Invasion! (Arrow)


 * For episodes of the same name, see Invasion!

"There's Flash and&mdash;and Supergirl and&mdash;and people with actual powers now. Whatever needs to be done, they can handle it. We&mdash;we finally have a chance to be happy. I mean, why&mdash;why can't you just for a second accept that maybe this is your reward for all of the sacrifices you have made?"

- Thea Queen to Oliver Queen "Invasion!" is the eighth episode of the fifth season of Arrow, and the one-hundredth episode overall. The episode is the third of a four-part crossover with the eight episode of the second season of Supergirl, eighth episode of the third season of The Flash and seventh episode of the second season of DC's Legends of Tomorrow. It aired on November 30, 2016.

Synopsis
Oliver wakes up to a life where he never got on The Queen's Gambit. Robert and Moira are alive and well. Laurel is his loving fiancée and their wedding is imminent. Everything seems perfect, but Oliver starts to notice small imperfections that make him question this new reality. Meanwhile, Felicity and the recruits take on a new threat with help from The Flash and Supergirl.

Trivia

 * When mentioning how they have to find "Oliver and company", Cisco makes it clear that he is not referring to the 1988 Disney film Oliver &amp; Company.
 * This is the first episode of Season 5 that doesn't include the Flashback storyline.
 * The beginning of the episode, when Oliver is running, is a reference to the first scene of the very first episode of Arrow (and the Arrowverse), "Pilot", a trend that continued at the start of every Arrow season's first episode except season 5.
 * This is the first appearance of Sara on Arrow since Lost Souls, and the first appearance of Ray on Arrow since Brotherhood.
 * This episode marks Deathstroke's first appearance since The Return. However, he wasn't shown without his mask, as well as not saying a word, due to Manu Bennett not reprising the role.
 * However, Deathstroke can be seen without his mask in Thea's flashback from Seeing Red.
 * Cisco refers to the stasis that the heroes are being kept in as "a little alien, a little Star Trek - J. J. Abrams style", referring to the 2009 film, Star Trek, and its 2013 sequel Star Trek Into Darkness, both of which were directed by J. J. Abrams.
 * From an unknown reason, Evelyn Sharp doesn't appear or even mentioned in this episode.
 * Marc Guggenheim explained in an interview that this was done on purpose, due to the previous episode's revelation that Artemis had joined Prometheus. Thus, the directors removed Artemis from this episode to prevent a distraction to the fans.
 * This episode marks Susanna Thompson's first appearance as Moira Queen since Season 2's Seeing Red, 57 episodes ago, and Jamey Sheridan's first appearance as Robert Queen since Season 3's The Return, 40 episodes ago.
 * The bow Cisco used to track down Oliver is the bow Oliver used in the first season.
 * The Hozen Thea gave to Oliver as a gift is the same Hozen Oliver gave Thea after he returned from Lian Yu in Pilot.
 * This is the second episode that Barry appears only as The Flash. The first one is My Name Is Oliver Queen.
 * Curtis refers to his "3PO processor", before imitating C-3PO from the Star Wars franchise.
 * Ra's al Ghul and Prometheus are the only main antagonists of Arrow (from the Present storyline) that didn't appear in the dream world. However, Ra's al Ghul made a cameo in a flashback from Left Behind.
 * Firestorm makes a cameo at Sara's flashback from the previous part of the crossover. This marks the first time since that Firestorm appears without Martin Stein/Jefferson Jackson/Ronnie Raymond.
 * Curtis claims to feel like "Elliott from E.T.", exclaiming "It's working, it's working!", quoting the protagonist from the 1982 film, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
 * Ray jokingly suggests they "click our heels three times and say there's no place like home." to escape the Dominators' mother ship, a reference to Wizard of Oz.
 * As the 100th episode of Arrow, this episode including clips from different episodes through the series.
 * In the dream world, Tommy was stated to be a doctor in Chicago. This is a reference to Colin Donnell's role in Chicago Med where he plays the role of a doctor. Furthermore, this was the reason that he could not return for a full appearance. However, his image was digitally inserted during the scene where Oliver returns to the real world, much to Colin Donnell's surprise.
 * Donnell posted on Twitter stating that although he did not appear, he had seen the episode weeks ago, and praised the scene between Oliver and Thea, and gave kudos to his Chicago Med reference.


 * Felicity and Ray are revealed to be engaged in the dream world, just as they were together in Season 3.


 * As the heroes fight the villains in the dream world, there are throwbacks to earlier in the series, or characters gain some form of closure.
 * Sara Lance kills Damien Darhk in the same manner that he killed her sister, Laurel Lance, by thrusting an arrow to the stomach.
 * Oliver Queen shoots Deathstroke with an arrow to the eye, just like the real Slade Wilson.
 * John Diggle fights a Ghost, which is what his brother, Andy, became.
 * Ray Palmer kills a member of Slade Wilson's army, who killed his fiancée, Anna Loring.
 * Thea Queen fights and kills her father, Malcolm Merlyn.


 * This episode title card goes through several arrowhead designs from past seasons, from the first to the newest, as a reference of being an anniversary episode.
 * Oliver waking up in a world where he isn't Green Arrow is similar to Batman: The Animated Series episode "Perchance To Dream" where Bruce Wayne wakes up in a world where he is not Batman.
 * Roy Harper didn't appear in the dreamworld but appears at the near end before Oliver departs to the real world. It is unknown what life he is living in that reality.
 * The dreamworld where Oliver wakes up to a perfect life is very much similar to the Flashpoint timeline that Barry Allen created to live the perfect life into seeing his parents alive.
 * The dreamworld that Oliver, diggle, Thea, ray and Sara were in resembles the dream world concept that was used when Music Meister trapped Barry and Kara in a dream world in the musical episode Duet.

Production
Preparation ran from September 14 until September 22, 2016. Shooting ran from September 23 until October 7, 2016.