"The Flash (2014)" Season Four Talkback (Spoilers)

[Dudley]

Harry was dumb in this episode. Iris managed to be useful in this episode (for a change) by doing a little investigative work, and she told Harry to test that Embiggening Ray before using it, and he didn’t, and almost got Cisco and Ralph killed. For a guy who claims to be such a genius, that was a really stupid move. Which is apparently what these shows need to create drama and add stakes to this show.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[hobbyfan]

@Fone Bone: It was Iris who had Ralph stuck to her shoe, not Caitlin. Either way, it was one of the few bright spots in this episode. The slapstick comedy didn't completely balance out the incompetence in the writing, though.

 

[Fone Bone]

@Fone Bone: It was Iris who had Ralph stuck to her shoe, not Caitlin. Either way, it was one of the few bright spots in this episode. The slapstick comedy didn't completely balance out the incompetence in the writing, though.

Thanks. Off to edit my review!

 

[hobbyfan]

Where to begin?

Devoe transfers his mind from Dominic to Becky? WTH? This is just piling on the stupid. Wolfe gets killed, or so it'd seem. Amunet escapes again. Ralph pulls the biggest disguise of his life to get Barry sprung.

I get that Barry still wants to do the right thing and stay in prison, but.....!

Next episode in 3 weeks due to the Olympics. CW doesn't want to risk losing viewers by running new episodes for the duration.

 

[Road to Gotham]

I am surprised they have another money in the budget to bring back all those villains.
DeVoe would pick Hazard, who has one most annoying voices right behind Gilbert Gottfried.

Comic Book Ralph was never able to morph his body to look like another person.
I guess stretching wasn't good enough for the writers and the producers.

 

[Fone Bone]

The Flash "True Colors"

What does the episode title have to do with anything?

I'm glad Barry is out of prison, but it strikes me as incredibly odd that they had to go through all of those supernatural hoops to "clear" him in the first place. The case itself was hardly rock solid. If you need a plastic guy to impersonate the dude you murdered with all of the evidence that Barry was actually framed in play, you might be a bad lawyer.

Speaking of Cecile, I just remembered something. Devoe now has psychic powers. I thought that was an insurmountable advantage until I remembered that Cecile just got them too. They better defeat Devoe before the baby comes. Because I think that will be the key.

Richard Brooks was so much fun when he was playing Ralph. The guy is so talented. He deserved a much bigger career than the one he got.

I was sad what happened to Hazard and the other prisoners, but it was inevitable. Simply because they found out Barry was the Flash, and anyone who ever does pretty much has to go. Amunet is very lucky she didn't get that far, or she'd be dead too.

Speaking of which, I'm wondering why Wolf didn't tell Amunet Barry was the Flash. That's something she probably would have wanted to know ahead of time, especially since he himself hinted she'd see Barry as valuable. The only reason I can think of is that the producers wanted to use her again, and if she learned the identity, she'd have to be killed off. But I assume she would have paid top-dollar for the Flash, if only to kill him rather than sell him. Wolf completely missed out on a huge financial opportunity.

I am unsure why Devoe still has psychic powers if he is in Hazard, but that's bad. If he can absorb the powers of everyone he takes over and keep them, we are in trouble. Hazard was probably the most powerful and useful Meta on that bus. The only hope Team Flash has is that when Devoe next switches bodies, that power doesn't switch over too. But it's the fact that he/she's still psychic which worries me.

Wasn't this the exact same judge who told Barry at sentencing that he had never seen a more heartless or coldblooded killer in all his time on the bench? In Central Freaking City? I hope he now feels precisely like the dumbass he is.

There should have been a last scene of Barry leaving his cell. Maybe there was, and it was deleted, and will be on the Blu-Ray, but just based on the fact that it was Henry's cell, and father and son had both carved their names on the same wall, there should have been wrap-up about that.

Fun episode. I'm glad Barry's out of jail. It wasn't too soon, and it didn't last too long. I was worried that he was going to be stuck there til the end of the season. I am mostly happy with that. ****.

 

[hobbyfan]

I am surprised they have another money in the budget to bring back all those villains.
DeVoe would pick Hazard, who has one most annoying voices right behind Gilbert Gottfried.

Comic Book Ralph was never able to morph his body to look like another person.
I guess stretching wasn't good enough for the writers and the producers.

Not even Plastic Man could do that, either, although over at Marvel, Reed Richards did morph his face into that of one of the Mole Man's subhuman lackeys back in the 70's.

The whole idea of Barry leading the villains out struck me as odd, although trying to redeem Becky was a good idea. Now Becky's stuck with Devoe's mind in her body. This will not end well.

 

[Otaku-sempai]

Comic Book Ralph was never able to morph his body to look like another person.
I guess stretching wasn't good enough for the writers and the producers.

It's a logical extension of Ralph's stretching ability; albeit one that would require great concentration and fine control. I'm waiting for the explanation for how Ralph managed to match Wolfe's skin tone.

