Review: The Flash Ep.3 “Things You Can’t Outrun”

by Joey Garces
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The Flash is a show that is steadily improving week after week and it’s apparent in this week’s episode. The focus is shifted more so on the secondary characters and it was certainly a sight to watch. This approach is usually not ideal for a show as fresh as this one and this early into it’s existence to shift the attention away from the main character but we can certainly cope with it after having two previous episodes that were Barry driven. Specific characters were delightfully fleshed out and Robbie Amell had an impressive debut as Ronnie Raymond, aka one half of Firestorm. Tie that in with Caitlin Snow and Cisco Ramon getting some much needed character development I can’t help but give this episode praise.

One of the aspects I’m liking on this show is the use of its flashbacks, unlike how Arrow uses them, they’re not just set in one time period and setting, they bounce around from time to time in order to progress the storyline. In this episode we jump back nine months to when the Particle Accelerator actually malfunctions and starts this whole chain reaction. We see how everyone is affected in this moment of crisis and we get another look at the deceptive Harrison Wells.

He probably is Reverse Flash/ Professor Zoom but I hope he isn’t. Subtlety is not really this show’s strong suit and I worry about them oversaturating each episode with hints of Dr. Wells being the Yellow Blur that kills Barry’s mother. I’m still holding out hope though that the writers are pulling the wool over our eyes, especially the non comic book readers, and will indeed make Eddie Thawne the Reverse Flash. So far they’ve set him up as a nice fellow, nothing special about him, certainly not one of the characters that immediately springs to mind when you think about the show. Perhaps that’s for the best, picture down the road where out of nowhere this character who people barely give a second thought to turns out to be the big bad of the show. It would certainly be a fun plot twist to say the least.

Caitlin Snow was the most interesting person of this episode as we get more of an understanding why she is so cold and unlikable, that’s in part to great acting from her “maybe not so dead fiance” Ronnie Raymond? I’m still holding out hope one day down the line Caitlin becomes Killer Frost but at this point she’s a character who we’re all kind of on the fence about. It’ll absolutely be interesting to watch how the show’s writers deal with Ronnie’s revival as we know Robbie Amell is destined to reach his Firestorm calling. Also I must say it is pretty exciting to see another member of the Amell family join the DC TV Universe. Here’s to hoping that one day both Robbie and Stephen can share the screen together as Green Arrow and Firestorm.

POSITIVES

Though this episode was a more supporting cast driven episode that does not mean we were left wanting for Barry’s story. It was an important episode as both him and Detective West decide to join together in the hopes of clearing Barry’s father. Barry is struggling with dealing with the fact that it is possible for him to get his father out of jail but not in the right terms. The emotion felt real whenever the three shared the screen together and it made the episode all the better.

NEGATIVES

The show’s format of having the last couple minutes show off Dr. Wells’ suspicious behavior and major deception are starting to get a little old. Yes we can see not everything is as meets the eye, yes we can see he’s probably not a good guy, let the novelty come to an end please.

The show is also three for three in not having a complex villain who we can barely remember their names. This week’s villain was given lines but he might as well not have any because all he did was walk, glare and turn into the Mist. The “monster a week” trend is getting a little bit old so hopefully something changes soon.

VERDICT

Episode 3 of The Flash is an important episode that shines the light on the secondary characters and gives us more of an understanding of what drives each character. Ronnie Raymond made his heroic debut and we are holding  out hope for the next time we see him. Now if this show can just get the villain aspect down, then we’re on to something. With Captain Cold coming up soon though, I don’t see that becoming much of a problem though.

RATING

rating4outof5-300x51

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