The Flash

[Davedevil]

I thought it was good, though I don't disagree with your points. Everything not in Earth-2 wasn't holding my interest.

Zoom continues to be in the triumvirate of Flash villains (Reverse-Flash and Cold being the other two), he's just as awesome as he ever was in this episode.

E2 Barry was fun for how goofy he was. It's hard to find much fault in Gustin, at this point.

Killer Frost was a little better in this episode but not by much for me.

Poor Jay Garrick. Impaled through the torso just as he was getting somewhere.

[Donomark]

I honestly liked this a bit better than last week's part one. Last week's was a lot of fun, but this one carried a helluva lot more tension for me. They were on Zoom's home turf and he's proven himself as a villain who can and WILL kill you at a moment's notice.

Definitely intrigued by MF DOOM in the cage. I like that they keep messing with the Earth-2 concept, providing a damn good mystery that's been successfully maintaining the season.

I thought Geomancer was perfectly cheesy fun. Fer sure he was over the top, but the actor went for broke and it was kind of funny juxtaposing a super serious, threatening villain with a guy who seemingly is evil for no good reason. Actually, I liked how this one gave everyone a lot to work with. Spefically with Danielle Panabaker and Candice Patton, I really liked the transition from Earth-1 where they're friends to cutting to Earth-2 where one pulls a gun on the other. I thought that was very cool.

The "believe in yourself" Pokemon-esque platitudes always live or die at the feet of the actors, and I felt this time 'round it was pretty good. The laziest it's ever been for me was the season 2 premiere, even thought it made sense story wise, that wasn't a great way to start the season.

Sure Jay turning around smiling and basically announcing he had one day left until retirement before Tony Todd Fatality'd him was telegraphed, but I loved how the episode immediately ended right at that moment. And if the breaches are closed, there's no way to get back to Earth-2 seemingly, so despite the predictability, the context surrounding the situation made it work for me.

And it has to be said, Zoom is a straight SAVAGE. Kicking Flash's ass in the way that he did just because he could , I love that shit.

 

 

[Koete]

I did like that Iris and Caitlin got to take down a villain. Also, I just remembered, this is the first time we've seen a villain get taken to Iron Heights. 

 

[Donomark]

That reminds me tho, how the crap did that guy find his way into STAR Labs? Didn't Cisco beef up the security in the season premier? And how did he know to go there?

[Donomark]

Whuh oh...

[Koete]

I wonder which superhero Caitlin will date and lose next season? 

[Koete]

Months of speculation about Zoom's identity, and the reveal's kinda disappointing. It's definitely a swerve that raises some interesting questions for the resolution, but Teddy Sears has been a weak acting link this season, so it's hard to see him as Zoom.

Edit: Just read a brief bit from Andrew Kreisberg saying that the Hunter Zolomon bit was supposed to be a "here's the answer" for comics readers. But man, my response was "that's too easy." 

Edited February 24, 2016 by Koete

[Davedevil]

Kinda filler-y but that's okay considering the stuff they're dealing with.

King Shark was pretty well-realized from beginning to end, I can't really think of any scenes where he looked off. The final fight scene was cool. 

I can see what Chris is saying with the Jay reveal but the reveal itself made it interesting for me, at least just to see what they intend to do with it. Jay's overall mopiness and general uselessness this season hasn't made his "death" that affecting though.

Danielle Panabaker made some of the stuff with Caitlin work but overall, meh. That prank was a nice moment though.

The thing with Barry and Wally was alright but I'm glad that it seems to have been resolved. 

[JackFetch]

Cisko: I can keep a secret.

Then immediately tells Caitlin about Killer Frost when he wasn't supposed to.

[Koete]

They should have reused the shot of Barry's "goddammit, Cisco" face earlier in the episode.

[Donomark]

I was talking to some co-workers in the days leading up to last night about the possibility on Jay being Zoom. I wasn't sold at first, but it was brought up that A) we've seen an evil speedster pose as an ally before, which I guess is a bit redundant but also B) We've seen speedsters be at two places at once.