 

[The Penguin]

The Flash is back! Right now on The CW.

"Subject 9"
Tuesday, February 27, 2018 @ 8 p.m. ET/7 CT on The CW
Barry meets a powerful woman whose abilities could help him in his battle with DeVoe.

 

[Road to Gotham]

The number thing that drives me crazy while watching FLASH is when Barry just stands around looking dumbfounded as he was
during the scene where Thinker captures Izzy/Fiddler.
There are all sorts of ways Flash should have been able to save her.

The way Thinker body hops from body to body, reminds of the comic book version of the ULTRA-HUMANITE.
Maybe before the season is over DeVoe will take over Grodd's or Solovar's body.
http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Ultra-Humanite_(New_Earth)

 

[Fone Bone]

The Flash “Subject 9”

Y’know, I was enjoying the episode until they killed the Fiddler off. It was a mistake, and even if I won’t give the episode a negative score for it, it’s not a great episode anymore, and it could have been.

My problem with this episode and this season is the exact same problem as season three: Team Flash is not getting enough wins. Things are starting to feel hopeless. Not as hopeless and dark as season three. But despair should never be a prevailing mindset for a TV show featuring the Flash. Even one season of doing it was too much. But if this is the new normal, the show is worse for it.

I liked Iris saying to Ralph “You nasty.” Candice Patton is a beautiful, strong, black woman, and I love whenever the writers allow her to talk like one. That was hilarious.

I also appreciated Ralph hiring Barry at the end. It sort of made a perfect symmetry to not only how Ralph lost his job, but how he joined Team Flash too. And I love Barry making sure to point out that their situations were not actually equivalent, because Ralph DID actually break the law. That was kind of funny.

I love that Iris initially thinks Barry is being too hard on the Fiddler because he wants her to be a hero, and he reveals it’s simply because he knows what big a danger she is actually in. Honestly, I think Barry was right all along, and just because she made the bad decision to leave on her own, doesn’t mean Barry was responsible for her making that decision. A lot of it had to frankly do with ego, which is not something Barry has any control over. I love that Barry is the kind of wonderful guy who takes responsibility for the bad things that happen under his watch whenever he makes a decision. But that bad thing was not actually on him.

Mrs. Devoe suspects something is wrong with Devoe’s brainpower. I suspect she is right.

Harry’s stuff with Cecile was fun. I don’t much like Cecile, but she makes Harry uncomfortable. which is pretty much money in the bank comedy gold. Tom Cavanaugh is pretty much this show’s MVP for this reason.

Cisco says he can’t name the Meta Soundwave because Transformers came up with it first. But if Cisco NEVER named a Meta something that wasn’t previously named by a Transformer, I’d be shocked. They are all puns based upon metal gearhead things, and they are usually so simple that Hasbro cannot trademark them. You can’t trademark the name Jazz or Bumblebee. And there are hundreds of them And I would be surprised if Cisco never used a Transformer name. I’d be even MORE surprise if the Flash comics never used a name that was later used on Transformers either. Bumblebee IS a DC hero after all.

Seriously. Didn’t Cisco name a Meta Mirage at one point? Am I wrong in remembering that?

I would have loved the episode if it hadn’t wound up bumming me out so much. ***1/2.

 

[Otaku-sempai]

I also appreciated Ralph hiring Barry at the end. It sort of made a perfect symmetry to not only how Ralph lost his job, but how he joined Team Flash too. And I love Barry making sure to point out that their situations were not actually equivalent, because Ralph DID actually break the law. That was kind of funny.

Barry wasn't exactly a paragon of virtue. No, he didn't murder DeVoe, but he was caught illegally trespassing inside the DeVoe home without a warrant (and idiotically out of costume).

It was frustrating seeing Flash and the others just standing by while DeVoe took the Fiddler without at least trying to find a way to save her. Barry is giving in to despair far too easily.

 

[Fone Bone]

Barry wasn't exactly a paragon of virtue. No, he didn't murder DeVoe, but he was caught illegally trespassing inside the DeVoe home without a warrant (and idiotically out of costume).

But that's not explicitly why he was kicked off the force. But you're right that it was super dumb.

 

[hobbyfan]

Just got done watching this On Demand because I didn't feel up to watching on Tuesday.

Ok, apparently I'm the only one in this group who watches Sunday Night Football because the song Izzy played, "Something Bad's About to Happen", is a derivative of Carrie Underwood's "Sunday Night's About to Happen". Recognized the beat right away.

That said, Thinker swapping bodies again is getting old real fast. Now he takes over Izzy's body and will kill her off, draining what's left of her life force like he did with Becky & Brainstorm. Road to Gotham opined that this Thinker is actually a rebooted Ultra-Humanite using Devoe's name and persona, merging two Golden Age villains together. U-H was a JSA/Superman foe, not as much a Flash foe. Still hate the gimmick.

