Duet (''The Flash'')

"Duet"
The Flash episode
Promotional poster
Episode no. Season 3
Episode 17
Directed by Dermott Daniel Downs
Story by
Teleplay by
Featured music Blake Neely
Production code T27.13117
Original air date March 21, 2017 (2017-03-21)
Guest appearance(s)

"Duet" is the seventeenth episode of the third season of The CW television series The Flash, which aired on March 21, 2017. The episode was written by Aaron Helbing and Todd Helbing from a story by Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg, and was directed by Dermott Daniel Downs. The episode features a musical crossover with Supergirl and reunites Grant Gustin and Melissa Benoist with their former Glee co-star Darren Criss, who portrays the Music Meister. Jesse L. Martin also reunites with Jeremy Jordan, with whom he previously worked in the 2012 musical film Joyful Noise. The story begins at the end of the Supergirl episode "Star-Crossed", which aired on March 20, 2017, which saw Kara Danvers / Supergirl (Benoist) being put into a coma by Music Meister, with Mon-El (Chris Wood) and J'onn J'onzz / Martian Manhunter (David Harewood) bringing her to Earth-1 in hope that Team Flash can save her.

Plot

J'onn J'onzz and Mon-El of Earth-38 arrive on Earth-1 with a comatose Kara Danvers / Supergirl, in hope that Team Flash can revive her. They warn Barry Allen / Flash that the escaped prisoner, Music Meister, claimed he would be coming for him too. Meister appears inside S.T.A.R. Labs and Barry and Wally West / Kid Flash confront him, but Meister attacks and places Barry in a similar coma.

Barry wakes up to find himself without his powers in a musical world where he discovers Kara singing in a nightclub ("Moon River") and where everyone resembles people they know in the real world. Meister tells Kara and Barry that if they follow the script, they will return to the real world. He warns them, however, that if they die in this world, they die in real life ("Put a Little Love in Your Heart"). Barry and Kara are forced to work as singers in a nightclub run by gangster Cutter Moran (Malcolm Merlyn), with Grady (Winn Schott) working as a piano player, and Pablo (Cisco Ramon) as a waiter.

Cutter's rivals Digsy Foss (Joe West) and his husband (Martin Stein) have their men kidnap Barry and Kara and tell them to find their daughter Millie Foss (Iris West) whom they believe is being held hostage by Moran. Barry and Kara find Millie in a forbidden relationship with Cutter's son Tommy Moran (Mon-El). Kara and Barry convince the pair to reveal their love to their fathers and this helps the two protagonists to realize their own mistakes. Digsy, his husband and Cutter seemingly give their approval ("More I Cannot Wish You"), but subsequently decide to go to war. Meanwhile in the real world, Meister is revealed to have been stealing Barry and Kara's powers, using them to rob a bank. Cisco, Kid Flash and J'onn, as the Martian Manhunter, arrive to fight Meister. They defeat him and lock him up in a cell at S.T.A.R. Labs.

Back in the gangster/musical reality, Barry and Kara prepare to sing an original song to appease Cutter ("Super Friend"), but the gang war begins outside. Barry and Kara are shot in the crossfire and are dying with no survivors on either Moran or Foss's side. Cisco, Mon-El, and Iris vibe into their world to save them, allowing Barry and Kara to admit their love for Iris and Mon-El respectively. They wake up in S.T.A.R. Labs. Meister escapes his cell, revealing to Barry and Kara that he just wanted them to realize their love before vanishing to teach his "lessons" to others. Kara, J'onn and Mon-El return to Earth-38. Barry and Iris move back in together. Barry serenades and re-proposes to Iris, who accepts ("Runnin' Home to You").

Production

Casting

Main cast members Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Danielle Panabaker, Carlos Valdes, Keiynan Lonsdale, Tom Cavanagh, and Jesse L. Martin star as Barry Allen / Flash, Iris West, Caitlin Snow, Cisco Ramon / Vibe, Wally West / Kid Flash, Harrison "H.R." Wells, and Joe West, respectively.[1][2][3] In January 2017, Darren Criss was cast as Music Meister.[4] Additionally, the episode's guest cast includes Melissa Benoist as Kara Danvers / Supergirl, Jeremy Jordan as Winn Schott, David Harewood as J'onn J'onzz / Martian Manhunter and Chris Wood as Mon-El, reprising their roles from Supergirl, along with Legends of Tomorrow actor Victor Garber, and John Barrowman from Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow.[5]

Filming

Filming of the episode occurred from February 1 until February 15, 2017,[6][7] and was directed by series veteran Dermott Daniel Downs.[1]

Music

The Flash – Music from the Special Episode: Duet
Soundtrack album by Various Artists
Released March 22, 2017 (2017-03-22)
Genre Soundtrack
Length 17:16
Label WaterTower Music
Producer Blake Neely

In January 2017, Rachel Bloom revealed that she had penned an original song for the episode, which was titled "Superfriends", and was set to be sung by Gustin and Benoist. Bloom explained that, "as soon as I heard that they were doing a musical crossover, I e-mailed [CW president] Mark Pedowitz who connected me to Greg [Berlanti] and Andrew [Kreisberg]. I immediately offered them my services. As soon as they picked one of my song ideas, I hopped on the phone with my old Robot Chicken boss Tom Root and ... based on that brainstorm, I wrote up the song 'Superfriends'. I am so excited to contribute more to the upward trend that is musicals in television and film. Music can be one of the most amazing and efficient forms of storytelling and character development. Also, it was really fun to write a comedy song for two superheroes."[8] The song was later retitled "Super Friend".[9]

