First Thoughts on 'Freedom Fighters: The Ray'

So...this is a thing. Earlier this month, CW Seed released the first six episodes of their new original DC series Freedom Fighters: The Ray, featuring Russell Tovey as Ray Terrill/The Ray, alongside Arrowverse alumni Melissa Benoist as Overgirl and Carlos Valdes as Vibe in what is theoretically the spin-off prequel to the Crisis on Earth-X crossover event...except that it doesn't really match-up properly.

Certain aspects of both are maintained: Ray is from Earth-1, is played by Russell Tovey and has a similar costume design to the one seen in Crisis on Earth-X; the Earth-X version of Supergirl is called Overgirl, and has a similar costume to her live action counterpart; Red Tornado is a member of the Freedom Fighters; and the Earth-X version of Green Arrow has a similar design to his live-action counterpart, albeit called Black Arrow as opposed to Dark Arrow in the crossover. He's also not played by Stephen Amell but by Matthew Mercer, despite the animation featuring Amell's likeness. The Reichsmen also features Blitzkreig, an Earth-X version of the Flash not played by Grant Gustin, who didn't appear in Crisis on Earth-X at all. To make matters all the more confusing, Earth-X Oliver Queen (or at least, I assume he's Oliver Queen) isn't the leader of the three (and the Fuhrer of Earth-X), and the romance between him and Overgirl is ignored completely.

There are some other inconsistencies with Crisis on Earth-X: Leo Snart is absent, but new characters unnamed in the series (although credited as different DC heroes) appear instead, and there appears to be no real form of crossover between the two whatsoever, bar what has been mentioned above.

While this miniseries was in development before Crisis on Earth-X, considering that both were developed by the same people, it seems odd for the continuity to not match-up. Apparently, Tovey was only cast as The Ray to fit in a live action appearance in the crossover, with the series being delayed to try and match the character design to the actor...to little avail, given the appalling likeness. I'm a bit confused what was going on during production, or quite what happened to ensure that this didn't match-up at all. At least the Vixen miniseries had a clear placement within the Arrowverse without lapses in continuity; Freedom Fighters: The Ray just doesn't really fit at all. In fact, try reading the official synopsis to the show: it isn't the plot of the series, not by a long shot.

As for the miniseries itself, the animation is fine if a little stilted, with the likenesses to the respective actors across the board being particularly weak. The five minute episode lengths also give the show an awkward pace, exacerbated by the sudden ending. Is this only the first few episodes of this season, or is this just where Season 1 ends? It feels oddly unfinished, and what is hear seems particularly cheap - they couldn't even get Stephen Amell and Grant Gustin in to record a few lines each. I'm unsure what's going with this series, or even what the point is meant to be. It doesn't really add much to Crisis on Earth-X, and doesn't have much to offer as a standalone piece either. The story hasn't ended, the animation looks average at best, and even the score feels a bit weak. It's nothing terrible, but I can't find much in this series regardless.