The prisoners on Earth X are saved by a surprising ally. Kara’s situation gets much, much worse and a Legend falls.

Another absolutely crammed episode of the crossover and another which works really well. Which is all the more surprising given this episode introduces four alternates and one entirely new character.

Those alternates are used very cleverly, in this case to show how Earth X changes people. Earth X Winn is focused in a way Earth 1 Winn wasn’t for years but has lost his humanity as a result. Earth X Snart is both adorable and somehow still a little frightening while Earth X Captain Lance gets the most chilling moment of the episode when he explains to Sarah that he killed his daughter because of her bisexuality. All three show us how nightmarish their world is, but also show us the humanity, twisted as it is in Lance’s case, behind that. Lance views what he did as ‘saving’ his race, not murdering his daughter and that conviction, horrific as it is, places him as the hero of his own narrative.

But not, thankfully, ours.

That honour falls to Kara, who puts herself back in harm’s way this week in the exact way her counterpart never would. It also falls to Felicity and Iris who kick all kinds of ass in a manner Iris in particular would never have come close to even a year ago. And finally it falls to Ray.

Ray Terrill, played by Russell Tovey, an Earth-1 hero with light based powers who has been trapped on Earth X. He’s also Leo’s partner, heroic to the core and fundamentally likable. He’ll be the star of a new animated series but his presence here doesn’t feel like an extended trailer. Instead it feels like Barry’s initial appearance on Arrow did; earned, convincing and grounded.

The episode as a whole is massively impressive in just how much it embraces those qualities. However, it’s not all plain sailing. Stein doesn’t quite talk about how he’s going to settle down and open a pub once this is over but it gets pretty close. Nonetheless, his final scenes have genuine emotion to them and feel, if not unsurprising, then certainly impactful.

Verdict: With one chapter to go this year’s crossover is firing on all cylinders, and two Earths. Bring on the big finish. 8/10

Alasdair Stuart