I first saw the pilot episode of The Flash over the summer, when it was leaked early on the Internet. At the time, I thought the episode was incredibly hokey. It was stuffed with forced exposition and more ‘running’ and ‘fast’ comments than my simple mind could handle. I was prepared to continue to dislike the show when the episode finally aired on TV this week…but I’m kind of happy to say that something definitely improved on a rewatch! I don’t know if anything was changed, or if perhaps I had inflated the level of hokiness in my mind, but the first episode of the new live action Flash show is actually a solid start. I’m definitely more excited for the series after watching it on TV.

This first episode of The Flash isn’t perfect, and it’s still kind of hokey. But now that it’s finally here, for real, I’m ready to become a fan.

TV Rating: 7/10 – Good.

When I first saw this episode, I couldn’t stop rolling my eyes. From the very first scene, they start hitting you over the head with their lack of subtlety.  A young Barry Allen is telling his mother how he wants to be a hero, because he tried to intervene and stop some bullies, only to get beaten up himself. His mother replies that sometimes it’s “better to have a good heart than fast legs”. Come on! That’s Gotham levels of obvious. And it doesn’t stop there. Barry Allen has a reputation of being late at his job for no good reason, and everybody is commenting on things being ‘fast’ or that Barry should ‘run’. It’s stifling.

But when I rewatched the pilot, I didn’t notice it as much. I don’t know if it’s due to editing or what, but the show is smoother this time around. Maybe watching Gotham has blown my subtlety circuits. But I still don’t think Barry needs to have a reputation of being late to things just to reinforce his super speed. That’s just dumb.

Fortunately, the pilot as a whole isn’t as dumb as I’d feared. Hokey sensibilities out of the way, the episode actually works quite well, with a solid cast and spectacular special effects. They set up all of the major characters and plots, though that isn’t without a few stumbling blocks too. In the span of a single episode, Barry gets his powers, learns about his powers, becomes the Flash and defeats his first super-villain. It’s a bit rushed. And using shortcut exposition doesn’t help matters. Every time Barry encounters a new character, whether it’s his painfully obvious love interest Iris West or his painfully obvious rival Eddie Thawne, someone somewhere delivers a few paragraphs of exposition. It’s wince-inducing.

But weaknesses aside, this is a strong start to the new show. I’m glad I rewatched the first episode because it definitely got better the second time around. I’m really excited to see The Flash take off running.

Join me after the jump for the full review.

Actor Grant Gustin is pretty great in the lead role of the Fastest Man Alive. He’s a handsome geek who manages to be both a little awkward and a lot heroic. I like my heroes as white knights, and Barry definitely fits. Leave the dark heroics to Oliver Queen on Arrow. The Flash clearly plans on being a brighter, friendlier show. And I think there’s room enough in the world for both of them, especially if they crossover and share characters and plots as often as possible. I think Grant will easily be able to carry the show and the heroics. He looks pretty good in the costume too.

And he knows it

The rest of the cast seems equally solid, though none of them stand out quite yet. Candice Patton as Iris West fills her role of love interest nicely, except for the fact that it’s just too obvious. Barry’s been in love with her forever, but she won’t date him for reasons, and instead dates pretty boy cop Eddie Thawne. I’m all for love triangles and relationship drama, but if there’s no mystery, it’s just not as good. Fortunately, considering what the people behind Arrow did with ‘obvious couple’ Oliver and Laurel, I have faith that they’ll be just as creative on The Flash. Jesse L. Martin plays Iris’ father and Barry’s police contact, but he’s not very notable. Hopefully he’ll grow into a larger character. And Barry’s team of science geeks at S.T.A.R. Labs are all suitably interesting and entertaining, and given their names (Cisco Ramon and Caitlin Snowe), they’re clearly meant for more (Vibe and Killer Frost). I look forward to seeing their roles expand.

The Flash has a good cast behind it, with the lead actor a definite standout.

I also like how the show is put together, for the most part. The Flash’s origin is handled quite well, using the classic comic book story of a flash of lighting throwing Barry into a mix of strange chemicals. The addition of a particle accelerator is a nice touch, and it easily answers the question of how and why there will be super-villains so early in the series. The Flash has a pretty colorful rogues gallery, and I’m glad that The Flash isn’t going to skimp on any of them. The Gorilla Grodd Easter Egg was an especially nice touch.

He’s a giant, super-intelligent gorilla; make it happen, CW!

Speaking of super-villains, the Weather Wizard debuts in this episode, and while I thought he was fine, he could have been so much more. The Wizard is responsible for the death of Detective Joe West’s partner. That should make him a bigger deal, but considering the pilot has a lot to get through in an hour, Weather Wizard is given the short end of the stick. And his powers amount to little more than making dusty storm clouds, but that’s fine. I didn’t need him to make it snow. I understand there are limitations for special effects on network TV. But fortunately for us, they don’t skimp when it comes to the Flash’s speed. The effects are excellent.

Though not so much when freeze-framed like this

My only real concerns with The Flash are in the writing, and whether or not the creative team behind the show can sand off the rough edges into better TV. Along with all the hokey aspects and lack of subtlety, there’s a little bit of doubt over general craftsmanship. If I may point to a specific scene: when Barry and Iris attend the launching of the particle accelerator, Iris’ laptop bag gets stolen. They’re in the very middle of a massive crowd inside S.T.A.R. Labs, listening to a very important presentation, but some thief randomly just grabs her laptop bag and runs? And it’s not even subtle either. Everybody around them stops and gasps at this sudden theft right in the middle of this big presentation. How insane is that? It makes no sense.

Then Barry is the only person to try and stop the guy, and he chases the thief into a few dark alleys. This idiot thief, of course, is a parkour master and an expert fighter, so Barry can’t stop him or keep up with him (another running reference). At no point does Barry mention that he’s a cop or is at least affiliated with the police department. And eventually, the thief is stopped by a real cop, who is randomly and miraculously right where he needs to be to cut the guy off. But with zero knowledge of why this young kid is running, the officer still points his gun at him.

It’s just a sloppily written scene that serves little purpose in the pilot. And it’s scenes like that that keep me from giving The Flash a higher score.

I was fully prepared when rewatching the pilot to have my earlier concerns completely justified, but that wasn’t the case. The Flash got better on a second viewing, and that speaks highly of the show going forward. The first episode handidly sets up the main character and his supporting cast, some more meaningful than others. And it provides more than enough teases and hints that big, important moments are coming.

If they can pull this show off, then we’ll all know that a legitimate, costumes and powers superhero show can work! And once The Flash finds its feet, I’m sure it will take off running.

I am not above puns.

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