30 greatest Arrowverse episodes, ranked
The CW’s Arrowverse has given us some incredibly memorable episodes over the years, but which of them are the cream of the superhero crop?
The Arrowverse has been a mainstay on The CW for nearly seven years. In that time, the shared universe of superheroes have forged iconic friendships and battled their greatest enemies, all while entertaining viewers and bringing in record-breaking ratings for the network.
While they haven’t all been perfect for the Arrowverse shows, Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow have undoubtedly gotten things right more often than not, with their respective creative teams producing some outstanding seasons over the years. However, as great as they were, the success of these seasons relied on one major factor – the strength of their respective episodes.
Without engaging episodes to entice the viewers and progress the storylines, the Arrowverse show’s overall narratives would have ultimately fallen apart. Thankfully, for the most part, that hasn’t been the case. While all of the Arrowverse shows have faced a few dark days here and there throughout their runs, there has been so much more good than bad. And amidst all of that good, there have been some incredibly memorable outings.
From parallel dimensions and time-traveling time remnants to character-driven arcs and musical extravaganzas, there have been some spectacular adventures in the Arrowverse’s collective 400-plus episodes. With that in mind, let’s travel back in time, looking through the many heroic seasons to determine which ones stood out as the finest episodes the Arrowverse has ever produced
Best Arrowverse episodes – No. 30
What’s Past Is Prologue (The Flash season 5 episode 8)
Over the years, The Flash has given us some game-changing outings, so it’s safe to say that we expected nothing less for its monumental 100th episode – and that’s exactly what we got.
“What’s Past Is Prologue” had the right idea of prioritizing the current storyline, but it did so in a clever way that still allowed it to pay tribute to everything that came before. It all came about when Nora West-Allen suggested that Team Flash create their own weapon that could be used against Cicada’s power-dampening dagger. Although they didn’t have the ingredients for such a device in the present, Nora suggested that they travel back to various periods in time, tracking down the necessary equipment.
As a result, we were treated to a trip down memory lane, revisiting some of the show’s most iconic moments. From Savitar’s defeat to Zoom’s reign of terror, Nora got to see some of her father’s most infamous moments up close and personal while we got to relive them all over again (from some fresh new angles).
The episode’s biggest drawback was unfortunately the fact that the plot came across like a waste of time. While it was undoubtedly amazing to see Barry revisit some of the show’s best moments, the overall plan was a complete failure as it was quickly thwarted by Cicada.
For this reason, “What’s Past Is Prologue” wasn’t quite as strong as Arrow‘s 100th episode, but it did do a stellar job of paying homage to some of The Flash‘s greatest hits without ever detracting from the task at hand – and you couldn’t really ask for anything more from what was practically a tribute episode.