That was painfully horrendous to watch.
A season is only as good as its villain, and truth be told, Zoom was a horrible Big Bad with an arc that was executed quite terribly. It was clear from the start that the writers had no idea what to do with this character and were merely making stuff up as they went along, which made the buildup to the “final faceoff” between The Flash and Zoom all the more underwhelming. The fact that Zoom wanted to simply race The Flash in order to power up some machine which would destroy the multiverse was excruciatingly comical, and the rest of the STAR Labs team simply standing there watching that whole ordeal take place like they’re at a carnival made it more cringe-worthy than I possibly could have imagined.
But the episode kept surprising me with scenes that have no natural flow and a script that a 12 year-old could have written on a bad day. There’s no reason to nitpick about the science or the logic behind this show at this point, but at least be consistent when you’re coming up with new rules to time travel. It’s 23 episodes later and the existences of the time remnants continue to make absolutely NO sense whatsoever. It hurts my brain just trying to think about it.
I happen to be one of the biggest lovers of time-travel sagas and I’m highly disappointed what this season has done in that area. The cliffhanger, Barry travelling back in time and actually saving his mother from the Reverse Flash, is a huge slap on the face after a season’s worth of character development and mourning. In fact, not only does this awful twist literally undo everything from the epic season one finale last year, but it also adds a whole new conflict to the Arrowverse. If Nora Allen is saved, then The Flash doesn’t become The Flash anymore, but that sort of ramification should have an effect on Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow and CW-newcomer Supergirl as well. If Berlanti and Co. don’t connect all their DC shows except for the occasional crossover, then how long will faithful viewers continue watching?
The only highpoints on this show used to be Cisco and Harry’s hilarious banter, but sadly even those are kept to an absolute minimum in the final hour (as evident in the lack of enough one-liners below). And when the only not-terrible thing on a show you now hate isn’t even there anymore, what other grade could you possibly give?
Speedy Bits
– Given that the writers don’t undo the cliffhanger in season three, it seems like the show is heading towards a Flashpoint paradox storyline. Still, it doesn’t make Barry’s decision to go back in time and mess up with the past even more ridiculous and dumb.
– I tried to find just one good scene in this entire hour and I failed miserably. From the horrible opening teaser revealing multiple Zoom time-remnants (or whatever) to the very expected and lame reveal of The Man In The Iron Mask who turned out to be the real Jay Garrick, Henry Allen’s doppelganger from Earth-3, it was all just too convoluted and unentertaining.
– Good lord, Henry’s funeral scene was so cheesy. Someone stop the music please!
– At least I am glad they didn’t introduce Wally and Jesse’s powers in an already jam-packed hour, but I’m sure that’s something the show is heading towards next year.
– For what it’s worth, I enjoyed the team locking The Flash in the metahuman prison and attempting to stop Zoom on their own. For once, that sounded like a well-executed plan but when Caitlin was revealed to be a hologram (sidenote: this was also done on this year’s Agents of Shield finale), I could see Zoom kidnapping Joe before heading off to Earth-2 from a mile away. Plus, haven’t we already seen Zoom being able to move from one Earth to another repeatedly?
– Wow, Jay explaining everything while taking Joe hostage: so much exposition, my ears were bleeding!
– It was nice seeing John Wesley Shipp in a Flash suit but that was one hilarious-looking suit.
– Will you be coming back for season three? Should I?
Red Blurs & One-Liners
Joe: Barry sure has an ample number of fathers to kill.
Iris: Barry, kick his ass.
Conclusion
A messy season that’s more than just a sophomore slump as evident by this deeply flawed and dull finale, an episode that repeatedly tested my patience and intelligence. What was once a highly entertaining show sadly turned into an unwatchable, embarrassing affair, one that I may find difficult to watch and review next season.
Chris Rating
F
I am deeply frustrated by the season ending. You're right about it being such a slap in the face after all the character development Barry has undergone (mixed as it was this season), especially in The Runaway Dinosaur.
I am saddened by how much of Season 2 turned out after the show had an excellent first season. It makes me have doubts about seeing the show next season.
I totally agree with u. Except the time remnant part (which was hard to understand at first) and the part where he goes to save his mother and the arrow and supergirl weren't affect. When Barry traveled in Time and saved his mother, he created a different time line where his mother is alive, but that time line remains. Therefore arrow and supergirl can still continue
You know, I'm starting to think The Runaway Dinosaur might be one of my favorite episodes of this season because it really tugged at my heartstrings (everything about his mom) while still embracing all its comic-book roots (the Speed Force in the form of Joe, Henry and Iris). It's a shame that episode was saddled with a forgettable weekly villain, making it underrated and less memorable than, say, the Earth-2 arc.
I decided I'll definitely watch the season 3 premiere (I can't help myself) just because I'm curious about the timeline of it all but after that, there's no way I'm watching more. Thanks for reading all my reviews!
Hmmm, maybe they can work their way out of this by 'creating a new timeline that doesn't affect the old one' but it's just too confusing!! Stupid show.
Yup. It's so confusing. U have to use ur brain to understand. Although there are some things that I still don't understand
Hey thanks for being I think the only person to see past this show's excellent first season and give some honest reviews. Everybody else seems caught up in the hype… to the point that everybody seemed to love the season finale. These reviews kept me grounded.
Thank you so much for the kind words Carly! I really appreciate it 😀
Glad to see others agree that this was a horrendous season. It's baffling why some people (mostly critics, too) speak so highly of this show when it clearly went off the wagon this year, especially in that terrible finale. It's sad because I really loved this show at first!
Thanks for reading!