Hey everyone! Happy 50th post! Like I promised last week, this week will be all things DCTV crossover, so let's get into it.
I'll be honest: after seeing fandom drama and watching the episodes, it took a lot in me to write this post. The biggest issue us fans had (and rightfully so!) with the episodes was the Nazi imagery. Even though the white male non-Jewish executives' intention may have been to show the Nazis getting taken down by the heroes, it is just plain unnerving to watch a recap of Hitler's reign and shots of concentration camps. When tackling a plotline that involves some of the most horrific acts in history, caution should be taken to avoid problematic elements. DCTV failed in that regard with the murder of Martin Stein, a Jewish man, at the hands of Nazis. Though his death scene was very moving and well-acted, making even the hearts of non-LOT viewers ache, it was just wrong.
The other canonically main Jewish DCTV character is none other than Felicity Smoak, and she, too, suffered immensely. I found it very insensitive that the writers made Earth-X!Oliver a Nazi, and not only that, the Fuhrer. Furthermore, the writers didn't really let Felicity deal with the ramifications of that, dismissing it like typical Olicity drama. (She spoke about it a little towards the second half of the crossover, but I don't think it counts.) What I really wanted to see was Felicity talk about her struggles to Iris, who in turn could relate with her struggles as a black woman. While I immensely enjoyed the Smoakwest content we got, especially when the girls singlehandedly disarmed two Nazis and reveled in their combined badassery, I felt that they could've talked a little less about their significant others and bonded more about being members of marginalized groups.
Then there was the issue of Earth X itself; the writers ended up villainizing the Freedom Fighters for rightfully wanting to prevent their Fuhrer from returning. The heroes' desire to get home being prioritized over defeating actual Nazis was really insensitive. Dude, they've been fighting THEIR ENTIRE LIVES. THEIR DECISIONS ARE JUSTIFIED. There's also the fact that Barry willingly let Reverse Flash go because he's "above killing", even though Eobard Thawne shamelessly aided Nazis. NAZIS!!!!! You can be averse to killing, but there's a line, and Reverse Flash has long crossed it. No one should ever feel guilty for killing a bigoted human, especially when their fiance/wife is a woman of color. Oliver and Kara killed their evil doppelgangers without a second thought, because they're Nazis.
Additionally, there were typical crossover problems: balancing screentime and keeping characters in character. When you have so many characters in the story at once, deciding who takes priority is difficult. Killing Earth-X!James Olsen was...bad. But removing Wally, Joe, Cecile, and Cisco - all PoC - from the narrative almost instantly was definitely problematic. At least Cisco woke up in time for the final takedown, but still. Diggle not being invited to the wedding is absolutely insane, especially when Barry and Iris definitely know him better than Sara and Mick. Baby Team Arrow, which consists of all PoC as well, barely showing up on their own show's portion of the crossover was also annoying. As for character consistency, it was weird to see Iris, who usually fearlessly takes charge of Team Flash on her own show, spin around in her chair waiting for Felicity to come up with ideas. The same problem occurred with Felicity on the Smoakwest Flash episode, too. I've heard from a friend who actually watches LOT that Mick is a decent person, but he was a sexist douchebag this time. It's bizarre that DCTV producers can't write the same personalities for their own characters.
But above all, one of the most controversial plotlines of the crossover was the double Westallen-Olicity wedding. I think it's physically incapable for fans of either ship to praise their OTP without bringing down the other, and as someone who likes both, it's incredibly frustrating to see. While I understand why people wanted their pairings to have their special weddings, I'm just glad to see them finally married, especially Olicity - their marriage was 3 seasons overdue. To this day, I still don't understand why us fans hate each other and our opposing ships so much - not only are they on different shows and therefore don't interfere with each other, I think the wedding has made it clear that Olicity and Westallen are parallels. Felicity and Iris are Oliver and Barry's lights; both leads love their ladies so much. Westallen support Olicity's love, and vice versa. I guess a lot of Westallen stans are mad Felicity interrupted Westallen's impromptu third attempt at marriage so she and Oliver could get married as well, giving them more reason to dislike her, but their reasoning is stupid. Literally no one of importance was there - no Joe, no Wally, no Team Flash. It's not like Felicity prevented the wedding from still happening, like the Nazis did in the crossover's first installment. It's not like Felicity interrupted the formal wedding, which definitely would've been rude. It's strange that Westallen fans hate Felicity for this while Barry actively erases characters of color and lets Nazi supporters go - almost as there's a double standard. Hmmm......
So it sounds like I hated everything, but aside from my faves getting married, I enjoyed my annual content of Sara Lance and Alex Danvers, since I don't watch Supergirl or LOT. I felt a stronger sense of womanhood in this crossover, with the female characters actively collaborating together to solve problems. And of course, everyone fighting together was epic.
Back to regularly scheduled programming next week - we've recapped all my all airing shows, and are starting the cycle over with B99!
Lot of extras that didn't make it in this week:
- Barry commenting "Damn" after seeing Oliver in a suit is a big mood. The crossover made it clear that Smoakwest and Olivarry are canon on other Earths.
- Kara saying "Ew, gross!" at seeing her Earth-X doppelganger being married to Earth-X!Oliver is also a big mood.
- Oliver proudly killing his doppelganger was the best.
- Felicity standing up to Earth-X!Oliver was badass. Did I mention Felicity is a badass?
- I would die for Earth-X!Felicity. She gave her food to the starving Jewish child prisoners. How can you not love her?
- I missed Canarrow's friendship; so glad I got to see it again.
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