I'm willing to see where it goes. I agree with Chris about Sears acting limits, but it's so far still very intriguing to me. At this point I was starting to think the "Jay" the man in the iron mask was meaning to refer to was J Dilla for all we know.

I really liked the episode overall though, I think the show's been consistently solid since the Reverse-Flash episode. It had what I like best, situations which push the characters and give the actors much to work on. I think this is Danielle Panabaker's best episode, and I found myself finally caring about her, even though I still want her to turn evil.

We get another great acting bit from Gustin in the house after Wally storms off. I like that Joe's not always the loving father figure, he will get to a point where he goes all "cut out the BS". Furthermore, I'm really liking the development of Wally. Lonsdale's proving himself to be a very capable actor, with a lot of subtleties in his performance. But as a Wally fan, I love him and Barry finally interacting and him feeling salty over Joe and Iris' love of him. It mirrored/foreshadows his feelings when he took over for Barry after Barry's death as the Flash. In addition to all of the speed puns he keeps being given to say, I can't think this was a coincidence.

  By this point in the series however, Cisco's proving himself to be a douchebag. Not only can he not keep a secret for shit, but like Barry I thought it was pretty horrible for him to seriously believe Caitlin would go evil after "Jay's death". I mean, as a viewer and comic fan it's understandable for the audience to think that. But Cisco's genre-savvyness was really making him desensitized to her emotional wreckage in a way that was off-putting. I like Carlos Valdes, bu fuck Cisco.

I'm going to try and avoid leaks and info dropped by ComicBookmovie.com from now on. Every week they preview something that would've been cool not to know. I'll just stick to the next episode previews.

[Koete]

Unsurprisingly, Season 3 is a go.

[Donomark]

Unsurprising is right, this season has been a ratings powerhouse bonanza for the CW.

[Donomark]

I thought episode 16 was perfectly solid, somewhat filler but ultimately entertaining. I'm really shipping Barry and Iris hard, so all of her scenes were great.

Trajectory was a bit on the weak side, as she should've been fleshed out more and was exposed by the writing as an afterthought. What I LOVED however was the classic Flash trope of running so fast you disintegrate and leave the costume behind. That had me marking out. I loved the ending with Barry's reaction. That was great.

I like how Jesse can definitely become Jesse Quick in the future, with the V9 in her blood, but she leaves for Opal City. I thought that worked out neatly for a next season appearance.

[Davedevil]

I thought it was mostly filler. Not a bad episode though, it was fun enough. The Trajectory costume was pretty neat. It's always good to see Barry take another step up with his powers. I'm really interested in the next episode though.

[Koete]

That was a really awkwardly written episode. I don't know who read the club scene and thought "yep, let's shoot that." The annoying habit of the show killing villains continues. There was room to develop the character, and the actress was pretty good. The Crisis on Infinite Earths reference was a cool way of shedding light on Zoom, but it still feels like a waste. And what was up with Iris' editor thinking it would be ethical to date her? Just so sloppy.

[Koete]

I've been glad to have Tom Cavanagh around as Wells-2, but holy shit, this episode drove home that he doesn't hold a candle to the original. 

[Donomark]

In a rare night at home I was distracted from live tweeting (and fencing with Ian over BvS), so I'm gonna have to watch the episode to get everything. Like I'm confused as to what was up with Rathaway at the end, although I'm confident that was explained.

What I did catch however was that AMAZING scene between Eobard Thawne-Wells and Barry in the bumpy-white wall closet. Goddammit if the Reverse Flash is not one of the best comic book villains ever realized on television.

I think it was a good episode. Very comic booky and confusing but in a natural way.

[Koete]

Nah, they don't explain Rathaway, you're just supposed to go "ah, ~time travel~!"

[Donomark]

[Koete]

The last scene of the season better be a reveal that this made Thawne come up with a contingency plan.

[JackFetch]

I'm sure this episode is going to have ramifications that we won't see until later. Since Barry is the only one that will notice any changes he made we will find out along with him.

