Fastest Man Alive

This fall is shaping up to me quite a time for T.V shows, and in particular, superhero shows. Gotham was much improved last night, Arrow will be great as usual, and The Flash' second episode built on the pilot's momentum and gave us a great second week.

I really like that this show is taking some of what makes Arrow great and crafting it to be it's own. Wells is shaping up to be much like Arrow's Moira character in that he cares very much about the Flash, but has some hidden motivations that may or may not be evil. It also takes the ever so brilliant Arrow flashbacks and give us some heartfelt Flash flashback sequences. I don't know how much they will be used, but it's a fascinating way of telling the story, and in particular the mystery surrounding Barry's mother's death.

The effects once again were spectacular and I found myself loving the slow motion sequences. It was especially cool seeing The Flash bury hundreds of men by a few punches. I just love that television is able to bring us some of our favorite things from the comics and make them visually stunning. Simon Stagg was cool to see after being mentioned in Arrow a few times but the culmination of the episode was a bit shocking considering the characters impact in the universe as a whole. Much of what I didn't like about the episode was the supporting STAR labs characters. They worked well in the pilot but were borderline unbearable tonight. I don't think Panabaker fits the character of Caitlyn Snow and Cisco is just out of place in this darker tone that they have set.

The bright spots were seeing the interactions between detective Joe West and Barry. The two actors sold that relationship extremely well and those scenes are starting to feel similar to how great the Oliver and Moira scenes were in Arrow. I'm really enjoying what the writers and show runners have done so far with The Flash. It's looking very promising.

+Barry and Detective West scenes

+Effects in replicant scenes were extraordinary

+Taking cues from Arrow

+Much like Arrow it has kept me guessing

+Flashbacks

-Snow and Cisco out of place

8.8/10

2020 5.29. Going back from season 6 , I have to appreciate the great acting skills of doc.wells and the vitalty of team Flash in this episode. But it makes me wonder why are those good things kind of missing in the following seasons:especially in season 6 ,Barry is depressed and Iris is trapped ,team Flash is low spirited ,Nash Wells loses his cleverness and mysterious charm.and the talk is not convincing enough. We need the vitality of Flash again,it needs to be more inspiring again!By the way why the special effects declines when techonology develops.

While The Flash does keep it's charm, this episode was a step down from the last episode. However, it wasn't a major step down. The action is still great, and acting as well. I also love the way there doing the villains! The show continues to be fast-paced and very rushed in it's own awesome way! The episode was great non the less, but I felt it was a little dragged at times, like they didn't know what to do. It does take a few notes from Arrow, which doesn't bother me all that much. I'm not gonna go into full detail for this review, let's just leave it at, the episode was good, the last episode was better, so here's me hoping for a better episode next time! Thanks for reading - Jdmax

OK, it gets worse. Now I know exactly what it looks like - silver- age obsession with science by people who don't understand it (let's throw in some badly understood terminology and they'll thing this is complex scientific stuff). Let's give attempted scientific explanations to the villain's powers, even though the result will defy the law of conservation of mass. Add bronze-age pursuit of cultural relevance - particle accelerators, internet, cellphones and twerking. And let's make Iris "Miss Unnecessary Backstory in Dialogue".

Worst of all, the character has absolutely no backbone, no integrity. Then we have all this American clichéd pep-talk by authority figures. And why do they make his hood drop as soon as he runs fast? Why the hell does he need a mask that opens his face every now and then? Imagine Batman's mask falling off every time he jumps off a roof.

The series is decidedly weak.

The Fastest Man Alive is an entertaining and well rounded episode. Sure it had it's flaws but it cannot be denied on how entertaining the episode was.

The action was very refreshing. It was not very often that we see such a hero with super speed do crime fighting on screen, but in this episode Flash's abilities that were portrayed on screen amazed me. Multiplex was a great choice as a villain because it paved way for The Flash to explore more of his skills and thrilling sequences. Some scenes were shot and stylized to almost mimic some of The Matrix's iconic action scenes and I have to say, they were executed impressively. The visuals were great as well for a TV show, it didn't feel rushed or anything. Every time the Flash runs in super speed the visuals are very detailed and effective. Grant Gustin still remained to be a great Barry Allen and Flash. He can easily pull off a light hearted scene or an emotional one. I was also impressed with the flashback scenes shown in the episode which makes you learn more about how Barry Allen came to be in his younger years and see how he and the people around him developed, and at the same time enjoy Barry Allen in the future as the Flash. His relationship with Detective Joe West in his younger years was a great inclusion to the narrative which granted for more character development. Speaking of character development, Caitlin and Cisco, although great in their own roles, seem to be under developed and show no significance yet to the narrative. I would like to see them be explored and develop over time. Harrison Wells' character however, proves to still be a mystery and gained my interest which will go on for future episodes as well.

The Flash is gaining momentum. I know for a fact that the episodes will increase more and more in terms of story and will be a hit just like Arrow. With a refreshing set of action sequences and skill sets introduced by the Flash on screen, great visuals and impressive handling of the super hero and his origins. The Flash will be one show to look out for.

Verdict: 9.0/10