Last night, we got our first look at one of the most iconic Rogues, we learned a lot more about Harrison Wells, and we got to see Barry take the world’s most impressive selfie (and one that is sure to come back to haunt him in the future). Let’s get to it!
1. The Good Stuff With Pied Piper
The Pied Piper, Hartley Rathaway, is one of the first openly gay characters in comics, and one that has a fascinating history that shows him to be one of the more complex characters in the entire medium. It would be a lot to expect from the show to get all of that right and out there in 44 minutes of television, but it did handle some of the broader strokes well.
The most important part is that they did not shy away from his sexuality, nor did it become a punchline. Having the character be gay is an important aspect of his personality, but it was never the defining characteristic. The show continued that, introducing his sexuality as the breaking point between Rathaway and his wealthy, conservative parents.
The show also goes out of its way to show you how brilliant Rathaway is, and allow you to understand why and how he was hired by Wells. The show has had a few “duh duh” metahumans thus far, so it is nice to see another Rogue introduced that isn’t a mouth breather.
2. The Bad Stuff With Pied Piper
The Pied Piper, in the source material, is the Rogue who quits being a villain, and uses his brains to help the Flash and to fight crime. That seems utterly impossible for the Rathaway introduced here. As I said in previous weeks, part of what makes the Rogues great is their ambiguity – sure, they’re bad guys, but they’re not (except Mirror Master, maybe) horrible villains. When Rathaway is trying to take down Wells for endangering the lives of citizens, that could be seen as borderline heroic – until he starts throwing people off of bridges to mess with the Flash.
The character, flat out, came off totally unsympathetic, which hurts the show in a number of ways. Also, while his nickname made total sense in the comics, where he initially used a flute, and dealt with mind control, just using sound doesn’t make the Pied Piper a great nickname for a guy who uses sound to be a destructive tool. What about Amplifier? Ghetto Blaster? Shitty Toyota Corolla with A Too Large Of A Subwoofer?
3. Attempting To Fix Iris
Giving Iris something to do other than make eyes at Eddie is a good thing, and pushing her towards a career in journalism is also a good thing. However, making it very clear that she is the Lois Lane of the Central City Daily Planet, replete with a boss she calls ‘chief,’ that’s less useful. Sure, personality and differentiation could all be coming in time to those characters, but right now, it just seems lazy. Iris continues to be the weak spot in an extremely strong show.
4. S.T.A.R. Labs History Lesson
The flashbacks to the earlier days of S.T.A.R. Labs was extremely instructive for the show; giving us context of how the characters got to know each other, and what their pre-disaster roles were like was a very smart decision. This specifically helps to further build up Harrison Wells as a far more complicated, arrogant, and dangerous character, but it is also nice to see Caitlin being legitimately happy, and Cisco being the new kid on the block. The personalities of both of those characters, and how they acted 2 years prior, inform their reactions to Barry when he initially joins the team. Retroactively, this makes the pilot that much stronger.
5. The Deal With Wells
So, while there are still some questions about him, we now know this about Wells: He certainly has super speed, but it isn’t naturally given to him – the chest protector/battery thing he wears helps him absorb the Speed Force. This leads me to speculate that, despite the costume in his closet, he actually isn’t the Reverse Flash, but he is trying to make himself into him. This would explain how they could have been in the same space in the mid-season finale, and give further hints to Eddie taking on that mantle.
We knows Wells is an egomaniac – perhaps he feels like he “deserves” the powers as well? Perhaps he is trying to prevent a tragedy in the future? Or maybe he really is the Reverse Flash, plain and simple.
Tell me your theories, or how wrong mine are, in the comments!
