The FlashSeason 8 Episode 14 is an interesting case study in what the show still does very well and what it used to do quite a bit better. It seems as if the episode was also a sort of admission by the writing team that they are no longer really able to walk and chew gum at the same time. It turns out that while the episode had some moments that were legitimately very well written, there were simply far too many parts the episode that seemed to fall very short of what it could have been. There was an opportunity to make avery special episode ofThe Flashand while it came very close to hitting the mark, it ended up overshooting by a bit and instead of being touching there were parts that were simply far too corny.
This week’s episode follows up on what happened inEpisode 13 ofThe Flash, where the team lost a valuable member. While last week’s installment was the show’s attempt at adding a bit of horror to the proceedings, this particular episode was more about slowing things down and taking a moment to remember Frost. Once known as Killer Frost, the character had become a hero after starting out as an evil alter ego of Caitlin Snow. She was in fact, the hero of the previous episode as she was able to endThe Flash’s version of Darkest Night and took down Death Storm. When she took him out, however, she ended up absorbing his energy and that in turn, ended up being too much for her to handle and killing her. This week was all about the team dealing with a member dying in a way that they’ve seldom had to deal with.
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There were definitely parts ofthis episode ofThe Flashthat appeared to really evoke some emotion. It should come as no surprise as the members of the cast were emoting about the loss of Frost that Joe stood out as among the best. When he started to choke up talking about Frost there seemed to be some real emotion there. Jesse L. Martin, of course, is the most veteran actor on the entire show’s cast and he’s also the most accomplished. Because of that, it should not surprise fans at all that he has the easiest time portraying a character that is actually likeable and seems fully fleshed out.
Unfortunately, there are simply far too few ofthose actors onThe Flashat this point. The ones that are still able to really carry a scene, such as Danielle Panabaker as Caitlin and Grant Gustin as Barry Allen just didn’t have enough screen time. They were forced to share it with some of the actors that simply don’t have the same kind of emotional punch to really rope in the audience. And even when the best actors on the show were on screen, there were far too many scenes that were written so over the top that it took away any real emotion that might have been elicited.
This was especially the case after the entire Team Flash decided that they were all going to find a way to honor Frost. For Joe West, it was taking up watercolor painting.For Iris Westit was literally trying to honor Frost. While she first seemed reluctant to do just that, she found a way to put together a memorial that showed the city what she really meant to the people in it. There were actually touching moments interspersed throughout the episode. That was especially the case when the actual funeral/memorial took place.
But there was also the part where Barry engaged in a hot dog eating contest. Putting aside the fact that the timing of this contest seemed to be a bit too good to be true, it seemed to be one of the more tone deaf ways of dealing with someone who was trying to honor his friend could go. Other parts ofhow The Flash workedto remember his friend were also more goofy than tear-jerking or earnest. It seemed odd as the scenes were unfolding and appeared as though the writers just didn’t want the episode to be too “heavy.”
That’s an odd choice, considering the entire episode was about mourning the loss of one of the most long-runningcharacters fromThe Flashstill on the show. Of course, that choice wasn’t quite as odd as introducing a villain that the team couldn’t take down the first time they met, only to have him apparently get taken down entirely off-screen.
The show this year has had a very up and down run when it comes to its villains.Despero was supposed to be a baddiethat The Flash was going to have some problems taking down. However, he ended up being fairly easy to beat when they actually went toe-to-toe. To a lesser degree, the same could be said for Deathstorm, though at least that character was one step ahead of the good guys every now and then.
The Blockbuster on the other hand, was a baddie that basically had no problem taking out the team. He seemed like he could be a guy that would be a real interesting villain if he wasn’t inthis particular episode ofThe Flash. While the show told everyone what his powers were and why he was so hard to kill, it’s almost as though the writers simply ran out of time writing the big crescendo of Frost’s funeral. After having the ability to basically transport himself away from the fight, The Blockbuster went into hiding. Later in the episode, the group went off to fight him, entirely off-screen. The next scene announced they had beaten him. The question is why there was even the introduction of a character that the show had no interest in spending any time with at all. It feels like this is the first timeThe Flashhas handled this particular situation like that, and it made the entire episode feel a bit rushed and a bit odd.
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