'The Flash' Season 2 Episode 7 'Gorilla Warfare' Review

Non Spoiler Review- Another great episode of 'The Flash' although I don't think it was quite as great as fast week's which is one of the best of the series so far. however this episode was definitely not a disappointment. This episode has some incredible visual effects, particularly for Grodd who looks so much better than his previous appearance on the show as he looks incredible. I also liked the character development for Barry, as well as a few teases of what is to come in the upcoming Flash/Arrow crossover, which will lead into 'Legends of Tomorrow'. 

*******There will be Spoilers from this point on*******

Highlights of the episode

1. Gorilla City- At the end of the episode, Team Flash decides they must get rid of Grodd so Harrison Wells devises a plan to send him somewhere on Earth 2. They manage to draw Grodd into the portal but it isn't strong enough to force him through so it allowed for a great Flash moment where he regains confidence and runs towards Grodd and kicks him bouncing off Grodd to escape the portal forcing Grodd through the portal. This is revisited at the end of the episode where we see that Grodd has a arrived in a jungle and the camera pans around revealing Gorilla City, which is an important part of Gorilla Grodd's character in the comics. I can't wait to see this revisited later on in the series as the multiverse seems to have growing significance and so I'm sure we will see Barry somehow arrive here to fight Grodd. 

2. Hawkgirl-  When Cisco touches Kendra Saunders and kisses her on their dates he "vibes" and sees Hawkgirl teasing what is to come for both the Arrow/Flash crossover as well as 'Legends of Tomorrow'. This was a small tease but it's very exciting to see the foundation for 'Legends of Tomorrow' being built in 'The Flash' and 'Arrow'. 

3. Team Flash's plan- In the episode, Caitlin is taken hostage by Grodd, who uses mind control to have her go with him. When Team Flash figures out what has happened they then check the security cameras and sure enough they see Grodd walking around in broad daylight following Caitlin. I thought this was a bit ridiculous because if Grodd walks around in broad daylight, I'm sure people would be freaking out and Team Flash would hear about it. That was just one little thing that bugged me about this episode but it wasn't enough to quit "ruin" the episode or anything. So they decide to put the Earth 2 Harrison Wells in a second Reverse Flash costume they conveniently find to have him trick Grodd into believing he's Eobard Thawne. I thought this was a great plan especially since Barry was temporarily out of commission but Grodd doesn't quite fall for it and quickly the plan must change but the Team does manage to rescue Caitlin. 

4. Barry's confidence shaken- One subplot I really liked was how Barry was affected both physically and mentally from his confrontation with Zoom. As I stated last week he didn't lose his speed but Zoom had just broken his back and apparently Barry's confidence. I liked that the show acknowledged this and spent a majority of the episode giving Barry time to heal. His quick recovery is explained however by his increased metabolism, speed, etc. I did like that Barry was repaired by the end of the episode and overcame his mental block to help get rid of Grodd. However one thing I noticed was that Grodd used his psychological abilities and Barry had flashbacks of his confrontation with Zoom which caused him to falter and fall so I think those memories still have a hold over him and he is clearly afraid of Zoom. I think this is a logical step for the character and I really liked it, it's somewhat like PTSD for Barry as reflecting on these thoughts seem to shake his confidence. 

5. Barry's dad visits- I really liked the return of Henry Allen as his arrival helped Barry overcome his slump and a little pep talk from Henry seems to restore Barry and I really enjoyed this aspect of the episode because I really like the emotional scenes between Barry and his father figures, Henry and Joe and this episode has another very emotional talk between Henry and Barry that I really liked. I really like that Henry isn't going to be in every episode and will return to help Barry the he's in trouble or needs encouragement that Team Flash can't quite provide sometimes. 

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'The Flash' Season 2 Episode 1 'The Man Who Saved Central City' Review

Non Spoiler Review- A spectacular season premiere for 'The Flash'. This episode contains plenty of humor and heart as well as an abundance of references and intriguing reveals. Definitely one of the best episodes! The performances are all great with the supporting cast having a slightly larger role in helping Barry by allowing him to let them be a part of his hero's journey. There are several great moments in this episode so I narrowed it down to 10 highlights. Overall, another reason everyone should watch 'The Flash' and now all of Season One is on Netflix so it shouldn't be too difficult to catch up. 

*******There will be Spoilers from this point on*******

Highlights of the episode 

1. Henry freed- The most satisfying moment of the episode was learning that Harrison Wells left a confession to killing Nora Allen to Barry upon the event of his death. This confession was able to be used to free Henry Allen. This was my personal favorite moment because Barry finally achieved his goal of freeing his father and the entire first season had built towards this moment. It's kind of sad that Henry Allen feels he can't stay but it was reassuring to hear him tell Barry that he will always be there for him. 

2. Jay Garrick- The big cliffhanger has having Jay Garrick walk into Star Labs and tell Barry that he's there to help him because the world is in danger. It was kinda humorous since Star Labs said they had just upgraded their security so no one should be able to walk in unannounced and soon after Jay Garrick popped up. I'm very excited to see him work with the Flash this season. 

3. Zoom- When Barry defeats Atom Smasher, Atom Smasher tells Barry that he was sent by Zoom to kill Barry and upon doing o would be returned home. So it appears that Zoom should be coming soon or will be sending more metahumans from alternate dimensions after Barry. 

