In much the same way that
The Flash is the opposite of
Arrow in tone, its season finale is the opposite of
Arrow in quality. It was absolutely fantastic. Not only did it pay off Barry's character arc and give an epic conclusion to an overall great season, but it also gave all my favorite characters some tense, well acted and incredibly emotional moments. Make sure to have tissues on stand-by because this episode will make you cry on several occasions. So let's dig into the episode. Let's start with the bad, so that we can get to the juicy bits.
CONS:
While Eddie's death took me by surprise, I was a little disappointed that his character didn't get much of an arc this season. He started off as an unlikable douche that was merely an obstacle for Barry, but eventually turned out to be a pretty likable guy. I kind of wish less time had been spent on his relationship with Iris and more time with his desire to be a hero. When Eddie says, "[A hero] is all I ever wanted to be," it came off like that was the conclusion of his character arc. This arc, however, was never really introduced until this episode. While the way Rick Cosnett delivered his final lines did make me teary-eyed, I think that if wanting to be hero had been made more of a focus of Eddie's character, I think his death could have left more of an impact than it did.
- Caitlin Getting No Scene with Wells
While pretty much every scene involving Wells was great, I was disappointed that Caitlin didn't get a private scene with him. I loved the whole family dynamic of STAR Labs that the show has been emphasizing this season, and I feel like that in order to make that leave more of an impact, there needed to be at least one scene with just Caitlin and Wells.
PROS:
- Grant Gustin's Greatest Performance to Date
I think this episode reaffirms why I initially loved Grant Gustin as The Flash. Gustin totally brought his A-game with this episode, especially in the scenes with Jesse Martin and Tom Cavanagh. I think the best and most emotional scene in this episode is when Barry chooses not to save his mom, but still gets to say goodbye to his mom. The way Gustin delivers every line in that scene hit me in all the right places. I can't say that I cry this often watching television, but that scene was hard to watch without feeling the pain Barry was going through. Long story short, this is Gustin's best performance of the entire series. I just hope he can keep it up for season two. If he does, I have high hopes for the future of this show.
- Tom Cavanagh's Greatest Performance to Date
Like with Grant Gustin, this episode contains Tom Cavanagh's best performance on this show. This really shines through since he gets quite a bit of screen time and gets scenes with so many characters. In the scene where he spills the truth to Barry at the beginning of the episode, Cavanagh speaks with great passion about how he sees Present and Future Barry differently. When he speaks with Cisco, the compassion he shows feels creepy, but also quite genuine. When he's yelling at Barry for not saving Nora, you really feel the frustration and anger spilling out as he's ready to vibrate his hand through Barry's heart. I could go on, but I think I make my case. This was such a fantastic performance that when Thawne (played by Matt Letscher) says, "I've controlled your life for so long, Barry. How will you get along without me?", I have to agree. How will Barry get along without him? More importantly, how will the show get along without Tom Cavangh?
One of the things that I really appreciated about this episode was just how much of it was dedicated to the debate over time travel ethics. Now, I will say that the debate could have used some more arguments on the the pro-time-traveling side since there were so many reasons not to change the past. I will also say that it did bother me that no one seemed to bring up the fact that time traveling may result in many people never being born or some people being killed earlier than usual. However, I still appreciated the tremendous time dedicated to a ethical debate that one has to address before ever considering time travel, especially in a drama such as this one.
I probably missed some of them, but I will bring up all the ones I noticed. We saw the original Jay Garrick helmet coming out of the wormhole, hinting that we may actually get to meet him later in the series. He probably won't be the original Flash since Barry seems to be the first one, but he might be from a different time and dimension. Considering that Wells (I know his name is Thawne but he'll always be Wells to me) seemed to know what the helmet was, there's a good chance he has either met or heard about the Jay Garrick Flash. We also saw, within the speed force, an early look at Killer Frost and the Flash Museum. I'm really hoping these two show up in the near future, and I wouldn't be surprised if they actually did. These are all the ones I noticed, other than the Rip Hunter reference, but since we know he will be in
Legends of Tomorrow, that doesn't really feel like an easter egg. If I missed anything, feel free to let me know.
I've always enjoyed the dynamics that Barry has had with his three father figures, and this episode highlights all three of them very well. His scene with Henry Allen helps give Barry perspective on what his mother would have wanted Barry to do. His scenes with Joe show just how much Barry gained despite all his tragedies: "I was born with one father, and that tragedy gave me another." I seriously teared up when Barry said, "Goodbye, dad," to Joe. His scenes with Wells show just how much being around Barry can make even someone like Eobard Thawne grow a strong bond with him. Futhermore, Cisco's father-son relationship with Wells is further reinforced as Well gives him both a family with STAR Labs and his Vibe powers, almost signifying a figurative birth. "A great and honorable destiny awaits you now. I only hope as you're living your great adventure that you remember who gave you that life, and that it was given out of love." That line is not only awesome, but further reinforces Thawne's view of himself as a father to Cisco.
I noticed some pretty cool parallels between the finale and the pilot that illustrate just how far Barry has come since the beginning of the season. First, you have Wells saying, "Run, Barry, run," like he did when Barry was trying to stop the tornado in the pilot. Second, you have Barry saying the lines, "I have to try", before going to stop the wormhole, the same ones he used before going to stop the tornado. Third and finally, Barry has to stop a similar threat to the one in the pilot (an upside down tornado) except on a much larger scale signifying how much he has grown since the pilot and how much more sure he has become of himself.
I kind of already went over this in all the other categories, but I feel like this deserves its own point. This episode is not only one of the best episodes of the season/series so far, but it is without a doubt the most emotional one. There are so many scenes where it's hard not to tear up. I think the most heartbreaking scenes include the scene where Barry says goodbye to Nora, the scene where Eddie dies, and the scene where Barry tells Joe how much he cares about him and how he sees him as a father. There's not much else to say. The actor's performances, including Michelle Harrison as Nora and Jesse Martin as Joe, really elevate the emotions of these scenes really raising this from a great finale to a spectacular finale.
Despite just how emotional and heartbreaking this finale was, I was quite impressed how it still managed to have quite an optimistic ending. When Wells shouts, "You could have had everything you ever wanted," (incredibly well delivered by the way), Barry replies, smiling, "I already do." Despite all the bad things that have happened and all the hard decisions he has had to make, he can still find a way to see the bright side of things. I think this optimism doesn't just show itself at the end, but also permeates the entire episode. When Barry and Joe are discussing the morality of saving Barry's mom in the treadmill room, Barry points out that despite all the bad that has happened to him, he has still had a great life because of Joe. In that manner, I think this episode flawlessly embraces the optimism that I've come to appreciate about this show.
Reflections on Season 1:
With such a fantastic finale, I only have a few minor quibbles with this season. First, the metahumans could have been a lot more interesting. Most of them have been pretty lame with the exception of Wells, Barry, Firestorm and even Plastique. Second, the entire love triangle feels so beneath every other plot in this show; it feels completely unnecessary. Third, Iris was pretty disappointing. She got very little to do except be the unlikable one in a love triangle. Maybe since she knows Barry's secret now, she will have a more interesting role next season. Fourth, the ethics of keeping metahumans illegally imprisoned underneath STAR Labs should have been addressed far earlier in the season, and not in the last episode before the finale.
Other than these issues, however, I thought this season was quite a fun ride. I simply can't wait for season two.
No comments:
Post a Comment