Back in THE FLASH

Article originally published as THE FLASH Review "The Man Who Saved Central City" on Seat42F.

The Flash -- "The Man Who Saved Central City" Pictured: Grant Gustin as Barry Allen/ The Flash -- Photo: Cate Cameron /The CW

Last night’s season premiere of THE FLASH on CW picks up six months after the spring finale. The metropolis wants to honor “The Man Who Saved Central City,” meaning the titular superhero, but Barry (Grant Gustin) doesn’t feel like he’s the one who deserves the credit. After all, both Eddie (Rick Cosnett) and Ronnie (Robbie Amell) gave their lives in the fight, so Barry understandably is reluctant to receive praise. But the problem goes much further when he won’t allow anyone to help him be The Flash anymore and he encounters a villain, Atom-Smasher (wrestler Adam Copeland), whom he cannot defeat himself.

“The Man Who Saved Central City” is a great character-driven hour for Barry. His despair and urge to pull away in order to protect his loved ones is understandable, and one virtually every superhero goes through at one time or another. Thankfully, unlike, say, Arrow, Barry is much more accepting of the help others want to force upon him, and it only takes him a single hour to change his mind. Not that Iris (Candice Patton) and Joe (Jesse L. Martin) give him a choice in the matter.

Barry isn’t the only one who has split off from the group. Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) now finds Star Labs too painful to be in, constantly reminded of Ronnie. She blames herself from not leaving town with him when he asked her to go. As such, she’s accepted a job with a different lab and hasn’t kept in contact with anyone. It only takes one visit and heart-to-heart from Barry, though, to make her feel better. After all, the whole team needs to stick together, and she’s soon back where she belongs.

These elements show us how different THE FLASH is from Arrow and other superhero ventures. It has become in fashion to have our heroes be moody loners, and in many cases, that’s fine. But it’s also refreshing to get a lighter touch sometimes, and Barry is the type of individual this fits well with. The show can be dark in sections, but a thread of optimism runs through it and is an essential part of this series.

“The Man Who Saved Central City” is pretty cool overall. I like that it waits to show us Ronnie’s death, doling out details sparingly at first, but not to the point where it gets annoying. I enjoy very much Barry’s dream sequence at the beginning where he’s stopping Captain Cold (Wentworth Miller) and Heat Wave (Dominic Purcell) with the help of his full team, making good use of recurring players. Cisco’s (Carlos Valdes) new job with the force is fun, and it’s gratifying to have Dr. Stein (Victor Garber) join the team. The idea that Barry is secretly rebuilding the city at night is neat, too, something most superheroes wouldn’t think to do.

Dr. Wells’ (Tom Cavanagh) presence hangs heavy over the season premiere. We see him in Barry’s dream, and in a video will. Both times he seems kinder, not the evil villain from the end of the season. Is THE FLASH seeking to redeem him? The video he leaves, which provides evidence that frees Henry (John Wesley Shipp) from prison, reaffirms this. I’m not opposed to such a reverse course as long as it’s handled well, giving reason to forgive him before his memory is improved upon. Will he still be around this season to keep the rebranding going, or was his name only in the opening credits for this one last hour?

Despite everything great about “The Man Who Saved Central City,” though, there are two glaring flaws that hurt the episode. One occurs when Joe, Cisco, and Iris openly discuss Barry being The Flash in the middle of the precinct. Aren’t they concerned about blowing his secret identity? Other officers have to hear them, and the last time I checked, only a small circle of people know that Barry is The Flash and it should stay that way. The second is that, right after getting out of prison, Henry leaves town with no explanation.

Henry’s excuse that he’ll get in Barry’s way of becoming who he’s meant to be is crap. Sure, he might be a distraction for a bit, but how does Henry being around impede Barry’s mission? Barry has lots of help, and none of them get in the way. Why doesn’t Barry push for further explanation? And where is Henry going? What else does he have to go to after fourteen years in jail? How is he going to start a new life elsewhere with nothing to his name?

Still, even with these missteps, THE FLASH is generally strong. It’s an entertaining show that has good story and characters. That makes it a show I look forward to each week.

THE FLASH airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on the CW.

THE FLASH Flies By

Article first published as THE FLASH Review on Seat42F.

If you’re familiar with The CW series Arrow, you’re likely already aware of both the upcoming spin-off, THE FLASH, and its central character, Barry Allen (Grant Gustin, Glee), who will become the titular superhero. In Allen’s last appearance on Arrow, he is struck by lightning and ends up in a coma, where he has languished for months. So you may be wondering, how will THE FLASH begin?

Well, first we get scenes of Barry as a child, giving him the obligatory tragedy that all heroes must overcome. In Barry’s case, his mother (Michelle Harrison, Continuum) is killed and his father (John Wesley Shipp, Dawson’s Creek, 1990’s The Flash) is arrested as the culprit. Who killed Mrs. Allen is an unsolved mystery, surely designed to give the series somewhere to go.

We also get scenes of Barry on the day of the lightning strike, prior to slipping into his coma. This is important because it introduces us to several important people in his life, like Iris West (Candice Patton, The Game), Barry’s best friend, and her father, Detective Joe West (Jesse L. Martin, Rent, Law & Order), whom raised Barry. In this way, we get to see what Barry’s life is like before he is a hero. They couldn’t pick up in the present day because of the coma and still have this introduction, so it makes sense to show this flashback, though I wish the episode had started with 9 Months Ago, rather than confusing Arrow viewers until the 9 Months Later tag finally arrives onscreen.

Of course, the meat of the pilot is after the strike, as it must be. After all, Barry isn’t The Flash until that fateful event, and this episode is meant to introduce him as that character. It’s typical origin story balancing, getting the viewers to meet both the man and the myth at the same time, before moving on from there. THE FLASH does this pretty effectively.

Once turned, Barry finds his new team pretty quickly, much quicker than The Arrow did. There’s Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker, Shark, The Crazies), who lost her fiancé in the storm, Cisco Ramon (newcomer Carlos Valdes), the tech guy, and Dr. Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh, Ed, The Following), who created the particle accelerator that caused all the problems. One of them has a surprising secret that the pilot doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of, making for an interesting cliffhanger.

I kind of like the way Barry’s group is formed. It makes sense for this to happen early and all at once because of both the science in the premise and the way Barry turns. While Arrow’s secret is doled out slowly, The Flash is part of something greater than himself. The powers he gains may be personal, but they’re also part of a bigger problem for Central City, and can be used to help correct it.

This provides The Flash with plenty of villains right out of the gate. In the pilot, he faces one, but several others are hinted at, most notably an empty cage labeled ‘Grodd,’ one of The Flash’s most famous comic book rivals. More readily than other super hero shows, The Flash has a clear mission and a means to start working on it.

The pilot does a pretty good job setting all this up while still be entertaining, but it isn’t perfect. For instance, in the final showdown between The Flash and his first foe, good triumphs by doing something that doesn’t quite make sense. The physics are possible, I think, but the fact that the bad guy doesn’t just use his powers again right after he’s shut down is puzzling. It’s kind of weak sauce.

Because THE FLASH is on the CW, it’s probably going to be an inferior product than Gotham or Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. It’s D.C., so it doesn’t have that cohesive Marvel mindset going for it. It’s lighter than Smallville or Arrow, its network peers, which makes it easier to cross the line into cheesy territory. These are all serious things to consider as the series moves forward, as while I do like the initial installment, it could easily be the weakest of the crowded current superhero TV series lineup. Which doesn’t make it bad, but may allow potential viewers to overlook it.

THE FLASH premieres Tuesday, October 7^th at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.