Last season was all about Barry Allen and Team Flash, and Oliver Queen and Team Arrow. This season we expand to other universes as we see a pre-Batman Bruce Wayne in Gotham, as well as a few episodes from the 1990 version of The Flash where we see an alternate version of Barry Allen where he has a completely different team and different circumstances .

I didn't watch Gotham when it first came out because I just couldn't stand to watch another origin story for Bruce Wayne. So we skip the murder of his parents and the overwrought introduction of the various major players. Instead, we dive right into the meat of the first season with a focus on the Falcone/Maroni war and the tension between Jim Gordon and Harvey Bullock. Bruce and Alfred are there but in the background. And then, the supervillains arrive.

Our two different versions of The Flash TV show, Barry battles with a criminal who killed one of his close relatives AND also has to deal with The Trickster (played by Original Flavor Luke Skywalker in both shows).

And on Arrow, we eventually reach a pause in the Starling City madness that started this series but not before Oliver Queen sheds the Arrow identity in order to become a supervillain.

201. Spirit Of The Goat (Gotham)
(Harvey Bullock, Jim Gordon, Ed Nygma, Sarah Essen, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Barbara Kean, Oswald Cobblepot, Renee Montoya, Selina Kyle, Crispus Allen, Gertrude Kapelput, Kristen Kringle)

While Bullock deals with an old case coming back to haunt him, and some members of the GCPD are convinced Jim Gordon is a killer on a different case. Also, Ed Nygma is a CSI agent but he's certainly no Barry Allen.


202. The Penguin's Umbrella (Gotham)
(Jim Gordon, Fish Mooney, Harvey Bullock, Oswald Cobblepot, Carmine Falcone, Sarah Essen, Barbara Kean, Renee Montoya, Victor Zsasz, Crispus Allen, Sal Maroni, Aubrey James, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Butch Gilzean)

​Gotham is under mob rule in this era. Falcones vs Maronis. Penguin vs Fish. Gotham City Polics vs Major Crimes Unit. We get a great glimpse into the politics and relationships of the show.
​

203: Fallout (Flash)
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Martin Stein, Ronnie Raymond, Wade Elling, David Singh)

​Nobody went quite as boom as was expected last season but things are still tense. Also, that military guy is still hanging around, and that can't be good for anyone. He's not even cool enough to be a rogue.


204. Public Enemy (Arrow)
(Oliver Queen, Andy Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Thea Queen, Roy Palmer, Lauren Lance, Quentin Lance, Ray Harper, R'as Al Ghul, Nyssa Al Ghul, Maseo Yamashiro, Tatsu Yamashiro, Malcolm Merlyn)

The League Of Assassins new plan exposes Oliver Queen as the Arrow, shoots an arrow into Ray Palmer and the mayor, and causes even more intense drama in the Lance family. In the flashbacks, Oliver runs into Shado's twin sister.


205. Broken Arrow (Arrow)
(Oliver Queen, Andy Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Thea Queen, Roy Palmer, Lauren Lance, Quentin Lance, Ray Harper, R'as Al Ghul, Nyssa Al Ghul, Maseo Yamashiro, Tatsu Yamashiro, Malcolm Merlyn)

Roy has taken the fall for Oliver, and confessed to being The Arrow. He's a big target in prison, which worries  the rest of the team. Also, Felicity struggles to save Ray from his injuries.


206. Out Of Time (Flash)
​(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Eddie Thawne, Mark Mardon, Linda Park, David Singh, Clyde Mardon)

Time travel! Repercussions from the pilot! Relationship growth! Identity reveals! Someone is badly injured! This almost feels like a season finale.


207. The Blind Fortune Teller (Gotham)
(Jim Gordon, Leslie Thompkins, Fish Mooney, Jerome Valeska, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Harvey Bullock, Oswald Cobblepot, Barbara Kean, Paul Cicero, Gertrude Kapelput, Edward Nygma, Sara Essen, Selina Kyle, Victor Zsasz, Butch Gilzean, Kristen Kringle)

When a sideshow performer turns up dead, the police end up embroiled in a heated feud involving the Flying Graysons. Plus, Fish Mooney tries to take over the prison underneath The Iceberg Lounge. Bruce Wayne tries to learn more about The Wayne Foundation's connection to Arkham Asylum.


