The Flash The Flash Season 2 Episode 1: "The Man Who Saved Central City"

[Lamashtar]

It's so ironic when I think that this episode had some of the major WTH moments that Arrow's Season 3 was infamous for.

I'm talking about how they just had team flash kill Atomic Smasher without giving it an second thought and how they just had Henry leave Barry like that. He may actually take away the title of "Worst Fatherly Decision " from Malcolm.

I wasn't sure if I was bothered unnecessarily over it. I mean, I remember Atom Smasher as a hero. Killed like a punk seemed..pointless. It also seems odd because ARROW is the one with a history of killing. Flash was a cop who followed those rules whenever possible. The furthest Barry stepped out was brainwashing crooks like The Top so he didn't have to kill them. And this was a Big Thing. Now, hero-in-another-universe Atom Smasher is on Barry's kill list.

 

[TheBat812]

Idk... I think this shot takes the title of worst CGI shot for the series. I can't believe any professional approved the usage of this shot, even for TV show standards.

This literally made me do a double take and burst out laughing when I saw it. I thought both Arrow and Flash had some pretty bonehead motivations and writing this week, but Flash was way better than arrow. This shot though felt like a parody shot out of like South Park or something.

 

[herolee10]

Yeah, that shot really stood out like a sore thumb for me.lol

I mean is it really that difficult or expensive to film Amell in a wire harness for a few flight shots?

I also hope that Season 2 doesn't end up reusing several old closeup shots of Barry running too many times.

I mean the dude has a modified mask and the white emblem now so it'll be pretty noticeable to spot the season 1 shots if they were to use them again. I'm not trying to be nitpicking and I know that they're working on a television budget but there's a difference between working on a limited budget and being downright sloppy and lazy with the final product.

 

[Loki882]

It's not even so much that Barry killed that bugs me. It's his and the others almost total non-reaction for it. If they had played it like, he felt like he HAD to do it, it was his first time, and he (and the others) feel really bad about it, then I could have probably accepted that.

Still wish that it'd been a different character though.

 

[HighFivingMF]

This literally made me do a double take and burst out laughing when I saw it.

I think you just outed yourself as The Flash since only he would be able to do a double take at a single-second shot before reacting.

 

[signalman]

When Jay appeared at the end, I was hoping he would ask Team Flash this question,
"Can I have my Helmet back?".

 

[gugumugats]

I'm thinking the Flash killing Atom Smasher was part of Zoom's plan to "make him a better hero"

It'll probably come into play for the next couple of episodes.

 

[Norek]

Like seriously, worst ~48 frames ever. Absolutely awful. I laughed a lot when I saw that thing.

EDIT: everything else was ok, though

No, not it wasn't... Those Atom Smasher scenes were cringe-worthy...

All in all, the premiere had a couple of good moments, but the majority of it was very, very mediocre. I hope the new season only goes up from here and not decrease it's quality even further.

 

[Mask&Cape]

A great episode but a very unsatisfactory handling of Henry release from prison.

After 14 years locked away from his son, he ups and leaves straight away?

He fears he'll be in the way of Barry "being all he can be"?

That is ridiculous. He is who he is because he has been trying to help his father.

It seems more likely that the writers simply didn't want to go to the effort of incorporating Henry into the cast and that he get in the way of the father/son relationship between Joe and Barry.

Shoddy thinking. Henry's release and reunion with Barry should be a much bigger deal. It would have been great to see Henry try to readjust to freedom and the impact it would have on The Flash. We could have Barry get distracted from his crime fighting by spending time with his father, Henry unable to handle life in the city and then around episode 3 or 4 comes the time when Henry decides that he needs to get away.

They may as well have left him in prison. It would at least have made more sense.

Other than that it was fantastic, though I didn't enjoy as much I normally do due to be interrupted every five minutes by some drams or other in the real world.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

I liked the episodes, but yeah, a lot of problems this week imo. The biggest being the whole situation with Henry. That is something he would have come to the conclusion of over a few weeks, not fresh out of jail. It was rather embarrassing writing imo. The first real example on this show imo.

 

[Lantern Venom]

A great episode but a very unsatisfactory handling of Henry release from prison.

After 14 years locked away from his son, he ups and leaves straight away?

He fears he'll be in the way of Barry "being all he can be"?

That is ridiculous. He is who he is because he has been trying to help his father.

P

It does make sense for Henry to want distance between the two of them for awhile. He's a man with freedom, but no real life. He's been in one place for over a decade and everything he's seeing once again in the city must remind him of his dead wife. Barry is seemingly ready to sacrifice many aspects of his own life to help Henry rebuild his sense of self. Henry presumably feels that Barry has already given too much of himself in trying to free Henry, so now Henry wants to regain his footing in the world without using his son as a crutch to do so.

Of course, the dialogue should have been much stronger to convey this. That exchange was much too brief. Perhaps Henry's motivations will be fleshed out better in the next couple of episodes.

 

[mr. peasant]

lol Iris' advice. "if you keep getting no for an answer, stop asking"

Late to the party but I definitely lol'd at just how it's such bad advice.

When will people learn that "no means no"?

 

[BestGirl]

I can't figure out why the writers didn't emphasize that Barry can easily visit Henry wherever he goes unless it's across an ocean. Henry moving to the other side of the country should be like an ordinary father moving top the other side of town.

 

[3dman27]

agreed

 

[Lantern Venom]

I can't figure out why the writers didn't emphasize that Barry can easily visit Henry wherever he goes unless it's across an ocean. Henry moving to the other side of the country should be like an ordinary father moving top the other side of town.

