The Flash The Flash Season 1, Episode 5 "Plastique" General Discussion

[Rorschach2012]

Decent episode, but they should let Iris know Barry's secret, if she doesn't by the end of the season, is going to get as annoying as Lana not knowing Clark's secret in Smallville, they should avoid the same mistake. Like some have pointed out, Barry in love with his foster sister was not the show's best idea, it's a stupid unnecessary change, the comics version of Iris is much better. Between the whole Oliver sleeping with the sister of his girlfriend and this, it seems the producers are a little twisted to say the least.

They have also failed to make Iris interesting, Chloe (Smallville) had more personality and was better written, and before being a reporter, Lois was already badass. Also, after five episodes, there's nothing interesting about Eddie so far. And before the freaks of the week get too old, they should try to be more serialized from the second half of the season onwards. The sooner they fix what's not working, the better.

I'm loving Iris in this show. The Wests in general are both awesomely acted and written. I like the changes made to Iris personally

 

[Human Torch]

I'm having a hard time seeing how they could bring Plastique back.All things are possible,of course.But it'd seem more contrived then -say- Multiplex,who has more or less a convincing alibi for returning.

 

[godisawesome]

If she returned, it'd be just a bit harder than, say, Deadshot surviving that shot to his eye or Merlyn surviving the arrow to his chest. Her injuries were portrayed as more damaging than either of them, but her body was given an exit that might act as an excuse for how she could have been retrieved. The blood and explosion are a major scale of magnitude above arrow wounds, but both Merlyn and Deadshot got no explanation for how they're deaths weren't immediately confirmed on site, at least until this season for the former.

If they were, showing her having physical trauma from the event would soften the blow a bit.

And I want to state that probably the most engaging thing about the Iris and Flash scene was how very different it was from Arrow's version. Barry's reverb is higher pitched and almost childish in a way, and the whole thing was much more friendly and endearing than any of the usual Arrow stuff.

 

[mkilban2]

I explained what/who Grodd is and what that final scene meant to my 13 year old brother who watches the show with me and he thinks Grodd is the dumbest thing ever. I can't really blame him, I don't much see the interest either. Is the appeal just because he's an ape over a human?

 

[Human Torch]

I don't get the resistance to Grodd.It's sci-fi.If you can't deal with a POTA character on a show where a guy runs really fast,I don't know what to tell ya.

 

[haephestus]

An okay episode.

At least we now know that Barry doesn't live with Joe and Iris since he visits their home to do his washing. I still want to know where he does live though. Does he just sleep in his lab? Does he sleep at STAR labs?

I thought Plastique was a little wasted. And that her powers were poorly explained. Surely she had some level of control, otherwise whenever she tried to dress herself, all her clothes would blow up. So, Cisco and Caitlin could have offered to teach her how to gain greater control of her abilities. Or, she could have just moved to a cold climate and worn gloves all the time. It seemed quite a stretch to believe that Bette would go from wanting to be cured to being willing to kill herself in an attempt to kill the General.

It seemed like Wells was able to manipulate her far too easily. It actually would have been a little more interesting to see Bette accept an offer to join ARGUS. Or for Wells to be revealed to be somewhat in cahoots with Waller (or a past history between them).

Also, when are all these meta-humans developing their abilities. Did everyone's abilities only kick in 9 months after the explosion? Or did they develop their abilities directly after the explosion? Sticking Barry in a coma for nine months seems like a really odd decision in hindsight. Just what was Bette doing for nine months? Did it take her that long to locate the office with her file and to then use the information in the file to find the doctor that saved her life? Did Cisco and Caitlin really just do such a poor job of tracking down meta-humans before Barry awoke from his coma that they didn't find a single one?

And I thought it was incredibly lame that Iris didn't recognise Barry when they were on the rooftop. Or even when she first saw The Streak/Flash when he saved the window washer (and do people really wash windows at night?). Sure, he blurred his face SOME of the time and vaguely disguised his voice, but come on. He's got the right build, the same chin and mouth and he shows up right around the same time as her best friend/adopted brother wakes up from a mysterious coma and starts acting oddly, keeping secrets and spending a lot of his free time at STAR labs with a bunch of scientists. The same best friend/adopted brother who has also been telling stories about a mysterious, murdering blur for most of his life.

It would be great if in the next episode or two Iris just tells Barry to drop the act and accuses him of believing that she must be stupid to not realise that he's The Streak/Flash. I really do NOT want a drawn-out reveal with Iris dating Detective Pretty Boy, falling for The Streak/Flash and remaining oblivious of Barry's romantic interest in her.

The General and Wells stuff was somewhat interesting. If only because it showed that Wells used to have some dubious morals, at least as far as it concerned creating future enemies for The Flash. And Grodd! It's going to be so awesome seeing Gorilla Grodd realised in live action and I'm sure Cisco will have a field day with the idea of his speedster buddy having to battle a super-intelligent monkey.

 

[lililatigresse]

a few things:

- God, Danielle Panabaker is a terrible actress! I mean, I hate saying this all time but Jesus, she's fraking terrible!
- I wish CW would hire actors based on their talent and not their appearance. That being said, i still think they need to stop killing the villains.
- I really like Grant Gustin, he's not the best actor but he's really likable.
- I'm usually indifferent to Iris/Barry but I actually liked them in this episode, I saw chemistry in the roof scene.
- Ok, time to change the formula with Wells. It's becoming tiring fast.

 

[Silliminite]

Loved the episode. One of the best of the series so far, it continues to be excellent.
And the ending was goosebumps-inducing.

 

[Rowen]

I've awnsered my only question. I was wandering when grodd will show up, I wonder if flash will fight him.