208. Pilot (Flash 1990)
(Barry Allen, Julio Mendez, Iris West, Christina McGee, Pike, Tony Bellows, Warren Garfield, Henry Allen)

It's an alternate universe version of The Flash! (straight out of the 1990s). This universe's Barry Allen lives in a world where his father is alive, he has brothers, oh and there's a biker gang terrorizing Central City. But then lightning strikes him and voila, he's The Flash. He builds  a completely different Team Flash and deals with some very dated visual effects.


209. The Trickster (Flash 1990)
(Barry Allen, Christina McGee, James Jesse, Julio Mendez, Tony Bellows, Warren Garfield)

A complete psychopath is going state to state, falling in love with women and then killing them.  When he stumbles on one of Barry's former coworkers, The Flash gets involved, and The Trickster begins a reign of terror in Central City, where everyone is trying to learn the identity of The Flash.


210. Tricksters (Flash)
​(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1,  Henry Allen, Eddie Thawne, David Singh, Eobard Thawne )

There's a new Trickster in Central City, and his whole schtick is pissing off the original Trickster who has been in prison for twenty years...which is weird because this is clearly the same Trickster, but this is a different Barry Allen and a different Central City. Oh, and we already figured out that Harrison Wells isn't who we thought he was, but he's also not who anyone else thinks he is, either. 


211. All-Star Team Up (Flash)
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1,  Henry Allen, Eddie Thawne, Christina McGee, Eobard Thawne )

​Someone is killing scientists using weaponized bees. Christina McGee ends up being targeted, and it's up to the troubled Team Flash to save her. Luckily, they have some help because Felicity and Ray Palmer are in town to troubleshoot issues with The Atom suit.


212. Under The Knife (Gotham)
(Jim Gordon, Leslie Thompkins, Bruce Wayne, Selina Kyle, Harvey Bullock, Oswald Cobblepot, Barbara Kean, Gertrude Kapelput, Edward Nygma, Alfred Pennyworth, Sid Bunderslaw, Sal Maroni, Butch Gilzean,  Sara Essen, The Ogre, Kristen Kringle)

A serial killer called The Ogre targets the loved ones of any cop who crosses his path, so, of course, Jim Gordon deliberately gets in his way. Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle kill a lead in Bruce's investigation into the corruption in Wayne Enterprises. At the Iceberg Lounge, Moroni interrupts one of The Penguin's schemes. 


213. The Anvil & The Hammer (Gotham)
(Jim Gordon, Bruce Wayne, Harvey Bullock, Oswald Cobblepot, The Ogre, Barbara Kean, Edward Nygma, Sal Maroni, Selina Kyle, Alfred Pennyworth, Leslie Thompkins, Butch Gilzean, Sid Bunderslaw, Lucius Fox, Kristen Kringle)

While The Ogre has Barbara, Harvey goes to an S&M club. The Penguin makes another move against Maroni. Bruce begins to learn more about Wayne Industries.


214.  Who Is Harrison Wells? (Flash)
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Eddie Thawne, Laurel Lance, David Singh, Quentin Lance)
 
Team Flash goes to Arrowtown, and they don't even bother to see how Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak are doing? Bad. Form. At least Canary can be useful. We also have a rogue of the week who can turn into anyone he touches. I bet that creates complicated social interactions.


215: The Trap (Flash)
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Eddie Thawne, David Singh)

Everything starts to come together as the gang seeks to out the identity of Reverse Flash to help get Henry Allen cleared of his wife's murder. 

​
216. All Happy Families Are Alike (Gotham)
(Jim Gordon, Oswald Cobblepot, Carmine Falcone, Leslie Thompkins, Barbara Kean, Fish Mooney,  Selina Kyle, Harvey Bullock, Sal Maroni, Butch Gilzean, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Edward Nygma, Kristen Kringle)

The Maroni/Falcone war escalates, explodes, and further evolves, throwing everything into chaos. Plus, Barbara chooses Leslie as a trauma counselor.


