Turns out I can’t watch CW shows while I exercise anymore because the iPad I have mounted in front of my elliptical can’t upgrade past iOS 9, and The CW app was updated sometime this summer to require at least iOS 10.
That means I will almost certainly drop most of them from regular viewing, but I did get around to watching the premiere of Flash.
Spoiler if you haven’t finished last season:
I’m glad Ralph Dibney survived last season, and I hope he gets to stay as a regular team member. His stuff playing catch-up with the team was silly but probably the highlight of the episode. Of course keeping him around just adds to the fundamental problem this show has juggling a big cast. They don’t know how to tell good stories with everyone, but they still try to spread the spotlight around to everyone, and it just drags the whole show down.
I don’t know how much of that is a writing problem and how much of that is a challenge with the cast and overall production. Maybe actors don’t want to stick around for five, six, seven seasons and not eventually feel like they’re co-leads on the show. That seems to happen on a lot of shows, maybe there’s no solving it, but it still sucks.
Joe should be background (and in this episode, he basically was). Iris should be more prominent than Joe, but I’m not convinced her evolution into team leader was worth it. If they can’t find stories to tell about her as a journalist or about Barry and Iris’s marriage, then she probably shouldn’t have much screen time. I don’t mean to reduce her to just another character trait for Barry, her role shouldn’t just be “wife of Flash”, but they are married and they should capitalize on that unique relationship to tell relevant stories, because nothing about her leading the team is convincing.
Ramone should’ve never gotten powers, Caitlyn should’ve had a single, meaningful arc dealing with her transformation into Killer Frost, and it should’ve left her with a fairly stable place on the team—either Frost was something “bad” that they solved and it’s over, or it’s a part of her that she should embrace and have a stable relationship with—it can’t be a question mark and a side-plot to rehash every single season.
I’m not sure what to make of the revolving door of Harrisons, on some level it works, but we don’t know what it will look like this season yet.
Spoiler if you don’t follow casting news:
I’m glad Wally is leaving the show, I’ve never disliked him, but he’s one more thing to juggle and there’s no obvious place for him to fit into the current dynamic.
Cecile and her dumbass psychic schtick should be written out of the show and the memories of every character in a speed force time-travelling accident.
