Flash vs. Arrow

Roy Bivolo, a metahuman with the power to send people into an uncontrollable rage, uses his powers to rob the Central City bank. Police detective Eddie Thawne proposes to capture the Flash because he was at the crime scene, but is rejected by the captain. The police track Bivolo to a warehouse, where he uses his powers on a cop to facilitate his escape. Barry Allen arrives to save Joe West, but is almost injured himself before Oliver Queen, as the "Arrow" vigilante, arrives to stop the cop. Later, Oliver informs Barry that he and his team are in Central City tracking down intel on a killer who uses lethal steel boomerangs. Barry and his friends suggests that they team-up to catch each other's targets and Oliver reluctantly agrees. Oliver tries to teach Barry to be more mindful of his surroundings, but Barry decides to go after Bivolo by himself. Bivolo uses his ability on Barry's mind; but because of Barry's speed, its effects last longer and he begins to snap at those he cares for. Eddie continues to persuade his superiors to form a task force unit to capture the Flash, expressing his zero tolerance for vigilantes. When an enraged Barry, as the Flash, attacks Eddie, Oliver tries to stop Barry, and the two engage in a fight. Oliver manages to wrangle Barry long enough for Harrison Wells and Joe to use strobe light to reset Barry's emotional state. Barry and Oliver capture Bivolo and place him in the pipeline prison at S.T.A.R. Labs. Due to the incident, Eddie forms a task unit to arrest the Flash. Barry confirms Oliver's belief that the former has still a lot to learn. Oliver advises him to stay away from Iris West, with whom Barry is in love, for a while, because men with secret identities as vigilantes never succeed romantically. Oliver asks Team Flash to keep his alter ego as the Arrow, a secret. A new mysterious metahuman able to manipulate fire appears in Central City. In a flashback set in Hong Kong, Oliver learns how to torture suspects to gain information. In the present, Oliver and Roy Harper locate Digger Harkness, the boomerang-wielding killer, where they find A.R.G.U.S. operatives looking for him as well. Caitlin Snow and Cisco Ramon arrive in Starling City to help Felicity Smoak investigate Sara Lance's homicidal murderer. Digger attempts to kill Lyla Michaels, Roy, and Oliver, but Barry arrives and stops him. Later, Lyla reveals that Digger was part of the Suicide Squad. When Oliver uses his extreme interrogation methods on a Russian mob member to locate Digger, Barry questions how emotionally stable Oliver is with his past tragedies to torture people. Digger locates Oliver's base and wounds Lyla before escaping. In order to leave town, Digger plants five bombs around the city. While Oliver captures Digger, Barry uses both of their teams to defuse the bombs simultaneously. Digger is incarcerated on Lian Yu with Slade Wilson. Before Barry and his team's departure to Central City, Cisco and Caitlin gives Oliver his suit improvements and utilities, he and Oliver learned their lessons and decide to have a friendly duel. == Cast and characters ==

Main • Note: Despite being credited, John Barrowman does not appear in the Arrow episode. Guest The Flash • Paul Anthony as Roy Bivolo / Rainbow Raider • Anna Hopkins as Samantha Clayton • Patrick Sabongui as David Singh • Robbie Amell as Ronnie Raymond / Firestorm Arrow • Audrey Marie Anderson as Lyla Michaels • Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Amanda Waller • Nick E. Tarabay as Digger Harkness / Captain Boomerang == Production ==

Development The first indication of potential crossover events in the Arrowverse occurred on The CW during the 2013–14 television season, when Barry Allen was introduced in the eighth episode of Arrows second season ahead of the debut of The Flash. Filming Filming of the two episodes occurred from September 24, 2014, until October 8, 2014. The Flashs episode was directed by Glen Winter, and Arrows by Jesse Warn. The fight scene between the Flash and Arrow in The Flash episode was shot over three nights. Because this was the first time Stephen Amell's character fought someone with superpowers, he had to change the way he performed stunts to accommodate the special effects. Comparing the filming of both series, Grant Gustin described The Flash shooting as "really tedious," working with "a lot of plate shots that are empty shots of the area we are going to be in" and later added in post-production, as opposed to Arrow where "they shoot it from the perfect angles and what you see is what you get". Gustin also recalled at times it got confusing on set because they were shooting both episodes at the same time. == Music ==

On December 18, 2014, WaterTower Music released a selection of music from The Flash/Arrow crossover episodes, as well as two bonus tracks from their respective 2014 mid-season finales. Discussing the challenge of merging the themes of both shows into a cohesive score, composer Blake Neely noted that "It wasn't difficult because I originally designed the two shows to have styles and sounds that could merge and live together when necessary, but also hopefully stand alone as two distinct music worlds." The two bonus tracks were included on the album because "they proved very popular with the fans of the special event". Neely said, "As we were coming to completion and [the album] was about to go, I got all these tweets about these two pieces that people were loving, [and] I just had this idea, let's throw them on as bonus tracks... The fans asked for it and they got it." All music composed by Blake Neely. == Release ==

