First Thoughts on 'The Flash' (Episodes 11-16)
***CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE EPISODES***
The Flash is a show that constantly seems to be evolving, figuring out what works and what doesn't, and in the most recent episodes it has been able to combine long-running series arcs with standalone meta-human-of-the-week formulas, so alas, here is a breakdown of my thoughts on Episodes 11-16:
"The Sound and the Fury"
The Sound and the Fury is an interesting, if a little formulaic look at a prodigy-gone-bad of Dr Wells', who is just as, if not more intelligent than Wells himself. Calling himself the Pied Piper, Hartley is set on vengeance against Harrison, and the story plays out like a game of chess - a common game the two used to play. The flashbacks also show Cisco, Caitlin and Ronnie as good friends when they first met and their reactions to Well's favourite are great fun to watch. Also, I did like Cisco's "Han shot first" T-Shirt.
Overall, The Sound as the Fury is a rather forgettable, if hugely enjoyable meta-human-of-the-week episode, foreshadowing future events but relying on likeable characters and a good plot to keep the show going. The plot was well-structured, the effects were, as per usual, great - and the ending stopping the Piper was a clever twist.
"Crazy For You"
Crazy For You, however, is an example of where The Flash goes wrong. The villain - Peek-a-boo - is rather dull with a boring backstory and yet pretty cool powers, with a good twist allowing Barry to stop her. This in itself would result in a rather dull, forgettable episode that still proves to be entertaining but no - we still have other boring plot threads! Barry going out with Caitlin could have resulted in some interesting character moments between the two, but instead gave us some rather awkward comedy and contrived Barry into getting a new love interest in the form of Linda Park, who gets no character in her first episode, but I'm sure she'll do better in future episodes.
Thankfully, there are some great heart-to-heart scenes between Barry and his father to provide the episode with the fantastic heart and soul that The Flash has over other TV shows. The scenes are well-written and excellently performed by Grant Gustin and John Wesley Shipp, who work really well together. And, after Hartley warned Cisco that he knew what happened to Ronnie, Cisco releases him from the pipeline, discovering that Professor Martin Stein and Ronnie have somehow merged together, before Hartley escapes, using Cisco's sonic device to his advantage.
Overall, Crazy For You is a mixed episode of The Flash, but the highlights of the episode are the Barry/Henry scenes and Hartley's reveal to Cisco, incredibly well-done elements of the episode, but the rest is, as I said, rather dull and forgettable.
"The Nuclear Man" and "Fallout"
This two-parter revealed that Ronnie and Stein, when merged, could become the meta-human FIRESTORM, and thus the story followed Team Flash as they tried to cure both men. Meanwhile, General Eiling tried to hunt both men down, as Cisco and Joe searched for the truth behind Nora Allen's murder at the Allens' old home, discovering that Barry himself from the present had somehow time-travelled back there, leaving a blood trail on the wall, but no sign as to who a mysterious other speedster could be - other than a certain Reverse Flash, of course.
The episodes were an entertaining little piece of superhero action over two installments, and I really enjoyed it. The visual FX were stunning for a TV series, and the revelations exciting. The ending also provided a great reveal - Harrison Wells is the Reverse Flash, and Gorilla Grodd is still alive and not particularly happy with Eiling. Grodd can also talk in people's minds telepathically. As you do.
"Out of Time"
Out of Time feels like a season finale, dishing out twist after twist after twist. Following the Weather Wizard - brother of Clive Martin from the Pilot, the meta-human-of-the-week formula this time is him seeking vengeance against Joe for killing his brother. What I did find quite funny was that I at least had forgotten Clive Martin was shot at all, let alone by Joe, so the previously at the beginning was actually useful in reminding me about that (shows how memorable the character was). In the meantime, Cisco discovers Harrison Well's true identity - Eobard Thawne - a character from the future, related to Eddie who is in fact the Reverse Flash. What I really didn't expect was that Thawne then started vibrating his hand (strange things those super-speed powers) and stabbed Cisco through the chest! With Cisco dead and Caitlin finding out the truth, Barry goes to save Joe from the Weather Wizard, in the process revealing himself as The Flash to Iris (and admitting his feelings for her, and her's for him), and in an effort to stop a massive tidal wave runs so fast that he ends up meeting his past self (linking into the opening of the episode) and finds himself having traveled in time a couple of days earlier! What will happen next? Will Barry change time? One thing is for certain - it'll probably be a bit of a cop-out solution.
Overall, Out of Time highlights the best of The Flash, bringing tension, humour and character depth in a brilliantly-written, 45 minute game-changing installment of the season. The best episode of the season so far, this episode is almost flawless.
"Rogue Time"
Rogue Time is an episode of The Flash that was always going to feel anticlimactic after last week, even with the time travel plot-holes. After such a dramatic ending, it was interesting to see Barry changing time, but alas this plot point did nothing for the series' timeline and the fantastic ending to Out of Time seemed to be lost as simply a bit of a gimmick for the series to introduce time travel. The time travel was done well at recreating scenes from Out of Time, but the episode did little-to-nothing to advance the plot.
