I strongly believe this season will be more enjoyed on a second viewing, perhaps during a bingewatch after the entire season is over. The problem with us watching it now week in week out is that we already know so much about the upcoming Legends spinoff and yet the show is obliged to set it up as something completely new and unexpected, which sucks the fun right out of watching this.
The introduction of Hawkgirl wasn’t entirely bad, but it was just too convenient and predictable. Cisco has probably had the most growth on this show so far, so it’s nice to see the writers treat him with some respect and give him a solid storyline. Nevertheless, him “vibing” Kendra, his new love interest, wasn’t exciting or unexpected at all, especially since she won’t stay on this show for long, seeing as how she has spinoff duties to fulfill elsewhere (see, I hate that I know that).
The major storyline involving Grodd’s return should have had a greater impact as well, especially since the telepathic psychic gorilla left a terrorizing impression the last time we saw him. The CGI is still incredible for a TV budget and terrifyingly on-point as always, but perhaps the lack of a proper, thrilling action scene proved to be disappointing. I wanted a more exciting Flash/Grodd face-off instead of the anticlimactic scenes we got that included the still-dreadful-this-season Caitlin. But I guess the show wanted to really shake up the status quo by leaving Barry at STAR Labs for once, an attempt which failed miserably at upping the stakes or even entertaining us.
Harrison Wells back in the Reverse Flash suit was undeniably the best thing about this hour. His voice going from a terribly fake Wells to a terrifying depiction of last year’s villain was bone-chilling to watch, and Cisco nailed his reaction to that scene quite perfectly. I’m hopeful the show still has a few tricks up its sleeve regarding this subplot because Tom Cavanaugh deserves some truly great material. The more conniving and ruthless he gets, the better.
Speedy Bits
– Barry’s dad made a brief return to give Barry some fatherly advice (like he wasn’t getting enough of that from Joe).
– I’m so sick of Barry lying to Patty about being The Flash. It’s such an old, unnecessary trope that isn’t even logical here anymore. I mean, even Linda Park knows his secret, so why shouldn’t Patty?
– I’m also starting to find Barry’s monologues about not being the “protector” of Central City old and derivative. The fact that he always needs a pep talk from someone else is cringe-worthy and lame. Get your own shit together, dude.
– On a completely surprising note, I’ve grown to love Cisco this season. His hilarious one-liners are a hoot, and I especially loved his scenes with Harry as they practice on fooling Grodd into believing Harry is Reverse Flash.
– Appreciated the camerawork during Caitlin and Grodd’s scenes where it felt like it was hovering over her head, giving the gorilla some much more importance, size-wise.
– Earth 2 has already proven to be the much more fun, interesting earth. An Atlantis AND a Gorilla City? My goodness, sign me up!
– I did actually feel bad for Grodd and I like that the show didn’t kill him. It does worry me, though: is this show unwilling to let go of any of its villains?
– The Flash ring makes another appearance! Very cool, guys.
– The internet had to fill me in on that ending, but I’m glad to see the show appreciate its source material so much that it’s willing to include Gorilla City! I am literally waiting for Central City to be invaded by gorillas anytime soon.
– No new episode next week, but prepare yourselves for a 2-hour crossover event with Arrow the following week!
Red Blurs & One-Liners
Harry: I am continually amazed by the similarities of our two worlds.
Joe: You got talking gorillas on your earth too?
Harry: Oh yeah.
Joe: Phew, remind me never to go there.
Cisco: Oh snap, metahuman attack! Nope, nope. My bad. That is just an alert. For me.
Cisco: Let’s just try it again. This time, up the creep factor, like a lot more. And make it a little more sincere. Like you really love me, but you’re gonna have to kill me anyway.
Harry: Cisco… In many ways, you’ve shown me what it’s like to have a son.
Cisco: Yup, that’s the one. Here you go.
Conclusion
Not the thrilling hour I expected this week. Setting up the upcoming spinoff has had many ill effects on this show, but at least Grodd is still frightening and awesome.
Chris Rating
B-
oh good lord I was SO bored with this one. What has happened to The Flash this year?
In other news, Grodd stills looks AMAZING! Woah!
it's Caitlin that's ruining it for meee! I used to compare her to Simmons from SHIELD but now I realize how Simmons is INFINITELY more awesome than this lame excuse of a character.
yeah at least we still have Grodd! 😀
I never like it when a original show is being used as the launching pad of a spin-off, especially during the final season. It messes with the original show's focus on its own characters. Hopefully, after the crossover event, the Flash will go on fully as itself, free of any obligation to support the Legends of Tomorrow which I fear will be a short-lived series.
I did enjoy the Grodd storyline and the place they left the character in, being a new resident of Gorilla City, which makes room for some intriguing possibilities down the road. Henry's return was a nice surprise. While it was used to give Barry the push he needed to get his act together, I felt it also provided a peak into Henry's state of mind after being released from prison that made more sense than his abrupt departure in the first episode.
I love that scene when Alternate Wells is trying to mimic the other Wells that went from clumsy to scarily effective. For a moment, it made me wonder if Alternate Wells is really Alternate Wells.
I think or at least hope very soon, Patty is going to learn the truth about Barry. Hopefully, the writers have learned from the mistakes of last season, one of which is waiting too long to have a character (Iris) be let in on the secret.