This was as jam packed of an episode of The Flash as we’ve seen thus far, and it did one hell of a job setting up season two. Be warned that spoilers follow.
1. Six Months Later
The show decided that, rather than show the immediate fallout from the singularity opening up, it would be more interesting to show how life has resumed six months later. This does a lot of really positive things for the show. Most importantly, it allows the second season to be about more than the fallout from season one – that is a trap that so many shows fall into, and The Flash has successfully avoided that by using this episode as a capstone on just about every plot point from last year.
It also has allowed the show to make changes to the status quo that are beneficial to the storytelling, but not necessarily to the characters in the immediate aftermath of tragedy. By giving, specifically, Iris and Caitlin half a year to grieve the loss of their loves, it can allow the characters both growth and a sort of reset, to allow them to act in ways not dissimilar to how they acted last season. They can smile and laugh like they did last year, because the spectre of death isn’t hanging over them as significantly as it would have if the show picked up a week later. But they have also been able to internalize their losses, and both characters should be stronger for it.
This might also seem like a weird point to pick up on, but having Barry rebuild local businesses at night is both the most selfless, superheroic thing he can do and also a great way to not have to focus on the city’s devastation on screen. Central City would’ve been physically quite different post-singularity, and while six months certainly wouldn’t fix that, it would go a long way to making it livable again.
2. The Flash Day
I’ve said over and over again how The Flash is the closest to an actual comic on screen that we’ll likely ever get, and I stand by that. And this episode had likely the closest we will ever get to an issue of “The Flash” on screen for one reason: Central City in the comics loves the Flash. They build him a museum, they have parades in his honor, he is their hero. There is no newspaper taking anti-Flash stances, there’s no police department trying to shut him down – the Flash is the most important citizen in Central City, and they let him know it all the time.
I love that the television Central City is doing the same. This helps the show in so many ways, from helping to pivot it from the relationship that Oliver Queen has with Starling City to giving the city itself something to latch on to that is unique to just keeping the tone of the show sunny. My pal Zach on this morning’s DC3cast put it perfectly: on DC’s tv side, Arrow is Batman and The Flash is Superman. And so, Central City has to be more Metropolis than Gotham, and so far, the show is nailing it.
3. Lots of Death, Minimal Brooding
This was as dark of an episode of the show as we have seen thus far, and yet, it never felt overly gloomy. We see Ronnie Raymond sacrifice himself, Al Rothstein show up as a corpse, then as Atom Smasher, and then as a corpse, we are reminded of Eddie’s sacrifice, and we even get a video message from the late Eobard Thawne/Harrison Wells. But the show never devolved into everyone feeling sorry for themselves. Sure, a big part of that is mitigated by things like Henry Allen being released from prison, or Team Flash reuniting to take down Atom Smasher, but the show realizes that no one is helped by having the tone too somber.
That isn’t to say that the show isn’t respectful and appropriate in its grief – each death was handled with grace and a tangible sense of loss. But – again, here is where the six month gap really helps – everyone is over their really messy grieving, and that’s simply good for this television show. This isn’t Six Feet Under (my favorite show of all time, by the way), where grief is a major component in the fabric of the show. This show is the opposite; it is about how if we keep moving – sometimes at supersonic speeds – we can get ourselves to places that are better.
Continued below4. “Every time I win, I still lose”
And, in that one sentence, Barry summed up the hero’s experience. It is quite impressive how succinctly this one episode nailed the central thesis of being a superhero. Superman is never 100% happy after a battle, because Superman wants there to be no more battles to fight. There is always collateral damage – sure, everyone might be ok, but someone owned that newsstand that got destroyed – that guy’s life is considerably worse today than it was yesterday. Even when the good guys win, it isn’t a pure victory.
Now, do I think that Henry Allen is sort of a dick for leaving? Absolutely. Do I see his point? I do. But c’mon man, stick around for a few weeks. He was all “yeah, 15 minutes of friends and family is enough – peace!”
Also, Cisco’s “I saw it in a comic book” line about the Flash signal was pure Velveeta cheese, but I loved it.
5. “Forward”
The show is wasting no time taking Dr. Stein’s word to heart – this episode introduced Zoom, Atom Smasher (who I don’t think we are necessarily done with, despite dying twice), Jay Garrick, the Multiverse, and doubled down on older concepts like Cisco’s connection to different timelines/worlds, Caitlin’s impending heel turn, and still told a self contained story. That is super impressive.
Welcome back, Flash.
PS – did anyone count the stunt double for Multiversity Publisher Matthew Meylikhov in the background of the Flash Day celebration? No, just me? Ok then…
