The Flash: Fast Enough

The Flash: Fast Enough
The CW
May 19, 2015
Action, Sci-Fi
DVD
B+

I'll just note right off that Ciara Renée makes her first of four appearances on Flash as Kendra Saunders, since I don't want her to get lost in the shuffle.

Berlanti & Kreisberg wrote the story that Kreisberg adapted into a teleplay with Gabrielle Stanton (her first of three) and it is a fine finale to a very uneven first season.  Although there is undeniably action and dazzling special effects, the core of the episode is the relationships among the various people, and not just Barry.  I don't think I've specifically singled out Tom Cavanagh but his performance as Dr. Wells has been incredible all season, with all the shades and shadiness to this likable villain.  Watching him play off of Carlos Valdes, whose Cisco has never been just comic relief, is wonderful.  One of the themes of the series is fathers & sons, with of course the casting of the '90s Flash as Barry's dad an irony and an echo but also an extra layer.  (That I didn't even initially recognize John Wesley Shipp as Dawson's dad on Dawson's Creek is amusing, but he's given much better material to work with here.)  Even Caitlin & Ronnie's wedding, and the twists and turns of Iris & Eddie's romance, ending in him sacrificing not just her but his own life to stop his descendant, Eobard Thawne, worked, although all along I've been dubious about how romance is handled on this series.

The episode and the season end on a wormhole that Barry must stop, and I'll certainly watch Season Two, but I will admit to having mixed feelings, mostly because of the fluctuation in quality of this season.  It ranges from D+ to B+ and averages out to a C+.  There were times I came close to giving up and then another decent to good episode would come along.  I've already talked some about the strengths of this show, but I do have to say that if they can't shape up Iris's character-- no matter who they marry her off to-- and more importantly if they can't give us better Villains of the Week, then it won't matter that Barry's friendships are so well done or that Harrison Wells (in his various guises) has been a beautiful Big Bad.  Oh, and for the love of God, cut back on the Arrow crossovers, please!