CW’s DC Crossover Producers Tease the Repercussions of ‘Invasion!’ (SPOILERS)
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read on unless you’ve seen Season 3, Episode 8 of “The Flash”; Season 5, Episode 8 of “Arrow”; and Season 2, Episode 7 of “Legends of Tomorrow,” titled “Invasion!”
There you have it. With the end of “Legends of Tomorrow’s” episode, the first four-show Arrowverse crossover comes to a close. The Dominators were defeated, Stein (Victor Garber) now has a daughter, Barry (Grant Gustin) and Oliver (Stephen Amell) shared a much-deserved drink, and the CW pulled off what producer Marc Guggenheim calls “an exercise in insanity.”
“Every year we pull it off and it’s a small miracle, and then the next year we try to find a way to increase the degree of difficulty,” he said. “Truth be told, the whole thing is really an exercise in insanity and we just keep making it harder and harder and harder on ourselves.”
The crossover may be over, but the events in “Invasion!” will be felt across the shows going forward. Earlier this week, at a press screening and Q&A Variety attended, Guggenheim and fellow producer Andrew Kreisberg talked about those repercussions, whether this was the button on Flashpoint, and more …
What will be the repercussions, or fallout, in the upcoming episodes?
Kreisberg: As far as “Flash” is concerned, in Episode 7 Cisco and Barry were probably at their lowest point — because Cisco learned that Dante had died as a result of Flashpoint. Their friendship has been renewed through the course of these episodes, and when we come back in Episode 9 Team Flash is in a really good place. They need to be, because they’re going to confront Savitar in Episode 9.
With “Supergirl,” it doesn’t really have that big an impact. She’s the one who brought the light. It was really Barry and Oliver who had to go on a journey, and she brought the fun and charm and kicka–ness.
Guggenheim: With respect to “Arrow,” going into Episode 9 you’ll see that Oliver has a new sense of purpose. The events in Episode 8 forced him to double-down on his mission, and also a reaffirmation of his bond with Thea — because they chose each other.
In terms of “Legends,” the two big takeaways are Stein’s daughter — you haven’t seen the last of her, you’ll see her again in a few episodes — as well as Ray (Brandon Routh) getting his suit back.
Would you consider this the button on Flashpoint, or will there continue to be more ramifications going forward?
Kreisberg: There’s a villain coming up that’s another one of those husk villains created by Alchemy, so there’s that to deal with. The mid-season finale, Episode 9, kinda creates a new problem for our heroes that they weren’t anticipating — something that they’ve never faced before. Flashpoint won’t loom as large as the challenge that presents itself in Episode 9.
Guggenheim: “Arrow’s” mid-season finale has a fair amount of discussion about Flashpoint given the fact that the crossover outed it to the “Arrow” characters that weren’t Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards). They deal with it in some humorous ways actually, for example Curtis (Echo Kellum) is concerned that maybe he was straight originally.
Was the message that Barry sent from the future talking about Flashpoint, or was it about more changes he makes sometime in the future?
Kreisberg: The message from the future relates to Flashpoint, but it also may relate to something else coming up.
With Stein and Jax (Franz Drameh) keeping Stein’s daughter a secret cause strife within the group?
Guggenheim: “Legends” operates different than “Arrow,” which is all about people keeping secrets and secrets coming out, but I will say that we’re setting up “Legends'” mid-season finale where the ramifications of that secret do come into play.
What were some of the scenes that you wanted to get in to the episodes that were left on the cutting room floor?
Kreisberg: There was a little exchange between Sara (Caity Lotz) and Kara (Melissa Benoist) where Sara says “hey, do you want to get a drink when this is all over,” and Kara says, “I think you wanna meet my sister.”
It’s those little moments that were left on the cutting room floor. It’s amazing how many of them we were actually able to keep, because these episodes came in wildly over so it tended to be those little jokey moments that fell by the wayside.
Related stories
Marc Guggenheim Teases Mega-Crossover, Celebrating 'Arrow's' 100th Episode
TV Ratings: 'Supergirl' Jump-Starts The CW's DC Crossover Week
A Letter to the TV Industry: Keep Fighting the Good Fight
Get more from Variety and Variety411: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter
