Thoughts on The Flash pilot (Spoilers)

The Flash

The Flash premiered last week on The CW, and proved (to me) that it is possible to launch a comic book-related show with a solid foundation in a single episode.  Unlike the frustrations I’ve had so far with Gotham, everything about The Flash clicks together very easily, telling a full, coherent story in it’s first hour that already has me hooked.

To start with, the tone and feel of the show are very balanced.  They made this easy on themselves by introducing Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) last season on the Arrow.  Establishing the look of the show from something that already exists, as well as confirming that these characters live in the same “universe” made the show easier to connect to, as I’m already a fan of Arrow.  There’s no hyper-stylization like on Gotham, and when watching this show, you are 100% certain it takes place in modern times.  The special effects are pretty good for being the first episode.  I’m sure that as the show goes on, they will improve as the people working on them learn tricks to make things look better.

I love the casting on the show as well.  Everyone interacts very naturally, which doesn’t always happen as a show begins.  Gustin feels quite at home in Allen’s shoes, having previously established the character in a couple episodes of Arrow.  Candice Patton plays Barry’s best friend/love interest, Iris West.  Iris’ father is Detective Joe West (Jesse L. Martin) who takes Barry in as his own son after the mysterious murder of his mother.  Barry’s father, Henry (John Wesley Shipp, who played The Flash in the 1990 series) is wrongly convicted of this murder, which leaves Barry without any guardian until Detective West steps in.  Eddie Thawne (Rick Cosnett) works for Detective West, and is also dating Iris.  What could go wrong?

My absolute favorite casting on the show goes to Tom Cavanagh as Henry Wells, the president of S.T.A.R. Labs (the company responsible for the super-collider whose explosion causes Barry to gain his powers).  I’ve been a big fan of Cavanagh since the 2000 series, Ed.  He has a way of acting serious, while injecting a humorous tone into it that is very tough to pull off.  In the pilot, he puts on a pair of sunglasses that are crooked (likely on purpose), and the smile on his face is just so sincere that it cracks me up.

The main cast is rounded out with Cailtin Snow (Danielle Panabaker) and Cisco Ramone (Carlos Valdes), who are both S.T.A.R. Labs employees that work closely with Barry and Wells.  They study and monitor what is going on with Barry’s body as he gains his powers, and create gadgets and clothes for him that can withstand his new super speed.  Think of them as the shows Fitz and Simmons if you will.

Since The Flash stars a hero with powers, the show is not holding back on introducing villains with powers either.  The pilot brings us Clyde Mardon (Chad Rook), who according to what I’ve read, in the comics is known as Weather Witch.  We learn from Wells that others were given abilities by the super-collider explosions, and Mardon is the first they come across, possessing the ability to generate wind and tornadoes out of nothing.  There will be more where he came from I’m sure.

Finally, I thought the design of the costume was pretty solid.  It was very true to what I’ve seen in the comics, and at the same time did not look ridiculous and out of place like it could have.  Once again, being in the same “universe” as Arrow gave them a great template on how to design the costume.

Overall, The Flash did everything it should have to bring another super hero to the small screen successfully.  I enjoyed the pilot very much, and am looking forward to the rest of the season, as well as (hopefully) multiple cross-overs with Arrow.

The Flash airs Tuesday nights at 8pm on The CW.