We’re now into the fourth prong of Barry Allen and his adventures as the Flash. Following the traumatic events of Savitar in the previous season, the Central City crusader and his team have now turned over a new chapter in their lives.
Three episodes in, and everything’s starting to take shape.
Barry Allen sporting a new suit in a still from ‘The Flash’ season four
In the third and the latest episode ‘Luck be a lady’, we witnessed a relatively cagey affair. Not to say it didn’t package any eye-popping moments (which we’ll come to in a while), the episode seemed a tad more laid-back.
Without beating around the bush any further, let’s delve into a modest assessment of the same.
Visual effects take a backseat
Apart from just the sequences of Barry zipping around the city (hardly two-three) and the quantum field generated by the new meta in town Becky Sharpe in the climax, the visual effects aspect of the fantasy looked to be put on the backburner.
Barry tries to negotiate with Becky Sharpe
Of course, it isn’t a planned thought. The narrative of the episode was such it didn’t beckon special effects. Yet when the protagonist and the antagonist face-off, sparks fly. But this time it didn’t as like many episodes before this one, it met with an underwhelming climax; something that left a lot to be desired.
Not much of a visual treat for you if you’re a high-adrenaline junkie.
The supervillains really get ‘super’
In the three episodes aired thus far in the new season, each one has seen a new supervillain trying to spread terror in Central City. Firstly a samurai, followed by the electric signal tampering Daecon, and then the luck-based electromagnetic field generating Beckie, all three have managed to give the Flash a hard time in stopping them.
Although it isn’t an unfamiliar thing to watch Barry getting rendered helpless only for his friends back in Starlabs to resolve the issue with their technical acumen, this time our hero has looked seriously bleak. Even though his speed has increased manifold, his strengths seem deteriorated.
Or should I say, the villains have levelled up.
All three characters aforementioned proved too hard a nut for Flash to crack, and he hasn’t got his moment under the sun yet, despite being the primary hero of the series.
Guess the makers are hell-bent on scaling up the stakes with each passing season, and to go by the first three episodes, they’ve done a great job.
What next for Wally West?
Crestfallen on being dumped by Jesse, Wally’s misery were compounded by the fact that nobody gave a rats arse when he inconspicuously left for Earth-2 to confront her. So his significance in the team came to an all-time nadir just about when he was to hit the peak.
Perhaps, the makers were themselves confused what to do with West junior. However, if they’re banishing him out of sight now that he’s embarking on a soul-searching journey, it’s an opportunity lost. Here’s why – Flash isn’t at his best, and when he was with the speedforce, it was the Kid Flash who covered up for him. So this was a chance to turn him into an able partner to Barry.
Bye bye Kid Flash?
Instead, it’s back to square one for Wally now, atleast strategically. His departure from the team and the city means we won’t be seeing Keiynan Lonsdale for a long time.
The introduction of another Flash to the team looked like a faux pas from the first impression of it. And when it was time to resurrect that, he’s completely chucked out. Now that’s a bigger mistake.
A new member in the West family
For all the events that took place in ‘Luck be a lady’, it ended on a note that would genuinely give you a bolt out of the blue.
Cecile, Joe’s new found love interest, reveals to be pregnant with their child that sends the latter into a lull. Now that’s something no one really saw coming. But do you see where the makers are going with this?
A nonplussed Joe who doesn’t know how to react
This whole new narrative is completely unnecessary. Given the serpentine character arcs of each of the main member of the team Flash, the least that was needed was another main member. Because, what are they going to do with him (or her)? Another meta-human vigilante?
Season four has surely hit the ground running, but these are the subtle technical errors that might pose a problem in future.
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