What I’m Watching: Arrow

Arrow: Season 5, Episode 8 “Invasion!” (C+)

I don’t usually watch this show, and the only reason I’m reviewing this episode is because it was part of the epic four-series CW crossover that involves three shows I do watch. This episode was the least exciting of the three I’ve seen so far mainly because it was so “Arrow”-centric, and it also employed the tired device of characters existing in a different reality where they had to slowly piece together that something about their lives wasn’t right, something “The Flash” has handled much better this season. The only characters who aren’t regulars (anymore) on this show who got to appear in this other world were Ray and Sara, and I don’t know enough about what they did when they were first introduced here for their presence to mean much. Oliver’s squad seems much geekier than the folks at Star Labs, and I think this is a poor example of how to make a crossover episode appeal to non-fans. What I did appreciate much more were the few scenes we got of Kara and Barry taking out the trash together, stopping to high-five because they’re having plenty of fun doing it. I know that they have Mon-El and Iris to deal with, respectively, but I’d love to see the two of them get together romantically. I’m not sure how gematria came into play with the aliens, but all of a sudden there’s an alien weapon hurtling towards earth that I’m sure will be the focus on an episode I’m much more looking forward to of a show I regularly watch.