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locker_monsterI can't believe how good The Flash has become. When it started off with the freak of the week premise, I was kind of wary, but the show has come a long way since then.
It also doesn't hurt that they keep hiring actors who were on 1990's The Flash. :-) Got to love stunt casting. They kicked it up a notch, though, when they brought in Mark Hamill to reprise his role as the Trickster. God, he does gleefully evil so well. Can they keep bringing him back every once and a while? I would totally not object.
When it was announced that Mark Hamill would be on the show, I went and found his old episodes from the 1990's The Flash and I'm glad I did. They didn't reference anything specifically, but I noticed the odd easter egg here and there. They had some screenshots from "The Trial of the Trickster", there was one of his old costumes, and I think his old hideout had a few props that could be references to the first Trickster episode. Oh, and Joe had a wonderful line about how no one had been in the hideout since the 1990s. Kudos to the writers for having some fun. Though, I'm kind of on the fence with the "I am your father" line that they gave the original Trickster. It's funny, but it's kind of groan worthy, too. I guess it was the obligatory Star Wars joke.
I'm a little bummed that Mark Hamill didn't get a bright, garish costume to wear, but you can't have everything. This Trickster is a bit more sinister, so I can see why they didn't. But they did shoehorn in a scene between him and John Wesley Shipp, the 1990 Flash. Oh sure, they explain it away, saying Henry makes good leverage because his son is on the police force, but really, it was just an excuse to reunite the two actors. :-) But wait! They had one more actor from the 1990's The Flash. I had a good giggle when I saw that they brought back the guy who played Bellows. Oh, Bellows and Murphy, the long suffering beat cops on the old show. It's like Bellows quit the police force, entered politics, and became the Mayor of Central City. Hey, maybe Murph became his chief of staff!
So, overall, a fun episode, but there were some important developments, too. Things I was not expecting: 1) Harrison Wells is not Harrison Wells and 2) Barry told Eddie he is the Flash.
I know we found out that Harrison was actually Eobard Thawne a few episodes back, but they added another twist by revealing that Eobard is actually wearing Harrison like a meat suit. Okay, it's more likely he just stole the original Harrison's face and DNA, but the idea still stands. Eobard stole Harrison's identity so he could develop a way to get back to the right century. I actually don't mind this revelation. You end up feeling sorry for the original Harrison. He had a good life before Eobard showed up. Oh, but this means that the Flash that chases the Reverse Flash into the past is actually a Barry who is further into the future. It's not current Barry, because the Reverse Flash he's been fighting has Harrison's face. Ugh, timey-wimey.
Barry revealing his secret identity to Eddie was also an interesting twist. I hate it when there are characters on shows who don't know the main character has a dual identity. It makes those characters look really stupid. Just look at Laurel on Arrow or Lois on Smallville. Granted, Eddie isn't that close with Barry, but the man is a police detective; he's not an idiot. So, on the one hand, Barry and Joe don't have to tip toe around Eddie anymore, but on the other hand, I would have liked it more if Eddie had figured it out on his own. Hopefully, this means Eddie has more to do on the show.
I am annoyed that Iris is the last character still in the dark about Barry's secret identity. Hell, Barry's dad found out before Iris! Just let Iris find out already! It's so frustrating, watching her character. She has nothing to do on the show. She's the token damsel in distress and it bothers me so much. They keep saying it's to protect Iris, but it's just dumb. She's a grown woman. She can look after herself. She could even contribute to Team Flash if they let her. As a reporter, she could, I don't know, deflect nosy journalists who want to find out the Flash's true identity.
Iris and Laurel need to meet. Honestly, I would go for a scene like that in a future crossover episode. They could form a club or a support group.
Oh, in other Arrowverse news, Arthur Darvill is going to be one of the leads on the new Arrow/Flash spin-off and he's playing a time traveller! I'm super stoked for this show now. This also means Arthur will be in Vancouver to film. Road trip!
It also doesn't hurt that they keep hiring actors who were on 1990's The Flash. :-) Got to love stunt casting. They kicked it up a notch, though, when they brought in Mark Hamill to reprise his role as the Trickster. God, he does gleefully evil so well. Can they keep bringing him back every once and a while? I would totally not object.
