The 10 Best Arrowverse Episodes of 2018 (So Far)

It’s been a week since Supergirl aired its game-changing season finale, meaning that The CW‘s Arrowverse of shows are now in their summer hiatus.

For fans of Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and Supergirl, this is always a unique time of year, without several weeknights of new episodes. But with months to go until the shows return to air (and, as of this Tuesday, all four shows being up on Netflix), now feels like as good of a time as any to celebrate the high points that the Arrowverse has had so far this year.

With a total fifty episodes put out so far this year (yes, really), here are just a few Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and Supergirl entries that have already become our favorites.

“Fort Rozz”

Supergirl has evolved into many different things over the years, but “Fort Rozz” arguably tapped right into the show’s core — female relationships.

The episode saw Kara enlisting Saturn Girl, Livewire, and Psi in a mission into space, as they attempt to track down someone with answers to Reign. To an extent, the episode’s selling point was seeing that sort of unlikely girl squad come together, as Melissa Benoist, Amy Jackson, Brit Morgan, and Yael Grobglas played off of each other in surprisingly delightful ways.

It might not be a perfect episode (especially with regards to the episode’s big twist), but it’s still a pretty captivating one, and one that showed just another example of how much the women of Supergirl can soar.

 

“The Elongated Knight Rises”

The Arrowverse has often proved (for better or for worse) that a titular hero is sometimes only as good as the people in their corner. One of the best – and genuinely weirdest – examples of this was The Flash’s “The Elongated Knight Rises”.

With Barry put in jail for the “murder” of Clifford DeVoe/The Thinker, the remainder of Team Flash was left to save the day against a unique threat. This motivated Ralph Dibny to rise to the occasion, beginning to come into his own as he earned a less-rubbery costume and (finally) his proper superhero name.

But beyond a charming and nuanced performance from Hartley Sawyer, the episode had a lot for fans to enjoy. Devon Graye and Corrine Bohrer’s duo of The Trickster and Prank brought a lot of delightful homages to The Flash‘s TV legacy, while presenting Ralph, Caitlin, and Cisco with a simultaneously terrifying (especially if you’re a Beebo fan) and ridiculous problem to solve. Plus, the episode provided a bit more information about Jessica Parker Kennedy’s Nora Allen, but still left fans guessing.

“Here I Go Again”

If you put Groundhog Day, Saturday Night Fever, a standout episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and some domestic fan-fiction in a blender, Legends of Tomorrow‘s “Here I Go Again” would absolutely be the result.

The episode saw Zari Tomaz’s outsider status within the Legends take a whole other context, as she is the only team member aware that the Waverider is stuck in an hour-long time loop. In the short bits of time that each time loop allows, Zari tries to get the Legends out of this problem, while learning a bit more about the team – and herself – in the process.

While Tala Ashe’s portrayal of Zari had already helped her become a fan-favorite, “Here I Go Again” elevated her to arguably be one of the Arrowverse’s best actors. The episode was equally joyously silly and deservedly heartbreaking, balancing platform shoes and 4:20 jokes with a genuine message about belonging in a group of misfits. And hey, the episode happened to inspire an equally great meme. 

“Enter Flashtime”

Speaking of time-sensitive bottle episodes – and the wonderful uniqueness that can happen within them – we have to talk about “Enter Flashtime”.

The episode placed Barry in a rather intense race against the clock, as he has just minutes of actual time to stop a bomb from exploding all of Central City. Thanks to a new ability dubbed “Flashtime”, Barry and anyone he touches can move at an incredibly slow speed, as they attempt to determine a way to stop the bomb.

“Enter Flashtime” might be one of the most viscerally high-stakes episodes of The Flash, but that’s so much of why it works. Every actor in the show’s ensemble also brings their A game, including the criminally-underused Jay Garrick and Jesse Quick. The end result showed that The Flash can balance a captivating story with the right amount of danger and doom and gloom.

“The Thanatos Guild”

Sure, “The Thanatos Guild” is technically part of an Arrow two-parter, which essentially helped usher in the return of Colton Haynes’ Roy Harper. But there’s just something special about how the latter of the two episodes was executed.