What could've stopped this was Thinker cloning himself. For someone who's supposed to be a genius, he (and the idiot writers) didn't think of that option. Then all he has to do is drain the powers from the bus metas (Ralph still has to watch out), and leave them alive--sort of.

I swear, the writing on this show is getting worse. Just like seasons 3-4 of Arrow. Can we send them copies of some Santayana books?

 

[The Penguin]

The Flash is on right now!

"Enter Flashtime"
Tuesday, March 6, 2018 @ 8 p.m. ET/7 CT on The CW
When a nuclear bomb detonates in downtown Central City, Barry, Jesse Quick and Jay Garrick slow down time by entering Flashtime.

 

[hobbyfan]

Essentially, Jay is retiring. Fine. I wouldn't have minded him being on Legends instead of Wally and/or Jessie (with the latter making the switch very shortly).

At least, this was a switch from the bus meta du jour, but I am sick of Barry having to feel helpless until the last possible second. The writing is lazy like that.

 

[TnAdct1]

At least, this was a switch from the bus meta du jour, but I am sick of Barry having to feel helpless until the last possible second. The writing is lazy like that.

Meanwhile, I am sick of the writers trying to force "Iris is the Flash" on us (in this case, here being the one who eventually helps Barry with the nuclear bomb situation). Once it became apparent that this episode was going to go this route, I basically changed it to wrestling and kept it on there until the last few minutes of the episode.

Sorry, but good female heroes come naturally, with the way Iris is being handled this season NOT being the way to go (not sure if next week's "DNA switch" plot will make things better or worse).

 

[Road to Gotham]

Why do they always make Jay useless?
He did nothing in this episode except suggest that Central City should be destroyed and the speed force saved.
Really a missed opportunity.
I thought having Shipp also being Jay was a brilliant move at the time.
But they are wasting his talents.

Don't the writers read the comics?
Comic Book FLASH writers have thought of all sorts of cool stuff that Jay and Barry do together.

Shipp himself has an idea for his character, one I wouldn't mind seeing. Only if its set on Earth-3 and
Barry and Friends are off that episode.

https://www.cbr.com/flash-tv-john-wesley-shipp-earth-3-story/

 

[Fone Bone]

The Flash “Enter Flashtime”

That was a little bit awesome.

I don’t tend to like standalone episodes of serialized shows, but that was a notable exception.

Theory: Devoe orchestrated what he did to get that power sphere out of the Speedforce. He doesn’t seem to do anything without a reason, and setting off a nuke doesn’t make much sense unless he believes he can get something much more important out of it.

Killer Frost is worried about Caitlin? I wonder what that’s about. I hate the Daffy Girl for interrupting her and Harry, but that’s why she did. They seem to be hinting she’s a villain, but I still can’t quite figure out what villain she could be. Is she connected to Devoe? TBD...

My favorite bit at the end was Harry sharing his thoughts with Jessie. I thought Jessie was being pretty unfair to him all throughout the episode. You can’t have someone else process their grief on your personal clock. And the problem is that Harry can’t talk about it, and probably never will be able to. So, genius that he is, he finds away around that. And I loved that moment and think it was one of the best moments of the season. Tom Cavanuagh continues to be this show’s MVP.

Interested about the potential female Flash on Earth 3. Good to see Jay again, and liked that he was totally surprised by the trick of Barry being able to bring other people into Flashtime. I was surprised at his surprise. I did not expect that move to be considered unprecedented.

Great episode. One of the best so far this season. *****.

Edit:

Wow, people disliked this episode? I thought the scene at the end between Harry and Jessie was the best scene of the season. I looks like I value very different things in the Arrowverse than most fanboys. I am comfortable with defending my opinions, but it kind of bums me out that they will probably wind up really unpopular on Toon Zone.

 

[hobbyfan]

Why do they always make Jay useless?
He did nothing in this episode except suggest that Central City should be destroyed and the speed force saved.
Really a missed opportunity.
I thought having Shipp also being Jay was a brilliant move at the time.
But they are wasting his talents.

Don't the writers read the comics?
Comic Book FLASH writers have thought of all sorts of cool stuff that Jay and Barry do together.

Shipp himself has an idea for his character, one I wouldn't mind seeing. Only if its set on Earth-3 and
Barry and Friends are off that episode.

https://www.cbr.com/flash-tv-john-wesley-shipp-earth-3-story/

Apparently, reading the source material is NOT a priority with the writers of these shows. If it was, we wouldn't be so stressed out over the quality of writing.

Let's bear in mind, too, RTG, that while some Golden Age characters have been used (Jay) or reimagined (Fiddler, who was wasted by the idiot writers), the basic template is anything that has been written or overseen by Geoff Johns during his tenure at DC over the last nearly 20 years, mostly from the New 52 era to the present. That said, the writers are ignoring a lot of Silver Age material that could be used to make sense of things. Barry's supposed to be a smart guy, not this emo goof he's become.