Additionally, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, winners of the Academy Award for Best Original Song for writing the lyrics for "City of Stars" in La La Land, were the authors of another song written for the episode, "Runnin' Home to You", which was performed by Gustin. Kreisberg commented, "Benj and Justin are the premiere songwriting duo of our time... To have them be a part of our musical episode is beyond our wildest expectations. We hope everyone falls in love with the song they wrote for us as much as we did."[10]

A soundtrack, titled, The Flash – Music from the Special Episode: Duet, was released on March 22, 2017 from WaterTower Music containing the songs featured the episode.[11][12]

Release

Broadcast

After beginning in the ending scene of the March 20, 2017 episode of Supergirl, "Duet" aired in the United States on The CW on March 21, 2017. It was simulcast with the US broadcast in Canada on CTV Two.[13]

Marketing

In early March 2017, a promotional poster for the episode was released, with it being marketed as "Dynamic Duet", a play on words of the phrase "dynamic duo".[14] In Australia, where The Flash and Supergirl both air on Fox8, the crossover was marketed as a two-night event called "DC Musical Crossover".[15]

Critical response

Jesse Schedeen of IGN gave the episode an "amazing" 9.6 out of 10. He felt the premise was "goofy" but did a good job incorporating the existing continuity from both series, such as building "directly on recent romantic tribulations in Barry and Kara's lives." He enjoyed the team-up with Kid Flash, Martian Manhunter and Vibe, and was glad the writers did not "attempt to force in a romantic subplot involving Barry and Kara. As their "Super Friends" number showed, they're better as friends than lovers."[16] The A.V. Club's Scott Von Doviak awarded the episode a "A−", saying there was good chemistry between Gustin and Benoist and that Gustin was able to "reconnect with the character's endearing side." Von Doviak concluded, "It's probably logistically untenable for them to ever be more than 'super friends,' but if this show ever needed the positive energy they generate together, now was certainly the time."[17]

References

  1. 1 2 "(#317) "Duet"". The Futon Critic. March 17, 2017. Archived from the original on March 19, 2017. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  2. ↑ Bryant, Jacob (March 14, 2017). "'The Flash' Candice Patton on Barry and Iris' Growing Rift". Variety. Archived from the original on March 19, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
  3. ↑ Candice Patton [@candicekp] (March 15, 2017). "Meet Millie Floss and gang next week on the musical crossover of The Flash!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on March 19, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2017 – via Twitter.
  4. ↑ Ausiello, Michael (January 23, 2017). "Darren Criss Joins 'The Flash'/'Supergirl' as Music Meister — Musical". TVLine. Archived from the original on March 19, 2017. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
  5. ↑ Abrams, Natalie (January 20, 2017). "Who's singing in The Flash-Supergirl musical crossover?". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on March 19, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  6. ↑ David Harewood [@DavidHarewood] (February 1, 2017). "Nice touch from The Flash peeps on my front door...#TheFlash #Crossover" (Tweet). Archived from the original on March 19, 2017. Retrieved February 7, 2017 – via Twitter.
  7. ↑ Moore, Rose (February 15, 2017). "The Flash/Supergirl: Darren Criss Wraps Filming As Music Meister". ScreenRant. Archived from the original on March 19, 2017. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  8. ↑ Swift, Andy (January 31, 2017). "Flash/Supergirl Musical Crossover Features Duet Written by Rachel Bloom, Song From La La Land Duo". TV Line. Archived from the original on March 19, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
  9. ↑ Truitt, Brian (March 19, 2017). "Superhero crossover goes full Bloom with its showtunes". usatoday.com. Archived from the original on March 24, 2017.
  10. ↑ Petski, Denise (January 31, 2017). "'La La Land' Songwriters Pen Original Tune For 'The Flash' Crossover". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 19, 2017. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  11. ↑ Anderson, Jenna (March 22, 2017). "Supergirl/The Flash Musical Crossover Soundtrack Now Available". Comicbook.com. Archived from the original on March 23, 2017. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
  12. ↑ Abrams, Natalie (March 22, 2017). "Music from 'The Flash'-'Supergirl' Musical Crossover Now Available". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on March 23, 2017. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
  13. ↑ CTV [@CTV_Television] (March 21, 2017). "Will they stick to the script? Find out on a special musical episode of #TheFlash tonight at 8ET/PT on CTV Two!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on March 23, 2017. Retrieved March 23, 2017 – via Twitter.
  14. ↑ Damore, Megan (March 17, 2017). "The Flash & Supergirl Razzle-Dazzle in New Musical Crossover Poster". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on March 19, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
  15. ↑ "FOX8 - Supergirl is dancing back onto your screens next..." Facebook. FOX8. March 16, 2017. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  16. ↑ Schedeen, Jesse (March 21, 2016). "The Flash: "Duet" Review". IGN. Archived from the original on 2017-03-22. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  17. ↑ Von Doviak, Scott (March 21, 2016). "A musical crossover with Supergirl is the cure for what ails The Flash". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on 2017-03-22. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
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