The Flash - Season 1

[Mike Farley]

The Flash saving the train passengers was pretty great. Because that's what heroes do. It's not all punching baddies, it's also about saving people. A similar bit during the climax of Man of Steel, say Superman pulling people from a collapsing building, would have done much to redeem that movie.

 

[Agent Richard07]

The speed effects and shots are great. They've delivered on their promise.

As for the train rescue, it reminded me of an incident that keeps getting mentioned... A time when the Flash rescued the population of city one by one from a nuclear blast.

 

[Christopher]

The Flash saving the train passengers was pretty great. Because that's what heroes do. It's not all punching baddies, it's also about saving people. A similar bit during the climax of Man of Steel, say Superman pulling people from a collapsing building, would have done much to redeem that movie.

Yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Superheroes are not warriors or vengeance-seekers (despite there being teams called Avengers and New Warriors), they're rescuers. My favorite superhero action scenes are scenes where they're saving lives. Part of what makes the Metropolis battle in Superman II so effective (despite the gratuitous comedy bits) is that it's so much about Superman and the Zod trio vying over the fate of the people of Metropolis, as opposed to just punching each other through theoretically empty buildings. And the chemical-plant rescue in Superman III is one of the best Superman action scenes ever made. And one of my favorite parts of the Battle of New York in The Avengers is that so much of it was about the team working to get the innocents to safety. And one of the most effective sequences in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is the one where Spidey is using all his cleverness to protect the civilians in Times Square from Electro. Not to mention the terrific scenes in earlier Spider-Man movies where Spidey saves the people of New York and they repay the favor by helping him.

This is the fundamental difference between Barry and Oliver. Oliver and his team may have embraced a more heroic role now, but they (Felicity aside) started out as trained killers and warriors, and what they do is still oriented more toward taking out the bad guys than protecting and helping the victims. But Barry isn't a warrior, he's a lab tech and all-around nice guy. And though he is searching for his mother's killer, his motive is less about wanting to take revenge than it is about wanting to help his father. He's more a rescuer than a fighter, and that's my favorite kind of superhero.

 

[DigificWriter]

Eddie is the most likely "Reverse Flash" candidate at this point, although I don't think he "oozes creepiness from every orifice" the way Christopher does. IF he's indeed destined yo be the Reverse Flash, something is most likely going to happen to him to imbue him with powers, sour his relationships with Joe, Iris, and Barry and lead, paradoxically, to the death of Barry's mom.

 

[Dr. Funkenstein]

Eddie is the most likely "Reverse Flash" candidate at this point, although I don't think he "oozes creepiness from every orifice" the way Christopher does. IF he's indeed destined yo be the Reverse Flash, something is most likely going to happen to him to imbue him with powers, sour his relationships with Joe, Iris, and Barry and lead, paradoxically, to the death of Barry's mom.

You're saying it like he's not already Professor Zoom. One who purposely traveled back first (or later) to kill Barry's mother, and now to ruin his love affair with Iris.

 

[davejames]

Absolutely loved last night's episode. And I agree, the FX so far have been really impressive, with the train rescue easily being the coolest and most creative sequence yet. In fact this is the first show in a long while where I find myself constantly rewinding to watch the action sequences again.

And I thought Miller made for a very effective villain as well, coming across as cold and ruthless while not being too cartoonish at the same time (I especially loved his little smirk at the end when he hears the Captain Cold name Cisco had given him). Although like with most villains he'll encounter on this show, I couldn't help but wonder why Flash didn't just sneak up on the guy from behind and knock him out/grab his gun before he even knew he was there. But oh well, clearly that's just one of those things we'll need to overlook on this show.

The Felicity character seemed really charming as well, and almost makes me want to give Arrow another try someday (at least until I remember how incredibly dull and generic I find the lead actor on that show).

