"Dead Or Alive"
This week's episode of The Flash was exactly what I've been clamoring for this entire season. Aside from the highly climatic "Heroes Vs. Aliens" segment and one particularly cool Savitar scene, this has honestly been the weakest season for me personally as far as pure entertainment quality goes. The lack of fun, interesting, and visually appealing character conflicts popularly known to the series felt slightly absent here for the majority of this season...until now.
This was by far one of the greatest episodes yet for several reasons. For one thing, one of my biggest issues regarding some of this season's unnecessary dramatic elements was completely disposed of here in exchange for great character pairings, lighthearted and fun character moments (Cisco mostly), a legitimately interesting filler plot with H.R., and a mostly well executed spotlight for Iris.
The Wally-Barry relationship has also started to shape into what I've been hoping for as not only was it great seeing the two having fun teaming up on missions, but also the potential for greatness in Wally's character being presented towards the end. This is a character that has struggled to win me over considering the several annoying and unnecessarily dramatic moments that they've plagued him with since his initial debut. However, in this episode, we get to see Wally as a charismatic, caring, and organically developing character from beginning to end with and without the suit. Although I'm still not quite ready to jump onboard the Kid Flash wagon just yet, I am slowly being won over by his current position and future possibilities on the show.
As far as the Harrison Wells centered plot point, I really enjoyed the idea of having H.R. be considered as a dimensional traveling criminal with a pretty badass "villain" of the week on his trail. Aside from being yet another cool reminder of the unique multiverse elements of the show, it was a nice inside look into H.R.'s world as it revealed a new and much needed layer to his character. H.R. has always been a bit of a mixed bag for me ever since he was brought onto this season, so it was nice getting to learn just a little bit more about his reasoning for leaving his Earth and joining the team.
However, the highlight of this episode isn't so much H.R.'s story (as appreciative as I was for it), but of course Cisco's heroic stand against Gypsy in all of his hilarious scene stealing glory. It's great to see Cisco being given the spotlight for a change and this episode proves that there's definitely enough room for 3 super powered heroes on the team. What officially sealed the deal for me was getting to see Cisco train with his "vibing" abilities which is something that we've rarely ever seen him do on the show. It's interesting seeing the writers slowly open the doors to having him play both sides of the field as Star Labs' tech support and strategist alongside being a powerful meta human asset himself.
In terms of the villain of the week, this is where things truly got fun for the episode being that Gypsy shared the same meta human abilities as Cisco causing them to have an amusing yet strangely flirtatious chemistry (considering that they were pitted to fight to the death). The look on Cisco's face after seeing Gypsy's appearance and powers was priceless leading to a string of hilarious banter between the two.
Now, we have to talk about that fight scene which is by far one of the greatest fight scenes of the season so far as we get to see Cisco and Gypsy essentially battle through the multiverse resulting in a wave of fun easter eggs and character interactions. Visually and conceptually speaking, The Flash series has never conjured up a more fascinating display of superpowers than what was shown here. The transitions to different Earths, the spectacle and scale of the situation itself, and the bits of fan service inserted truly elevated the entire viewing experience making this a roller coaster ride of pure fun.
So, with a nicely packaged ending cementing a new possible love interest for our beloved movie referencing and tech savvy sidekick, a refreshing look into the Harrison Wells character alongside his growing relationship with Cisco, and a hopefully satisfying arc kickstarting for Wally, I can confidently say that The Flash has finally taken its first major step into winning me back. Let's just hope that the rest of the season can keep up this momentum as we've already entered the half way point.
Bonus Content
1. Julian's Place On The Team
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| "Initially, I wasn't entirely sure how to feel about Julian joining the team, but after seeing his display of strategic knowledge and hilariously opposing personality, I'm definitely onboard with the idea now." |
2. Earth 2
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| During Cisco and Gypsy's multiverse battle, we get a quick glimpse of Earth 2's current state. With Zoom's disappearance, things are definitely looking up. |
3. Earth 38 (Aka Supergirl's Earth)
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| "In another awesome insertion of fan service, we get to see Earth 38 where the CATCO building is utilized as a battleground for Cisco and Gypsy. As a fan of Supergirl, you can only imagine how happy I was to see this subtle crossover implimented. It's moments like these that makes me appreciate the interconnectivity of the CW DC universe" |
4. Unknown Earth?
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| With no official label given during the episode, this location became the most visually striking and mysterious of them all. |
5. Gypsy's Abilities
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| What's great about the Gypsy character, other than Cisco having the perfect counterpart to interact with, is that we get to see his particular power set being utilized in various ways alluding to his potentially powerful capabilities in the future. It's like seeing what the Reverse Flash or Zoom could do before Barry eventually learned said skill." |
Episode Rating: 9/10
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