April 13: Crisis on Infinite Earths

I have been watching (and loving) the last season of The Arrow (on Netflix) for the first time. All of a sudden episode 8 starts playing, and it is this bizarre episode that looked like it was an entirely new TV show called "Crisis on Infinite Earths". I was super confused, and thought that maybe Netflix messed up so I Googled it, and it turns out that "Crist on Infinite Earths" was a special 5-episode arc over 5 different TV shows (Supergirl, Batwoman, The Flash, The Arrow, and Legends of Tomorrow) that played last year. In the middle of each of these show's seasons, one of the five episodes of "Crisis" was aired, so I found myself watching the 4th episode of the arc, which is why I was so confused. 

I got the gist that the arc is basically about a bunch of different superheroes trying to prevent the destruction of the multiverse (yes, multiverse. apparently saving the universe isn't good enough any more). The superheroes discover that a man named Mar Novu was (unknowingly and accidentally) responsible for kicking off the events that led to the "crisis" that destroyed literally the entire multiverse, so they go back in time to stop him (so in these episodes you get both traveling in time and traveling between universes). 

The superheroes explain to Mar Novu that what he is about to do will destroy the entire freakin' universe, which convinces Mar Novu to stop doing what he was doing (which has something to do with matter and anti-matter, I was a little hazy on those details). So the superheroes think they have saved the day (aka the entire freakin' multiverse). They travel back to their time expecting the world to be back to normal, but back in real time, the multiverse is still destroyed. The bad guy has an AMAZING explanation for them about why their seemingly brilliant and foolproof plan did not work. 

"Some fates are inescapable. You spoke to one man across countless universes, but within the tapestry of the multiverse, there will always be one Mar Novu who cannot turn from his towering ambition, and in that inevitability, there is destiny." 

Oooooh I love that quote, and I love that idea, and I delight in considering destiny in that way! In order to save the multiverse, the superheroes would have to confront EVERY Mar Novu in EVERY universe of the multiverse. Somethings are just fated to happen, no matter what, and if you try to prevent that fate in one universe, it will still find a way to happen in another universe. Very similar to the infinite possibilities philosophy that I also very much enjoy (which posits that everything we can possibly conceive happening, every possible outcome of a choice, will happen in some reality, just maybe not our own reality), and also very similar to the plot of my favorite movie, "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" (where Joel and Clementine are fated to be together and end up meeting each other again even after their memories have been erased.) 

I was surprisingly impressed with "Crisis on Infinite Earths" and plan to try to find all 5 episodes and watch them in order. It is quite the feat to have five different television shows involved in a crossover event, and it was delightful to experience one fifth of it (unknowingly and accidentally)!

With delight,

 ♥Jamie