The Critical Corner

In a TV landscape that has been massively filled up with so many shows based on comic book properties with all different kinds of quality, no other show makes me more sad with its current state like "The Flash". The original spin off of the now defunct "Arrow", once the beacon of hope of what a great superhero show on network TV could be, has truly fallen to new lows. Despite a sign of some hope with its sixth season finally reversing a downward trend that hit its nadir with the fourth and fifth season, nothing could have ever prepared us for the pile of awful that awaited us for the majority of Season 7, even as it tried to pick itself up at the end. Obviously, there will be a big desire to point fingers and for heads to roll as to why the recently finished Season 7 turned out the way it did. One can easily point a finger to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which most famously forced the improved sixth season to end prematurely, and make filming new seasons much more...

Before going on their latest break, The Flash Season 5 had some significant forward momentum with their latest episode, “Time Bomb”. The things that happened this episode: season villain Orlin Dwyer AKA Cicada was definitively dispatched to make way for his niece from the future to assume the villain role for the remainder of the season (one that showed how deadly she is in the past two episodes). Also, Barry and Iris’ daughter Nora West Allen's secret of working with villain Eobard Thawne (which has been percolating since the reveal in the show’s 100 th episode) was finally brought to light. Suddenly, things kicked into gear to (hopefully) deliver a strong final third for the season. Therein lies the problem. Ever since the third season back in 2016, for a series that features the fastest man alive, the show has been consistently plagued with a case of sluggish pacing that’s become a little harder to ignore these days. For a show that made it...

Once the head of the pack, "The Flash" has experienced plenty of highs and lows in Season 3. In the final part of my look back into the current state of The CW's "Arrow-verse", I turn my attention to the most popular show of the pack. The one show that was once the undisputed king of The CW's shared universe, held back this year by a mix of highs and lows. The Flash Grant Gustin as The Flash Back in 2014, no one would have predicted that the first spinoff from "Arrow" would have been as successful and as special as it was when it came out. From its inception, "The Flash" was that rare show that came out of the gate fully formed. Out of all the 4 "Arrow-verse" shows, this was the one that knew what it wanted to be, what it wanted to do, and how far it would go to achieve that. It was unapologetically comic book-y.  It was unapologetically charming. It was unapologetically heartwarming. It knew when to make you feel...