217. Fast Forward (Flash 1990)
(Barry Allen, Christina McGee, Pike, Julio Mendez, Tony Bellows, Warren Garfield)

When his brother's killer is released from prison, he immediately targets The Flash, and his actions turn Central City into a dystopia. Can Barry Allen prevent that future from happening?


218. Rogue Air (Flash)
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Leonard Snart, Oliver Queen, Ronnie Raymond, Mark Mardon, Eddie Thawne)

The Particle Acclerator is going to go boom again, so the heroes need to relocate all those supervillains they've been imprisoning in that vicinity. Not only does this mean another Arrow team-up, it also means thinking outside of the box, which means More Captain Cold!


219. Al Sa-Him (Arrow)
(Oliver Queen, Andy Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Thea Queen, Lauren Lance, R'as Al Ghul, Nyssa Al Ghul, Maseo Yamashiro, Tatsu Yamashiro, Malcolm Merlyn)

Oliver Queen is the new R'as, and he's in Starling City to eliminate his competition, Nyssa. Team Arrow has to side with Nyssa against the League Of Assassins. 


220. This Is Your Sword (Arrow)
(Oliver Queen, Andy Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Thea Queen, Malcolm Merlyn, Lauren Lance, R'as Al Ghul, Nyssa Al Ghul, Maseo Yamashiro, Tatsu Yamashiro)

Now that Oliver Queen is set to get married and become an Al Ghul, Team Formerly Arrow needs to figure out new alliances​


221. My Name Is Oliver Queen (Arrow)
 
(Oliver Queen, Andy Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Thea Queen, Malcolm Merlyn, Lauren Lance, R'as Al Ghul, Nyssa Al Ghul, Maseo Yamashiro, Tatsu Yamashiro, Barry Allen)

The final Arrow episode of the season brings all the drama back to Starling City. Family melodrama oozes out of every line. And in the end, the world gets the R'as Al Ghul it deserves.


222. Knock Knock (Gotham)
(Jim Gordon, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Jerome Valeska, Barbara Kaen, Lucius Fox, Sara Essen, Theo Galavan, Harvey Bullock, Edward Nygma, Kristen Kringle, Tabitha Glavan, Leslie Thompkins, Aubrey James)

The gang war is over. It's time for the age of supervillains. A whole group of criminals has been broken out of Arkham in order to seed chaos in the streets. After announcing their name, The Maniaxx, they take down the Gotham City Police Department, the mayor, and the new commissioner. And according to their leader we "ain't seen nothing yet!"


223. The Last Laugh (Gotham)
(Jim Gordon, Bruce Wayne, Jerome Valeska, Leslie Thompkins, Barbara Kaen, Theo Galavan, Harvey Bullock, Paul Cicero, Alfred Pennyworth, Oswald Cobblepot, Tabitha Galavan, Selina Kyle)

The Maniaxx begin to clear their pre-Arkham lives, and the streets of Gotham, and Jerome Valeska takes Gotham's millionaires and billionaires hostage. Luckily, there's a new hero in town to put a stop to all the madness. 


224. Fast Enough (Flash)
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Leonard Snart, Martin Stein, Oliver Queen, Ronnie Raymond, Henry Allen, Eddie Thawne, David Singh)

The season finale has The Flash getting into proper timeline hijinks. Our season-long arc about clearing Henry Allen's name gets ... closure ? complications ? wibbly-wobbly timey -wimey ? It's a thoroughly satisfying place to end the season, and would have even worked as a series finale if the show had been cancelled. 

The CW DC Superhero Universe is like our universe, finite, but constantly expanding.  Last season we added Gotham to the mix of shows, and we saw an alternate universe Barry Allen (aka the 1990s TV show) enter the canon. This season brings us the show Constantine, and brings us yet another speedster from yet another universe, Jay Garrick.

There are time jumps in every show between last season and this one. Sometimes, this is my editorial decision cutting out some of the less interesting parts of continuity but, in the case of The Flash, it's just what happened in the series. 

