The Flash Season 2 Episode 4 "The Fury of Firestorm" - Recap and Review

After a somewhat boring episode 2, the series returns to its former glory with a great episode. Dr. Martin Stein (Victor Garber) is not doing well, now that Ronnie Raymond (Robbie Amell) is gone after sacrificing his life.

Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker) has two potential replacements in mind: Henry Hewitt (Demore Barnes) and Jefferson 'Jax' Jackson (Franz Drameh). The two people could not be more different - Henry is an egotistic and ambitious scientist while Jax is a laid-back and self-effacing mechanic. Guess who will eventually replace Ronnie?

Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) is in favor of Jax and Caitilin prefers Henry, since he happens to be a scientist too. However, Jax is reluctant and this helps Henry Hewitt get the first shot at becoming the fire-spouting superhero. Hewitt is disappointed when he is unable to successfully merge with Dr Stein.

There are numerous subplots in this episode. Patty Spivot (Shantel VanSanten) informs Barry that she believes that a shark has been seen walking on land. Barry is skeptical of this fact.

Francine West (Vanessa Williams), the ex-wife of Detective Joe West (Jesse L. Martin), reveals that she is dying of a fatal illness. She wants to spend time with her daughter, Iris West (Candice Patton) before she passes away.

To top it all, Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh) seems to be back....

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As I had remarked in my review of the first episode “The Man Who Saved Central City”, Victor Garber makes a great Dr. Martin Stein. He brings warmth and humor to the role. This episode benefits greatly by focusing on Dr Stein.

Both Demore Barnes and Franz Drameh are excellent as Henry Hewitt and Jefferson 'Jax' Jackson respectively.

The other crucial aspect is the growing affection that Barry feels for Patty Spivot. This almost costs him his life, when he is ambushed by the hulking Killer Shark as he is admiring Patty from afar. Patty tries to save Barry by shooting at the behemoth but bullets have no effect on him. A stranger steps up just in time to save the day. He turns out to be none other than Harrison Wells himself.

Speaking of Killer Shark, he is more of a DC Universe supervillain rather than being more of a Flash archenemy like the Reverse Flash or Captain Cold or Gorilla Grodd. Fans of DC Comics based adaptations would remember seeing an animated version of King Shark (voiced by John DiMaggio) in Batman: Assault on Arkham (B:AoA). B:AoA is by the way, hands down one of the best DC Universe Animated Original Movies and is definitely worth a look.

The episode also featured strong aspects of horror. In addition to the Killer Shark, the transformed Franz Drameh as Firestorm sports ghostly white eyes. As a fan of the horror genre, I enjoyed these touches.

On the acting front, most of the cast members score well. The exception would be Candice Patton who goes a bit overboard as Iris West in her scene with her mother, Francine West.

*---------------------------------- Potential Spoilers ahead ------------------------------------------*








Shantel VanSanten is shaping up to be a strong presence as Patty Spivot. After watching her character in the season opener, I was not sure if she would be an ally or a foe for Flash. This episode gives ample evidence that Patty Spivot may be more than what meets Barry's eyes. She is the one who provides him the information about a walking shark man. It is when Barry comes to watch her that Killer Shark attacks him. This made me think that Zoom had sent her to help ambush the Flash. I am curious to see if my hunch proves to be right...





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Recommended watch to fans of The Flash/DC Comics.

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The Flash Season 2 Episode 1 "The Man Who Saved Central City" - Recap and Review

The Season 2 opener starts with a quick recap of the first season: Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) develops powers of superspeed as a result of the explosion at S.T.A.R. Labs. His mentor, Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh) turns out to be the villainous Reverse Flash/Zoom. Eddie Thawne (Rick Cosnett) sacrifices his life in order to stop Reverse Flash from killing Flash.

In Season one's cliffhanger ending, Flash is seen racing to save the city from destruction. Turns out that the real hero of the day was Ronnie Raymond (Robbie Amell). Come to think of it, the fiances of both Iris West (Candice Patton) and Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker) lost their lives (willingly) to save Barry Allen.

In the present day, Barry faces a new challenge in the form of the imposing Al Rothstein (Adam Copeland). This menacing fellow has super strength, can increase his height greatly and absorbs energy.

Right when the Central City Mayor is about to felicitate Flash on Flash Day, Rothstein arrives and easily bests Barry in their first confrontation. Flash blames himself for Ronnie's death and withdraws onto himself.

Detective Joe West (Jesse L. Martin) convinces Barry to stop feeling guilty and to take help from others. Flash's usual support team of Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes) and Caitlin Snow has a new addition: Dr. Martin Stein (Victor Garber).

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Dr Martin proves his credentials by naming the new villain “Atom Smasher”. Cisco is instantly impressed. Not to be left behind, Cisco designs a Flash-Signal, after having read about such signals in some comic books.....

This time, Flash is able to beats Atom Smasher by overpowering him with too much energy in a power plant.

In a secondary plot, Harrison Wells releases a video in which he confesses to have murdered Barry's mother, Nora Allen (Michelle Harrison). Barry is able to secure the release of his jailed father, Henry Allen (John Wesley Shipp).

Throughout the episode, a man is seen shadowing Barry and taking his photographs. This stranger turns out to be Jay Garrick (Teddy Sears). As fans of DC Comics will know, Jay is the first Flash. He warns Barry about an impending danger.

