The FlashBack Special Edition: Arrow – ‘Legends of Yesterday’

The Flash is DC’s television adaptation of the comic book of the same name. It airs Tuesday nights at 8/7 Central on The CW. Our writer, Nicole Drum recaps the series each week updating you on the latest episode here in The FlashBack.

Image Credit: The CW

Hey there Flash fans! As promised I’m bringing you a recap of the second half The Flash and Arrow crossover event. You can read The Flash recap here. As always remember there are spoilers beyond this point.

Last night’s episode more or less ties the events of “Legends of Today” into a neat bow and sets up for the January 21st premiere of Legends of Tomorrow. However where Tuesday’s episode of The Flash was largely a really well-done ensemble piece, last night’s Arrow was definitely an Arrow episode. We start with a little history lesson per the DC universe. We get Ancient Times Kendra and Carter, or as they are known then, Chay-ara and Khufu. It seems that Chay-ara really is a powerful priestess and Khufu is the Pharaoh’s son while Vandal Savage? He’s also part of the picture. It also establishes that Khufu and Chay-ara have a secret relationship that Vandal has picked up on. The dude is creepy. Unfortunately it doesn’t distract from the fact that they make a pretty bad mockery of Ancient Egypt.

Back in present time, Kendra isn’t keen on letting Carter know that she remembers so she plays it off as they and the entire combined crew end up at a remote farmhouse in the general Central City area. The combined Arrow and Flash teams all have work to do to prepare for how they are going to deal with Savage. Oliver also has his own mission, which is to find out about the child his ex-girlfriend has so he goes off to do that, confronting the woman, who denies that the boy is Oliver’s. Oliver manages to get a hair sample off of a hat.

Arrow, Malcolm, and Flash have a little meeting with Vandal Savage to find out what he wants over in a warehouse in Central City. Nuts and bolts is that he wants Kendra and Carter, which we already knew, and now he’s given them a 24 hour deadline. What is interesting more than the deadline is that on the way to the meeting, Flash saw his “ghost” which means that there is a time jump. This disconcerts Barry, who tries to get some reassurance from Cisco.

There is a lot of exposition in this episode. Carter tries to get Kendra to tap into her rage to unlock her full ability and she continues to resist her memories. Oliver gets his DNA test and yes, little William is his. He tries to keep it from Felicity, but she finds out anyway and is really upset that he doesn’t trust her and they have what appears to be a relationship-ending fight. Cisco and the rest of the science squad makes gauntlets they suspect will let them take the staff. At the appointed time they (and by they I mean Flash, Arrow, the Hawks,) go to the warehouse to take down Savage and it goes very, very badly. Kendra can’t tap into her powers, the fight doesn’t go as planned, and Savage wins. Everyone dies. Literally, everyone dies. Except Barry who manages to outrun the cosmic wave of death and in doing so runs so fast that he jumps back in time and ends up at the initial meeting with Savage.

Barry confides in Oliver about the time jump and just how catastrophically bad things go. This changes everything. Barry tells Oliver about William without the need for them to go to Barry’s lab which means Felicity doesn’t find out and the fight doesn’t happen. Cisco goes to talk with Kendra to help her unlock her Hawk side and does so not with rage but by helping her embrace her past. That works and she fully and completely remembers her first death. memory gives her a lead on how they might be able to defeat Savage. It seems that Nth metal, that came from meteors that historically destroyed ancient Egypt, is the key. The team is able to get some (by stealing it from a museum) and use it to make the gauntlets work. And this time? They let the rest of the team come to help.

The fight goes down differently this time. Kendra can access her powers which works as the distraction they need. The entire team is able to wrestle with Savage which allows the Flash, and later Arrow, to grab the staff and use it against Savage. He is reduced to ash and the staff disappears. The good guys appear to win.

With the battle won Kendra and Carter decide to leave Central City for St. Roch. This means that Kendra and Cisco are over, which is sad and yet kind of sweet as Cisco makes her a special call button out of Nth metal and she gives him a kiss of thanks for helping her truly accept herself. Barry and Oliver hug before Oliver heads over to talk to his ex about William. She agrees to let him see William under the condition that he tells no one, and that he tells William he is just “mommy’s friend.” There is a charming scene where he plays action figures with William, who is a huge fan of The Flash (and also has an action figure of Captain Cold that I now want.)

Back in Star City, Felicity asks Oliver about what he was working on and he tells her it doesn’t it matter. It’s over and he’s happy to be home with her. He elects not to tell Felicity about his son even after she talks about wanting to be able to help him and be on his team. This can’t be good.

And in the warehouse? Malcolm is collecting the ashes of Savage and puts them in a container. Oh this isn’t over yet.

And that concludes the crossover event. The shows have set up nicely for the upcoming Legends of Tomorrow, which was the primary aim of the event. What did you guys think of this year’s crossover? How do you feel about Savage or our newly minted Hawkman and Hawkgirl? Let’s talk in the comments!