Adam Reynoso ’15 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer Tom Cavanagh in The Flash episode “Fastest Man Alive.” Photo Credit: Cate Cameron/The CW.
As the series continues its first season, The Flash is continuing to grow and evolve into a real comic book show. While the pilot went through the usual backstories, the second episode made sure to push the story along, as well as developing the supporting characters and creating a nice dynamic between all the characters. Also at the forefront, Barry (Grant Gustin) had to deal with the fact that he really had three father figures in Detective Joe West (Jesse L. Martin), Dr. Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh) and Henry Allen (John Wesley Shipp).
Picking up not too long after the pilot, Barry is seen saving people from a building on fire, at first overshooting his destination, but he makes it in time thanks to the help of Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes). However, he’s left in a dizzy spell, leading to Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker) and Dr. Wells to realize that with his new abilities, Barry isn’t eating enough to have the right amount of energy needed for his speed. Joe, on the otherhand, insists that Barry leaves the crimefighting to the police, stating how he isn’t trained in that field and shouldn’t be risking his life, no matter how fast he is, especially after he’s almost shot by this week’s villain, a metahuman who make clones of himself. In the end, after Joe thinks back to when Barry first started living with him and kept trying to see his father, despite his requests not too, Joe realizes he needs to listen to Dr. Wells and believe in him. Carlos Valdes, Grant Gustin, Danielle Panabaker and Tom Cavanagh in The Flash episode “Fastest Man Alive.” Photo Credit: Diyah Pera/The CW.
One thing that’s noticeable is the dynamic between Caitlin, Barry and Cisco. They have plenty of banter and the group really is working together to help Barry become the Flash. The way Caitlin chastises Barry for trying to play hero after the fire is great and it’s very mom-like, or maybe more like the overprotective sister. And Cisco is like the best friend always getting him into trouble. All three work well together, especially with Dr. Wells as their guide. It was also interesting to see Barry’s worlds collide once Joe found them at STAR labs and confronted the group. But it was something that needed to happen sooner rather than later. Joe needed to have a talk with Wells about what was happening to Barry and whether or not it was up to him bring in the metahumans.
As for Barry, what’s great about him is that he’s just like anyone else, responding the way any normal person would when given these kind of abilities. He can’t really fight, and it shows in his confrontation with Multiplex (Michael Christopher Smith). He’s still getting used to it and is still struggling with his feelings for Iris (Candice Patton) at the same time. Danielle Panabaker and Jesse L. Martin in The Flash episode “Fastest Man Alive.” Photo Credit: Diyah Pera/The CW.
And like the previous episode, this one ended with another tag at the end with Wells visiting a rival of his, Simon Stagg (William Sadler), who’s become determined now to find the “Red Streak” and control and his abilities. This leads to Wells standing and stabbing him, telling him The Flash needs to be kept safe. While it seems like he’s on The Flash’s side, it’s unclear what his motive is and whether or not he is from the future or not.
Building on it’s pilot and moving the story forward, The Flash has kept it’s energetic, fun feel and continues to add its mythology. The effects, especially whenever Multiplex created another version of himself, were on point and very realistic. The show is going full speed ahead, showing no signs of stopping. Overall Episode Grade: B+