[The Doctor]

That episode made me realize how much I miss Evil Harrison Wells.

[Flashfan1]

Ok, I've been quite absent from the forums for a while now, (life and stuff) and I've not been able to give my thoughts. So prepare for 17 episodes worth. (I'll try to be brief)

"The Man Who Saved Central City" - It was ok, but after waiting the entire summer for more Flash, I felt kind of let down. The effects were dope (apart from the early shot of Ronnie flying, yikes) and as always I liked Grant, but overall I thought it was disappointing. And Barry blatantly murdering the villain was not ok.

"Flash of Two Worlds" - This was better, I liked the way Jay was brought into the show, the flashback of Jay and Zoom fighting on Earth-2 was awesome, and the shot at the end that mirrored Flash #123 made me geek hard. I liked Patty too.

"Family of Rogues" - Always fun to see Snart (just recently found Prison Break, so that made me love Cold and Heatwave even more. Loving them on Legends) but I thought, like most, that the plot was weak. Love Snart and Barry's relationship, and I really dig Glider.

"Fury of Firestorm" - kind of a meh episode for me. I like Jax and the effects as always were great, but the episode was mostly forgettable. That is until King Shark and Harry showed up at the end, at which point I screamed in excitement. 

"The Darkness and the Light" - Boy did I miss Cavanaugh! God he's just incredible. Dr. Light was cool, and I loved the Speed Mirage stuff. Barry and Patty's date was cute, and I didn't realize how much I missed Linda until she came back. 

"Enter Zoom" - Holy shit! Zoom is fucking terrifying! I loved this episode. Mainly just for Zoom in the last 10 or so minutes. It really hammered home how fucked Barry is. 

"Gorilla Warfare" - Grodd! And Harry pretending to be Thawne was great. I missed Henry, so seeing him was nice. Grodd looked incredible and I'm stoked to see more of him now that he's in Gorilla City.

"Legends of Today/Yesterday" - I loved this crossover. Being a fan of both Flash and Arrow, it's always great to see the two casts interact (and I am in love with Emily Bett Rickards, so any time she shows up I'm happy) I liked Savage, I thought he was intimidating and I enjoy the actor. I was disappointed in how little I cared about the Hawks, given how excited I was to see them. I don't like Kendra (especially in Legends, where all she does is bitch about how "four months ago she was a barista") and I thought Carter was bland as hell. But everything else was great. I liked the use of Time Travel, although it does open up the "why doesn't Barry just go back every episode?" question, but whatever.

"Running to Stand Still" - This episode was pure fun! Trickster was amazing (and I'm glad they left his kid out, I hated that guy) and Mardon was great. Snart showing up to warn Barry was cool. One of my favorite Flash visuals from the Comics is him running on the helicopter blades, so seeing that in this episode blew my mind. Barry appealing to Patty at the end, stopping her from killing Mardon was great, but I half expected him to rip off the mask right there, since he obviously doesn't care at all about his identity. Meeting Wally at the end was nice, if a bit brief, but I'll have things to say about him later.

"Potential Energy" - I barely remember this episode. I liked The Turtle's power, I thought it looked cool. But this was another case of a disappointing return from a break. I thought writing Patty off the show was smart, because her subplot was going anywhere, and she resolved the stuff with her Dad. Mostly this episode was bland. The end with Zoom was cool though, (if I'm remembering the right episode there)

"The Reverse-Flash Returns" - This was amazing! Eobard Thawne has always been among my top 5 favorite villains, so it's always good to see him. I liked that we finally got to see Barry win against Reverse-Flash (even if he was a bit of an amateur) and the actor (who's names escapes me) did a tremendous job. I liked that Thawne's origin remained intact, and I'm excited to see more Reverse-Flash episodes like this in the future, as we watch Eobard slowly turn into the man we met last season.