 

[DigificWriter]

Eddie is the most likely "Reverse Flash" candidate at this point, although I don't think he "oozes creepiness from every orifice" the way Christopher does. IF he's indeed destined yo be the Reverse Flash, something is most likely going to happen to him to imbue him with powers, sour his relationships with Joe, Iris, and Barry and lead, paradoxically, to the death of Barry's mom.

You're saying it like he's not already Professor Zoom. One who purposely traveled back first (or later) to kill Barry's mother, and now to ruin his love affair with Iris.

Given the pattern already established by the PtBs of showing the origins of the characters they use, I'd be real surprised if Eddie turns out to already be the Reverse Flash (provided, of course, that that's the direction his character goes in).

 

[Christopher]

Eddie is the most likely "Reverse Flash" candidate at this point, although I don't think he "oozes creepiness from every orifice" the way Christopher does.

That was Dr. Funkenstein, not me. I have no particular opinion on Eddie.

Personally, I think the Reverse Flash should be a woman named Nella Y. Rrab.

 

[DigificWriter]

^ Sorry, Christopher.

 

[Morpheus 02]

Seriously...?? Barry and Felicity have good chemistry. The writers need to recognize this fast.

RAMA

The action scenes on this show are really impressive. I loved the Flash's takedown of the armored-car bandits, and the train rescue was terrific. I love a good mass rescue scene, and this one was quite clever. I was expecting Barry to find some way to save the train before it crashed, but instead he just got everyone out during the crash. Although, really, the instant accelerations he imparted on them should've been just as fatal. He must have some kind of inertial cancellation field around him or something.

And Captain Cold has his parka and goggles. I guess it's a simple enough costume that it's not hard to justify.

Honestly, I think Barry and Felicity should've gotten together. Grant Gustin and Candice Patton don't really have that much chemistry; I can't quite see Barry and Iris being an interesting couple. Of course, Barry and Felicity are on different shows, so it's not gonna happen.

The bit where Thawne stopped Snart from shooting Joe was confusing. To mee it seemed like Eddie shot Snart in the back, but Snart just shrugged it off and walked away. What did I miss?

I am definitely FOR Barry & Felicity... they definitely have great chemistry...andi like how what happened last season was NOT dropped, but actually UPped a level, with Iris approving.

Now, at some point Barry will switch, but at least they are building it up, and with the great ratings, we won't see it happen until next season (and give us a logical ramp down from Felicity, unless they shock us). I appreciate the backstory that they were raised as siblings-- it makes their care for each other very legitimate

Hopefully, they can grow Iris far better than they have Laurel Lance. One question though -- is Iris doing graduate or undergraduate school? If she's done Peace Corps and other ways to delay her undergrad (and Barry being super smart got an accelerated degree), that would make sense. Hopefully they can make her more street smart.

Wentworth Miller had an evil Michael Schofield vibe to him...well cast. Can't wait to see how he plays out in the future.

 

[Morpheus 02]

Eddie is the most likely "Reverse Flash" candidate at this point, although I don't think he "oozes creepiness from every orifice" the way Christopher does.

That was Dr. Funkenstein, not me. I have no particular opinion on Eddie.

Personally, I think the Reverse Flash should be a woman named Nella Y. Rrab.

Yeah, Christopher doesn't ooze creepiness, even from one orifice. Guy Gardner on the other hand...

 

[Morpheus 02]

The Flash saving the train passengers was pretty great. Because that's what heroes do. It's not all punching baddies, it's also about saving people. A similar bit during the climax of Man of Steel, say Superman pulling people from a collapsing building, would have done much to redeem that movie.

Yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Superheroes are not warriors or vengeance-seekers (despite there being teams called Avengers and New Warriors), they're rescuers. My favorite superhero action scenes are scenes where they're saving lives. Part of what makes the Metropolis battle in Superman II so effective (despite the gratuitous comedy bits) is that it's so much about Superman and the Zod trio vying over the fate of the people of Metropolis, as opposed to just punching each other through theoretically empty buildings. And the chemical-plant rescue in Superman III is one of the best Superman action scenes ever made. And one of my favorite parts of the Battle of New York in The Avengers is that so much of it was about the team working to get the innocents to safety. And one of the most effective sequences in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is the one where Spidey is using all his cleverness to protect the civilians in Times Square from Electro. Not to mention the terrific scenes in earlier Spider-Man movies where Spidey saves the people of New York and they repay the favor by helping him.

