DC Crossover Week Recap – Arrow: ‘Invasion!’

Image Credit: The CW

Hello again! Last night was the Arrow installment of the four part crossover event being called DC Week. In order to follow the event to its conclusion we are following the story across each show. Welcome to a special edition Arrow recap. Please note this recap will contain not only spoilers for the episode, but potentially the entire Arrow series.

The episode opens with Oliver Queen jogging through the woods that open up to the backyard of the Queen mansion. Considering that we haven’t seen that in awhile something is clearly up. This is confirmed when he goes inside and takes a shower with Laurel, who is supposed to be dead. The kicker? Oliver and Laurel are talking about their wedding that’s upcoming. Yep. Something is off. What is that something? Oliver, Sara, Thea, Diggle, and Ray are actually in the clutches of the Dominators and are presently in a stasis pod. Think the Matrix, but creepier.

Back in Star City, Team Arrow is hanging out, training and talking about the alien invasion. When Felicity arrives with Cisco and introduces him, however, Rene is not pleased. Why? Cisco is a metahuman and Rene apparently dislikes them. At any rate, Cisco vibes on one of Oliver’s old bows, finds out about the stasis pod, and somehow has a piece of alien tech that Cisco thinks they can use to free the gang.

In stasis land Thea gives Oliver a wedding gift and the Queen parents show up, alive and well. But things are starting to get weird when Oliver is able to catch a vase before it falls as he gets a flash of his real life. Sara shows up as well, and Laurel greets her outside. However when Sara sees Laurel’s necklace (the symbol of the Black Canary) Sara gets upset. She, too, notes something is off.

With so much to do for the wedding, Oliver and his dad go for a walk and talk. On the walk Oliver notices a strange building that is named Smoak Technologies. Definitely not right, but then the pair are mugged and Oliver tries to save his dad. Instead the pair is saved by a vigilante in a green hood. Back home, people are amazed that Oliver was suddenly so brave and Laurel hugs her man, clearly worried about him. Oliver isn’t handling things well, though, as he continues to have flashes of memory and excuses himself.

Back on Earth, they try to use Earth technology on the alien device to try to translate the language. This fails, however, because they need a regulator. Turns out some doctor has recently stolen one and has been using the tech she steals to augment herself. The team wants to go get the tech. Felicity thinks they need backup.

In stasis land, Oliver goes to see Laurel’s dad, Captain Lance. The two men get along, which is definitely not real, and Oliver finds out a little more about this Hood vigilante. Oliver reassures Captain Lance that he is not getting cold feet, but then ditches the rehearsal dinner. He instead goes what he knows is the Arrow hideout in reality and finds Felicity and the Hood. And who is the Hood? Diggle. Who knocks Oliver out. When he wakes, Oliver is interrogated by Diggle and Oliver lays some real memories on him. This upsets Diggle who kicks Oliver out.  Meanwhile at the dinner, Ray and Sara are also both having memory flashes.

Team Arrow teams up with Flash and Supergirl to go after the regulator and Rene continues to have issues with metahumans. However, it’s good they’re there because the non-metahuman team can’t quite deal with mad doctor alone leaving the powered folks to help save the day.

Thea has a moment with her mom that triggers her own flashes of memory. Sara helps Laurel get ready for the wedding, but both ladies are upset with him for dipping out on the dinner. Oliver apologizes and begs Laurel to elope with him. He just wants to be with her, right then, even though the wedding is in just a few hours. He’s afraid to lose her. Laure forgives him, but says they have to go through with the wedding. Diggle shows up and wants a word with Oliver. The two go for a walk and realize that they have both had the memory flashes and have both seen the Smoak building. As they talk, Oliver realizes that this world is likely what his life would have been had he never gotten on the boat with his father. Deathstroke shows up, Diggle and Oliver fight with Sara’s help and after they realize they are trapped in a hallucination. Diggle things the Smoak building might be the way out and they all need to go there.

Back in the house, Thea chats it up with Malcom Merlyn while Sara finds Ray and triggers him to remember. Oliver’s parents intercept him briefly as he makes his way to Thea. They share a moving and warm hug as Oliver realizes this can’t last. When Oliver gets the Thea he finds that she already knows, but she isn’t going to leave. She doesn’t want to lose her parents again. Oliver reluctantly says goodbye. Outside, the crew sans Thea are ready to go but obstacles show up. The obstacles? villains from other seasons. The crew gets ready to fight and Thea shows up to join them.

The fight is epic and something akin to each of them fighting personal demons. Once they each kill their obstacle, though, Laurel rushes outside and tries to beg Sara and Oliver to stay with her. It’s a painful and heartfelt moment when they both say goodbye to Laurel. She’s a hallucination, but she seems so real and it’s just hard on them as they are still grieving her death. Goodbyes said, the group goes to Smoak Technologies and sure enough, there is a weird green portal. As they walk through, Oliver looks back and sees images of those he’s lost before going through as well. Once through the group all awaken and get out of their stasis pods.

On Earth the team uses the regulator to translate the tech and Rory realizes the language is like Hebrew. The translation leads them to odd coordinates for where Oliver and company are. While this is happening, on the aliens hip the gang tries to escape. When the Dominators spot them, Oliver shoots at them with their own weapon which allows the prisoners to finds a smaller ship that they then steal to leave. Thea manages to make it launch, but they have no idea how to pilot it. They’re totally in trouble when suddenly the Waverider shows up and rescues them. On the Waverider Diggle is able to get medical treatment for injuries he sustained in the hallucination and while he does, Oliver figures out that they were kidnapped because they are normal humans. The Dominators were looking in their subconscious for information, but why? Ray remembers something one of the Dominators said and gets Gideon to translate. What does it mean? “We are nearing completion of the weapon.” And then the big Dominator ship? Yeah, it heads to Earth.

Tonight? The finale event on Legends of Tomorrow. Be sure to come back tomorrow for our recap of the crossover finale!