Arrowverse: How to Watch the Series in Order

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The best first-watch order for the Arrowverse is original release order, with crossover episodes watched as consecutive story blocks. Start with Arrow, watch The Flash after Barry Allen’s introduction, add Legends of Tomorrow after its Flash/Arrow setup, and follow each crossover in its official episode sequence. Do not watch every episode of one series before starting the others.

There is no single official DC episode-by-episode chronology for the entire franchise. The order below is a practical, spoiler-conscious viewing path that preserves character introductions, crossover cliffhangers, and the way the shows originally aired.

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Quick answer: the Arrowverse viewing order

Use the checklist below as the short version. The detailed guide later explains exactly where to stop and resume each season.

1. Arrow Seasons 1–2
2. The Flash Season 1 and Arrow Season 3, stopping both shows before Episode 8
3. Flash vs. Arrow: The Flash 1×08, then Arrow 3×08
4. Finish The Flash Season 1 and Arrow Season 3
5. Watch The Flash Season 2 and Arrow Season 4 through Episode 7, then watch Heroes Join Forces: The Flash 2×08 followed by Arrow 4×08
6. Watch Legends of Tomorrow Season 1 and complete the relevant early seasons of Supergirl, The Flash, and Arrow
7. Follow the crossover blocks in this order: Invasion!, Crisis on Earth-X, Elseworlds, and Crisis on Infinite Earths
8. After Crisis on Infinite Earths, finish Arrow, complete the interrupted seasons, and continue the remaining post-Crisis series in release-order blocks
9. Watch Armageddon as The Flash Season 8, Episodes 1–5, after the necessary post-Crisis setup

Why release order is better than a complete-season marathon

The Arrowverse is a shared television universe, but it was not produced as one single show with a master chronological timeline. Arrow premiered in 2012. The Flash grew out of Arrow after Barry Allen was introduced in its second season, and Legends of Tomorrow was then assembled from characters who had appeared in Arrow and The Flash.

That production history matters. Watching all of Arrow, then all of The Flash, then all of Supergirl can put introductions, cliffhangers, and crossover events in the wrong place. It can also reveal characters and story developments before the show that originally introduced them was ready to do so.

Release order is not a claim that every scene takes place in perfect chronological sequence. Flashbacks, time travel, simultaneous storylines, animated tie-ins, and the post-Crisis multiverse make a definitive scene-by-scene chronology impractical. It is the most reliable first-watch method because it preserves the intended order of discovery without requiring constant episode switching.

Phase 1: Build the Arrowverse foundation

1. Arrow — Season 1

Begin with the complete first season of Arrow. It establishes Oliver Queen, Starling City, the vigilante premise, and the storytelling framework from which the wider universe grows.

2. Arrow — Season 2

Watch all of Season 2 before moving to The Flash. Barry Allen’s introduction occurs during Arrow Season 2 and provides the setup for the later spinoff.

Some granular watch lists split Arrow Season 2 around Episode 7 and place early Flash episodes before finishing the season. That is unnecessary for a first viewing and can make Barry’s introduction arrive out of sequence. Finishing Arrow Season 2 is the cleaner starting point.

3. Prepare for the first crossover

Watch the first seven episodes of The Flash Season 1 and the first seven episodes of Arrow Season 3. You can watch these as two show blocks rather than alternating after every episode. The important stopping point is Episode 7 in both seasons.

4. Flash vs. Arrow — watch these two episodes in order

1. The Flash 1×08 — Flash vs. Arrow
2. Arrow 3×08 — The Brave and the Bold

The Flash episode comes first, followed by the Arrow episode. Treat them as one two-part story even though each is labeled as an episode of a different series.

5. Finish the first seasons

After the crossover, finish the remaining episodes of The Flash Season 1 and Arrow Season 3. The order between the two remaining season blocks is not as important as keeping the crossover itself in the correct sequence.

Phase 2: Add Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow

6. Set up Heroes Join Forces

Watch:

• The Flash Season 2, Episodes 1–7
• Arrow Season 4, Episodes 1–7

You may watch Supergirl Season 1 as a separate block during this stage. It began as a separate production and does not need to be interleaved episode by episode with Arrow and The Flash.

7. Heroes Join Forces

1. The Flash 2×08 — Legends of Today
2. Arrow 4×08 — Legends of Yesterday

This two-part event is the principal setup for DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. Watch the Flash installment first and the Arrow installment second.

8. Watch Legends of Tomorrow Season 1

Begin Legends of Tomorrow after the two Heroes Join Forces episodes. The series uses familiar characters from Arrow and The Flash, so watching the setup first makes its team and premise easier to follow.

