| "Duet" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| The Flash episode | |||
 Promotional poster | |||
| Episodeno. | 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 appearances | |||
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| Episode chronology | |||
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| List of episodes | |||
"Duet" is the seventeenth episode of the third season ofThe CW television seriesThe Flash, which aired on March 21, 2017. It was written byAaron Helbing andTodd Helbing from a story byGreg Berlanti andAndrew Kreisberg, and was directed byDermott Daniel Downs. The episode features amusical crossover withSupergirl and reunitesGrant Gustin andMelissa Benoist with their formerGlee co-starDarren Criss, who portrays theMusic Meister.Jesse L. Martin also reunites withJeremy Jordan, with whom he previously worked in the 2012musical filmJoyful Noise.
The story begins at the end of theSupergirl episode "Star-Crossed", which aired on March 20, 2017. The episode seesKara Danvers / Supergirl (Benoist) being hypnotized into a coma by the Music Meister, withMon-El (Chris Wood) andJ'onn J'onzz / Martian Manhunter (David Harewood) bringing her to Earth-1 in hope that Team Flash can save her.
J'onn J'onzz andMon-El of Earth-38 arrive on Earth-1 with a comatoseKara Danvers, in hope thatBarry Allen and his team can revive her. They warn Barry that the escaped prisonerMusic Meister is coming for him too. Meister attacks and places Barry in a similar coma.
Barry wakes up to find himself without his powers in a musicaldream 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 thescript, they will return to the real world. He warns them, however, that if they die in the dream 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. Cutter's rivals Digsy Foss and his unnamed husband have their men kidnap Barry and Kara and tell them to find their daughter, Millie Foss, whom they believe is being held hostage by Cutter. Barry and Kara find Millie in a forbidden relationship with Cutter's son Tommy Moran. They convince the pair to reveal their love, which helps Barry and Kara 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 Ramon,Wally West, and J'onn arrive to fight Meister. They defeat him and lock him up in aS.T.A.R. Labs cell.
Back in the 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, but Cisco, Mon-El and Iris enter the dreamworld 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 leaving. Kara, J'onn and Mon-El return to Earth-38 while Barry and Iris move back in together. Barry serenades and re-proposes to Iris, who accepts ("Runnin' Home to You").
Main cast membersGrant Gustin,Candice Patton,Danielle Panabaker,Carlos Valdes,Keiynan Lonsdale,Tom Cavanagh, andJesse L. Martin star asBarry Allen / Flash,Iris West,Caitlin Snow,Cisco Ramon / Vibe,Wally West / Kid Flash,Harrison Wells, andJoe West, respectively.[1][2][3] In January 2017,Darren Criss was cast asMusic Meister.[4] Additionally, the episode's guest cast includesMelissa Benoist asKara Danvers / Supergirl,David Harewood asJ'onn J'onzz / Martian Manhunter andChris Wood asMon-El, reprising their roles fromSupergirl, along withLegends of Tomorrow actorVictor Garber,Supergirl actorJeremy Jordan, andJohn Barrowman fromArrow andLegends of Tomorrow playing different roles.[5]
Filming of the episode occurred from February 1 until February 15, 2017,[6][7] and was directed by series veteranDermott Daniel Downs.[1]
| 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 "Super Friends", 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 oldRobot Chicken bossTom 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 theAcademy Award for Best Original Song for writing the lyrics for "City of Stars" inLa 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 album for the episode, titledThe Flash – Music from the Special Episode: Duet, was released on March 22, 2017, throughWaterTower Music.[11][12]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Performer | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Meet the Music Meister" | Blake Neely | 2:45 | |
| 2. | "Moon River" | Melissa Benoist | 2:14 | |
| 3. | "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" |
| Darren Criss,Jeremy Jordan,Carlos Valdes andJohn Barrowman | 1:54 |
| 4. | "More I Cannot Wish You" | Frank Loesser | Jesse L. Martin,Victor Garber andJohn Barrowman | 2:38 |
| 5. | "Super Friend" | Melissa Benoist andGrant Gustin | 2:14 | |
| 6. | "Runnin' Home to You" | Grant Gustin | 2:46 | |
| 7. | "Runnin' Home to You" (guitar version) |
| Grant Gustin | 2:45 |
| Total length: | 17:16 | |||
After beginning in the ending scene of the March 20, 2017 episode ofSupergirl, "Duet" aired in the United States on The CW on March 21, 2017. It wassimulcast with the US broadcast in Canada onCTV Two.[13]
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, whereThe Flash andSupergirl both air onFox8, the crossover was marketed as a two-night event called "DC Musical Crossover".[15][better source needed]
Jesse Schedeen ofIGN 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]
| Arrow | |
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| The Flash | |
| Supergirl | |
| Legends of Tomorrow | |
| Black Lightning | |
| Batwoman | |
| Animated series | |
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| Crossovers | |
| Related | |
