So the midseason break is ending and our favorite shows are
getting started up again so I figured I would try to put up a few summary blogs
to help those that have been on the fence about certain shows. First up is the CW’s Arrowverse’s The Flash.
The Flash had a pretty weak but light hearted beginning four years ago and has
been criticized in its second and third season for having an all-around overly
dramatic theme. The show is targeted at
a younger audience so that makes sense but it really hit fans of the comics
harder than the show runners anticipated and it looks so far like they are
trying to fix that.
The Flash, or Barry Allen, has been a long time staple of
humor and levity in the DC comics playing the polar opposite to the Batman in
the Justice League. However even though Grant Gustin, the actor in the title
role, has displayed a natural sense of comedic timing they seem to have been ok
with the shows tendency to stick to more dramatic plot lines. This isn’t any
form of comic blasphemy though since Barry’s storylines, while very funny, do
tend to come from dark places. His mother was killed at a young age and his
father was blamed for the murder. He grew up an orphan and because he is so
plucky in nature he is a character whose value as a sacrifice is much higher
than other characters leading him and others who have held up The Flash mantle
to have been regularly sacrificed in the comics.
The first few seasons really did a good job developing the
rest of the characters though. The supporting characters get plenty of story
lines and most of the time they are pretty engaging. The Villains have also had major chances to
really flush them out and making it more enjoyable when they drop in randomly
like in the comics. Some have even done so well that they became fan favorites
and crossed over to the good side like Captain Cold, Heat wave, and Killer
Frost. One actor, Tom Cavanagh did such a good job playing Harrison Wells that they
have brought him back over and over as different versions of the character from
different dimensions, getting better every time.
However, the problem of the Broody Flash still remained. But
the finally of season 3 had Barry being punished by the Speed Force, the source
of Barry’s power, in order to balance it before it could destroy the world. The
Speed Force held him captive until he returned in the Season four premier. I know
it’s not that big of a deal but they added a catch where time was different in
the Speed Force causing a change in Barry’s behavior upon his return. Basically
they treated it like a character reset, he has a new found appreciation for
life and has been slowly adding more humor and levity to the series. The Big Bad is also unique this season. The Thinker is a being with unimaginable
intelligence and he is constantly one step ahead of the hero’s. Also his
motives are not well known, but he has had enough screen time to be somewhat
relatable leaving a lot of fans questioning if he even is a bad guy even though
he has so far completely destroyed Barry’s life.
The cherry on top for the series though is that it is in the
Arrowverse. Now, I’m not that big of an Arrow fan, I keep meaning to catch up
on it but it never feels like I have the time. The same goes for Supergirl. But
with the Legends of Tomorrow and The Flash doing so well they have been able to
do a couple of four episode crossovers that bring the full casts of all four
shows together to pull off a huge story line in one week. The action levels in these episodes are off
the charts, rivaling the action seen in the marvel movies and really matching
the pace of comics. So if you have been interested in The Flash or any of the
other series in the Arrowverse, I would strongly recommend getting into them but
especially the Flash! You well be able
to find something for everyone with its wide variety of ever growing characters
and story lines that will keep you wanting more every week.