The focus of this season is the adventures of John Constantine. After this season, he'll disappear for a long time, as his solo show only had a one season run. But the series was a solid adaptation of the comic series, and he will eventually play a role in the larger DC universe.

This season also puts together the B-Team cast from Arrow and Flash and elevates them to easily the most fun part of this continuity, a team of time traveling heroes called The Legends of Tomorrow.

(301. Non Est Asylum  (Constantine)
(Constantine, Chas, Manny, Astra, Ritchie Simpson)

One of Constantine's dead old friends contacts him and tells him to protect his daughter, who is having A Terrible Day. A demon is involved so Constantine, Chas, and an angel named must work together to protect her. 



​302. Haunted (Arrow)
(Oliver Queen, Thea Queen, Laurel Lance, Quentin Lance, John Diggle, Constantine, Sara Lance, Damian Darkh)

There's been a massive time jump since the last time we saw Team Arrow. Oliver is himself again, and running for mayor. Thanks to the Lazarus Pits, Sara is alive again...sort of, and Oliver needs to figure out a way to stop the resurrected Sara from killing Thea, who, you know, killed her first. Plus, we meet Damian Darkh. Back on the island, Oliver has a team-up with Constantine.


303. The Man Who Saved Central City (Flash)
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramone, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Martin Stein, Henry Allen, Ronnie Raymond, David Singh, Jay Garrick, Zoom)

Six months after the singularity that ended last season, Central City's mayor wants to give The Flash the key to the city, but everyone is still reeling from the betrayals and  deaths from last season to think properly.


304. Flash of Two Worlds (Flash)
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramone, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Martin Stein, Patty Spivot, Jay Garrick, David Singh, Zoom, Francine West, Harrison Wells II)

Jay Garrick, The Flash from another Earth, arrives and wants to help Barry catch the criminals that Zoom is bringing through breaches between the Earths. Team Flash is justifiably cautious, given the whole Harrison Wells situation.


305. A Feast Of Friends (Constantine)
(Constantine, Zed, Manny)

A hunger demon is accidentally released when one of Constantine's Newcastle friends gets caught by US customs.  


306. Scarification (Gotham)
​(Jim Gordon, Selina Kyle, Oswald Cobblepot, Butch Gilzean, Bridgit Pike, Theo Galavan, Harvey Bullock, Nathaniel Barnes, Leslie Thompkins, Edward Nygma, Kristen Kringle, Tabitha Galavan)

When GCPD targets The Penguin's empire, he reigns down revenge in fire.


307. Mommy's Little Monster (Gotham)
​(Jim Gordon, Theo Galavan, Edward Nygma, Selina Kyle, Oswald Cobblepot, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Butch Gilzean, Silver St. Cloud, Harvey Bullock, Nathaniel Barnes, Leslie Thompkins, Tabitha Galavan, Victor Zsasz)

The new mayor of Gotham has quickly turned his powerful friends into powerful enemies. Butch finally has his freedom, Edward Nygma works on self-confidence, Selina and Silver St. Cloud meet, and The Penguin's target of revenge changes significantly.


308. The Fury Of Firestorm (Flash)
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramone, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Martin Stein, Jefferson Jackson, Patty Spivot, Christine McGee, Francine West, King Shark, Harrison Wells II)

In order to save Professor Stein, Team Flash must find a new partner compatible with the Firestorm Matrix. Plus, Iris's mom is back in town, and nobody is happy about it. 


309. Danse Vaudou (Constantine)
(Constantine, Chas, Zed, Manny, Jim Corrigan, Papa Midnite)

In attempting to help people get closure with dead relatives, Papa Midnite accidentally resurrects ghosts who are wreaking havoc in New Orleans. Chas, Zed, and Constantine team up with Jim Corrigan to figure out how to help the ghosts find peace.


310. Enter Zoom (Flash)
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Patty Spivot, Harrison Wells II, Linda Park II, Linda Park)

Dr. Light, one of the metahumans that Zoom brought through the breach, happens to be the Earth 2 counterpart of one of Iris's coworkers. 