This was a strong opening episode to Season 2. The best parts featured Victor Garber's character and his interactions with Cisco. They were funny and the cast enjoys a good chemistry with each other.

Atom Smasher reminded me of Bane in terms of his imposing physicality, mask and the long coat jacket costume. And to top it all was the not-so-subtle reference to the Bat-Signal. As a fan of Batman and the DC Universe, I enjoyed it very much.

Recommended watch to fans of The Flash/DC Comics.

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The Flash Season 1 Episode 1 "City of Heroes" - Recap and Review

The episode begins with a Spiderman-type voiceover by Barry Allen (Grant Gustin). 14 years ago, his mother, Nora (Michelle Harrison) was killed in a freak accident at their house. Barry's father, Henry (John Wesley Shipp) is arrested and is still serving his jail sentence. Barry himself does not subscribe to this theory and believes that something/someone else is responsible. This event continues to haunt Barry to date.

Cut to the present. Barry is an assistant police forensic investigator at Central City. He is a lazy genius (as most of them usually are) and is brilliant at making deductions. These deductions, by the way, are presented in a visual style that instantly reminded me of the BBC show Sherlock.

Iris West (Candice Patton), daughter of Detective Joe West (Jesse L. Martin) is Barry's best friend. Joe has been like a father figure for Barry and covers up for his laziness. While Iris considers Barry as her friend, he himself seems to be having more than just platonic feelings for her.

Central City is home to S.T.A.R. Labs and being a science geek, Barry is excited about the particle accelerator being showcased by the CEO, Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh). Things do not go as planned, when Iris' handbag is stolen. Barry chases the perpetrator and is out of breath by the time he catches up with the thief.

The particle accelerator itself functions improperly, leading to a lightning strike that hits Barry, putting him in a coma. He wakes up nine months later and realizes that he has superpowers. He heals quickly and has superhuman speed.

Harrison was also hurt during the S.T.A.R. Labs explosion and is now restricted to a wheelchair. He is assisted by Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes) and Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker). Cisco is a mechanical engineering expert and Caitlin is a bioengineering specialist.

Harrison, Cisco and Caitlin help Barry measure his speed at an unused Ferris Air testing facility site. As readers familiar with DC Comics might know, Ferris Air is owned by Carol Ferris. Hal Jordan works for Carol before becoming a member of Green Lantern Corps. In the 2011 film Green Lantern, Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively portrayed Hal Jordan and Carol Ferris respectively.

Superheroes don't exist without super-villains. Ours is one Clyde Mardon (Chad Rook), who can control the weather*. He uses his skills to rob banks. Interestingly, he is believed to be dead by Joe. Joe and his partner pursued Clyde nine months ago, during the night of the S.T.A.R. Labs explosion. As Clyde makes his escape in a plane, the plane is struck by a lightning and goes down.

Barry pursues Clyde as he flees from the cops after one of his robberies. Clyde creates a fog and makes his escape. Barry is convinced that Clyde has superpowers and in turn tries to convince Detective Joe about this.

Barry then confronts Harrison about his suspicions. Harrison confesses that the S.T.A.R. Labs incident that bestowed him his superpowers affected a large geographic area, covering more than just Central City. Like Barry, many more “metahumans” (term used by Caitlin) were created that night.

Barry decides to use his powers for the greater good. Cisco provides him with a heat and abrasion resistant suit that will help Barry exercise a greater control over his superspeed. 

Using his new costume, Barry fights Clyde. Detective Joe is also on Clyde's trail and helps Barry subdue Clyde.

This was a good episode. The show does an admirable job of setting up the characters and the relationships.

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Grant is adequate as the Scarlet Speedster. Right now, Barry Allen is a lazy genius and an all round nice guy. And yes, he was bullied in his childhood. Hopefully, the characterization will improve in the upcoming episodes. Rest of the characters are stereotypes as well - idolizing geek (Cisco Ramon), serious minded scientist (Caitlin Snow), over-the-top bubbly girl (Iris West) and the inspiring mentor (Harrison Wells). 

Jesse L. Martin as Detective Joe West shows some acting chops. I personally found him to the best performer.

Arrow (Stephen Amell) makes a cameo appearance. His pep talk to Barry about how Barry can inspire and do things that he cannot reminded me of the parallels between Batman and Superman.

Speaking of Superman, the show's explanation of S.T.A.R. Labs explosion being the cause of creating the metahumans (including the villains), reminded me of another CW show Smallville. The meteor shower in the pilot episode was cited as the reason for “the villain of the week” type episodes that dominated the first season. Hopefully, The Flash will not take the same route. 

I did like the line spoken by the cop to the thief (who stole Iris' handbag) if he wanted to see if he is faster than a bullet. I thought this was a nice reference to the classic Supes description: “Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.”

Trivia

1. The song “Poker Face” by Lady Gaga is the song on Barry Allen's facebook page.
2. The song “Girls Chase Boys” by Ingrid Michaelson can be heard in the scene, when Barry meets Iris after coming out of coma.

* - The character of Clyde Mardon is the brother of Mark Mardon, also known as the Weather Wizard.

Recommended watch to fans of The Flash/DC Comics.

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