Flash had its season premiere last night! Spoilers are to be expected in this thread, but I'll put in a picture of Flash traveling through time to give people a chance to turn back.
OK, everyone up to speed? Good.
I have mixed feelings about this season premiere. The good: Flashpoint was over and done with quickly. We got a glimpse of the universe -- which was honestly a pretty good status quo for everyone but Joe, up until Wally died (even Caitlyn, who wasn't living up to her genius potential, seemed happy) -- but Barry feels so much guilt for the way things turned out that he asks Reverse Flash to go back in time to kill his mother again. On an emotional level, I just don't buy it. She's his mother, and the Flashpoint world was pretty good. I'm not sure the stakes were dire enough for him to allow her to be killed again. The world wasn't ending -- he was just going to lose his memories of the original reality. Going back on that seems to pile a selfish choice on top of his original selfish choice to save his mom. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if at some later point his mom steps out of time and becomes one of his greatest villains, just because she's tired of her moment of greatest pain being used as some cosmic pivot point for reality.
But on the plus side, this happened in just one episode, and now the rest of the season (and whatever wrinkles to old relationships it brings) can begin. I can't wait to see what Welles is like *this* season!
On the minus side, everything Barry said or did was creepy, from his pursuit of Iris to his weird goodbye to his parents. I wish the writers had found a way for him to say goodbye in a way that was meaningful for him, but didn't leave them thinking he was about to jump off a bridge.
Another minus -- Henry's still dead when Flashpoint ends -- though that's mitigated by Shipp playing Jay Garrick from now on.
Third minus: Once again, we have a speed villain -- and one who's "terrorizing Central City to prove that he's the fastest." That's the flimsiest motivation I've ever heard. Hasn't the guy ever heard of the Boston Marathon?
Plus: Next week is Dr. Alchemy -- an old favorite from the comics, and someone who's NOT a speedster! I'm very happy about that.
Line of the night? Hands down, it's gotta be: "Am I kidnapped?" "That's undecided."
What'd you guys think?
Replies
I agree that the evil speedsters have been overused. It reminds me of the seemingly lazy writing of having Superman facing opponents with all the same powers, Green Lantern facing opponents with similar power rings, Green Arrow facing opponents who are archers, etc.
It's a lot more interesting when villains are formidable without being carbon copies.
“Flash had its season premiere last night!”
ARGH! Forgot! Went home to check if we recorded it, but somehow the Flash instruction had fallen off. We were able to catch on the inter-webs, though. We're set to record going forward (and we double-checked Supergirl, too). Whew!
“I can't wait to see what Welles is like *this* season!”
Do we expect to see hin this season, seeing that he and his daiughter returned to their own reality last season?
“What'd you guys think?”
I poretty much agree with everything you said. I have nothing to add.
Jeff, I think we'll see Welles. Both he and Jesse are still part of the cast, from what I understand. But it's possible that the Flashpoint shift might give us the original Welles back, the one that was murdered before the series began. The universe has changed, so something in the past must have changed as well -- and Reverse Flash is probably responsible for it. So maybe after he killed Nora, he *didn't* kill Welles this time?
Richard, I agree, it's a problem all around. I think it stems from the popular idea that Batman & Joker are opposites -- something that got a lot of play in the late 80s Batman peak, and continues in certain respects today. It's a Hollywood notion, that the hero must face his opposite number. And then Geoff Johns ran with that in Green Lantern, creating the various color lantern corps and using them to pretty much the exclusion of all other villains. And the Flash started fighting more and more speedsters, Green Arrow more archers, Oracle more super-hackers. And this leads to the real problem with these stories -- the climaxes. Too often, they result in the hero having to concentrate really hard and do what they do best better than ever before! And they do -- maybe with some extra juice from a speed formula or everyone pointing their power rings in the same direction -- and that's that. It's a story about concentration and determination, and too often it becomes something we're told, not shown. Whereas when a hero fights a villain that offers a different kind of threat, he has a different kind of problem to solve. And those problems usually take cleverness, not just grit.
Whoa, I can ramble, can't I?
Ramblin’… ramblin’ ‘round, I’m a ramblin’ guy…
Ramble out to San Francisco…
Rent a car… get a hotel…
Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes, oh yes, oh yes, oh yes, oh yes, oh yes… oh, no…
According to TV Guide, Welles and Jesse will return in the Oct 18 episode.
EPISODE 2: Oct. 11, 2016
I liked this episode a lot more than the first. It addressed a couple of my worries from the first one:
1) With Rival now out of the picture, we won't be dealing with too much Speedster vs Speedster for a little while. I've heard that Savitar is on his way. but I hope they give us a little time before he shows up. Dr. Alchemy seems promising -- though I hope they give him his transmutation powers.
2) Closing the time travel loophole. When Jay had his talk with Barry, it was *exactly* what I needed to hear. Both the compassion for his loss (and the weirdness of Jay looking just like him), and the warnings about changing the timeline. Moving forward makes for better storytelling.
Also, I like the addition of Julian Albert -- someone who doesn't think Barry hung the moon and the stars, and notes his sketchy behavior with evidence, etc. His last name, Albert, hints that he might be Dr Alchemy (who in the comics was named Albert Desmond), but I'm hoping he's not. I think a human-size, fairly justified antagonist might be good for Barry (and the show).
Good episode. I like the way both Supergirl and Flash update the opening sequence to reflect the status quo of the season.
The latest episode of The Flash was jam-packed, giving us a welcome appearance by Len Snart (yay!), not one but two new villains, not one, not two, but four new Harrison Wellses (yay!), a budding romance between Wally and Jesse, and looming portents of doom, as Caitlin's cold power surface and are becoming harder to control -- and conceal.
There was also Barry and Iris trying to get together and make out ... except both Barry and Joe are weirded out by the idea of Barry and Iris making out. Iris, being the smart one of the three, has no patience for this foolishness.
And there was the welcome presence of District Attorney Cecile. The best part? She likes Joe, and asked him out. The worst part? He blew her off.
Dude, what's wrong with you? When was the last time you even had a date?
D.A. Cecile is actually Cecile Horton, who in the comics was Barry's defense attorney during the Trial of the Flash in the 80s. In the comics, she hated the Flash, since her father was killed by Goldface, who was trying to draw the Flash out to fight him.
Here's how she looked in the comics:
I can't believe this is her third appearance on the show, and I only now figured that out!
Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod) said:
Cecile Horton was Barry Allen's defense lawyer, but she hated The Flash because of her father's death? Isn't that a clear conflict of interest?
Oh, well ... I'm sure Bob Ingersoll pointed that out along the way while he devoted half his life to picking apart the "Trial of The Flash" storyline ...
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