We finally got some details in Cisco's home life, but it proved to be nothing interesting and the scenes could easily have been cut. Cisco's family weren't interesting, got barely any focus, and were just there as leverage for the Rogues to get their guns back. Like I said, Cisco's plot could have and should have been cut from the episode and just had the Rogues breaking into Star Labs to retrieve their weapons and the kit needed for Lisa's golden gun. Speaking of Lisa Snart, it was great to see Peyton List as a Flash villain, but the way she was written and directed did nothing for both actress and character. List is a great actress, proven in The Tomorrow People (2013-14), but here she feels like she is clutching at straws to even get a character to act out. The Rogues barely had a presence in the episode, and a two-part story would have been better for this episode - perhaps Crazy For You and The Sound and the Fury could have been put together or something to make room for this being a more interesting episode. The villains' resolution felt rushed and a terrible way to end the episode.
Thankfully though, we have some cool time travel stuff, some Reverse Flash action, Linda and Barry break up (because their relationship was so investing in the first place with his barely being interested in her and her lack of consistent personality) and at long last Barry has decided that maybe Wells could be dodgy after all. As Dr Wells said in Out of Time, "you're smart...but you're not that smart".
Overall, Rogue Time is a heavy anti-climax from last episode with a fair amount of set-up and a rather thin plot badly played out. More of actual Rogue time would have been better as well.
The Flash is a show that constantly seems to be evolving, figuring out what works and what doesn't, and in the most recent episodes it has been able to combine long-running series arcs with standalone meta-human-of-the-week formulas, so alas, here is a breakdown of my thoughts on Episodes 11-16:
The Sound and the Fury is an interesting, if a little formulaic look at a prodigy-gone-bad of Dr Wells', who is just as, if not more intelligent than Wells himself. Calling himself the Pied Piper, Hartley is set on vengeance against Harrison, and the story plays out like a game of chess - a common game the two used to play. The flashbacks also show Cisco, Caitlin and Ronnie as good friends when they first met and their reactions to Well's favourite are great fun to watch. Also, I did like Cisco's "Han shot first" T-Shirt.
Overall, The Sound as the Fury is a rather forgettable, if hugely enjoyable meta-human-of-the-week episode, foreshadowing future events but relying on likeable characters and a good plot to keep the show going. The plot was well-structured, the effects were, as per usual, great - and the ending stopping the Piper was a clever twist.
"Crazy For You"
Thankfully, there are some great heart-to-heart scenes between Barry and his father to provide the episode with the fantastic heart and soul that The Flash has over other TV shows. The scenes are well-written and excellently performed by Grant Gustin and John Wesley Shipp, who work really well together. And, after Hartley warned Cisco that he knew what happened to Ronnie, Cisco releases him from the pipeline, discovering that Professor Martin Stein and Ronnie have somehow merged together, before Hartley escapes, using Cisco's sonic device to his advantage.
Overall, Crazy For You is a mixed episode of The Flash, but the highlights of the episode are the Barry/Henry scenes and Hartley's reveal to Cisco, incredibly well-done elements of the episode, but the rest is, as I said, rather dull and forgettable.
"The Nuclear Man" and "Fallout"
The episodes were an entertaining little piece of superhero action over two installments, and I really enjoyed it. The visual FX were stunning for a TV series, and the revelations exciting. The ending also provided a great reveal - Harrison Wells is the Reverse Flash, and Gorilla Grodd is still alive and not particularly happy with Eiling. Grodd can also talk in people's minds telepathically. As you do.
"Out of Time"
Overall, Out of Time highlights the best of The Flash, bringing tension, humour and character depth in a brilliantly-written, 45 minute game-changing installment of the season. The best episode of the season so far, this episode is almost flawless.
"Rogue Time"
We finally got some details in Cisco's home life, but it proved to be nothing interesting and the scenes could easily have been cut. Cisco's family weren't interesting, got barely any focus, and were just there as leverage for the Rogues to get their guns back. Like I said, Cisco's plot could have and should have been cut from the episode and just had the Rogues breaking into Star Labs to retrieve their weapons and the kit needed for Lisa's golden gun. Speaking of Lisa Snart, it was great to see Peyton List as a Flash villain, but the way she was written and directed did nothing for both actress and character. List is a great actress, proven in The Tomorrow People (2013-14), but here she feels like she is clutching at straws to even get a character to act out. The Rogues barely had a presence in the episode, and a two-part story would have been better for this episode - perhaps Crazy For You and The Sound and the Fury could have been put together or something to make room for this being a more interesting episode. The villains' resolution felt rushed and a terrible way to end the episode.
Thankfully though, we have some cool time travel stuff, some Reverse Flash action, Linda and Barry break up (because their relationship was so investing in the first place with his barely being interested in her and her lack of consistent personality) and at long last Barry has decided that maybe Wells could be dodgy after all. As Dr Wells said in Out of Time, "you're smart...but you're not that smart".Overall, Rogue Time is a heavy anti-climax from last episode with a fair amount of set-up and a rather thin plot badly played out. More of actual Rogue time would have been better as well.
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