 

[Monsieur Xavier]

Nice, wall and water walking in the same episode !

Nitpick : please show runners drop The Streak nickname, it's lame and revive bad memory about this other show with The Blur, call the guy The Flask The Flash already, even in Arrow the guy is called The Arrow, he's not Green yet but still, even his sidekick was called Arsenal and not Weapon Rack or Ammunition Crate.

 

[Nathan]

*sigh* .... He gets his name in Episode 6. The show has only started. It's not like the show is already in its 3rd Season like Arrow, or 10th like Smallville. And just after a few weeks he'll already get his proper Superhero name.

 

[Monsieur Xavier]

That's why I wrote : nitpick ....

 

[terry78]

If he was called the Flask I doubt he'd be able to run at all.

 

[Monsieur Xavier]

LOL yes ! I will correct that

 

[Nathan]

That's why I wrote : nitpick ....

I guess I'm just annoyed at people complaining about this particular bit, when we already know when he'll get his proper name. And it's not like they trying to prevent the use of the name as long as they possibly can. The show is already called the Flash, we had newspaper page, and Harrison Wells called him the Flash already as well. It's just that early in his career, he tried to remain hidden. And already in Episode 6, that will probably be over and he'll be a public figure. Or only Iris will use the new name on her blog. But he'll stop being the Streak.

 

[Monsieur Xavier]

We're cool, no problem, I didn't know it was a dead horse topic already and since I don't post much well, I said it now

 

[Broseph44]

I explained what/who Grodd is and what that final scene meant to my 13 year old brother who watches the show with me and he thinks Grodd is the dumbest thing ever. I can't really blame him, I don't much see the interest either. Is the appeal just because he's an ape over a human?

The appeal is that we are comic fans and excited to see it brought to life on TV. But haven't I seen you post somewhere on the boards that you hate comics and find them silly, and prefer the TV or movie versions of the comic world? Or am I thinking of someone else haha.

 

[BestGirl]

a few things:

- God, Danielle Panabaker is a terrible actress! I mean, I hate saying this all time but Jesus, she's fraking terrible!

I don't have any problems with Caitlin. The woman playing Plastique, however, was extraordinarily bland for the most part.

- I wish CW would hire actors based on their talent and not their appearance. That being said, i still think they need to stop killing the villains.

Assuming Plastique is really dead. I'm sure the writers can find way to bring her back to life if need be.

- I really like Grant Gustin, he's not the best actor but he's really likable.
- I'm usually indifferent to Iris/Barry but I actually liked them in this episode, I saw chemistry in the roof scene.

Agreed that Gustin is wonderful.

I can't figure out why Iris is still being kept in the dark, though. Even now that she's putting herself in danger by signing her name to her blog they still won't tell her. It makes no sense.

- Ok, time to change the formula with Wells. It's becoming tiring fast.

I thought they did something interesting with his character this week, making it clear he wasn't a total bad guy. He has some scruples that Eiling doesn't.

 

[BestGirl]

I thought Plastique was a little wasted. And that her powers were poorly explained. Surely she had some level of control, otherwise whenever she tried to dress herself, all her clothes would blow up. So, Cisco and Caitlin could have offered to teach her how to gain greater control of her abilities. Or, she could have just moved to a cold climate and worn gloves all the time. It seemed quite a stretch to believe that Bette would go from wanting to be cured to being willing to kill herself in an attempt to kill the General.

I had the same questions after watching the episode. I guess this is like "Why doesn't the Flash just bum rush most of his villains?" You aren't supposed to think about it.

 

[Nathan]

I can't figure out why Iris is still being kept in the dark, though. Even now that she's putting herself in danger by signing her name to her blog they still won't tell her. It makes no sense.

Yeah, it makes no logical sense. It's annoying to know that the only reason they won't tell her, is to have more...

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[Mr.X]

I don't get the resistance to Grodd.It's sci-fi.If you can't deal with a POTA character on a show where a guy runs really fast,I don't know what to tell ya.

lol this. I don't even read comics so had to look up what Grodd is, and still don't mind them going for it. So you guys accept a guy who can run superfast, run up buildings and on water, vibrate through objects, but y'all draw the line at a talking gorilla?

 

[mkilban2]

The appeal is that we are comic fans and excited to see it brought to life on TV. But haven't I seen you post somewhere on the boards that you hate comics and find them silly, and prefer the TV or movie versions of the comic world? Or am I thinking of someone else haha.

no, that's me haha! I mean I have no real problem with it, it's scifi and superheroes, there's gunna be silly stuff. It's just so out of place to me with Flash, but I guess it's just something that's been around forever so I'll see how I like it on screen. I'm sure I won't have a problem.

 

[Orb]

 

[p4poetic]

a few things:

- God, Danielle Panabaker is a terrible actress! I mean, I hate saying this all time but Jesus, she's fraking terrible!
- I wish CW would hire actors based on their talent and not their appearance. That being said, i still think they need to stop killing the villains.
- I really like Grant Gustin, he's not the best actor but he's really likable.
- I'm usually indifferent to Iris/Barry but I actually liked them in this episode, I saw chemistry in the roof scene.
- Ok, time to change the formula with Wells. It's becoming tiring fast.

She doesn't seem very expressive.

 

[Boy Scout]

lol this. I don't even read comics so had to look up what Grodd is, and still don't mind them going for it. So you guys accept a guy who can run superfast, run up buildings and on water, vibrate through objects, but y'all draw the line at a talking gorilla?

It's not the fact that he's s talking gorilla; it's that he's been realized on a (so far admittedly impressive) TV budget.