When it was announced that Mark Hamill would be on the show, I went and found his old episodes from the 1990's The Flash and I'm glad I did. They didn't reference anything specifically, but I noticed the odd easter egg here and there. They had some screenshots from "The Trial of the Trickster", there was one of his old costumes, and I think his old hideout had a few props that could be references to the first Trickster episode. Oh, and Joe had a wonderful line about how no one had been in the hideout since the 1990s. Kudos to the writers for having some fun. Though, I'm kind of on the fence with the "I am your father" line that they gave the original Trickster. It's funny, but it's kind of groan worthy, too. I guess it was the obligatory Star Wars joke.
I'm a little bummed that Mark Hamill didn't get a bright, garish costume to wear, but you can't have everything. This Trickster is a bit more sinister, so I can see why they didn't. But they did shoehorn in a scene between him and John Wesley Shipp, the 1990 Flash. Oh sure, they explain it away, saying Henry makes good leverage because his son is on the police force, but really, it was just an excuse to reunite the two actors. :-) But wait! They had one more actor from the 1990's The Flash. I had a good giggle when I saw that they brought back the guy who played Bellows. Oh, Bellows and Murphy, the long suffering beat cops on the old show. It's like Bellows quit the police force, entered politics, and became the Mayor of Central City. Hey, maybe Murph became his chief of staff!
So, overall, a fun episode, but there were some important developments, too. Things I was not expecting: 1) Harrison Wells is not Harrison Wells and 2) Barry told Eddie he is the Flash.
I know we found out that Harrison was actually Eobard Thawne a few episodes back, but they added another twist by revealing that Eobard is actually wearing Harrison like a meat suit. Okay, it's more likely he just stole the original Harrison's face and DNA, but the idea still stands. Eobard stole Harrison's identity so he could develop a way to get back to the right century. I actually don't mind this revelation. You end up feeling sorry for the original Harrison. He had a good life before Eobard showed up. Oh, but this means that the Flash that chases the Reverse Flash into the past is actually a Barry who is further into the future. It's not current Barry, because the Reverse Flash he's been fighting has Harrison's face. Ugh, timey-wimey.
Barry revealing his secret identity to Eddie was also an interesting twist. I hate it when there are characters on shows who don't know the main character has a dual identity. It makes those characters look really stupid. Just look at Laurel on Arrow or Lois on Smallville. Granted, Eddie isn't that close with Barry, but the man is a police detective; he's not an idiot. So, on the one hand, Barry and Joe don't have to tip toe around Eddie anymore, but on the other hand, I would have liked it more if Eddie had figured it out on his own. Hopefully, this means Eddie has more to do on the show.
I am annoyed that Iris is the last character still in the dark about Barry's secret identity. Hell, Barry's dad found out before Iris! Just let Iris find out already! It's so frustrating, watching her character. She has nothing to do on the show. She's the token damsel in distress and it bothers me so much. They keep saying it's to protect Iris, but it's just dumb. She's a grown woman. She can look after herself. She could even contribute to Team Flash if they let her. As a reporter, she could, I don't know, deflect nosy journalists who want to find out the Flash's true identity.
Iris and Laurel need to meet. Honestly, I would go for a scene like that in a future crossover episode. They could form a club or a support group.
Oh, in other Arrowverse news, Arthur Darvill is going to be one of the leads on the new Arrow/Flash spin-off and he's playing a time traveller! I'm super stoked for this show now. This also means Arthur will be in Vancouver to film. Road trip!
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no subject
Date: 2015-04-01 07:20 pm (UTC)All that other stuff with Harrison Wells and the detective guy and the past was confusing since I'm not a regular viewer of the show, and truthfully I would've liked it better if they'd given Mark Hamill more stuff to do instead. But hey, they're doing what they want for the whole arc of the show. This show isn't quite as campy as the old Flash, and you could definitely see that in how the Trickster was handled -- Mark Hamill didn't get to be nearly as over-the-top as he was back then. It was still fun, though, and I too would like to see him back. We can lose son-of-Trickster-guy, though -- he didn't add anything except a convenient plot device for the break-out and the Star Wars joke.
no subject
Date: 2015-04-02 02:05 am (UTC)But it was still a joy to see Mark Hamill just having a blast with the character. He got to be more over-the-top than any other villain on the show and you know what? It just works. Anyone else in that role would have screwed it up. And you're right about Trickster II. He wasn't needed at all beyond serving the plot.
I'm sure the writers will bring back the Trickster at some point. From all of the reviews I read, everyone loved him. Ooh, then maybe they can have Mark Hamill, John Wesley Shipp, and Amanda Pays in one episode.