Honestly I was very disappointed with this episode. Obviously I don't really give this episode a one, but it sure as hell doesn't deserve a 9.6, so that was the only way to make my vote somewhat matter. This episode was absolutely ridiculous from the beginning and they could've done so much more with an episode like this, maybe they'll do better tomorrow, but I doubt it. Now let's see...
Problems: -This team-up made no sense whatsoever: The Flash runs into new villains all the time that are arguably much tougher than Savage originally seemed, so him contacting Oliver was ridiculously forced and there are so many other people he would've turned to first, or he'd do this practically every episode making Arrow and The Flash into one show.
-The change in atmosphere was too much: This is a problem that occurs whenever these two shows crossover. You have a generally more serious, darker themed show like arrow and a lighthearted show built on jokes like the flash, the two don't mix very well (although to compensate Arrow is becoming increasingly less dark and realistic to fit the flash). Sadly most of the compensating is done on the side of Arrow. I have never seen Damien Darhk act so...weird. He seemed extra incompetent and he was cracking jokes in a non-creepy way, I mean he was never a super "serious" villain, but it was a little bit too much
-Inconsistency of the characters: I don't get it. Carter Hall, who can grab Barry while Barry is running at super speeds and kicked Oliver's ass in no time flat can be held by normal chains. And what the hell is up with the Flash's speed. He's running over 1300mph, can likely perceive time at a much slower rate than us, or else his powers would simply get him killed, and yet he's just casually tagged by every villain he faces to make them a credible threat. And I still don't exactly get what Vandal Savage can do...he throws knives. I mean I get the staff will give him cool powers, but I mean come on, before that he did nothing cool whatsoever. He made handcuffs switch owners just like the dude in Catch Me If You Can, he hit Barry with one of his knives, and he did better than hold his own against Oliver in a knives vs. arrows fight...wtf??? Nothing makes sense any more. IMO if Barry had turned to other metahumans as opposed to Oliver, he and his team probably could've beaten and contained Savage in their first fight.
-This episode was way too packed and it could've been much more: It managed to achieve nothing yet too much at the same time. They're still technically at square one, they're trying to keep Hawgirl and Hawkman from Savage who is trying to kill them, yet they also have managed to introduce, lazily I might add, a bunch of characters that did nothing. They introduced Darhk for like a second. Malcolm Merlyn, a total badass in season one who has sense turned into Thea's father figure/bitch that she constantly mistreats, but he takes it like a champ, was turned into the official back-up exposition guy behind Carter Hall. By now Malcolm has been declared a joke by everyone and his character has been ruined and the fact that Oliver made him Ra's al Ghul is just bs to try to make a fan favourite character rise back to glory. And now the writers are cramming him back down our throats. Harrison Wells made a temporary speed formula for the purpose of it being used later to revive him after he was shot. On another note, I would've loved to have seen how Zoom would've done against Savage with the rod he obtained at the end, but I never will. This episode actually lacked a lot of depth, which is probably why it was so sub-par.
-Acting: The acting was poor in a lot of areas, but that was mainly due to a lot of the lines and humour being completely weird with the change of atmosphere. Like whenever Thea said anything it seemed out of place, as well as Barry and Oliver on the job together with their different ideals and ways of solving problems just makes me feel uncomfortable. It also doesn't help that Grant Gustin is a terrible actor and can't portray emotional depth, so even in the toughest and darkest of situations he manages to make everything a joke.
-The lack of mystery: Ever since Arrow Season 3 these shows seem to lack mystery. I mean Flash s1 had some good mystery and s2 does too, but I honestly don't think Arrow s4 has really any besides the question of what Darhk will do, but it just seems hard to watch nowadays. I don't see Legends of Tomorrow having any good plot whatsoever due to the fact that there won't be a lot of mystery.
Positives: -The episode was kind of fun
Final Rating: 4/10
Problems: -This team-up made no sense whatsoever: The Flash runs into new villains all the time that are arguably much tougher than Savage originally seemed, so him contacting Oliver was ridiculously forced and there are so many other people he would've turned to first, or he'd do this practically every episode making Arrow and The Flash into one show.
-The change in atmosphere was too much: This is a problem that occurs whenever these two shows crossover. You have a generally more serious, darker themed show like arrow and a lighthearted show built on jokes like the flash, the two don't mix very well (although to compensate Arrow is becoming increasingly less dark and realistic to fit the flash). Sadly most of the compensating is done on the side of Arrow. I have never seen Damien Darhk act so...weird. He seemed extra incompetent and he was cracking jokes in a non-creepy way, I mean he was never a super "serious" villain, but it was a little bit too much
-Inconsistency of the characters: I don't get it. Carter Hall, who can grab Barry while Barry is running at super speeds and kicked Oliver's ass in no time flat can be held by normal chains. And what the hell is up with the Flash's speed. He's running over 1300mph, can likely perceive time at a much slower rate than us, or else his powers would simply get him killed, and yet he's just casually tagged by every villain he faces to make them a credible threat. And I still don't exactly get what Vandal Savage can do...he throws knives. I mean I get the staff will give him cool powers, but I mean come on, before that he did nothing cool whatsoever. He made handcuffs switch owners just like the dude in Catch Me If You Can, he hit Barry with one of his knives, and he did better than hold his own against Oliver in a knives vs. arrows fight...wtf??? Nothing makes sense any more. IMO if Barry had turned to other metahumans as opposed to Oliver, he and his team probably could've beaten and contained Savage in their first fight.
-This episode was way too packed and it could've been much more: It managed to achieve nothing yet too much at the same time. They're still technically at square one, they're trying to keep Hawgirl and Hawkman from Savage who is trying to kill them, yet they also have managed to introduce, lazily I might add, a bunch of characters that did nothing. They introduced Darhk for like a second. Malcolm Merlyn, a total badass in season one who has sense turned into Thea's father figure/bitch that she constantly mistreats, but he takes it like a champ, was turned into the official back-up exposition guy behind Carter Hall. By now Malcolm has been declared a joke by everyone and his character has been ruined and the fact that Oliver made him Ra's al Ghul is just bs to try to make a fan favourite character rise back to glory. And now the writers are cramming him back down our throats. Harrison Wells made a temporary speed formula for the purpose of it being used later to revive him after he was shot. On another note, I would've loved to have seen how Zoom would've done against Savage with the rod he obtained at the end, but I never will. This episode actually lacked a lot of depth, which is probably why it was so sub-par.
-Acting: The acting was poor in a lot of areas, but that was mainly due to a lot of the lines and humour being completely weird with the change of atmosphere. Like whenever Thea said anything it seemed out of place, as well as Barry and Oliver on the job together with their different ideals and ways of solving problems just makes me feel uncomfortable. It also doesn't help that Grant Gustin is a terrible actor and can't portray emotional depth, so even in the toughest and darkest of situations he manages to make everything a joke.
-The lack of mystery: Ever since Arrow Season 3 these shows seem to lack mystery. I mean Flash s1 had some good mystery and s2 does too, but I honestly don't think Arrow s4 has really any besides the question of what Darhk will do, but it just seems hard to watch nowadays. I don't see Legends of Tomorrow having any good plot whatsoever due to the fact that there won't be a lot of mystery.
Positives: -The episode was kind of fun
Final Rating: 4/10