was about to confront Kara, and I know I keep saying this but the whole situation seemed just like Injustice! They go to another universe, bring their Superman back to fight an evil, overlord Superman in an alternate reality! It was so awesome to see it in live action though, and the fight between the two Supermen was so super and even included a Bizarro reference. Oliver took down Killer Frost and Diggle while Flash, Alex, and Kara located the book of desinty and got it into the hands of Earth-38 Superman who returned their powers, and nearly fixed reality before Deegan flew down and threatened to snap Barry's neck.We got to see a kryptonite arrow in Oliver's possession which he nearly used to kill Deegan before Barry convinced him not to be a killer, then Deegan took the book back and returned to rewriting reality.

The episode got even cooler from there! There was a massive reference to the original Superman movie as Flash and Supergirl decided to rush around the world fast enough to slow its rotation, which would slow down time for them to defeat Deegan (even though that is definitely not how time works); however, Superman saw in the book of destiny that when they do that they will die. Despite this, Barry and Kara set out the save the earth while Superman once again confronts Deegan, this time with the help of Lois, Martian Manhunter, and Brainiac 5, and Oliver seeks out the Monitor.

One of my favorite Oliver scenes of all time took place as he confronted the Monitor once again in his own realm, making a point that no other universe has challenged the god the way that Oliver was doing in that moment. Oliver then told the Monitor that they were told that to win they would have to know themselves, and Oliver recognized the darkness inside himself and the fact that Barry and Kara were the opposite, both full of hope and optimism, and that if the Monitor lets them die it would be a mistake. The Monitor postulated that there would have to be a trade to balance out the universe, and we next see Oliver using some kind of blue arrow to destroy the book of destiny. Barry and Kara do not die, and Deegan is returned to a scarred, disfigured version of himself, with the book of destiny now just an old piece of parchment.

The characters from Earth-38 are given their send off, followed by a terrific scene between Kara, Clark and Lois where the latter revealed that they were going to have a child and would be heading to a surviving city of Krypton for the duration of the pregnancy, followed by a scene of Clark proposing to Lois which rounded out the scenes of Superman in the crossover and sorely hope to see him again soon.

Barry and Oliver relax with beers at a bar until Oliver gets a call from Batwoman who tells him that Deegan has made a new friend in Arkham, and the show gives us a look at this year's villain with Psycho Pirate reciting, "Worlds will live, worlds will die, and the universe will never be the same," which lead into the teaser for next year's crossover which was simply a banner that read, "Crisis on Infinite Earths."

CRISES ON INFINITE EARTHS!!!!! One of DC's biggest comics in which the Anti-Monitor arrived to destroy the multiverse, during which both Supergirl and Flash die! There are certainly going to be many differences between the show's version and the comic book but the fact that they are tackling such a massive story is so huge! The only stipulation I have is that I thought that given that the future newspaper in Flash that declared the Flash "disappears in crisis" was dated at 2024, Crises on Infinite Earths would be the end of the show and see Flash sacrifice himself at the very end of the series. They will almost definitely not kill Barry off in only the 6th season of the Flash, leading me to wonder how it will play out. Possibly Supergirl will meet her end? My biggest guess though is that it will be Oliver to go, given that his show has reached the near end of its lifespan, and we were never directly told what Oliver gave the Monitor in return for saving Barry and Kara. It could of very well been the destruction of the book of destiny, but the fact that they never told us leaves it open for Oliver agreeing to give him own life when the time came. Fall 2019 we will find out exactly how it all plays out, but one thing is for sure, I will be pumped for it all throughout the wait.

Elseworlds gave us so much though, in a very complete and creative story that had tons of great references, lines, and uses of characters to keep us entertained throughout three nights. We got the inclusion of Amazo for the first time, Superman present for all three nights for major roles, the introduction of Batwoman and the Gotham mythos, along with Deegan/Doctor Destiny, the Monitor, and the ultimate tease for Crises on Infinite Earths. The crossover started so simply with the heroes swapping bodies, but grew to major proportions and it all worked out perfectly. These characters have grown to be real people with strong connections and relationships, so I'm already feeling like CW's Crises on Infinite Earths will be their "Infinity War," and while I feel like it may be just a tad too soon, I cannot wait to see how this universe is rocked.