4. Ronnie's sacrifice- Towards the beginning of the episode we learn of what exactly happened following the cliffhanger of the season finale. We learned that in order to close the singularity, Firestorm had to split inside of it while Barry ran around it. Upon doing this Ronnie disappeared and Barry was able to save Stein. I suspect that Ronnie may not be dead as everyone believes but possibly stuck in another dimension, given that alternate dimensions seem to be  large part of season 2.

5. White logo- Cisco upgraded Barry's suit and now Barry has the classic white logo which is awesome to see and looks great!

6. Team Flash reunited- At the beginning of the episode Team Flash was somewhat fractured and Barry wanted to work alone, but the threat of Atom Smasher helped Barry realize help isn't a bad thing and Team Flash is reunited and together they devised and executed a plan to defeat Atom Smasher. 

7. Flash vs. Atom Smasher- The fight scenes between Flash and Atom Smasher were very entertaining and the visual effects were great for both. I particularly liked the effects for Atom Smasher's growth. 

8. Stein names Atom Smasher- It was kinda humorous to see Stein, the most serious member of the team name a metahuman. 

9. Barry's daydream- At the beginning of the episode, Barry has a daydream of how he would like things to be which includes a cameo from Heatwave and Captain Cold. 

10. Flash signal- I found it to be very fun when Cisco says he got the idea from something he saw in a comic book referring to the Batsignal that is such an important part of the Batman mythos. 

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'The Flash' Season 1 Episode 23 'Fast Enough' Review

Non Spoiler Review- The best episode of 'The Flash' by far. This episode contains emotional scenes, action, and some of the best performances yet from the entire cast! There are also many great teases for the second season. 

*******There will be Spoilers from this point on*******

Highlights of the finale 

1. Barry's Decision- The touching moment of the episode that made me cry was when Barry went back in time to the night of his mother's death but his future self tells Barry not to save her. It was heartbreaking to watch Barry watch his mother die and then speak to her as she is dying  after he has spent the entire season trying to get fast enough to avenge his mother and that deep inside he really wanted to save her. I must say Grant Gustin does an amazing job as Barry Allen. He really shows off his acting range in this episode where he has many great emotional scenes with the supporting cast.

2. Barry's Speed Force Visions- Just a few brief teases and flashbacks that are shown to Barry as he is trying to go back to the night his mother is murdered. Pictured above were the future visions that could occur in later seasons that were big teases. The first tease is of Caitlin Snow becoming her comic book villain counterpart Killer Frost. It was a fun tease and I think it would be great to see Killer Frost next season. The second tease is the Flash museum in the distant future which is prominent in the comics for the future, etc. The third is a little more mysterious as it shows Barry talking to his father but Barry is in prison, this could maybe be another alternate universe or timeline but we don't know much. And the final tease is a scene from the 'Legends of Tomorrow' trailer that could likely show up on 'Legends of Tomorrow'. 

3. Eddie sacrifices himself- One of the crucial moments of the episode is when Barry come back and punches Eobard Thawne in the face destroying the timesphere. Reverse Flash begins to fight Flash and seems to have the upperhand when a gunshot is heard and everyone looks over to see that Eddie has shot himself. Eddie falls on the floor and Eobard reverts back to the actual Eobard Thawne and proceeds to simply vanish from existence since his ancestor is now dead preventing him from ever being born. This was a very sad moment but I'm glad Eddie got to be a hero even if he had to sacrifice himself in the process. 

4. Barry runs into worm hole/black hole- A very cool moment that will hopefully launch Season 2 was when Flash ran right into the worm hole that opened over Central City. I think this can be explored in a number of ways next season and I can;t wait to see what happens. Also Hawkgirl and Captain Cold can be seen observing the wormhole in this sequence right before Barry runs into the wormhole.

5. Cisco is Vibe- We get a big Vibe tease when Eobard Thawne reveals to Cisco that the reason he remembers the alternate timeline is that Cisco can see the vibrations of parallel dimensions, Cisco was affected by the particle accelerator too. This means Cisco is a metahuman and well along his way to becoming Vibe. I hope this is explored in the second season. 

6. Timesphere- We see Eobard Thawne request that the team builds him a time machine called the time sphere so that he can travel through the wormhole since he has trouble with his connection to the speed force. He even mentions Rip Hunter who will be a part of the 'Legends of tomorrow' spinoff saying Rip Hunter would be proud having built the first Timesphere. 

7.  Jay Garrick's Helmet- A great tease is when Jay Garrick's helmet flies out of the wormhole for unknown reasons and Wells says "Now's my cue to leave". It was a great easter egg/tease and maybe means that jay Garrick could pop up in a future season. 

8. Barry's emotional scenes- As I mentioned earlier Barry shares some very emotional scenes with various cast members throughout the episode but aside from the scene with his mother, two of these scenes stuck out to me the scene with both of his "fathers". There is a scene with Joe before Barry leaves where Joe tells him that he is of course sad that if Barry changes the timeline Barry will have never lived at Joe's house with him and Iris but at the same time will be glad that barry grew up with his parents. There is also the scene between him and his father where he asks for his father's opinion of what barry should do regarding Nora and his father says to leave it alone. Both scenes are quite sad and really showcase Grant Gustin, John Wesley Shipp, and Jessie Martin. 

9. Barry interrogates Thawne- Another great scene was when Barry interrogates Eobard Thawne regarding his mother's death. It was interesting to see Eobard be himself with Barry and quite honest and blunt that he hated him but now is actually quite proud of Barry after mentoring him. 

10. Ronnie and Caitlin get married- In this episode Ronnie and Caitlin finally decide to get married and Professor Stein officiates the ceremony. It's a brief scene but at least they are finally married.