“The Flash” had an absolutely spectacular first season and the show doesn’t look to be slowing down. Its second season premiere, “The Man Who Saved Central City,” was a solid return for Barry (The Flash) and company, promising big things for the rest of the season. That said, I will be mentioning events from the first season, so this is a spoiler warning for those who haven’t seen it – I highly recommend checking it out on Netflix.
The tone of this episode is noticeably more grim than usual, but it worked well. The repercussions of the singularity from last season’s finale are widespread, with everyone on Team Flash ending up worse off. Though the episode is largely about Barry’s emotional struggle after what happened, it also gave screen time to all of the characters. “The Man Who Saved Central City” also had a good deal of humor, so no worries to those who thought the show might be going dark.
Disappointingly, the villain, Atom-Smasher, was nothing to write home about. However, he did drop the name of the big villain for this season, Zoom: a massive challenge for Barry to overcome. Zoom is a speedster like Barry, so it will be awesome to witness another super speed showdown at the end of the season.
Show producers also introduce viewers to the DC multiverse – a clear expansion of the first season’s strengths in embracing comic book elements of “The Flash.” The end of the episode also introduces a new character to the show. I won’t spoil who it is here, but he’s definitely going to make a huge splash.
The premiere “The Flash” was a very solid start to what looks to be an impressive second season. There was great humor and emotional exchanges, a lot of character development and a crazy plot twist at the end of the episode. The CW proved that it knows what it is doing when it comes to Barry Allen and season two is no exception. Fans are in for a thrilling ride.
Ben Wagman is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at benjamin.wagman@uconn.edu.