Great point. I hadn't thought about that.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

This is what makes the decision so head scratching. We have been with Barry on this quest to free his father from the giddyup, and damn, Gustin and Shipp have really sold us on the relationship and connection because they didn't have any scenes that were bad or had a false not in them in season one. We were all on board and invested in this part of the show. It's mind boggling that the show runners couldn't see how this would not only be a let down but a missed opportunity.


Instead, in many ways, the status quo hasn't been changed from last season in terms of Barry and Henry. This would have been a chance to move forward with that relationship and explore some new things, at least for a little bit. Have Henry take up some room in Barry's life, see how both adjust. What we seem to have now is not too different to season one. Barry will occasionally run over to see Henry, but that will essentially be a moment or two in whatever episode it happens in, and Henry will agian be disconnected from that episode's main plot. Let's put it this way... We have no Thawne and no Eddy and no Ronnie. Even adding in Jay, that still means a nice chunk of screen time would have been opened up. They could have fit Henry in there somewhere.

 

[Loki882]

It also makes Henry look really bad. Also, I don't get this idea that "Barry cannot be the Flash if his dad's around" that the show keeps pushing, it makes no sense. He has LOTS of other people around him that he loves/cares about, and that hasn't stopped him from being the Flash (including a second father figure in Joe). So what is it about Henry that's so different, the show has yet to answer that question?

Really when he asked that question, Barry's immediate answer should have been "YES, YES I CAN!!" He just accepts it way too quickly/easily.

 

[kedrell]

I thought the episode was ok. Nothing special but it was really lopsided with the interpersonal stuff as the highlight and all the superhero stuff being rather abysmal.

Gave it a 7/10 ultimately.

 

[herolee10]

It also makes Henry look really bad. Also, I don't get this idea that "Barry cannot be the Flash if his dad's around" that the show keeps pushing, it makes no sense. He has LOTS of other people around him that he loves/cares about, and that hasn't stopped him from being the Flash (including a second father figure in Joe). So what is it about Henry that's so different, the show has yet to answer that question?

Really when he asked that question, Barry's immediate answer should have been "YES, YES I CAN!!" He just accepts it way too quickly/easily.

Hopefully, it'll be addressed later on in the season and presented as being a mistake that Henry realized that he made. I mean if the show had Joe bringing up our issues with the meta prison in Season 1 then maybe they'll do the same here.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

It airs tonight in the UK, I liked the episode but it was a bit jumbled and some things seemed a bit rushed, especially Ronnie's fate and Henry deciding the leave at the end. The latter didn't make sense to me and I see I am not the only one, if anything after 14 years he should have wanted a bigger part in his sons life.

Had he said he couldn't stay there because it reminded him of his wife's death it would have made more sense.

I also thought the resolution of last season was rushed and 'the team' got back together a bit easily.

Thankfully, they still got most of the emotional stuff right which was a strong point last season, and everyone is still great in their roles, with Joe again being a highlight. I always said last season would be hard to top, but hopefully the only way is up for the rest of the season.

 

[Loki882]

I didn't care for the whole "team breaks up, Barry tries to go it alone" thing either. And I especially didn't buy the explanation for it.

 

[vantheman77]

Maybe this episode should be appropriately titled, The Men Who Saved Central City as it's referred to Eddie Thawne and Ronnie Raymond. All Barry did was cause the singularity.

There could have been better ways to write the premiere. Make it similar to the Smallville episode, Vortex.

 

[Mask&Cape]

It does make sense for Henry to want distance between the two of them for awhile. He's a man with freedom, but no real life. He's been in one place for over a decade and everything he's seeing once again in the city must remind him of his dead wife. Barry is seemingly ready to sacrifice many aspects of his own life to help Henry rebuild his sense of self. Henry presumably feels that Barry has already given too much of himself in trying to free Henry, so now Henry wants to regain his footing in the world without using his son as a crutch to do so.

Of course, the dialogue should have been much stronger to convey this. That exchange was much too brief. Perhaps Henry's motivations will be fleshed out better in the next couple of episodes.

Yes, it obviously isn't just going to be just left there like that but it is still a ridiculous way to deal with.

Barry's relationship with Henry and his quest to free him was such a big part of season one that we should be getting some payoff upon his release. We should be shown over a few episodes how Henry tries to adjust to his new life, we should actually see him start to feel he is getting in the way of Barry's superhero life or how he worries so much that he gets in the way, etc. In fact, it could even have been done in the Family of Rogues episode - Barry dealing with his dad / Snart dealing with his, etc.

The way it was handled just seems to imply that the writers wanted the Henry story resolved but didn't want the added task of integrating him into the story for even a short time.

 

[Avenging Angel]

Maybe this episode should be appropriately titled, The Men Who Saved Central City as it's referred to Eddie Thawne and Ronnie Raymond. All Barry did was cause the singularity.

There could have been better ways to write the premiere. Make it similar to the Smallville episode, Vortex.

I'm on a current re-watch of Smallville and I don't know if the show is going to borrow anything else from them like they had in season 1. Maybe the solid elements that made Smallville memorable.

 

[Mask&Cape]

Maybe this episode should be appropriately titled, The Men Who Saved Central City as it's referred to Eddie Thawne and Ronnie Raymond. All Barry did was cause the singularity.

There could have been better ways to write the premiere. Make it similar to the Smallville episode, Vortex.

Because no one the main characters actually know what really happened.

The reason it was calleb "The Man" ... rather than "The Men..." is because the city was celebrating the hero it knows about, plus the burden and guilt that Barry carries from the event and not being able to tell the public.

And The Flash is far superior to Smallville in every way. As is Arrow and Supergirl.

And I liked Smallville.