311. Legends Of Yesterday (Flash)
(Barry Allen, Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Harrison Wells II, Thea Queen, Kendra Saunders, Malcolm Merlyn, Vandal Savage, Patty Spivot, Carter Hall, Damian Darkh, Jay Garrick, Joe West, Samantha Clayton)

Cisco's new girlfriend is the target of the latest villain of the week, leading Team Flash to seek out Team Arrow for protection.


312. Legends Of Today (Arrow)
(Barry Allen, Oliver Queen, Felicity Smoak, Cisco Ramon, Kendra Saunders, Carter Hall, Malcolm Merlyn, Vandal Savage, Samantha Clayton, Caitlin Snow, Thea Queen, John Diggle, Laurel Lance)

Vandal Savage won't rest until he gets his hands on Hawkman and Hawkgirl, the two least interesting characters in the DC Superhero universe. Oh, and Oliver finally finds out about his son. Then....time shenanigans!


313 & 314. Legends Of Tomorrow (Legends)
(Sara Lance, Ray Palmer, Mick Rory, Leonard Snart, Martin Stein, Jackson Jefferson, Vandal Savage, Rip Hunter, Kendra Saunders, Carter Hall, Oliver Queen, Laurel Lance, Gideon)

A rogue Time Master is out to stop Vandal Savage from destroying the world, and he assembles a team of eight characters from The Flash and Arrow to travel through time to help him. Oh, and for some reason their ship is the same computer system that Harrison Wells The First had.


315. Rage Of Caliban (Constantine)
(Constantine, Chas, Manny)

John and Chas go on a road trip that involves a series of muders possibly involving child abuse, which, naturally, leads to some of their own childhood traumas.


317. Blessed Are The Damned (Constantine)
(Constantine, Zed, Manny, Eddie, Sara Lance, Michael)

After his successful (?) road trip with Chaz, John teams up with Zed again to investigate a snake cul with a resurrected leader. We also get our first taste that this is part of the larger universe as Black Canary appears.


318. Fail Safe (Legends)
(Sara Lance, Cisco Ramon, Leonard Snart, Ray Palmer, Mick Rory, Martin Stein, Jefferson Jackson, Ray Palmer, Kendra Saunders, Rip Hunter, Vandal Savage)

It's  a prison break episode! And not just because Captain Cold and Heatwave are in it. This is a fun Bringing The Team Together episode.
 

319 & 320. Saint Of Last Resorts (Constantine)
(Constantine, Chas, Zed, Eddie, Michael)

More fallout from the Newcastle Exorcism threatens Constantine's friends and associates. Team Constantine decides to reveal some truths about themselves in order to gain each others' trusts.


321. Son Of Gotham (Gotham)
(Jim Gordon, Harvey Bullock, Leslie Thompins, Bruce Wayne,  Alfred Pennyworth, Selina Kyle, Oswald Cobblepott, Edward Nygma, Silver St Cloud, Tabitha Galavan, Theo Galavan, Harvey Dent, Nathaniel Barnes, Aubrey James, Father Creal) 

Blackgate Penitentiary is just as much of a revolving door for criminals as Arkham Asylum. The Order Of Saint Dumas turns out to be a family affair that will engulf Gotham and threaten Bruce Wayne and many of those around him.

322. Star City 2049 (Legends)
(Olvier Queen, Sara Lance, Leonard Snart, Ray Palmer, Mick Rory, Conor Hawke, Martin Stein, Jefferson Jackson, Ray Palmer, Kendra Saunders, Rip Hunter, Deathstroke)

The Arrowverse future is very similar and highly related to the main time period in the show. So we see a lot of mirroring to previous storylines and a ton of drama involving the next generation dealing with the previous generations baggage. But, unlike in Arrow, instead of being bleak and shadowy, it's fun and bright.


323. Angels & Ministers Of Grace (Constantine)
(Constantine, Chas, Zed, Manny, Linda, Jim Corrigan)

Zed has a tumor that might be responsible for her visions. Manny and Constantine switch up their techniques in hopes of impeding some of the impending doom.

