What Was the Best Musical Performance During the ‘Flash’ and ‘Supergirl’s’ ‘Duet’?

[This story contains spoilers from Supergirl‘s and The Flash’s musical crossover episodes, “Starcrossed” and “Duet.”]

DC Comics villain the Music Meister made his live-action debut on Monday’s episode of Supergirl and headed over to The Flash for a two-show, two-night musical crossover that featured multiple performances from both show’s multitalented casts.

Glee grad Darren Criss took on the role of the Music Meister, a new type of “villain” who insisted everyone follow his musical script or die. The episode also served as a reunion for Criss with his former Glee co-stars, The Flash’s Grant Gustin and Supergirl‘s Melissa Benoist, who both showed off their vocal skills during the two-night crossover.

Below, The Hollywood Reporter takes a closer look at the musical moments from The Flash’s “Duet” episode, ranking each performance from glee club to Tony worthy.

5. “Moon River”

However beautiful this song and no matter how great the voice singing it, the classic track made for a slow opening to the super musical. Picking up from where they left off on Supergirl, Benoist graces the stage in an awkward and coy manner while singing the song from Breakfast at Tiffany’s. It was pretty and sweet, but even the Music Meister said Kara “was a little flat in places.” It ranks fifth out of the five performances, but only because of its seeming lack of energy to open the highly anticipated episode. Try comparing “Moon River” to “Going Through the Motions” from Buffy the Vampire Slayer‘s musical, “Once More, With Feeling.” As for Kara, well, she still puts the “Kara in karaoke.” 

4. “Super Friend”

This one’s upbeat, fun and has the typical musical theater campiness that one would expect to see on Broadway. It’s an original song written by Crazy Ex-Girlfriend creator-star Rachel Bloom, who injected The Flash with her wacky sensibilities and fun musical numbers. Performed by Benoist and Gustin, “Super Friend” doesn’t fully show off their vocal capabilities until the end of the song, but it’s filled with great one-liners and puns relevant to their respective shows (“If you’re not there in time/you can just go back in time and give it another shot!” and “I’m actually not supposed to do that anymore,” referencing the Flashpoint predicament Barry currently faces.) In true musical style, it features the title characters tap dancing while Jeremy Jordan’s Supergirl character, Winn, tickles the ivories for this performance. It’s good to see Benoist isn’t still holding out for a hero in this one.

3. “More I Cannot Wish You”

With three Broadway stars at their disposal, the crossover put Jesse L. Martin (Rent), Victor Garber (Damn Yankees) and John Barrowman (The Phantom of the Opera) to good use with this one. The shock of seeing the former leader of the League of Assassins break out into song was a fantastic surprise only bested by how perfectly intertwined the trio’s performance was in the beautiful lullaby from Guys and Dolls. It left us looking for more of Martin’s sweet harmonies so…clicky clicky.

2. “Runnin’ Home to You”

Written specifically for the episode by La La Land’s Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (who won the Oscar for “City of Stars” and also created Broadway’s Dear Evan Hansen), Gustin took the solo in a romantic moment for Barry and Iris (Candice Patton). While the song felt like it would have worked perfectly as a duet, Gustin’s romantic performance as he wooed a silent Iris made this serenade of sorts something truly special. The most beautiful part may have been that it took place after the Music Meister’s musical actually ended, so it was a raw representation of Barry’s love for Iris — and one that ended with a proper proposal.

1. “Put a Little Love in Your Heart”

This rendition of the late-1960s hit was just what the crossover needed to make it a true TV musical experience. As the second number of the hour, it featured a big dance sequence with an impressive group of background performers. Criss‘ natural ability to perform shined through — and the Music Meister was even able to get a reluctant Barry to start grooving to the music. Jordan and The Flash’s Carlos Valdes also delivered some impressive musical stylings. The overall performance paired with the underlying theme of the entire episode takes this track to the top of our list. 

“Duet” was a good way to kick off more potential musicals for The CW superhero universe in the future, since there is a possibility that the Music Meister could come back to help solve other problems after his sole purpose was to bring two beleaguered couples back together. After all, as Barry’s mother would say, “Musicals have the power to make everything better.” It definitely worked out well for this episode.

What did you think of the musical episode? Share your favorite song selections in the comments section, below.