Flash (CW)

[The Laughing Fish]

***MASSIVE SPOILERS***



...

As predictable as it was, the identity of the masked man who Zoom had taken prisoner and stole his speed from was the real Jay Garrick - Henry Allen's Earth Three doppelganger! Maybe John Welsey Shipp as Jay Garrick will return in Legends of Tomorrow, since the Justice Society of America was namedropped in that show's finale.

So Barry copied Zoom's skills in creating a time remnant to beat him in the race, and Zoom has been taken prisoner by the Speed Force. But now Barry has gone back in time and saved his mother from being murdered by Reverse-Flash.

I must say, I thought the first season was better than the second, as were the finales. I guess next season will involve a lot of retcons? I wasn't too thrilled that as soon as Barry finally came to terms with his mother's death in that episode Kevin Smith directed, his father dies and went back to square one. Oh well, still better than Arrow Season 3.

[BatmAngelus]

Agreed on all fronts.

Felt Zoom was a repeat of Reverse Flash, but less interesting. We have yet another evil speedster stealing someone else's identity and posing as a mentor to Barry to get his speed up so that he could use his speed in the finale to power a device that will fulfill his end goal. (Said speedster also kills one of Barry's parents). Hope next season has a much different villain.

By the time Zoom was revealed, people had already predicted it. I think they should've pushed the reveal earlier and, if they were gonna kill off Barry's dad, kill him before the Runaway Dinosaur episode and make that one about him coming to grips with the deaths of both parents before moving on and taking on Zoom.

As predictable as it was for the man in the iron mask to be the real Jay, there was a ton of joy out of seeing John Wesley Shipp as the real Jay Garrick. Love that his colors were brighter than fake Jay's. Wish there was more of him to see. Now let's get a real Flash of Two Worlds crossover next season!

It looks like in this world, Earth Three is the one with the Silver Age heroes like Jay whereas Earth Two has all the reverse stuff where the good guys are bad and the bad guys are good (i.e. Wells, Hewitt, Snart).

Didn't like Barry going back in time and saving his mom. Felt completely abrupt. Plus, I thought we explored enough with alternate worlds/timelines this season and Barry coming to grips with his mom's death. Now we'll have to see that again?! No thanks.

Still, I'd say Flash Season 2 was still better than Arrow these past couple seasons. Let's hope Flash Season 3 doesn't drop in quality like Arrow did.

[The Laughing Fish]

When the Flash's doppelganger evaporated while running around the Maganatar, it reminded me of his heroic sacrifice to stop the Anti- Monitor in Crisis on Infinite Earths.

I liked how timeless Earth Two looked, and I thought it resembled a lot like a DCAU city in live action. I don't think we have seen such a timeless looking city in live action since Burton's Batman films.

[Silver Nemesis]

I haven't kept up with this show, but this Kid Flash costume looks awesome.

[BatmAngelus]

I was honestly expecting them to go the New 52 route with the gray suit since Wally is black, like the New 52 Wally, and in this continuity, Barry famously called Reverse Flash "The Man in Yellow." This looks like a pretty faithful representation, but I also wonder what they'll say in terms of why Wally picks the yellow. Does Cisco retrofit Thawne's suit 'cause it's the only one left?

Also, Silver, I think you'll find the "man in the iron mask" scenes in the Season 2 finale alone worth checking out.

[Silver Nemesis]

I would like to see more of this show. I watched most of the first season. Based on that, I thought it was the best live action TV series DC has produced since the nineties. I was surprised by how bold they were in making it a full on superhero show, with costumes, powers, super villains and storylines taken straight from the comics. When the series was first announced, I recall predicting it would be another 'no flights, no tights' affair. But I admit I was totally wrong on that score.

Of course there are things about the series I'm not so keen on. It's still haunted by that teen soap opera vibe that permeates all CW shows, and I find the Smallville-esque narrative about Barry pining after Iris very predictable and tiresome. I also think DC's TV content in general is nowhere near the calibre of Marvel's Netflix shows. But The Flash is still a good series. At least from what I've seen.

My favourite aspect of the first season was definitely Tom Cavanagh as Reverse Flash. He was great in the role and they did a surprisingly good job of representing his costume and powers on a network TV budget.

Reverse Flash has always been my favourite Flash baddie. He's also one of the most powerful and dangerous villains in the entire DC universe. But I thought they did him justice here. With all due respect to Mark Hamill's Trickster, I'd probably say Cavanagh's Reverse Flash is the best live action DC villain outside of the Batman and Superman franchises.

Though that could change on August 5th...

[thecolorsblend]

People criticized the Flash's second season as a sophomore slump. I was able to look beyond that (A) because so many of the Flash's heavy hitters have already been introduced and I'm really not sure how much is left and (B) they threw in so many fanboy tidbits that I decided to go with it. The second season has so many similarities to season 1 as to be (at least superficially) derivative.

But what I'll always come back to is how many risks and chances the Flash production has taken. It was probably the dreaded fourth season of Smallville before their status quo started seriously getting challenged. By comparison, the Flash seems to come up with a new status quo every several episodes. They could've stretched certain things several seasons and I honestly don't think anybody would've complained. But they don't always play it safe. That doesn't necessarily guarantee a great outcome... but it does mean this show wants to be the best it can be.

[Travesty]

I think Kid Flash looks cool, I just hope he's around more for Flashpoint, than the modern day Wally. I don't want this show to be too crowded with superheros, and stumble in the same way Arrow did.

We'll see though. I can't wait for the new season to start in Oct.

[The Laughing Fish]

Check out the trailer for season 3:

[Travesty]

Yup, I watched it a few days ago. I can't wait for season 3.