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9. Complete the early Supergirl path

If you have not already watched it, finish Supergirl Season 1, then watch Season 2 through Episode 7. Kara’s first major participation in the shared-universe crossover path occurs with the Season 2 material leading into Invasion!.

You do not have to finish the entire Supergirl series before watching the other shows. Watch it in season blocks alongside the other Arrowverse series, pausing only when a listed crossover requires it.

The major Arrowverse crossover order

From this point forward, the episode sequence matters more than the order in which you choose to watch non-crossover season blocks. Stop each participating show before its crossover episode, watch the event in the order below, and then resume the affected seasons.

1. Flash vs. Arrow — 2014

1. The Flash 1×08 — Flash vs. Arrow
2. Arrow 3×08 — The Brave and the Bold

This is the first major crossover and the point at which the two series most clearly operate as one television universe.

2. Heroes Join Forces — 2015

1. The Flash 2×08 — Legends of Today
2. Arrow 4×08 — Legends of Yesterday

These episodes set up Legends of Tomorrow. Watch Legends Season 1 after this event rather than trying to place it before its characters have been assembled.

3. Invasion! — 2016

There is a Supergirl connection immediately before the main event. Supergirl 2×08, Medusa, is useful as a lead-in, but it is not normally counted as one of the three principal chapters.

1. The Flash 3×08 — Invasion!
2. Arrow 5×08 — Invasion!
3. Legends of Tomorrow 2×07 — Invasion!

The central event begins on The Flash, continues on Arrow, and concludes on Legends of Tomorrow. Do not insert another series between these three episodes.

4. Crisis on Earth-X — 2017

1. Supergirl 3×08 — Crisis on Earth-X, Part 1
2. Arrow 6×08 — Crisis on Earth-X, Part 2
3. The Flash 4×08 — Crisis on Earth-X, Part 3
4. Legends of Tomorrow 3×08 — Crisis on Earth-X, Part 4

This order is especially easy to get wrong if you sort by the show names. The story starts with Supergirl, moves to Arrow, then The Flash, and ends with Legends of Tomorrow.

5. Elseworlds — 2018

1. The Flash 5×09 — Elseworlds, Part 1
2. Arrow 7×09 — Elseworlds, Part 2
3. Supergirl 4×09 — Elseworlds, Part 3

Watch Elseworlds before Crisis on Infinite Earths. It introduces important story material that leads into the larger crisis event.

6. Crisis on Infinite Earths — 2019–2020

This is a five-part event split by a winter break. The first three installments aired in December 2019; the final two aired together on January 14, 2020.

1. Supergirl 5×09 — Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part One
2. Batwoman 1×09 — Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Two
3. The Flash 6×09 — Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Three
4. Arrow 8×08 — Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Four
5. Legends of Tomorrow 5×01 — Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Five

Before starting the event, watch the relevant pre-Crisis episodes: Supergirl Season 5 through 5×08, Batwoman Season 1 through 1×08, The Flash Season 6 through 6×08, and Arrow Season 8 through 8×07. Legends of Tomorrow begins its Season 5 path with the fifth part of the event.

Batwoman should be introduced before this crossover because its 1×09 episode is Part Two. Black Lightning also participates in the wider crisis story for the first time in a major Arrowverse crossover, although it is not one of the five numbered installments above. You can watch Black Lightning separately and include its Crisis-related episode around this point if you want the broader multiverse context.

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Crisis on Infinite Earths is a natural dividing line. It changes the shared continuity, so a first-time viewer should finish the five parts before moving into the later seasons.

7. Armageddon — The Flash Season 8

1. The Flash 8×01 — Armageddon, Part 1
2. The Flash 8×02 — Armageddon, Part 2
3. The Flash 8×03 — Armageddon, Part 3
4. The Flash 8×04 — Armageddon, Part 4
5. The Flash 8×05 — Armageddon, Part 5

Armageddon is a five-episode event hosted entirely by The Flash, rather than a traditional crossover with one installment from each participating show. Watch all five episodes consecutively as the opening block of The Flash Season 8.

Place it after Crisis on Infinite Earths and after the earlier post-Crisis seasons needed for its returning-character context. It is not a precursor to Crisis on Infinite Earths; it is a later, post-Crisis event.

What to watch after Crisis on Infinite Earths

The pre-Crisis crossovers have strict part orders. The later seasons are less dependent on episode-by-episode interleaving, so a block-based approach is both easier and less likely to create confusion.

First, finish the seasons interrupted by the crisis

• Arrow Season 8: watch the remaining episodes after 8×08. Season 8 has ten episodes and is the shortened final season. Its finale follows the crossover.
• Legends of Tomorrow Season 5: continue after 5×01.
• The Flash Season 6: continue after 6×09.
• Supergirl Season 5: continue after 5×09.
• Batwoman Season 1: continue after 1×09.

