Spoilers The Flash - Season 3

[DigificWriter]

I don't know why people are complaining, because that was great.

It'd be easy to compare "Duet" to Buffy the Vampire Slayer's "Once More With Feeling", but the way the episode was structured reminded me more of Disney's live-action Jungle Book movie in that the music was a part of the story without BEING the story.

The songs they chose to use were fun, even though the only one I recognized was Put A Little Love in Your Heart, although Super Friend felt a little bit out of place since its lyrics skewed far more towards comedy than the others and consequently didn't work for me.

I actually like that the Music Meister wasn't a villain so much as he was a means to a narrative end to set up a reconciliation between Kara and Mon-El and Barry and Iris since they're all going to need to be on the same page for the conflicts that are coming, and using an episode like this to accomplish that goal ended up working better than doing it in a more 'traditional' fashion would've, IMO.

I do wish we'd gotten to see a 'dream' version of Alex since Chyler does know how to sing, but there's only so much time.

As I said at the top, this was a really great episode that made really good use of its actors' musical talents, furthered character development for its included series' core couples, and gave us some petty fun songs.

 

[Snaploud]

I also enjoyed this episode. There were a number of rough spots, but the Super Friends and Running Home to You scenes were great. I might even buy those two songs via amazon digital music.

Barry and Kara still have the best chemistry of any of the characters on the Arrowverse shows, by the way. You can tell how much they love working with each other.

 

[Gryffindorian]

If the episode was any sappier, my TV would be dripping wet. So that was it. The whole point was to teach Kara and Barry a lesson in love. I could swear Darren Criss was going to transform into either Mxyzpltk or Cupid toward the end, but it didn't happen.

I wonder how many of them actually sang with their real voice. Most everyone had a surprisingly good set of pipes, like Jeremy Jordan and John Barrowman. *Applauds*

 

[DigificWriter]

I wonder how many of them actually sang with their real voice.

All of them.

Everybody who had a singing role in the episode has previous real-world musical experience, with 3 of the actors (Victor Garber, Jeremy Jordan, and Jesse L. Martin) even having the distinction of originating roles on Broadway (Garber originated the role of Anthony from Sweeney Todd, Jeremy originated the roles of Jack Kelly from Newsies and Clyde Barrow from Bonnie and Clyde, and Jesse originated the role of Tom Collins from RENT).

 

[tomalak301]

I really liked this episode even though the ending felt off. It was like Flash/Supergirl meets TNG's The Royale, meets Beauty and the Beast and I was grinning throughout. I forgot how fun these shows could be, as they've been pretty dark this season. In terms of the ending, I thought it was a little rushed with Mon'el and Iris going to where Barry and Kara were. I guess it was a world created by Music Meister and it wasn't in there minds?

Other than that, it was very enjoyable and the music was really good. Benoist looked beautiful in the black dress. What a great couple Kara and Barry are.

 

[Snaploud]

The songs don't appear to be up on Amazon digital music yet. I'll have to check again later.

 

[tomalak301]

The songs don't appear to be up on Amazon digital music yet. I'll have to check again later.

Interesting. They're on ITunes.

 

[sojourner]

John Barrowman.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2981634/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_23

 

[Tuskin38]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2981634/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_23

He was also in The Producers, which is for some odd reason the one thing I always remember him singing in.

 

[Kirk Prime]

I thought this episode was terrific. The talent of this cast is overwhelming and casting Darrin Criss was a nice touch (though if it were me, I would have had to at least try to get Neil Patrick Harris).

I do agree that I would have liked them to redo the original Music Meister song, though they changed the character so much it may not have worked for the story. As far as I know, the Music Meister was invented on Batman: Brave and the Bold, so it's not like there were decades of history that they needed to worry about. It was a concept that was ripe for change.

The only issue with their changes is that we seem to have a very powerful entity that really isn't a Music Meister. His work just happened to lead our heroes into a musical.

