The Flash "Fastest Man Alive" Review/Thoughts

In this week's installment of The Flash, we get a glimpse at downsides to having a super-fast metabolism as well as some development in the character backstory/relationship department.

Episode Description: Having decided to help the citizens of Central City as "The Flash", Barry Allen's confidence is shaken when he faces off against Multiplex, a foe who can make copies of himself.

High Points:

• The Flash helping deal with everyday occurrences like fires and thefts
• Another crime scene that shows off Barry's ability to deduce situations
• Flashbacks gave useful background info about Barry's relationship with Detective West
• Joe West established as a "father figure" and trusted confidant to Barry
• Barry starting to figure out his strengths and limitations
• Scenes where the world seems to slow around Barry are well done (even the comical ones)
• "The Red Streak"
• Another ending that keeps you guessing about Dr. Wells and his motives
• Who is Eobard Thawne??

Harrison?..Is that you?

Low Points:

• Not overly impressed with some characters yet (Iris & Cisco)
• Multiplex's performance was also unimpressive
• Multiplex's backstory sounded suspiciously like Mr. Freeze's...
• Is every episode going to begin and end with Barry telling us what he is doing and a lesson he learned respectively?
• We may have to deal with some villain-of-the-week stuff before we get to some real overarching villainy

Verdict: Last week's premiere of The Flash, showed us that Professor Zoom is absolutely going to be a presence at some point in this show but has left it open as to who it is going to be. Will it be Dr. Harrison Wells, who we have seen doing multiple shady things and owns a copy of The Central City Citizen from 2024? Or will it be Eddie Thawne, Iris's boyfriend whose name is Eddie Thawne? One of them is there to throw us off from the other, and at this point I have no idea who to truly suspect, and I love that! However, until we find out who is Eobard and who isn't, it seems like we are going to get some of your weaker, run-of-the mill, one-and-done villains like Multiplex. This isn't completely bad though. Less focus on a "big bad" for now allows for more focus on the development of Barry's character and background stories. And let's not forget the incredibly important detail that was addressed tonight: Barry needs to eat constantly so he has fuel to burn. I was always a fan of watching Wally West have to wolf down a plate of food during breaks in the action on Justice League Unlimited. Overall the show didn't skip a beat this week and thus receives another 8.0 out of 10.

Thanks for reading the review and feel free to share any thoughts or feelings about the show in the comments or on twitter @Caped_Informers. Be sure to check in for reviews of your other favorite comic-related shows, and tune in this time next week for a review of The Flash's third episode: "Things You Can't Outrun".