There is no benefit to watching all of Arrow Season 8 before the crossover: 8×08 is itself Part Four. Likewise, Legends of Tomorrow Season 5 begins with the fifth Crisis installment, so do not treat the season as entirely separate from the event.

Then continue the remaining core series

After the interrupted seasons are complete, watch the remaining seasons in original release-order blocks. The exact order among these later seasons is less important than placing them after the five-part Crisis and keeping Armageddon in its position within The Flash Season 8.

• Batwoman Seasons 2–3
• Black Lightning through its later seasons, if you are following its separate release path
• Supergirl Season 6
• Legends of Tomorrow Seasons 6–7
• The Flash Season 7
• The Flash Season 8, Episodes 1–5: Armageddon, then the rest of Season 8
• The Flash Season 9

If you want the simplest low-switch method, finish one interrupted season at a time, then move through the remaining shows by their original broadcast-era blocks. If you want maximum crossover context, place Batwoman, Black Lightning, and the relevant earlier Legends of Tomorrow material before Armageddon.

Arrow ended with its ninth? No: Arrow ended with its eighth and final season. The Flash continued longer and ended with Season 9 in 2023, which is generally treated as the conclusion of the Arrowverse’s central television run.

Where Black Lightning belongs

Black Lightning initially operates in a distinct continuity from the main Earth-1 and Earth-38 shows. It is therefore reasonable to watch its seasons separately rather than inserting every episode into the main list.

For a first watch, begin Black Lightning after its own Season 1, or watch it in parallel with the other series. Before Crisis on Infinite Earths, you do not need to interleave every episode. Include its Crisis-related appearance around the crossover if you want the broadest version of the multiverse story, then continue Black Lightning on its own release-order path.

Optional animated and adjacent series

Several shows are frequently included in large Arrowverse watch lists but are not required for the main live-action storyline. Treating them as optional prevents the viewing order from becoming unnecessarily complicated.

Vixen

Vixen is an animated CW Seed web series connected to the Arrowverse through characters and references. It is optional for the major live-action narrative.

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• For a completionist order, watch Vixen Season 1 before Legends of Tomorrow Season 1.
• Watch Vixen Season 2 before or around the later Legends of Tomorrow seasons.

Skipping it will not prevent you from understanding the main crossovers.

Freedom Fighters: The Ray

Freedom Fighters: The Ray is an animated web series most directly connected to the Earth-X material. Watch it before or after Crisis on Earth-X if you want additional context, but it is not required to follow the four live-action crossover episodes.

Constantine

The NBC series Constantine is often included because John Constantine later appears in Legends of Tomorrow. It is optional pre-Legends viewing. Watch it if you want more background for the character; do not delay the core Arrowverse order if you skip it.

Superman & Lois and Stargirl

Do not automatically insert Superman & Lois or Stargirl into the core episode-by-episode list. Their continuity relationships are shaped by the multiverse and post-Crisis revelations, and they work better as adjacent DC shows watched separately after the principal Arrowverse run.

Finish the core series first, then watch Superman & Lois and Stargirl as optional connected or adjacent material. They are commonly grouped with the Arrowverse in broad DC television guides, but that does not make them ordinary seasons of the same linear continuity.

A low-switch season-block order

If alternating between several shows is frustrating, use this version. It preserves every major crossover without asking you to switch after every episode.

1. Complete Arrow Seasons 1–2.
2. Watch The Flash Season 1 and Arrow Season 3 through Episode 7.
3. Watch The Flash 1×08, then Arrow 3×08.
4. Finish The Flash Season 1 and Arrow Season 3.
5. Watch The Flash Season 2 and Arrow Season 4 through Episode 7.
6. Watch The Flash 2×08, then Arrow 4×08.
7. Watch Legends of Tomorrow Season 1. Watch Supergirl Season 1 independently if you have not already done so.
8. Watch the participating shows through Invasion!, including Supergirl 2×08 as an optional lead-in, then watch The Flash 3×08, Arrow 5×08, and Legends of Tomorrow 2×07.
9. Continue the participating seasons through Crisis on Earth-X: Supergirl 3×08, Arrow 6×08, The Flash 4×08, and Legends of Tomorrow 3×08.
10. Continue through Elseworlds: The Flash 5×09, Arrow 7×09, and Supergirl 4×09.
11. Add Batwoman and watch the five parts of Crisis on Infinite Earths.
12. Finish Arrow, then complete the interrupted post-Crisis seasons and continue the remaining core series.
13. Watch Armageddon as the first five episodes of The Flash Season 8, then finish the series through Season 9.