"Fast Lane" - Meh. I liked Tar Pit for the most part. This is where I'll get into my Wally thoughts. Wally West has been my favorite Flash since I was a child watching Justice League, so I'm very critical whenever he shows up (which is why I hate what they've done to him in the comics so damn much). As of this episode, I wasn't digging him at all. I thought he was mostly whiney and I thought his being angry with Joe for not knowing about his existence was bullshit. He seems to be getting slightly better, but he has a long way to go for me (nothing against the actor, I think he's doing a great job with what he's been given). I figured being saved by Barry near the end there would have sparked his fascination with The Flash, but I guess not. Seeing Tar Pit in his full on comic book look was really cool, I always dug the character in the comics. The revelation that Harry was stealing Barry's speed happened alot sooner than I was expecting, but I liked that they didn't try to drag it out for several episodes. 

"Welcome to/Escape from Earth-2" - this two-parter was awesome. I always love the alternate universe thing, and seeing the doppelgangers was fun as hell! Barry-2 was hilarious, Iris-2 was awesome, Joe-2 being a singer that hated Barry was different (in a good way), Reverb was cool, and seeing the power that Cisco could eventually gain was amazing. But the best one has to be Killer Frost. Wow was Danielle Panabaker on here! Good lord. I've never seen such range from Panabaker, it was very impressive. And damn was she sexy (not that that really matters, but it's a plus). Damn Ronnie Raymond cannot catch a break, no matter what world he's on! The second episode did slightly dip, but the opening shot of Zoom terrorizing the city was incredible. Not much else really to say about the second part. More awesome Killet Frost, Joe's death was a heavy scene (that might have been part 1, I can't remember). Knockey Mask Guy, as my friend and I call him, was cool. Although as soon as he tapped out "Jay" I figured out the twist. As soon as Jay started standing right in front of the breach, I knew how the episode would end. But it was still effective. 

"King Shark" - It's episodes like these that really show off how impressive the effects are! King Shark looked amazing! Barry dealing with what he saw on Earth-2 was great, and his speech to Joe and Iris was amazing, I love Grant so much! Still didn't like Wally this episode, I thought his dislike of Barry was flimsy and his line "look around, you're in every picture" (or words to that effect) was moronic. Yeah no shit he's lived there since he was 11! The end, with Joe explaining to him about what happened with Barry was great though, I liked that. The final fight with KS was insane! I liked that Barry figured out what he was going to do all on his own, like in "Enter Zoom" the team was playing catch up and I liked it. The Jay=Zoom reveal was predictable, as I mentioned before.

"Trajectory" - mostly filler. It was alright. The team finding out about Jay was good though. And the set up for Jesse Quick later on was nice.

"Flash Back" - This episode was good, flashing back to "The Sound and the Fury" one of my favorite episodes last year. I think it was a terrible idea on Barry's part to go back at all, but whatever. S2 Barry vs. S1 Barry was really cool, and I liked that we were finally able get a reference for just how much faster Barry has gotten since then, he was able to take down his younger self with ease. But Barry is just awful at time travel, he's not back for more than two minutes before he fucks something up (warning about Hartley's ear pieces) and while it ended up ending well (if Barry hadn't done that, Hartley probably wouldn't have been there to save him from the Time Wraith when he returned) it was still a rookie mistake. God did this episode make me miss Wells/Thawne. And Cavanaugh slipped back into the role like he never left, it was brilliant. S1 Barry helping S2 Barry out at the end was great, and I'm excited to see all the ramifications this journey back in time will have in the future.

 

So that was everything, I don't expect anyone to actually sit and read all that, because wow, but I felt like I should throw it all out there before I move forward with regular contributions to this thread. Excuse any repetitive adjectives, as I'm fairly tired and couldn't think of any good ones. I definitely forgot some things, but that was bound to happen. I'm confident that I touched on everything worth while though.

[Flashfan1]

I liked this episode. I don't know how to do the spoiler thing so I won't get deep into my thoughts, but I will say that Wally is starting to grow on me, now that he's not all angsty. And I liked Teddy Sears's acting more, now that he gets to be evil.