Broadcast The "Flash vs. Arrow" crossover episodes were shown at an exclusive fan screening at the Crest Theatre in Westwood, Los Angeles on November 22, 2014. Afterwards, Amell, Gustin, David Ramsey, Emily Bett Rickards, Danielle Panabaker and Carlos Valdes were joined by executive producers Berlanti, Kreisberg and Guggenheim for a Q&A panel. The first part of the crossover, The Flash, was broadcast on December 2, 2014, followed by part two on Arrow on December 3, both on The CW. The crossover was simulcast with the US broadcast in Canada on CTV. It first aired in the United Kingdom on Channel 5 on December 16 and 18, 2014. In Australia, the episodes aired back-to-back on January 28, 2015, on Fox8, after Nine Network, which broadcasts Arrow, allowed Fox8 to air the Arrow episode of the crossover. Home media The episodes, along with the rest of The Flashs first season and Arrows third season, were released separately on Blu-ray and DVD on September 22, 2015. Bonus features include behind-the-scenes featurettes, audio commentary, deleted scenes, and a blooper reel. The episodes became available for streaming on Netflix on October 6 and 7, 2015, respectively. == Reception ==

Ratings The Flash episode had the second-highest number of viewers following the series premiere on October 7, 2014, Jesse Schedeen of IGN gave The Flash episode a 7.8 out of 10. He said the "Flash vs. Arrow" episode was "fun" with its focus "on the sheer entertainment value in seeing these two heroes and their allies cross paths"... and "to see the relationship between Barry and Ollie continue to evolve". As "a largely standalone episode" its scope was limited resulting "in yet another underdeveloped villain." Giving the episode a 9.2 out of 10, Schedeen stated it was a "blast to watch" and was "a more cohesive and satisfying episode than the first". Noting that the crossover "wasted some of its potential by delivering two mostly standalone episodes," the Arrow episode was "more consistently entertaining and satisfying than the first". He enjoyed Captain Boomerang suggesting he could be the "most memorable villain to debut this season". Schedeen enjoyed the teams continuing to cross paths, the drama between Barry and Ollie, and "the balance between light and dark [the crossover] needed". Alasdair Wilkins of The A.V. Club gave the episode an "A−", saying it "..can just cut loose and have some ['effortless'] fun for an hour," noting that Barry "is one of the only characters able to call Oliver out on his more mopey strains of bullshit". He felt it was "fitting" the episode "shared the name—"The Brave And The Bold"—with DC Comics' long-running team-up comic". The Flash is "the brave one", who "inspires with his courage" though his "simplistic sense of right and wrong" can lead him to overlook "the darker side of what they do". Oliver is "the bold one", "willing to do whatever it takes to see justice served". Trumbore felt the episode of Arrow closed out the crossover "in spectacular fashion" and gave it an "A". He noted that "both heroes channel their respective cities into their character". Barry Allen's approach to crimefighting is effervescent and "carefree" reflecting "Central City's cutting-edge technology" and "squeaky-clean streets". "Queen's Starling City" with its "ruthless underworld" is "much like the personality of the masked crimefighter himself". He felt the writing was clever in that it allowed the characters to "clash at times, but also ... allow[ed] them to come together in pursuit of a common goal". However, Agard felt Arrow "was a decent enough episode", but not "as good as the first". "The Brave and the Bold'... felt... like a crossover episode ... servic[ing] Oliver's identity issues and character development." Agrad felt that "Cisco fanboying all over the place" is "fun" and Captain Boomerang is a "most formidable and compelling opponent because he uses strategy and plans multiple steps ahead". Mark Rozeman at Paste, gave the Arrow episode a 9.3 out of 10, saying, the episode "not only equals its brother episode but, in some ways, manages to surpass it". He saw it as season's "strongest" Arrow episode, and "a great conclusion to the very successful Arrow/The Flash crossover" where in an "emotionally charged hour...all the elements come together with remarkable dexterity". He felt the shows' creative teams should be "applauded" for avoiding a "half-assed bid for ratings" instead turning the crossover "into something that brought out the best of each show". Rozeman argued that if "Flash vs. Arrow" proves that The Flash can stand on its own, then "The Brave and the Bold" is "a great demonstration that Arrow has some fire in it yet." Den of Geek's Mike Cecchini said the episode is "a remarkably self-contained adventure". Noting that both episodes worked well as standalones, "Flash vs. Arrow" was "very clearly an episode" of The Flash and "The Brave and The Bold" is "absolutely an Arrow episode ... handily the best installment of Arrow season three so far". He felt the cinematic scoring was "great" giving the episode 4.5 stars out of 5. Accolades TVLine named the "Flash vs. Arrow" crossover the 9th biggest television moment of 2014 saying, "There are crossovers. And there are superhero shows. But never in recent TV memory have two live-action costumed crimefighters clashed in super fashion (albeit under extenuating circumstances). The Flashs smooth moves versus Arrows strength and stratagem made for a thrilling tango that lived up to the hype." IGN ranked the showdown between the Flash and Arrow in The Flash episode as one of the best television fight scenes of 2014. ScreenRant named both "Flash vs. Arrow" and "The Brave and the Bold" as one of the best television episodes of 2014. Blastr and Zap2it also named The Flash episode "Flash vs. Arrow" one of the best television episodes of 2014. == References ==