Good: Grant Gustin
The more I see of Grant Gustin as Barry Allen the more I’m convinced that the DC/Warner Bros.’ cinematic universe made a mistake in not having him come in to at least audition for Justice League. He, more than anything else, sells everything that makes Barry Allen a perfect superhero.
He’s had a number of powerful moments this year and it all culminated in the season finale, where he experienced intense grief, rage and resentment over his father’s death. If anything, since we know that Gustin can effortlessly sell the emotional aspects of Barry, it would be nice for the show to allow him to play the confident version of the character again as well.
Good: The Episodes That Were “Great” Excelled
In the end, the lack of consistency was the biggest hurdle for The Flash this year. The show would go on for a few episodes finding itself back in its campier, comic book roots and then switch in tone and try to be taken seriously again, making its hero a dour, walking Shakespeare tragedy.
But, when the season hit its stride it absolutely soared. Episodes such as “Enter Zoom” presented a real, tangible threat and gave us one of the more evocative endings the show has ever had. The two parter “Welcome to Earth 2” and “Escape from Earth 2” was the series at its wildest as the cast all got to have a bit of fun with playing their doppelgangers. “The Runaway Dinosaur,” meanwhile, is quite simply one of the very best episodes the show has ever done, which was due to how stripped down and internal it becomes as Barry has to face his past in order to finally move forward.
The Flash may have lost its way here and there, but several episodes throughout the season demonstrate that the series still knows what its best aspects are and how to best utilize them. Now it just needs to remember what it’s good at each week rather than just every once in awhile.
