It’s honesty time folks: I don’t know if The Flash can ever top its first season – this show was that good, right out of the gate. However, I think that there are a number of areas that the show can improve or build upon to make season two even as dynamic as the first.
1. An Iris Makeover
I really don’t want to be a dead horse beater, especially as Candice Patton is clearly trying very hard for this show, but the writers need to improve her arc, or the show will continue to suffer. The finale set up a lot of potential tendrils for them to pursue: maybe now that Eddie is gone, her love for Barry is more realized, and she can love him unconditionally? Or, maybe she blames Barry for his death, and distances herself from him – or better – keeps threatening to reveal who he is to the public, all in the name of ‘journalism?’
She can get obsessed with alternate timelines, and having Barry find one for her where Eddie is still alive. She can be forced to become a partial caregiver for her cousin Wally. Literally anything is better than the wishy washy bullshit we’ve seen in season one. Give her character some meat, and make us love her the way Barry supposedly does.
2. A Slow Build to Caitlin’s Super Villainy
In the Speed Force, we got a preview of Caitlin as Killer Frost, her supervillain alter ego. This season had one clear shot at this: when she started to breed contempt for Barry and Cisco’s lack of trust for Harrison Wells. That was where you could have turned her – or, after Ronnie returned and then left for Pittsburgh. But now, unless they off Ronnie, I don’t see a logical place to turn her – and that’s a good thing.
Let this be a slow build – she clearly has a lot of affection for both Barry and Cisco – there’s no reason that she has to lose all of that overnight. Let her become a supervillain like we become frustrated with our loved ones – one little indiscretion at a time, until the pot eventually boils over.
And please, please don’t make this a mind control ‘she’s not really evil’ thing. When the show was created, they could have had literally any characters they wanted work for S.T.A.R. Labs – they picked Vibe and Killer Frost. Follow those instincts, and give us a great Killer Frost story. Speaking of Cisco…
3. Vibe!
This was teased at the end of last season, and it was a pretty perfect way to start getting Cisco to do more than just deliver quips and be adorable. The beginning of his vibrational powers was low key and made a ton of sense, in story. They need to keep building that up, and not just suddenly make him a hero overnight. Much like the Caitlin turn, the Cisco ascension has to feel real, and feel earned.
This is almost trickier than turning Caitlin, as Vibe is not the easiest hero to explain, nor are his powers the most visually simple to portray, nor does he have a team to be a part of, where his powers would fit in better. I will actually advocate for Cisco to be the star of season 2 of Legends of Tomorrow, which would give him all of this season (and, if the schedule is the same, half of next) to develop his powers before really being part of some sort of grand mission.
4. A General Pumping of the Brakes
Aside from Mirror Master and Wally West, this season gave us just about everything I thought an entire Flash series would feature. The fact that the Reverse Flash story is ‘done’ (which we know it really isn’t) is a testament to the pacing that the show provided, which was fucking insane. In one season (plus a few episodes of Arrow), the show has completely created a universe that feels more lived in than half of TV, and did so in the most bombastic way possible. We had Grodd, we had a Jay Garrick tease, we had two fucking Weather Wizards!
Continued belowWhile the insane pace was part of what made the show my favorite hour of television a week, I just don’t know if that is a sustainable pace. Now that the show has its world firmly established, it needs to slow down a bit – and I see the irony in my wanting a show about speed to slow. Look, if the producers can keep this pace up and not burn out of stories, rogues, and energy in a season or two, then I’m all for it; but I’d rather 6-8 seasons of the show than 3, and at this pace, I can’t see it going past 60 or so episodes without a serious change of pace.
I sincerely hope they prove me wrong, but I’d also rather sign up for more episodes of a slightly inferior product, than having to say goodbye to the show early. And by ‘slightly inferior,’ I also mean a show that would have an opportunity to do so many other things, just not the bombastic things we’ve seen so far. We know a Ferris Air pilot went missing – maybe put Barry on the case to search for him. Maybe having him help out other metas in other cities is a way to spice the show up a bit – what if Central City finally gets under control – would we see him venture to Keystone?
You can make the show just as great, just not burn through as many plotlines, if you just expand the scope. And if alternate realities are in play for next year, well, then you might have just found the perfect way to do that.
5. Preserving Every Drop of Hope and Joy
This is the biggest one – for a show about a man hunting down his mother’s murderer, this show is the most optimistic on television. Every second of the show is filled with positivity; can you imagine another show having two father figures be as absolutely loving and perfect as Joe West and Henry Allen? Of course you can’t, because this show makes some children’s programming look bleak.
This is your strength; everyone loves the tone of the show. No one wants it darker. I’m saying that again in case Jim Lee is listening: No one wants it darker. Keep Barry as the moral compass of the DCTVU, and keep his hope the lifeblood of the show, and it will succeed above and beyond the producers’ wildest dreams. This is already the definitive comic book show ever on television – push it so far that comics themselves have to start aping a more positive tone. And then, the real fun can begin.
What do you want to see in Season 2? Let me know in the comments!