​
324. Worse Than A Crime (Gotham) 
(Jim Gordon, Harvey Bullock, Leslie Thompins, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Selina Kyle, Oswald Cobblepott, Edward Nygma, Barbara Kean, Lucius Fox, Silver St Cloud, Tabitha Galavan, Theo Galavan, Nathaniel Barnes, Aubrey James, Father Creal, Ethel Peabody, Victor Fries) 

​

I'm a Marvel fan. I came to comics through the X-Men. And while I did enjoy the Tim Burton Batman movies, it wasn't until the X-Men movies that I loved comic movies, and it wasn't until the Marvel Cinematic Universe that I Loved comic movies. Yea, I liked the first two Nolan Batmans, but that's pretty much it. The DC Cinematic Universe is not for me. And that's ok. I have loved several seasons of their cartoon properties. Teen Titans was amazing. Batman The Animated Series was wildly inconsistent, but the good epiodes were years beyond other comics-based cartoons. Batman: The Brave & The Bold was a blast. Both incarnations of The Justice League, and the Young Justice cartoons are about as perfect as you can get. But the live action shows?

Obviously the 1966 Batman show was iconic and necessary, even if it's complete cheese. The original run of The Flash was ... fine. Birds Of Prey was watchable. And then came a new wave of DC shows. For the most part, pretty good. But not all good.

It would take 510 hours (over 21 days) of no meal or bathroom breaks to watch through all of the Arrowverse, and that's not including the supplementary series that are going to creep their way in here (Gotham, the 1990s Flash, Birds Of Prey, Smallville, Lois & Clark, Superboy, Wonder Woman, the 1966 Batman, and more). You shouldn't waste that much time. Some of it is really, really terrible.

This particular reimagining is how I would string together these shows to form a fun, watchable universe. Usually, I do ten episode seasons of condensed storytelling, but I'm going to go for twenty-four episode seasons because that's how long these stories seem to need in a season. The reimagining is centered on The Flash. It's my favorite of the series. I like its tone, its characters, and much of the early stories. But in order to get to The Flash, we must start with Shirtless Arrow's origin.

I couldn't get into Arrow, originally, referring to it as Shirtless Millionaire Frat Boy Escapes Death Island To Return To Grimy City Home And Play Even More Melodramatic Batman. It's still often too melodramatic for me, but there are some great episodes sprinkled throughout its run, even ones that don't involve Barry Allen at all. 

​So let's spend this season meeting Oliver Queen and Team Arrow, and then Barry Allen and Team Flash, and see how well the teams work together.

101. Arrow
(Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Tommy Merlyn, Laurel Lance, Moira Queen, Thea Queen, Quentin Lance, Sara Lance)

A millionaire playboy returns after years of being marooned on an island and begins a vigilante campaign against the men who are destroying his city.  Amongst the baggage he returns to are an ex-girlfriend whose sister he slept with and who died in the shipwreck that marooned him, a bodyguard he's trying to evade, a sister whose grief turned into a drug problem, and a very complicated mother. 


102. The Odyssey
(Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Moira Queen, Thea Queen, Slade Wilson, Yao Fei, Fyers, Shado)

We fast forward nearly half a season. Diggle is now Oliver's co-conspirator, and we meet the very helpful Felicity Smoak after Oliver gets shot by ... checks notes ... his mother. We also see flashbacks to Oliver's time on the island where he's training with Slade Wilson to be a soldier. 


103. Darkness On The Edge Of Town
(Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Moira Queen, Thea Queen, Tommy Merlyn, Quentin Lance, Slade Wilson, Yao Fei, Fyers, Shado, Malcolm Merlyn, Roy Harper)

The big arc of the season surrounds Oliver's mother being involved in a massively evil scheme to destroy the poor part of town: The Glades. Her partner is Tommy's more evil father. We also meet Thea's boyfriend from The Glades, a guy who idolizes her brother's alter ego. Tons of CW family melodrama in this storyline.


104. Sacrifice
(Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Moira Queen, Thea Queen, Tommy Merlyn, Slade Wilson, Fyers, Shado, Malcolm Merlyn, Roy Harper)

The night of Merlyn's plans, every character in the current timeline must work in their own way to stop The Glades from being destroyed. In the island storyline, Oliver must stop Fyers from destroying an airplane and framing Yao Fei for its destruction.


