Midseason Report Card: ‘The Flash’ season brings Zoom, Earth-2, and comic-book delights
There is no finer comic-book show than “The Flash.” There are other shows out there like “Daredevil” who create compelling entertainment, but we feel like this particular series captures the essence of its source material in a way that nobody else has. While there is drama, romance, and the same sort of storytelling that we’ve come to expect from a show in this genre, you’ve also got a spirit of fun and adventure. There are risks, crazy characters, and we never get the sense that the writers are afraid to go somewhere because of fears over viewers’ suspending belief.
Are there still some flaws? Sure, and we’ll get into that more in the latest entry in our Midseason Report Card series.
What worked – So much, beginning with the fact that Zoom may be one of the most terrifying villains that we’ve had a chance to capture on a comic-book show in some time. That scene in “Enter Zoom” where he carted around The Flash’s body, almost taunting his friends and family, was one of the best villain monologues we’ve ever seen. His presence has also brought us some other good villains like Atom-Smasher, Dr. Light, and the amazing (albeit brief) King Shark.
Also, the Earth-2 story has given us a new Harrison Wells, proving that Tom Cavanagh has an insane amount of range as an actor. This is someone who is an arrogant jerk in many ways, but does have love for his daughter; he is extremely different from the one who eventually became the Reverse Flash.
Other notable highlights this season include the Barry Allen – Patty Spivot romance (which has been better / more entertaining than we expected), more Gorilla Grodd, Cisco’s brief relationship with Kendra Saunders, and the journey that led to us getting Wally West on the show for the first time.
What didn’t – Does anyone else find Jay Garrick to be a little whiny? We enjoyed him through two episodes, but his constant fear Dr. Wells and his out-of-nowhere relationship with Caitlin have felt a little bit forced. We know that months passed since the death of Ronnie Raymond, but it feels almost like no one knew what else do with Caitlin and they therefore just gave her a love interest. It’s a shame given that she had some fun stuff in season 1.
Also, the show’s handling of Henry Allen continues to make little sense. We understand taking a brief break from Central City, but after spending so many years in jail we assumed that he’d at least want to spend time with his son around the holidays or something.
Overall – The quibbles we have over “The Flash” are small in comparison to what the show does right, which is give us a show that we look forward to more almost than any other we cover. While we sometimes aren’t moved by it or laugh as much as we do with others, it’s just consistent entertainment and fun that is the way we wish all superhero shows / movies could be. Grade: A-.