So based on this, his name may not be accurate. Of course, if we see him again, and we get another musical, then yeah, it is accurate.

I was surprised that Cisco could sing. I didn't know that. The others I did know, and they were amazing.

I actually would have liked more music, but the bottom line is I enjoyed everything, and I thought Grant Gustin knocked it out of the park with that last song. This episode was not a mess. It was not a train wreck. It was cleverly done, and I would love an encore next year.

 

[Mudd]

Meh, I enjoy two of Berlanti's shows enough to watch them every week - which is pretty rare in itself - but it does require lowering one's expectations about as far as possible where the storytelling is concerned. The standard seems to be that if it was acceptable in a comic book forty years ago, well then, accept it.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I'd give the musical episode a A for ambition and a borderline D for execution.

The concept was fine, and it mostly worked for me up to the big dance number, but then the episode changed from "Hey, we're in a musical!" to "Hey, we're in a Dick Tracy story, with the occasional song here or there!" I also didn't care for the resolution, which was very arbitrary and annoying. (ie., the problem for Barry and Kara was resolved not by anything they did but by outside forces they had no control over.) Musicals aren't subtle to start with, and this one especially was as subtle as a bag of hammers.

 

[Christopher]

What I want to know is, since the song from Guys and Dolls was being sung by the three gangster dads in two different locations, did Barry and Kara only hear half of it each? That would've been confusing. Or did they somehow hear both Malcolm's part and the other two's part at the same time?

And did anyone else notice that the son of Malcolm Merlyn's character was named Tommy? Even though Mon-El was playing the part, I doubt that was a coincidence.

I actually like that the Music Meister wasn't a villain so much as he was a means to a narrative end to set up a reconciliation between Kara and Mon-El and Barry and Iris since they're all going to need to be on the same page for the conflicts that are coming, and using an episode like this to accomplish that goal ended up working better than doing it in a more 'traditional' fashion would've, IMO.

I don't mind that -- I just wish it hadn't been so arbitrary, that there'd been more explanation of what he was and why he was doing this. He came off more as a plot device, a deus ex machina to mend the heroes' romantic woes, than a character.

I do wish we'd gotten to see a 'dream' version of Alex since Chyler does know how to sing, but there's only so much time.

Oh, that would've been nice. Well, the Meister's still out there. And we know from the future newspaper headlines that he's going to be signing a 6-figure book deal on Earth-1 in May. So maybe he'll be back on The Flash, at least.

Barry and Kara still have the best chemistry of any of the characters on the Arrowverse shows, by the way. You can tell how much they love working with each other.

I think Grant Gustin and Stephen Amell have great chemistry -- Amell is never better than when he's playing off Gustin. But Gustin and Benoist are a joy together.

"Superfriends" was a fun song, but if they hadn't been able to commission it, they could've done just as well with the Cole Porter standard "Friendship." Indeed, the song seemed like kind of a pastiche of that one, with a similar sentiment and back-and-forth structure.

I wonder how many of them actually sang with their real voice.

All of them.

Everybody who had a singing role in the episode has previous real-world musical experience, with 3 of the actors (Victor Garber, Jeremy Jordan, and Jesse L. Martin) even having the distinction of originating roles on Broadway (Garber originated the role of Anthony from Sweeney Todd, Jeremy originated the roles of Jack Kelly from Newsies and Clyde Barrow from Bonnie and Clyde, and Jesse originated the role of Tom Collins from RENT).

Yep -- that's the whole reason they did this episode, because they had a surprising number of singers and Broadway performers in their combined casts and wanted to show off their pipes. Same reason Legends keeps having Martin Stein break out in song as a distraction.

In-story, though, it's a bit hard to justify. If the scenario was constructed from Barry's and Kara's minds, why would Barry cast two of the gangster dads as Stein (who's a friend) and Merlyn (whom he barely knows)? It's a little too obvious that the roles were selected based on who had singing talent in real life rather than who made sense in-story.

casting Darrin Criss was a nice touch (though if it were me, I would have had to at least try to get Neil Patrick Harris).