105.  The Scientist
(Oliver Queen, Barry Allen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Moira Queen, Thea Queen, Roy Harper, Slade Wilson, Shado, Sebastian Blood, Malcolm Merlyn, Sara Lance)

Oliver Queen has now been a vigilante for a while, he has mucho mucho baggage, and is in the midst of massive plot shenanigans with Slade Wilson and Sebastian Blood when a meek little scientist named Barry Allen shows up. Back during the island days, it turns out Sarah Lance survived the shipwreck and is just as much a badass as Oliver Queen.


106. Three Ghosts
(Oliver Queen, Barry Allen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Moira Queen, Thea Queen, Roy Harper, Slade Wilson, Shado, Sebastian Blood, Tommy Merlyn, Sara Lance, Ivo)

Barry joins Team Arrow in his quest to stop Slade Wilson and Sebastian Blood. During the island days, Oliver is given an impossible choice by Ivo.


107. Particle Accelerator
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Oliver Queen, Henry Allen, Eddie Thawne, David Singh, Clyde Mardon) 

The actual pilot for The Flash gives us all the Barry Allen backstory we need to know. Oh sure,  we'll get it several more times over the series, but all the important stuff is here. Family trauma, new family, love life, superhero origin. All tightly packed in an episode where Arrow stops by to check in on Barry. Isn't that sweet?


108. Going Rogue
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Leonard Snart, Felicity Smoak, Eddie Thawne, David Singh)

See? Rogues! And this episode introduces a doozy! Captain Cold is pure fun. He's great in the modern comics, and he's wonderful here. He's just the kind of villain you wish had his own show. Oh well, we can dream. Also, The Flash is refererred to as The Streak. Huh.


109. The Promise
(Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Moira Queen, Thea Queen, Quentin Lance, Slade Wilson, Roy Harper, Shado, Sarah Lance, Sebastian Blood, Ivo)

Much of this episode deals with Oliver's time in the island because, uh-oh, Slade Wilson is still alive and in Starling City, offering to support Moira Queen's run for mayor against Sebastian Blood.


 110. Deathstroke
(Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Moira Queen, Thea Queen, Slade Wilson, Laurel Lance, Roy Harper, Shado, Sarah Lance, Sebastian Blood, Ivo)

When Slade kidnaps Thea in the midst of an election, all of Oliver's secrets start to spill out to various friends and loved ones, and nobody takes them very well. 


111. Plastique
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Eddie Thawne, David Singh, Wade Elling)

Barry Allen was adopted by Joe West after Allen's mother was murdered. This makes Iris West sort of his sister. She's a journalist writing about The Streak (we're still calling him that? ok). Everyone wants her to stop. Meanwhile this episode's rogue of the week can blow shit up just by touching it. Of course the military wants a piece of her.


112. Flash Is Born
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1,  Eddie Thawne, David Singh, Tony Woodward)

Finally. Am I right? Streak no more. Barry Allen is The Flash. The rogue of the week is Girder, who is as silly as his name sounds. But there are some cool developments with Eddie, Joe, and Barry in this episode.


113. Seeing Red
(Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Moira Queen, Thea Queen, Slade Wilson, Laurel Lance, Roy Harper, Sebastian Blood, Samantha Clayton,  Sin)

Slade Wilson goes full rampaging villain. Roy, infected with Mirakiru, is hunting Team Arrow, and while Sarah wants to put him down, the rest of the team struggles to take him alive.


114. Streets Of Fire
(Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Thea Queen, Slade Wilson, Laurel Lance, Sara Lance, Quentin Lance, Roy Harper, Malcolm Merlyn, Sebastian Blood, Sin)

The city is under seige by Slade's army of Mirakiru-infused Deathstroke masked men. The police, Team Arrow, and Sebastian Blood must pool their resources to save the city that all of them have failed. 


115. Unthinkable
(Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Thea Queen, Slade Wilson, Laurel Lance, Sara Lance, Quentin Lance, Roy Harper, Malcolm Merlyn, Sebastian Blood, Sin, Amanda Waller, Nyssa Al Ghul)

The League Of Assassins arrives in Starling City to help distribute the Mirakiru cure, while Amanda Waller and ARGUS have blocked out any escape from the city. Plus, Thea's reunion with her father doesn't go well.


