There’s hardly anything to love about this show anymore. Blame this on #PeakTV, the overabundance of superhero TV adaptations or simply the Berlanti-verse having a pretty bad year, but no matter what it is there’s definitely a huge problem with The Flash right now.
My biggest grumble with this episode, which was admittedly much better than the past couple of outings even if that’s not saying a lot, is how pretty standard it was. The story beats have become ridiculously predictable on this show to the point where it’s just plain laughable. It was clear from the start that Barry refusing to listen to Harry’s plan that involves creating another particle accelerator to bring The Flash’s speed back would lead to him eventually succumbing by hour’s end, right down to the “but everything goes wrong” part. This show wouldn’t bring up this kind of plot (especially after mentioning it in last week’s cliffhanger) only to let it go so easily, and sadly watching Barry go through the process of pondering what to do isn’t merely as enjoyable as the writers think it is. Sigh.
Zoom is even worse from a writing standpoint as there’s absolutely nothing threatening about this villain anymore. I’ve started feeling numb when listening to his altered voice, and watching Jay Garrick repeatedly take the mask off is cringe-worthy and sucks the terror right out of the scene. His intentions: still unclear (even to the writers, I bet), and while in a room surrounded by cops, he kills everyone but Joe and Singh which is just oh-so-convenient. This sort of lazy writing is exactly what’s making me unsure if this show was ever in the right hands to begin with as it’s becoming increasingly more teenage-soap with every passing week.
And the ending was…interesting, to say the least. Barry vanishing into thin air (after “rupturing” of course) is quite the intriguing twist, but sadly it will probably last a minute on this show (even watching next week’s promo confirms this). There was way too much CGI on that last scene, which was distracting and only left me feeling about as emotionless and numb as this entire season has had me feeling.
Speedy Bits
– I loved the opening teaser with the team using a hologram of The Flash to capture criminals.
– There was another weekly Earth-2 villain this time: Rupture, and no one will remember he existed by next week because he was that forgettable. While I did love his attack on Cisco and his brother outside (the only action-packed scene I loved this week), his slow one-on-one with Zoom was lame.
– Some of the dialogue was atrocious during this week. Case in point: Cisco’s brother telling Cisco that they haven’t been close since they were kids and he doesn’t think anything’s going to change that. That line seemed like it was straight out of an episode of 90210.
– Harry says “it’s not gonna save Snow”. This Game of Thrones reference had to be coincidental.
– Henry’s mother’s maiden name is Garrick. So, is Henry from Earth-2 the Man in the Iron Mask? Also: who cares?
– What was the point of Zoom bringing Caitlin to Earth-1? And I swear I had tears in my eyes when she found that cellphone in the box near her.
– For once, I loved the Barry/Iris scene discussing their relationship and the future. Both actors were incredible, but the subplot was saddled with a terrible script as Barry gets into the particle accelerator.
– Wally and Jesse continue to exist on this show. And yes, please keep making Jesse Quick references every chance you get, writers. Very subtle, guys.
– On that note, it does seem like they will be affected with the Speed Force. More superheroes in the cast during season 3, perhaps?
– This season is almost over. Good riddance.
Red Blurs & One-Liners
Cisco: All right, Cisco. This is where all those countless hours gaming in your basement are about to pay off.
Fingers, don’t fail me now.
Cisco: I figured if they could get 2Pac rapping again at a concert, we could definitely get The Flash running around Central City.
Cisco: No Fringe on Earth-2. Noted.
Wally: This room have WiFi at least?
Cisco: You’re Princess Bride-ing me right now?
Harry: Ramon, you have the wand?
Cisco: The one I made for Mark Mardon?
Harry: No, the one you built for the Harry Potter convention. Yes, of course, the one you built for Mardon.
Cisco: How do you know about the Harry Potter convention?
Conclusion
Another poorly written episode with hardly anything enjoyable.
Chris Rating
C