Supergirl
Season 5 / Episode 9 - "Crisis on Infinite Earths - Part One"
SG/Kara: SG - A bit of improvement in Benoist's performance; it seems her SG is a better character when she's shaken on this level, as opposed to the run-of-the-mill domestic stuff.
Oliver: Hawkey--I mean Oliver's scenes with his daughter needed more attention. Hopefully, it will play a part in the final chapter, with his being brought back to life, if only for a moment.
SM/Lois: The Argo sequence was entirely anti-climatic, since you know...coming TV series, which should be worth checking out as Hoechlin and Tulloch have some chemistry, although Tulloch is really trying a bit too hard to channel the late Margot Kidder,
Monitor: LaMonica Garrett is sort of low key in his delivery considering the gravity of what's supposed to be happening to everything. One would hope the situation brings out some heart as this goes along.
Harbinger: Audrey Marie Anderson played this well enough. Nowhere near as otherworldly & enigmatic as the classic comic version, but she was cold/business-like enough.
Lena: Despite Alex's cold, hard truth, the showrunners had to shoehorn the embodiment of corruption into this. That said...
"I've learned my lesson from all of you." / "We are not friends...". Good. At least she's written as unforgiving as she should be, but I suspect all realistic development (including her corrupt nature) will be tossed out of the window sooner or later. Probably in the event she runs into her brother again, so he can show her how she's not like her family (despite her saying that for every season she's been on the show).
Nia / Brainy: ...and if Brainy knows anything about the course of what--in his experience--is the past, he has said nothing for what reason? Nia should hold that over his head when the dust settles.
NOTES: You would think for this crossover, they would shell out more for the FX. Poor FX really undermined this episode.
Burt Ward's cameo. If they were going to do so much fan-service casting, one would have thought he would have more to do. Perhaps he appears--appropriately enough--on the Batwoman part of this.
Kelly: "James left this for me." ...but not a single scene with James when a world-threatening conflict would at the very least inspire a call to his sister...Kara...anyone. Nope. Unless he has a cameo in the episodes to come, he's forever marginalized.
The editing and direction were choppy as Hell. Off reaction shots, a slapped together feel and a lack of careful direction, which was very noticeable in the Gotham scene, which did not play like anything directed by Dale, Peters, Allowitz, et al.
Overall, this first chapter felt rushed, and despite every pronouncement of imminent danger, it was lacking the absolute dread the classic comic had from the start, letting you know this was no ordinary superhero story by a longshot. Further, most of the main players were not given much to do, other than the writers trying their hand at a few MCU-esque quips here and there. Hopefully, the Batwoman chapter will be as serious as the rest of that series.
GRADE: C.