Continuing with my catch up of much delayed viewings from the last TV season, the next title I binge-watched on iFlix is The Flash and its second season run.
When the defeat of Eobard Thawne / Reverse Flash (Matt Letscher) led to the creation of a singularity, dealing with the death of a friend and Central City's acceptance of his role as their hero is the least of Barry Allen / Flash's (Grant Gustin) worries. Jay Garrick approaches the team and tells them that the singularity has caused breaches into an alternate Earth to form. Claiming to be from Earth 2, Jay tells them that he also possessed the speed force and was known as the Flash in his world. He also tells Barry that Earth 2 has its own speedster villain in the form of Zoom, who, after stealing Jay's powers, is using the various breaches to come after Barry and steal his speed.
If you asked me what my favorite CW show as of this writing is, I would immediately answer The Flash. Firstly, Grant Gustin has portrayed the character with warmth and believability, qualities that he showcased every since he first appeared in the second season of Arrow to introduce the character. He gave us a likable character in Barry Allen, one who is easy to root for in his daily life and in his superhero guise as The Flash. There is an infectious quality in his eagerness to embrace the role of the hero in the first season, which he balanced with aplomb in handling his character's personal drama. And, unlike its brother series Arrow and probably because of the lessons learned from it by their shared production team, the Flash featured a more concise storytelling despite the many different plot lines it explored in its freshman year as a TV series.
The specter of Zoom is a prevailing theme in the earlier parts of season 2, with the villain transporting various metahumans from Earth 2 to throw in Barry's way before finally making an appearance to rather disastrous results for the Flash and his team. Zoom is a more horrifying figure than the Reverse Flash ever was, and, while the latter was more focused on just merely defeating the Flash, the former is more intent in wreaking as much havoc as possible and destroying any shred of hope in those he encounters. Barry has always had major hurdles in his life, notwithstanding his role as a superhero, but Zoom manages to attack him on various personal fronts, wearing down his usually buoyant personality.
The season 2 of The Flash offers a lot in terms of storytelling. The breaches to Earth 2 poses risks for characters to meet their doppelgangers to the other worlds, which sometimes lead to hilarious encounters for viewers to enjoy. Season 1 touched on time traveling courtesy of the Flash's powers, but it is a topic more fleshed out, covering the consequences of traveling through time and possibly altering history. One such consequence is catching the attention of time wraiths that punishes those who meddle with time. And don't get me started on the time remnant topic, because I still struggle to explain it simply, but the show handles its discussions in a way for viewers, even those without a head for trippy science stuff like I do, to understand how it affects the story.
With all that happens in the season, it gives everyone a lot of room to grow. Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes) learns more about his new powers, making Barry no longer the lone metahuman in their group. His ability to sense or Vibe events allow the team a modicum of advantage in many situations. Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker) deals with the death of her husband Ronnie Raymond / Firestorm (Robbie Amell) and explores something new with Jay Garrick. Joe (Jesse L. Martin) and Iris West (Candice Patton) reconnect with his estranged wife and learns that Joe also had a son named Wally (Keiynan Lonsdale), who has a love for fast things. And Iris tries to deal with the implications of her future relationship with Barry, especially when she learns that Iris and Barry of Earth 2 ended up marrying. Earth 2 Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh) ends up joining the team, which makes for a wholly different sort of group dynamic, especially when it hasn't been that long since Eobard Thawne duped them all pretending to be the famed inventor.
But even with a large cast, the story will always recenter on Barry. With all of the emotional upheaval the opening of Earth 2 and Zoom's threat brings into their lives, he learns with much cost to his emotional stability the price paid for his role as the Flash. There are moments of peace, when Barry deals with the usual sort of metahumans, when he tries to date Joe's new partner Patty Spivot (Shantel VanSanten), and when he reconnects time and again with his father Henry (John Wesley Shipp) for that much needed pep talk, and they constantly remind audiences what's at stake and why defeating Zoom is all the more important than just being the hero who bests over the villain. The season proved to be quite the rollercoaster ride, with his powers, the safety of his loved ones, and his very ability to hope put at stake.
Say what you will about the CW, but it proved itself over the years that it's no longer just the network targeted to teens, with its growing roster of smart comedies, old staples that grew beautifully over time, and great adaptations. If you haven't watched The Flash yet or haven't caught up yet with last season, I can tell you that, based from experience, binge-watching it will be an extremely satisfying experience.
Happy viewing!!Labels: Action, Adaptation, Adventure, CW, DC, Drama, iFlix, Must-Watch, The Flash, TV, TV Series
