Welcome back to Reloading
Reviews where today I’m going to try and tackle reviewing a TV show. I
normally don’t because the idea of condensing my thoughts of 23 episodes (and
thus, nearly 20 hours) of content down into one small wall of text that I usually
use to cover a 2-3 hour film experience or discuss the depths of a 10-15 hour
game’s mechanics and lore. But I’m going to try, damn it. Today I can finally,
after nearly a year, give my attention to The
Flash. And if you don't like this, check out our other review from this week where I talk about dinosaurs eating people. 
For those who don’t know me, Flash is probably my favorite
DC super hero and certainly up there among my favorite heroes in general. I
know he isn’t the most powerful or versatile, but he’s certainly the most fun
and interesting among the DC demigods. And one thing I was most worried about
when Warner Bros announced a Flash TV series was that all the fun would be
sucked out with the same force of a high-price hooker and we’d be left with a
dark, gritty, and shriveled up corpse of what used to be the true Flash. But
lightning struck twice that day when making this show. Once when the Flash gets
his powers (actual lore of the show) and once when the show actually managed to
keep the fun, high-spirited antics of the traditional Flash interwoven with the
series.
So, yes, if you were expecting Flash to be getting the Nolan-Treatment, wait until the actual
film (which is likely to be a problem with the film) because the show could
easily fit alongside Marvel for fun, exciting, silly, and stupid. The stupid
part, of course, being the nonsensical nature of the show, not that the show itself
is actively being stupid. But let’s get on with the plot and stop
congratulating Warner and DC for finally getting a different tone other than
bleak and depressing.
First, the lore of the show pulls much of the lore from the
comics. Barry Allen is our current Flash but there are references to another
(former Flash). This is shown by use of footage from the original 90’s show and
the “Golden Age” Flash’s helmet shows up in the finale from a time portal which
is most likely a cute reference but it could be indicative of something more.
His mother is killed one night when he’s little, and in this case it is because
of Reverse-Flash (who we’ll learn more about later in the season). There’s even
an episode that talks about travelling back in time and potentially creating
the Flash-Paradox, a storyline I really loved. They don’t do it however.
Probably a smart move since there aren’t a lot of DC heroes to pull in for that
just yet.
The story follows Barry’s first year attaining these
super-speed powers from an accident / lightning strike emitted from a particle
accelerator created by one Dr. Harrison Wells, who becomes Barry’s mentor for
controlling and learning the most of his newfound powers. Alongside them are
lab assistants Cisco (not sure if that’s how it’s spelled) and Kate, who are
incredible intellects that add another layer of fun jokes to the show. It’s
pretty interesting how the first few episodes give you several potential
candidates for who could be the Reverse Flash, but it becomes pretty obvious
before too long. Then it becomes a game of seeing how long the secret stays
hidden, and that adds a bit of tension to the series
Barry also lives with an adopted family (his father’s
friend) because his father is in jail for the death of his mother as the show
is happy to remind you every intro-sequence. I miss the days when
intro-sequences for a show were just a short song and a brief flash of credits.
There’s also a relationship subplot with his adopted sister / best friend Iris.
But I won’t get into that too much because the show spends more than enough
time on it.
So which villains make the cut? Quite a good number with a
few big names still being absent and others only getting a brief appearance. While
I like that they established Captain Cold as the Flash’s biggest enemy, I was
getting tired of him always appearing out of nowhere. I get Captain Boomerang
was brought into the show Arrow, but
he’s actually a Flash villain, so I was a bit disappointed he never showed up
here either. But there was an episode devoted to the Trickster featuring Mark
Hamill and that was pretty much a perfect episode delivering one of the best
performances from Luke Skywalker. 
But I suppose what got me most excited and disappointed at
the same time was Gorilla Grodd. I’ve always found the villain to be silly and
weird, thus I never expected them to actually use him in this show. As it turns
out, the writing team behind The Flash
actually had the balls to go for it. They teased Grodd for about four episodes
before FINALLY showing him in episode 19 or 20. And while the teases were
really well planned out, the final result gives me somewhat mixed feelings. 
Yes, they did a good job rendering a CGI gorilla. And, yes,
he was a credible threat. But he gets away and doesn’t do much on his own
volition (I won’t explain all the details of that here). I was really hoping
for a two-parter with a big epic fight against the Flash’s truest big foe. But
I guess since the season was devoted to the Flash / Reverse-Flash battle, we
have to shove the expensive CGI gorilla to the side until we can afford it.
What we got was still interesting and cool, but it felt very brief and
underwhelming in the scope of what this show was offering.
What got me most hooked on this show was it contained
elements and feelings of a very similar, much beloved DC hero TV show, Static Shock. The similarities are both a hero and a slew
of villains are created in a singular event that turns them all into
metahumans. Both, ironically, are basically “the Big Bang”. But the one from Static Shock was more in name only while
the incident in Flash with the particle accelerator takes that term a bit more
literally. I’m looking forward to a third DC series that uses “a Big Bang” as
an origin story and its code for a massive orgy of some kind.
Another thing that got to me was the constant
crossover-references with Arrow. Fans
of Arrow will probably hate me for
this but I never got into that show, so the references aren’t as interesting to
me. I imagine they’re fanboying over it, but I feel like the crossover stuff
should have been held back for season two to let Flash stand up on its own two feet first. Especially because a
couple of these episodes were more boring than others and I virtually ignored
them when I was trying to watch them or else I’d fall asleep.
Overall, the show is really lots of fun and hits a lot of
the right notes for a first season run. I’m really looking forward to what
exciting adventures await in season two, but who knows with everything that
happened in that finale. Again, really hoping Grodd is allowed to step up as
the new king of the rogues gallery. Get hype for season two, I suppose, until
we know what to expect.
That’s all for this entry into Reloading Reviews. And I'm leaving you with this (not entirely related, but couldn't resist). Be sure to come back soon for more review for
games, TV, and movies. If you liked the review, be sure to like, share,
comment, and subscribe. Did you like the Flash? What other DC hero TV shows are
you excited for? Let us know in the comments below. See you next time!
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