REVIEW: Supergirl, S5E9 – Crisis on Infinite Earths, Part 1

“Crisis on Infinite Earths” is a bittersweet milestone, marking just how widespread the Arrowverse has become while simultaneously decimating large swaths of it. Supergirl opens with a monologue from the Monitor (LaMonica Garrett) about the Age of Heroes, leading to a montage of said heroes across the DC multiverse just before they’re wiped out of existence. Not sure how the Earth the Titans are on can be eliminated when they’re coming back for another season, but that’s not what’s important right now.

The first important planet to be taken actually occurs on Earth-38, as Kara (Melissa Benoist) is powerless to prevent anti-matter from destroying Argo and her mother along with it. She barely gets a moment to grieve, though, as the team are joined by their fellow superheroes from other shows and ordered by the Monitor to begin preparing for the Anti-Monitor’s army. While the fast pace and overcrowding are big problems with the “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover already, at least Kara gets a lovely moment to commiserate with her cousin Clark (Tyler Hoechlin), who also survived the blow. Her optimism and faith in the face of overwhelming odds perfectly explain why Oliver (Stephen Amell) would think it worthwhile to sacrifice his life for hers – and Barry’s (Grant Gustin), though the latter doesn’t get to do much of anything in the first hour.

Babies across time and space.

Clark and Lois (Bitsie Tulloch) sent their song Johnathan to Earth in a pod amidst the end of Argo, not expecting to survive themselves. Thanks to Harbinger (Audrey Marie Anderson) bailing them out at the last second, though, they were tasked with finding their lost child before this planet imploded. Since Superman had to stay and guard the Quantum Tower in an effort to stave off the Crisis, Lois is accompanied by Sara (Caity Lotz) in their trip to the future of 2046. Only, for unexplained reasons, it’s Earth-16 that baby Johnathan landed on rather than Earth-38. And Earth-16’s Oliver lost Sara in the Gambit for good, leading to him beating himself up ever since.

This isn’t the only heartfelt conversation Oliver gets to have, which is odd considering its an hour meant for Supergirl, but it is the one most awkwardly placed. As this isn’t our Oliver, there isn’t really a need to see Sara absolve him of her doppelganger’s death. Not to mention that her becoming a better person after a long and arduous journey that began with the Queen’s Gambit doesn’t make his choice to bring her the right one. But considering that the first part of “Crisis on Infinite Earths” ends with Oliver’s ostensible death, this serves to highlight how heroic the multiverse considers him to be.

Our Oliver, meanwhile, has yet another touching conversation with his daughter Mia (Katherine McNamara). The youngest Queen is being thoroughly prepared to take over her father’s mantle and lead her own show, but nothing prepared me as a viewer for Oliver’s death in tonight’s episode. After refusing to follow the Monitor’s escape plan, he stays behind on Earth-38 to battle anti-matter demons so that billions more citizens can survive. His final moments with Barry, Kara and Mia are touching yet difficult to fully believe. He can’t really die in the first hour, can he?

Anyone else feel the chemistry?

Back to Supergirl matters, the ongoing feud between Kara and Lena (Katie McGrath) isn’t forgotten due to the upcoming apocalypse, which is a very good thing. Instead, Alex (Chyler Leigh) takes the opportunity to ask Lena to put her grudge on hold in order to build the tech needed for the people of Earth-38 to evacuate. Though she resents Alex’s doubt, Lena steps up to the plate and saves the day – all while reminding the Danvers sisters that their quarrels aren’t over yet.

The rest of the cast get a moment or two to shine as well, such as Kelly (Azie Tesfai) picking up her brother’s shield to fight with or Brainy (Jesse Rath) making 2046 quips on that particular sidequest. Overall, while “Crisis on Infinite Earths, Part 1” doesn’t quite feel like a Supergirl episode, it incorporates the show’s characters and world better than any previous crossover has. Now the question is what will happen to the people of said world (half of whom died) now that said planet has been obliterated. Hope Earth-1 isn’t suffering from overpopulation…

Supergirl airs Sundays at 9/8c on The CW. “Crisis on Infinite Earths, Part 2” will air tomorrow during Batwoman.