This week on The Flash we got the true debut of long-time Flash villain Gorilla Grodd. Here, we cleared up any possible misconceptions about his history, which is free of cities of advanced gorillas by the way.
Like some classic monster movies, we got a slow build to Grodd really coming to the forefront. First we got mind controlled Eiling, then we got to hear Grodd through the general. Once we got into the sewer, the tension of waiting was captured perfectly by some well-placed movie references from Cisco.
Grodd’s first full episode gave him an impressive showing. His telepathic powers were quite impressive, crippling Barry with mental images at one point and mentally throwing him in another. His physicality was nothing to sneer at either. He was terrifying in the encounter with Joe, and his redirect of the supersonic punch was a truly unexpected debut.
Underneath it all, we got some time dealing with Iris learning the truth and her hidden feelings for Barry. This tied in just as well with the ongoing idea of Joe protecting his daughter. And through it all, we had a bit of an awkward feeling thinking about Eddie being kidnapped.
Positives
Grodd did not disappoint. He was a truly terrifying foe that was more than a match for The Flash. He put a true hurt on Flash, and nearly killed him. Heck, he could have killed Joe if he actually wanted to. There was an excellent monster movie build up to him, and he matched that build up with an appropriate amount of intimidation. Even the little monkey jokes here and there managed to be funny without really killing any of the attention.
It was excellent seeing more and more things come into the light this week. Sure, the only real revelation is Wells needing the particle accelerator, but people learning things was also great. The stand out of the things we already know that they don’t would probably be Eddie learning Barry gets the girl.
Iris for the last fifteen-or-so minutes was great. That is some of the best example of what the superhero love interest should be. Keep in mind, I am referencing just the last fifteen-or-so minutes. Her on the team was fun.
Negatives
Iris for the first half or so of the episode was aggravatingly all over the place. Very inconsistent, and quite annoying to deal with. Not the best Iris has been handled at all this season. What was even worse was the whole “power of love” moment in the final fight with Grodd. There just wasn’t the substance to back it up, especially with all the fighting they’d been doing. And could we please do a bit more to note that Eddie was missing? The whole drama between Iris and Barry was made quite awkward by this. And why couldn’t they just say he’d gone missing or have Iris report his kidnapping? Seemed a bit unnecessary.
The Verdict
Grodd lives, folks. Everyone’s favorite telepathic gorilla hit the ground in full force this week. Now we have the tough wait till Season 2 for more Grodd.