This is the fundamental difference between Barry and Oliver. Oliver and his team may have embraced a more heroic role now, but they (Felicity aside) started out as trained killers and warriors, and what they do is still oriented more toward taking out the bad guys than protecting and helping the victims. But Barry isn't a warrior, he's a lab tech and all-around nice guy. And though he is searching for his mother's killer, his motive is less about wanting to take revenge than it is about wanting to help his father. He's more a rescuer than a fighter, and that's my favorite kind of superhero.

Mine too...and I love that I can watch this show with my 9 year old & 3 year old. (Which i absolutely can't with Gotham, and not really with Arrow)

And Captain Cold has his parka and goggles. I guess it's a simple enough costume that it's not hard to justify.

And the sinister smile....perfect casting

The bit where Thawne stopped Snart from shooting Joe was confusing. To mee it seemed like Eddie shot Snart in the back, but Snart just shrugged it off and walked away. What did I miss?

I just re-watched it... looked to me like Eddie hit a wall...enough to scare off Snart.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Eddie is the most likely "Reverse Flash" candidate at this point, although I don't think he "oozes creepiness from every orifice" the way Christopher does.

That was Dr. Funkenstein, not me. I have no particular opinion on Eddie.

Personally, I think the Reverse Flash should be a woman named Nella Y. Rrab.

Yeah, Christopher doesn't ooze creepiness, even from one orifice. Guy Gardner on the other hand...

You want me to ooze creepiness onto your other hand?

 

[The Old Mixer]

I'm thinking that the show's version of Prof. Zoom may be Eddie, who's from the present, empowered by Wells, who's from the future.

Is anyone else finding Caitlin a lot more interesting than Iris (shades of Chloe/Lana)? I guess they're saving Caitlin for Firestorm or something....

 

[sojourner]

If they do go with Eddie, I think they'll call him Reverse Flash. He doesn't come off as the professor type.

 

[The Old Mixer]

That works...Eddie's the Reverse Flash, Wells is Prof. Zoom. A name and costume so gaudy, it takes two characters to pull it off.

 

[sojourner]

Though the producers have said that Wells is not an existing character it's still fun to play "what if?"

I had an interesting thought. He's not a typical Flash villain (but then again Ras Al Ghul isn't a typical Arrow villain) what if Wells is Vandal Savage?

 

[The Old Mixer]

Technically he wouldn't be an existing character, but they'd be transferring aspects of 25th-century Zoom to him.

Savage is an interesting possibility, but wouldn't necessarily explain his knowledge of the future.

A kookier idea in my head is that Wells is an evil future version of Barry...he disappears in 10 years because he travels to the past.

 

[Guy Gardener]

If Berman thinks that Future Guy is and always was Jonathan Archer, then frankly having the villain being a future version of the Hero is not kooky, but just something producers do when they don't want to spend too much additional money on new special guest stars in the season finale.

There's a Doctor Who Audio story where Richard III plays a minor character who is bored shitless by being stalked by Time travellers trying to figure out if he is a villain or a hero. He is positively nonplussed any time one of these futurians candidly admit who they are drawing him into their circle of trust. They get a very stern warning about something lethal happening if they don't #### off, and then he idles towards things that do actually draw his interest.

I can see Vandal Savage being approached by Time travellers all the time, until he can just smell them in his vicinity.

Vandal Savage is in the peculiar state of being that he knows how the flavour of human meat has evolved over the last 50 thousand years and is expecting to know how it will evolve over the next 50 thousand years.

 

[LaxScrutiny]

If Berman thinks that Future Guy is and always was Jonathan Archer...

Wait, what, huh? How did I miss this!