The Silver Age is alive and well over at the CW, and with Elongated Man joining Team Flash, it has never been more clear. Be warned, spoilers follow.
1. A very different Ralph Dibny
Ralph Dibny, in DC lore, is one of the finest detectives, most committed married men, and most loyal friends in the DC Universe. While he got his start being mistaken as a criminal by the Flash, he was far from a shady character. This Dibny is certainly a bit underhanded: a former cop who has opened a stereotypical 1940s private eye business (he’s basically working in Eddie Valiant’s office from Who Framed Roger Rabbit?) and who pays for bus fare in IOUs. I know that the show needn’t be a slave to the comics, but this is a really weird decision to make. Having Barry sort of caused his demise is interesting (we’ll get to that in a second), but I don’t know why this show often presents us with an unlikable character, and then rehabilitate them, instead of just giving us likable characters. We all love Barry, and Barry started off exactly as he is now! But Caitlin, Wally, Harry, and now Ralph, were all introduced this way. And while it can work sometimes, this seems like a pattern the show is trapped in, and needs to escape.
I’ll say this about the show, however: they made the elongated effects, especially his sneeze, look about as good as you could possibly expect a CW show to look. I am, however, thoroughly disappointed that Caitlin didn’t throw ‘gingold’ into the mix of drugs she gave him. It was right there for you, writers.
2. Even the board is back!
More season one aping: Barry has brought back his board of clues, which has been retired since his mom’s murder was solved. This show just can’t get enough of that S1 vibe this season.
3. Father in law issues
So, we meet Breacher, Gypsy’s dad, as played by Danny Trejo. Trejo seems like a delightful guy, but can be a pretty one-note actor, especially when surrounding by the over-emoting of your average CW cast member. He seemed incredibly out of place in just about every scene he was in, and seemed to be a little confused as to what was going on around him.
I will say this: meeting your significant other’s parents is super stressful, and so I understand the show’s desire to cast someone who would be the physical manifestation of that feeling, and Trejo’s intensity certainly did the trick. But the character had no real layers to him, and we know that he’s not going to kill Cisco, so it fell flat. Especially when Cisco does things like sets a good trap for him, and he just cuts his way out with a magic knife? C’mon.
But his name being Josh was a legitimate laugh out loud moment.
4. Barry encountering his dickishness
This show sometimes treats Barry like he’s too perfect, and incapable of fucking up. This week, they showed some nuance to his character, incapable of seeing the terrible consequences of turning in Dibny, even when Dibny had noble intentions. Seeing Barry wrestle with that idea, eventually leading to him asking Dibny to join the team, was a really nice bit of the show giving Barry some depth.
I know it’s weird to think about the main character not having too much depth, but the show has presented Barry as a guy who has systematically dealt with all of his flaws or foibles. His mother’s death/father’s incarceration plagued him, but then he worked through that. He had unrequited feelings for Iris – now he’s marrying her. He fucked up Cisco’s life through Flashpoint, and then fixed that, more or less, too.
Barry’s biggest character trait is that he’s positive. The show pushing back against that, even slightly, is smart.
5. Weird fucking montage
So, Joe having a baby is exciting. I get that. I get that you need to show him breaking the news to the team, and that you want a fun way to do that. But the show decided to stage a T-Mobile commercial in the middle of its show, replete with slo-mo and a pop soundtrack. I was looking down at my phone when it came back from commercial, and thought it was still a commercial based on the music, and had to rewind it. It didn’t fit, and was just odd. I don’t get it.