I had the impression that they did try but couldn't make it work; at least, one of the producers said "You're asking the right question" when asked if NPH was being considered for the role. He was probably too busy or too expensive. But since the character was so radically changed, I don't really mind.

As far as I know, the Music Meister was invented on Batman: Brave and the Bold,

That's right -- the character was created by Michael Jelenic. The character's only prior appearances were in the BB&B episodes "Mayhem of the Music Meister!" and "Mitefall!" (cameo), the final issue of the BB&B tie-in comic (also a cameo in a "Mitefall!"-like story), and the Lego Batman 3 videogame, where he was played by Troy Baker.

There is a similar character in Flash history, though, a Jay Garrick adversary called the Fiddler, who could hypnotize people with his violin. And the Justice League TV series's episode "Legends," which featured name-changed versions of Justice Society heroes and villains because they couldn't get the rights to the originals for some reason, renamed their Fiddler character the Music Master (played by Udo Kier). Interestingly, that 2-parter was written by Andrew Kreisberg, who co-wrote the story for this episode. ("Legends" is also the source of the name Black Siren for an alternate Black Canary. Interesting how much from that JL 2-parter by Kreisberg has ended up in the Arrowverse, including the name Legends and the use of the Justice Society. It also involved a powered character creating a pocket reality out of his imagination, so there's a vague similarity to "Duet.")

 

[Tuskin38]

The DCAU was pretty popular, doesn't surprise me if they borrowed ideas.

 

[Christopher]

The DCAU was pretty popular, doesn't surprise me if they borrowed ideas.

Well, what I meant was that it's the same guy, Andrew Kreisberg, borrowing from himself.

 

[Greg Cox]

All of them.

Everybody who had a singing role in the episode has previous real-world musical experience, with 3 of the actors (Victor Garber, Jeremy Jordan, and Jesse L. Martin) even having the distinction of originating roles on Broadway (Garber originated the role of Anthony from Sweeney Todd, Jeremy originated the roles of Jack Kelly from Newsies and Clyde Barrow from Bonnie and Clyde, and Jesse originated the role of Tom Collins from RENT).

I believe Garber also originated the role of John Wilkes Booth in Sondheim's ASSASSINS and possibly Jesus in GODSPELL. He also played Daddy Warbucks in a made-for-tv remake of ANNIE and played the Devil in a Broadway revival of DAMN YANKEES.

 

[DigificWriter]

Victor did originate the role of John Wilkes Booth in Assassins, but that was an Off-Broadway production.

Besides Sweeney Todd, the other Broadway productions in which he appeared as an originating cast member were the non-musical plays Noises Off and Deathtrap.

He did originate the role of Jesus in Godspell, but for a production in Toronto, not on Broadway.

 

[dahj]

And we know from the future newspaper headlines that he's going to be signing a 6-figure book deal on Earth-1 in May.

That was in the unaltered future where Barry and Iris weren't engaged.
Maybe the musical didn't work then so he decided to write a book to teach Barry about love, but now that everything's alright he won't have to

 

[Tuskin38]

Well, what I meant was that it's the same guy, Andrew Kreisberg, borrowing from himself.

Oh whoops

 

[DigificWriter]

There's no guarantee that the Music Meister mentioned in Borrowing Problems from the Future is the same person/creature/entity/being we saw in this episode and Star-Crossed, since this MM is clearly extra-dimensional and possibly of the same race as Mxyzptlk whereas it seemed from the nature of the news ticker headline like the MM who signed that book deal is an E1 human/Metahuman and someone who was recognized as being an established public figure.

BTW, I learned last night that the Batman: The Brave and the Bold version of the Music Meister did end up being added to the comics, so he's not just a "TV-only character".