'The Flash' Review: "Wrath of Savitar"

March 25, 2017

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Tom Cavanagh as Harrison Wells and Carlos Valdes as Cisco Ramon in 'The Flash'. Photo credit: The CW.

John David Mazzarella ‘20 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer
Warning: The Following Contains Spoilers for The Flash season 3
With the traitor revealed, a fate worse than death realized, and a death predetermined, Savitar’s prophecy is finally coming to life.
With the threat of a gorilla invasion having passed, Team Flash now turns their focus on training Wally West/Kid Flash (Keiynan Lonsdale) to become faster. This effort proves successful, as Wally finally achieves the minimal velocity required to save Iris West (Candice Patton) from Savitar (Andre Tricoteux). On top of this, Jesse Quick (Violett Beane) is now living with Wally in the West household, Julian Albert (Tom Felton) has returned from England, and Barry Allen/The Flash (Grant Gustin) and Iris announce their engagement. While everything seems to be going right for Team Flash, the return of a threat looms. For the past week, Wally has been plagued by visions of Savitar. Though these visions started out as a mere nuisance, they have quickly progressed into a genuine threat on Iris’ life, Team Flash and all of Central City.
This episode was nothing short of great. The character moments, particularly with Wally, Barry and Iris are heartfelt. The action scenes are fast and energetic, while also furthering the story. There’s a good deal of drama in this episode, however, unlike the previous two weeks, the drama fits into the story. Every character has a valid reason for being upset, and it never seems like one person is stirring up drama just for the sake of having drama.

The characters are great in this episode. Barry is once again struggling to balance the weight of the world on his shoulders, Wally is struggling to come to terms with Savitar in his head, and the start of the episode where Barry and Iris announce their engagement is one of the most heartwarming moments of the season. The relationship between Julian and Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker) is further explored. Initially there is some pay off with the two sharing another heart to heart, ending with the long awaited (mostly from Julian) kiss. After it’s revealed Caitlin kept part of the philosopher stone, Julian essentially denounces her for her selfishness. Having initially been Dr. Alchemy, Julian’s reaction is understandable. But knowing how relationships go on these shows, it won’t be long before they patch things up.
Julian and Caitlin aren’t the only couple on the outs. Wally reveals that Barry’s true motive for proposing to Iris was so Iris didn’t have a ring on the night she died. This naturally upsets Iris, claiming that now a piece of her and Barry’s relationship will forever be tainted. It’s understandable to see where both characters are coming from, and the drama adds to the story rather than detracts.

Jesse L. Martin as Detective Joe West, Candice Patton as Iris West and Tom Felton as Julian Albert in 'The Flash'. Photo Credit: The CW. — Jesse L. Martin as Detective Joe West, Candice Patton as Iris West and Tom Felton as Julian Albert in ‘The Flash’. Photo Credit: The CW.

Unfortunately, as always, certain characters seem to only be there due to previous events. Jesse doesn’t do anything that requires someone of her skill set, which is unfortunate as she is arguably the smartest speedster to appear at this point of the show. A problem fans like to point out about this show is there being too many speedsters. Apparently, the makers of the show’s solution is to make them mere background characters. Still, the episode keeps its focus where it should be: on the situation with Savitar.
Savitar has received an update to his appearance. Rather than being fully CGI, Savitar is now partially CGI and partially a costume. It’s a nice update making him fit into the world better, though it also makes him look like something ripped straight out of Power Rangers.

The identity of Savitar may already have been revealed. In the past fans speculated that when Savitar said “I am the Future Flash” he wasn’t just addressing Barry, but revealing his identity to the audience. This idea was reinforced by Savitar repeating this line twice in the episode. It’s possible Savitar is the future of Barry, Wally, or a descendent of the West-Allen family. This would explain how Savitar knew Jay Garrick (John Wesley Shipp) by name. This also could mean nothing and may well just be a clever red herring, like what Arrow did with Vigilante.
After the disappointment of the Gorilla City arc this episode was just what the doctor ordered. This episode is a match point for Barry and Savitar. The future’s getting closer, and without Wally, it’s looking grim for Iris and Team Flash.
Overall episode grade: A

March 25, 2017

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