The Flash crosses over with Supergirl for a thoroughly entertaining comedy musical episode…
Ever since the announcement that The Flash and Supergirl would crossover for a musical episode, I’ve been eagerly awaiting it. Though I’m not particularly a musical fan, Buffy‘s ‘Once More With Feeling’ is one of my favourite TV episodes of all time for its sheer entertainment factor. So how did ‘Duet’ measure up? Just as I hoped it would be, it served as a welcome breath of fresh air for a season where The Flash has often lost its core sense of fun.
First of all, the big question with musical episodes is how do you explain why everyone is suddenly singing? Given that, the decision to stick Barry and Kara in a dream world fuelled by their mutual love of musicals was a smart move. It was also the only way to bring together every Arrowverse actor who can sing for some great cameos (e.g. John Barrowman, Victor Garber, Jeremy Jordan et al). Another good idea was to have them aware that they are in a musical, which allowed them to make some meta jokes about the many nods to famous movies.
So how are the songs? Mostly, we get several Glee-like covers including Kara’s soulful ‘Moon River’ and The Music Meister’s ‘Put A Little Love In Your Heart’. The best, though, were absolutely the two original songs. Barry’s final declaration of love to Iris ‘Runnin’ Home to You’ was a touching ballad, which isn’t surprising seeing as it was written by the songwriters of La La Land. Personally, the best has to be ‘Super-Friends’ which was not only catchy but had some terrific lines in there, too (“I love you more than the lightning bolt I wear on my chest”). And if you were less enthused with the songs at least there was some great crossover action going on in the real world. Having Cisco, Kid Flash and Martin Manhunter teaming up to stop Music Meister was squee-inducing for DC fans.
However, the highlight for me was simply having Barry and Kara together again. The two superheroes bring out the best sides of each other – the perky, fun sides that often get buried in the drama of their own shows – and Grant Gustin and Melissa Benoist have amazing chemistry together (though I’m not one of the fans rooting for them to get together). After ‘Worlds Finest’ in Supergirl season one and now this, I would be extremely happy of this crossover became a yearly tradition. Though good luck topping this one next year.
The only criticism I have isn’t really the fault of the episode. Thankfully, the writers aimed to make the episode important by having the two heroes sort out their love lives, thereby stopping ‘Duet’ from becoming simply filler. However, the conflicts between Kara/Mon and Barry/Iris had felt contrived in previous episodes so their reconciliations here don’t feel quite as emotional as they should.
Of course, your feelings towards ‘Duet’ will depend on your mileage for characters bursting into song. For this reviewer, while you wouldn’t want The Flash to be this light-hearted and inconsequential every week, it served as a welcome reminder that it’s OK for The Flash to enjoy itself from time to time.
Speed Thoughts (On The Music Meister):
- With his reality-warping powers, I wonder if Music Meister hailed from the Fifth Dimension, much like Mr Mxyzptlk? They even have the same initials.
- We found out in ‘Borrowing Problems From The Future’ that Music Meister gets himself a six-figure book deal in the near future. Uh, good for him!
- So Music Meister stole Barry and Kara’s powers just to play relationship counselor? Riiiight.
Rating:
Fandom Factory 