116. The Calm
(Oliver Queen, Barry Allen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Laurel Lance, Sara Lance, Ray Palmer, Quentin Lucas, Roy Harper, Amanda Waller)

As the city recovers from the previous episode's drama, Oliver tries to balance his life as Oliver Queen and Arrow. Felicity meets Ray Palmer and accidentally empowers him to take over Queen Consolidated. Our flashbacks move from the island to Hong Kong, as we start to figure out Amanda Waller (who just sort of started showing up with Argus a few episodes ago) 's identity. Oh, and Barry calls Oliver for some help. (Technically, that scene takes place before we even started The Flash episodes but shhhhh....from now on everything will line up continuity-wise.


117. Flash Vs Arrow
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Oliver Queen, Felicity Smoak, John Diggle, Roy Harper, Eddie Thawne, Digger Harkness, Amanda Waller)

Team Arrow needs Team Flash's help to deal with (let me check my notes here, ah yes) Captain Boomerang. A classic Flash rogue. But another rogue with a very silly name shows up and turns The Flash into Public Enemy #1.


118. The Brave & The Bold
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Oliver Queen, Felicity Smoak, John Diggle, Roy Harper, Eddie Thawne, Digger Harkness, Amanda Waller, Samantha Clayton)

Evil Flash is a problem, so Team Arrow is going to have to go to Central City to help Team ummm...Flash, I guess?  It's fun seeing the different characters invade the tone of the other show.


119. The Man In The Yellow Suit 
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Eddie Thawne, Henry Allen, Ronnie Raymond, Christina McGee)

One of my least favorite parts of The Flash, across TV or comics, is that a good chunk of his rogues are Other People Who Run Fast But In Slightly Different Colored Suits. This episode introduces the first of them, Reverse Flash. If he were the only one, I'd be more forgiving, but this is the beginning of an unfortunate trend. We do get to see the debut of Firestorm, though, and he'll be around for a bit. Sort of.


120. The Climb
(Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Thea Queen, Roy Palmer, Lauren Lance, Quentin Lance, Ray Harper, Malcolm Merlyn, R'as Al Ghul, Nyssa Al Ghul, Maseo Yamashiro, Tatsu Yamashiro)

The League of Assassins comes to Star City to avenge a death from an earlier episode, setting up a showdown between Oliver Queen (who's being framed for the death) and R'as Al Ghul. Also, Thea's relationship with her father may be more complicated than they were in previous episodes.


121. Revenge Of The Rogues
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Leonard Snart, Mick Rory, Eddie Thawne, David Singh)

Get our your popcorn. The Reverse Flash story continues to be interesting, but Captain Cold's return, and his first teamup with Heatwave is the beginning of one of the most pure, beautiful villain friendships in television history.  Oh yea, and Barry has more weird love feelings blah blah blah.


122. Nanda Parbat
(Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Thea Queen, Roy Palmer, Lauren Lance, Ray Harper, Malcolm Merlyn, R'as Al Ghul, Nyssa Al Ghul, Maseo Yamashiro, Tatsu Yamashiro )

Who will lead The League Of Assassins if anything happens to R'as Al Ghul? Why is Laurel wearing her sister's Black Canary outfit? Will Oliver and John be taken down The League? Lots of family drama in this episode. Must be a CW show.


123. Crazy For You
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Martin Stein, Ronnie Raymond, Eddie Thawne, Wade Elling, Linda Park, Henry Allen)

The villain of the week is Peek-a-Boo, a transporter. While Team Flash tries to figure out how to stop her, Barry tries to get over his feelings for Iris by dating her coworker, Linda.


124. The Nuclear Man
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Martin Stein, Ronnie Raymond, Eddie Thawne, Wade Elling, Linda Park)

Firestorm proves that Barry isn't the only one affected by the particle accelerator that didn't turn out to be a villain. But can Team Flash keep him from accidentally destroying the city? And is Barry actually The Man In The Yellow Suit?