‘The Flash’ Post-Mortem: A Benchmark of Superhero TV
To call The Flash’s series finale “bittersweet” would be an understatement—after a storied 9-season run on The CW, the Arrowverse series has finally come to a tumultuous and none-too-elegant close. In addition to marking the literal end of an era (with this finale, there are officially no superhero shows from the Arrowverse currently airing on the CW), The Flash coming to a close feels like the end of a metaphorical one, as well.
The series’ bright-eyed, often goofy, always sincere attitude towards adapting superheroes for the small screen opened the door for a wave of network superhero shows that once ruled the airwaves. Though its later seasons may have met frequent social media ridicule and generally lukewarm critical/fan reception, The Flash’s first two seasons will always stand as a high point in the network superhero subgenre, and an endearing fan-favorite for viewers.
Barry Allen and the world of The Flash started as many network franchise entries do: via a backdoor pilot. Arrow season 2, episode 8, titled “The Scientist,” introduced viewers to Grant Gustin’s geeky, oh-so 2010s take on Barry Allen, and The Flash was picked up for a pilot a year later. Originally starring Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Danielle Panabaker, Carlos Valdes, Tom Cavanagh, and Jesse L. Martin, season 1 of The Flash was a charming, self-contained murder mystery series that translates the classic backstory of Barry Allen: After being struck by lightning and stuck in a coma for nine months, Barry awakens to find out he’s got super speed and uses his powers to fight crime while hunting down the man who killed his mother.
It’s a premise pulled straight from the pages of the comics, though tweaked slightly to include Cisco, Caitlin, and the mysterious Dr. Wells, who function as the tech support/social circle/suspect pool for the identity of Barry’s mother’s killer, the Reverse-Flash. Cisco and Caitlin both go on to get superpowers of their own—bringing their comic counterparts Vibe and Killer Frost to life, both as heroes and villains. Dr. Wells, meanwhile, was invented by series creators Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg, who established (alongside an iconic, frosty performance from Cavanagh) him as a mysterious mentor figure who would go on to be revealed not just as Reverse-Flash, but as the genesis for a baker’s dozen of alternate universe Harrison Wells(es), all played by Cavanagh.
In addition to his newfound family at Star Labs, Barry has an adoptive family at home, as well. Martin’s warmly paternal adoptive father/CCPD detective Joe West and Barry’s adoptive sister/lifelong childhood crush Iris West (Patton) serve as the emotional core/stakes in Barry’s journey, bro familial/platonic and romantic, respectively. Between Iris, Joe, Cisco, Caitlin, and (to some extent) Dr. Wells, the original ensemble cast of the Flash was a well-balanced, easily-lovable group reminiscent of ’90s teen dramas like Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Season 1 Barry Allen feelt very much like a classic coming-of-age protagonist: navigating love, family drama, and personal struggles while fighting crime.
Yes, he may be the same age as Oliver Queen, but as The Flash‘s many crossovers with Arrow make abundantly clear, Barry and Oliver are near polar opposites on the superhero spectrum: Oliver representing the conventional broody, intense, hyper-violent hero made popular by Bruce Wayne, while Barry is a peppier, more youthful-feeling, certainly more immature hero who’s just growing into his exciting new powers. It’s that core facet of Barry’s personality—his youthful optimism and joy—that bleeds into the tone of the series as a whole and gives the entire narrative a sheen of comic book delight while allowing it to engage with some of the character’s goofier villains—like fan-favorite recurring baddie Captain Cold (Wentworth Miller).
As for Gustin himself, he’s spearheaded the tone and energy of the series for nine long seasons and deserves his flowers for carrying the tentpole of a series on his shoulders, despite the fact that Ezra Miller was cast to bring the character to life on film in the middle of his run on The CW. For some fans (including yours truly), it was disheartening but not unsurprising to see the character recast in the DC slate of films, and the absence of a cameo from Gustin in the upcoming Flash film feels like an oversight, considering the timing in proximity to the series finale, and the fact that Miller was allowed to cameo on The Flash a few seasons ago.
It’s difficult to recapture the magic of the early seasons of The Flash, but the series struck the perfect balance between crime/mystery procedural, coming-of-age story, and supernatural/sci-fi drama, constantly propelled forward by the intensely likable characters and the chemistry of the ensemble cast. Between time travel shenanigans, timeline resets, and alternate universe versions of the heroes we know and love, those first two seasons of The Flash took a relatively limited scope/budget and struck gold, inspiring shows like Supergirl, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, and Stargirl to attempt to follow suit.
By the end of its run, The Flash has lost a number of crucial cast members (a number of whom return for the finale, with the exception of Valdes) and deviated vastly from the allure of what initially made it great, but The Flash coming to an end is still a blow to the television landscape, even if it comes at the end of a nine-season run.
(featured image: The CW)
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