5 Things I Love and Hate about CW’s Flash

Have you seen The Flash? If not, do it and be quick. If so, then you may have thought these thoughts. I do love the show, have not been without an episode so far! But, it’s not the CW if it doesn’t totally bug me from time to time.

The CW is known for its pretty people and drama, which is not always a bad thing, but can sometimes be misplaced. The Flash show has it’s share of these traits, though they are balanced enough to successfully entertain me. However, some parts of the plot can encourage generous hair pulling. Let’s start with the stuff that makes me growl at my TV.

1. No one can lock the front door at STAR Labs apparently. I swear… We’ve got our buddy the Arrow and he operates underneath a freaking club, and we don’t see drunk couples trying to make out down in his lair. If I had a dollar every time someone popped up in STAR Labs who shouldn’t have been there…
2. Lost Consistency. For example, if you are a strong motivational role model, you have to be strong in every episode and have to hold yourself to it, too. Barry has a tendency to be a little “I don’t know if I can do it (despite the times I have done it before)” so everyone has to be all pity party and “We believe in you!”. Have you ever had that one friend who always needed to be reassured? Get’s a bit old. We can’t hold your hand Barry, you’re too fast. I do understand characters have personal obstacles to overcome and grow from, but once you jump that hurdle, keep jumping. If your bad ass, then stay bad ass.
3. Misplaced talking scenes. Has anyone else noticed that they really take advantage of their sets? Even this last episode, Joe and Barry had a conversation about Joe finding out about Wally in the doorway to the metahuman prison. Beautiful yes, but it’s like if you wanted to talk to someone and then walked down the longest hallway you could find into a basement techno room, and then started your conversation.
4. Barry needs to be the Flash way more often than he is. So let’s say you (yes you reading) just got the same super powers. Congrats and welcome to the speed force! Now you’ve discovered that you can catch a bullet, move a victim 5 blocks away, come back and give a wedgie to every evil doer while disarming and cuffing them. That’s neat. Now you’re in another battle and you start talking about your feelings… and the evil dude is talking about all the bad stuff he’s going to do… and you finally try to stop him and it’s too late. What happened!? I need the Flash to be fast from the start, don’t doddle, and maybe start with your end move. 🙂
5. Everyone has secrets, and that’s getting old. First Joe finds out about Barry. Then they keep it a secret from Iris. Then Eddie finds out and keeps it from Iris. Then Iris dumps him, pretty much, for having secrets. Finally at the end of the season, now everyone knows about Barry. Now, Cisco is a metahuman and doesn’t tell anyone…. for some reason. Then Iris’s mom comes to town, she has a secret about Wally. Then Iris doesn’t tell Joe about Wally (hypocritical much?). Then she finally does. Now we’ve got a bunch of come-and-go characters that know about Barry, but leaves his girlfriend Patty in the dark. You see what I mean!? Secrets! Bah, just let it all out people!

Well enough complaining. I wouldn’t watch the show if it bugged me too much, and my current dedication to watching it is a statement of how much I actually enjoy it. Here are my top 5 reasons why I love this show:

1. They tie in characters from the 1990’s Flash. Did you know Barry’s dad was the Flash of his own show? Mark Hamill, the Trickster, and Amanda Pays, Dr. Tina McGee, also play their same roles from the earlier show. I love tie ins!
2. There aren’t very many uncomfortable, talky, huggy, kissy, fluffy scenes. What I mean by this is the gratuitous “You’re my everything” scenes with tears, cupids and violins don’t take over. Sure some people kiss and are cute, but not too many (Typical CW) scenes that make glitter and kittens want to bleed from your eyes. They are well placed and typically awkward or funny.
3. Speaking of funny, the comic relief is balanced. Each character has a wonderful personality, and the actors incharge of them do a fantastic job. Cisco is probably one of my favorite funny guys on the show, and I’m glad that Caitlin isn’t the Flash’s “Felicity Smoak” (my initial concern). The Flash as a character has always been a bit of a comedian, and I’m glad that the overall humor of this show holds true to that.
4. All the episodes in The Flash try to have substantial and interesting meaning. When you have a series of 20+ episodes, they tend to get a little boring in the middle of the run. There always seems to be the “formula” episodes that are just plain uninteresting and does nothing for the story arc for most series. But, I feel the Flash either discovers a new power, crucial info for the main story-line, or reveals and solves previous mysteries in every single episode. Thank you for that!
5. The Arrow and Flash are friends! Crossovers are the best! When Barry first showed up on the Arrow’s doorstep, I was like “Holey Lightning Bolts, Batman!” I am just so infatuated with the popularity of superheros and the wonderful things they think up of to entertain us. It’s not only genius on a marketing standpoint, but gives the viewers a taste of both worlds! Well done you crafty writers. Well done.

Overall, I love this show. I feel I will undoubtedly be able to re-binge on this show in the years to come, and that is a very important quality to possess. I eagerly await the new challenges Barry will endure. Until the next episode! 😀

Show your Flash love with this Flash Pendant in my Etsy shop!