The episode saw Thea and Roy’s joyride away from Star City put on hold, as the fan-favorite Nyssa al Ghul arrives to warn of a new threat. That trio – along with the remaining members of Team Arrow – are sent on a quest for a magical MacGuffin, in a story that somehow becomes so much more than you would expect.

A lot of what works about “The Thanatos Guild” is thanks to the episode’s performances, with Holland, Haynes, and Law all reminding fans why they fell in love with their characters in the first place. To an extent, the episode gave Arrow as a whole just what the doctor ordered – a dose of comic Easter eggs, enjoyable reveals, and a goodbye that was executed even better than some fans could have imagined.

“Guest Starring John Noble”

Most Legends of Tomorrow scripts would sound a little over-the-top when described to someone who doesn’t watch the show, but “Guest Starring John Noble” is almost in a whole other league in that regard.

For starters, there’s the episode’s unbelievably-meta title, and the way that beloved actor (and voice of Season 3 big bad Mallus) John Noble is factored into the Arrowverse. And on top of that, you have Gorilla Grodd meeting a college-age Barack Obama, an arguably hillarious standoff against Damien Darhk, and a hearty dose of Lord of the Rings references.

Theoretically, all of that shouldn’t work — but it absolutely does. The end result is a genuinely delightful penultimate episode, one that feels more than justified within Legends’ unique world.

“The Good, The Bad, and The Cuddly”

Which brings us to the following Legends episode, the season three finale “The Good, The Bad, and The Cuddly”.

The Legends’ hunt for Mallus culminates in the Old West, with both teams assembling a hodgepodge of soldiers pulled throughout history. What happens from there is epic, awesome, and ridiculous, in a way that only Legends can pull off.

The episode has plenty of satisfying returns, losses, and set-up of things to come, while also containing what is arguably the best final fight in Arrowverse history. It’s unclear exactly how Legends will top things next season, but this finale proves that they certainly can.

“Fundamentals”

Just days after Legends aired their biggest episode, Arrow took things on a much smaller scale — and arguably hit it out of the park.

“Fundamentals” saw Oliver Queen being drugged with Vertigo by one of Ricardo Diaz’s allies, something that quickly ends up putting a strain on those that are still in his corner. And to make matters worse, the drug trip gives Oliver a sort of devil on his shoulder, in the form of a vision of Adrian Chase/Prometheus.

Stephen Amell and Josh Segarra are both in top form within this episode, as Chase forces Oliver to consider the larger sacrifices that come with being the Green Arrow. The end result helps lead Arrow into new territory, culminating with the major choice that Oliver makes in the Season 6 finale.

“Schott Through the Heart”

After months of being on hiatus, “Schott Through the Heart” marked Supergirl‘s return to TV, and it was nothing short of a pleasant surprise.

The episode saw Winn dealing with his legacy, after the death of his father and the arrival of his estranged mother, Mary. Along the way, there were flying monkeys, cape tricks, and one of the best Supergirl episodes in recent memory.

The episode’s performances really elevated things to another level, with Jeremy Jordan, Mehcad Brooks, and guest star Laurie Metcalf giving some surprisingly poignant performances in particular. It a way, “Schott Through the Heart” served as a reminder of what audiences love about Supergirl, and helped kickstart the rest of the season.

“We Are The Flash”

And finally, The Flash took things into some unexpected – and wonderful – directions with its season five finale, “We Are The Flash”.

After a whole season of squaring off against DeVoe, Team Flash made a last-ditch effort to prevent his Enlightenment satellites from destroying the world. With the help of some unlikely allies, Barry took things literally inside DeVoe’s consciousness, and things only got crazier from there (we’re looking at you, Matrix-inspired fight scene).

The finale felt reminiscent of some of The Flash‘s earlier outings, balancing pathos with a surprising amount of fun. And the finale’s final moments were a sort of cherry on the top, providing an answer on Nora while setting up what’s to come.

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What were your favorite Arrowverse episodes of this past half-season? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

The Flash‘s fifth season will premiere on Tuesday, October 9th at 8/7c, followed by Supergirl‘s fourth season on Sunday, October 14th at 8/7c. Arrow‘s seventh season will premiere on Monday, October 15th at 8/7c, with Legends of Tomorrow debuting Monday, October 22nd, at 9/8c.