Greetings folkses. Supreme Mango Overlord Julien here.
So we have come to the end of the sophomore season of The Flash, one of the best comic book shows on television and indisputably the most fun. If you are yet to watch the finale consider this your SPOILER WARNING. Now let’s race to it. Here’s my review in five easy to chew slices:
#1 Getting caught up
To open the episode instead of a “previously on” cold open we get a brief season recap focusing on the fake Jay Garrick/Zoom and Barry’s budding relationship with Iris. The penultimate episode ended with Zoom phase punch killing his father and him screaming NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Darth Vader would be proud.
This episode picks up right after that moment and we get the very emotional scene with Barry and his dying father. And this is only the first stop on the Feels Train pardner. But dad’s demise was not much of a surprise though; from the time he said “I’m not going any where” in a previous episode Henry Allen was pretty much marked for death.
Next we have Barry fighting with Zoom and the murderous villain urging Bar to kill him. “Use your anger, embrace your anger, et cetera”. I got a very strong Emperor in Return of the Jedi/Revenge of the Sith vibe. Barry struggling with his anger and vengeance is a major theme but dollars to donuts I knew he would not eventually do it.
#2 Cry me a river
The second stop on the Feels Train was the rainy funeral for Henry. Weren’t we just at Laurel’s funeral in Arrow. What are you trying to do us people?!
Joe West wrings some more tears out with his touching speech. Not a dry eye in the house. Barry is determined to avenge his dad. Last season he wanted to avenge his mother. Next season – grandma!
We also get a nice sharing of feels between Wally and Barry, with Wally thanking Bar for saving his life. The two are finally getting closer to a brother/brother relationship.
Flash: Let’s do this
#3 The Fastest of them all
We finally learn of Zoom’s dastardly plan. He wants to race Barry to prove who is the fastest. What is this, secondary school/high school? Thankfully his real plan is for Barry to use his speed to help power the magnatron (I think that’s what it’s called) to destroy the multiverse, except for the Earth they are on. Yep, they went there. I’m glad he was not completely crazy and wanted to watch the ALL Earths burn.
Cisco brings the comedy with a Transformers dig, which is like using dynamite on fish in a barrel, and a Lord of the Rings reference – one pulse to destroy them all.
Barry is also hyped to race but his friends stage an intervention, tranq him and then lock him up because he was “too angry”. O-kay then.
Team Flash sans Flash goes into action to take out Zoom. When Harrison Wells puts on his hat you gonna see some serious stuff. The Caitlin hologram fake out reminded of the Agents of Shield finale but worked effectively. No surprise that Zoom grabs someone, Joe in this case, and their plan semi-fails. This show is called “The Flash” after all. He kind of needs to save the day.
#4 Unchained Death Melody
So Barry and Zoom finally race and Barry pulls the time remnant trick which Zoom used to pretend to be Jay Garrick. But when exactly did Barry learn to do this? This part seemed a bit too glossed over. His time remnant’s death was a sweet effects scene though.
Anywho Barry beats Zoom like he owes him money and it is thoroughly satisfying. Then the time wraiths arrive and go all Ghost on Zoom; cue “Unchained Melody”. He physically appears like the Black Racer character – a physical manifestation of death – so he may return in that form. Or not.
But hold up, wait a minute. Barry’s time remnant attracted the time wraiths in like five minutes. Where were the time wraiths when Zoom’s time remnant was gallivanting around as Jay Garrick? Or it could be that they came so quickly because of the multiverse rift. It still smells a little plot hole-ish.
#5 Will the real Jay Garrick please stand up
So Charlie, @AwesomEmergency, called it – the man in the mask was the real Jay Garrick and Henry Allen’s doppelganger. And he is from Earth 3 which we will likely see next season. If not a surprise twist – it was telegraphed when Henry said his mother’s maiden name is Garrick – I was glad to John Wesley Shipp suit up as Flash again. Remember he played Flash in the short lived 90s series. If Garrick returns he will likely be a mentor for Barry, once Bar gets over the whole “face of my father” thing.
The final stop on the Feels Train is Barry and Iris talking on the stoop. Iris is finally ready for a relationship with him but now he is too emotionally broken to reciprocate. Cue Coldplay’s “Fix You”. The way the writers keep bringing them close together and them yanking them apart it’s like Zack and Kelly all over again. At least we finally get a non-alternate version, non-alternate timeline kiss.
Final Slice
And then the final twist is Barry travels back in time and saves his mom, which is the thing he didn’t do last season finale. He goes full Flashpoint paradox (read more here). While I’m interested to see where they go with this and I understand he is emotionally messed up at being orphaned, I found this decision undercut and undermined his heroic choice last season. For me a bit of black mark on a near perfect finale.
So we started our comic tv show finale week with Gotham on Monday (see my review here), continued with The Flash and concluded with Arrow’s Season 4 curtain call (read here).
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Got your back like a chiropractor. l8rs
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