Physical media and streaming considerations

A long multi-show order is easier to follow when you have reliable access to every season. Streaming catalogs, regional rights, and episode placement can change, so check availability in your country before starting a subscription-based marathon.

For viewers beginning with the foundational series, the Arrow: The Complete Series Blu-ray is a practical offline option. It contains the complete Arrow series, not the complete Arrowverse. That distinction matters: you would still need separate releases for The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, Batwoman, and Black Lightning if you want the full live-action collection.

Individual complete-series or season Blu-ray/DVD sets can be useful for completionists, but the collection is fragmented across multiple shows. Before buying, verify the region, whether the set is legitimate, which seasons are included, and where crossover episodes are supplied. A crossover may appear on the season set for the show that aired it, on multiple sets, or on a dedicated crossover release depending on the edition.

Do not mistake an Arrow complete-series box for a complete Arrowverse box. Some home-media editions include associated crossover material, but that does not replace the other series or guarantee that every crossover installment is contained in one package.

Common mistakes and how to recover

Watching every Arrow episode before starting The Flash

This places the shows in a convenient but misleading order. If you have already done it, you do not need to restart. Continue with The Flash, then use the crossover list from this guide going forward.

Watching the crossover parts alphabetically by show

This is most damaging with Crisis on Earth-X. The correct order is Supergirl, Arrow, The Flash, then Legends of Tomorrow. With Crisis on Infinite Earths, the correct order is Supergirl, Batwoman, The Flash, Arrow, then Legends of Tomorrow.

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Watching Elseworlds after Crisis on Infinite Earths

Move back to Elseworlds first. It is the earlier event and contains setup for the later Crisis.

Counting Medusa as a full part of Invasion!

Supergirl 2×08 has a connection and leading tag, so it is useful immediately before the event. The principal three-part story is still The Flash 3×08, Arrow 5×08, and Legends of Tomorrow 2×07.

Assuming every DC television show belongs in one linear list

Vixen, Freedom Fighters: The Ray, and Constantine are optional additions. Superman & Lois and Stargirl are better treated as adjacent DC shows. A broad franchise list is not necessarily a single-continuity viewing order.

Starting the five-part Crisis without the pre-event episodes

That can make character introductions and the continuity change feel abrupt. Watch the relevant shows through their pre-Crisis episode numbers first, especially Batwoman Season 1 through 1×08 and Arrow Season 8 through 8×07.

Is there a truly chronological Arrowverse order?

Not one that is both complete and universally authoritative. A scene-by-scene chronology would have to account for flashbacks, time travel, parallel Earths, animated web episodes, simultaneous broadcasts, and continuity changes caused by Crisis on Infinite Earths.

The order in this guide is therefore an editorial recommendation: original release order, simplified into season blocks, with every major crossover watched consecutively and in its documented part order. It is more useful for a first-time viewer than a purported definitive timeline that requires constant switching or makes debatable assumptions about when every scene occurs.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best show to start the Arrowverse with?

Start with Arrow Season 1. Arrow is the original series, and Barry Allen’s Season 2 introduction helps establish why The Flash belongs next in the viewing path.

Do I need to watch every Arrowverse show?

No. The core path is built around Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, and Batwoman, with Black Lightning as an initially separate but later connected series. Vixen, Constantine, and Freedom Fighters: The Ray are optional, while Superman & Lois and Stargirl are best watched as adjacent DC shows.

What is the correct order for Crisis on Infinite Earths?

1. Supergirl 5×09
2. Batwoman 1×09
3. The Flash 6×09
4. Arrow 8×08
5. Legends of Tomorrow 5×01

Should I watch Supergirl before The Flash?

You should watch Supergirl Season 1 before its later crossover appearances, but you do not need to place it episode by episode between the earliest Arrow and The Flash seasons. Watch it as a separate season block and have it prepared before Invasion! and the later crossover events.

Is Armageddon a separate Arrowverse crossover?

Armageddon is a five-episode event that occupies The Flash Season 8, Episodes 1–5. Watch all five episodes consecutively after the earlier post-Crisis setup; there is no need to alternate them with episodes from other shows.

Can I skip the animated Arrowverse shows?

Yes. Vixen and Freedom Fighters: The Ray add background and references, but neither is required to understand the principal live-action crossovers.

The Bottom Line

Bottom line: Start with Arrow Seasons 1–2, follow The Flash and Arrow around their first crossover, add Legends of Tomorrow after Heroes Join Forces, and never separate the installments of a named crossover. Watch Elseworlds before Crisis on Infinite Earths, treat Crisis as the boundary between the original and post-Crisis eras, and keep the animated and adjacent DC series optional.

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