The Flash - The Sound And The Fury - Review
28 Jan 2015
Reviews SW The FlashContinuing on from last weeks introduction of Heat Wave, the Pied Piper has now made his glorious debut. Overall this episode was fairly good. It had some minor issues but overall it was a total enjoyment. I liked seeing Iris try taking that step in her career and the mystery surrounding Harrison Wells grows even deeper.
Let's start with the Pied Piper. Compared to the comics, Pied Piper received a lot of changes but overall I loved how they tied in his origin and motive to STAR Labs. I did take issue at how we never saw another side of Hartley however. Being betrayed by his family and mentor should open a whole can of worms in regards to exploring the character. Instead, consistently he was a jerk. I would have liked a flashback to have shown how he was before he came out to his parents. Did all these events turn him into what we saw in this episode? Or was he always a jerk.
Hopefully Pied Piper will have repeat appearances so this can be explored further. Andy Mientus I felt really nailed the material he was given. His one liners came off strong and he did make me laugh more then once. I also liked how he could be intimidating both with and without powers. It's one thing to be all fearsome with gadgets, superpowers and special effects. But its a whole other ballpark when someone can sound just as intimidating through mere words alone. In a world filled with superheroes, its easy to forget just how much power words still carry.
The fight sequences during the episode were a mixed bag for me. I liked the sound blasts that Harley used against the buildings but compared to last week the climatic battle seemed weak and unimpressive. I'm not that concerned with that however as I feel the episode was more concerned with the development on the characters rather then a splashy fight sequence.
Harrison also got a lot of material in this weeks episode and it's fascinating to see his character change from week to week. He's so difficult to pin down and so hard to get a clear reading from. This wasn't just through his actions either, the way he phrases everything seems to hold some hidden meaning or reference. Each week my personal theories change so much but its such a fun ride. We also saw him use his speedster powers, confirming (in show) that he really does have powers similar to (or possibly exactly like) The Flash. He also referenced and introduced an important concept from the Flash's comic mythos, the speed force.
Iris also enjoyed some solid material this week. I loved seeing her attempt to establish herself as a reporter, rather then just a blogger with ties to The Flash. She's shown signs of having spunk during the first part of the season, and here the writers tried to bring that out again. Candice Patton played it to her strengths which worked well.
Harrison's press conference I felt could have been handled better though. I can see what the writers were trying to go for but having Harrison deflect to Iris just made it seem cheesy and weak to me. I wouldn't really call that gumption either. Iris didn't pull any resources or assert herself during the conference. She got lucky that she knew Harrison beforehand and that he deflected to her. In the end I felt it cheapened what could have been a very important character defining moment for her and should have been handled much better.
The ending scene between Joe and Barry once again hits all the right notes. I've mentioned before how well Grant and Jesse play off each other, and that still continues here. It looks as though Barry's father figures are going to clash soon and the result from that has me both worried and intrigued.
That said, throughout the episode there were some minor issues. I've touched on the handling of an important Iris moment above along with Pied Pipers characterization. The starting sequence with the Royal Flush Gang was slightly confusing. Were they meant to be the same Royal Flush Gang from Arrow or a copycat? Because I believe they were either dead or in jail. Iris being offered a job in 5 seconds also seemed really rushed, did she already know she had the job and just walked out of the room to humor Joe? None of these really detract from the episode that much and I'm mainly just nitpicking.
Overall Feelings:
The episodes goal was to shed some light on Harrison and I feel it succeeded. The villains material, along with putting some of the spotlight on Iris really proved to be an enjoyable episode. While it had some minor issues, they didn't really detract from the overall experience.
Note: I'll be out next week and another reviewer will be covering episode 12.
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Barry and Caitlin are going on a date next week, it's going to be awesome!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteNo they're not, they're going out to meet people, and try and get over their respective pasts.
ReplyDeleteExactly. Harrison didn't want to answer the question, so he tried to exploit Iris' position as a newbie by making her feel "special" and it completely backfired. I almost applauded when she did that.
ReplyDeleteIt's a cheesy show and Harrison is a master manipulator so it wasn't a big deal. I liked that she showed her mentor that she's a team player and not willing to be used.
ReplyDeleteI thought the same thing about the Royal Flush Gang, though if I remember, only one died, and a lot of people escaped Iron Heights, so maybe these 3 are meant to be the same people from Arrow.
ReplyDeleteduring the earthquake? but come on that Gang isn't small and for it to be just a cameo feels like they didn't even remember they were on Arrow
ReplyDeletethey confirmed it
ReplyDeleteAgreed.
ReplyDeleteCheap and poorly written.
Having Iris be given a free pass to ask anything and then having her parrot the exact same question asked only seconds before was just sloppy writing.
Had she asked something she thought of that was on point and hard-hitting it would have showed she has potential to be a good reporter. The way it went down showed if someone sets her up, she is capable of asking the same things asked seconds before! XD
Not a power play at all.
Just favoritism/ nepotism that showed Iris is capable of asking an unoriginal question and then feeling cocky!! XD.
No they are not. They decide they are too young to be dateless and go out to have a good time where Barry meets Linda Park.
ReplyDeleteWhere? And if they confirmed it, why does Barry go home with someone else?
ReplyDeleteI had to research gumption because I thought my knowledge was wrong. LOL. According to dictionary gumption has a meaning of courage,spunk,guts along with initiative, aggressiveness, resourcefulness.
ReplyDeleteWhat I took away from that scene was Harrison wanted to avoid answering the question. Being the rat that he was he decided to pick on the newbie and put her on the spot thinking she will ask him another question because a) he was Barry's friend and mentor and b) she is young and new at the job. She refused to fall for that and asked the difficult question back again. From Well's expression it is clear he was not expecting that. It took courage to do that. So I agree she had gumption in the scene.
I liked the episode. I think we will get a different version of Royal Flush gang in The Flash sometime in the future. I agree that reference was confusing. Also I agree about the final stand off. It was not as grand as other fight scenes of The Flash. Andy Mientus was awesome as Pied Piper/Hartley. Iris moved on to her new job. Great! We saw Cisco flashback and some of his insecurity when it comes to Wells. Wells himself is giving me head aches. So he does need that wheel chair. They referenced Speed Force!!!!
ReplyDeleteI really don't see the writers going there with those two
ReplyDeletethey have to be a slow-burn
ReplyDeletethe father died remember? i don't like nitpicking on my favorite shows but this is a huge misstep in their part for fans that also watch Arrow and remember the Royal Flush Gang
ReplyDeleteWouldn't going on a date right now kind of refute the "slow-burn" hypothesis?
ReplyDeleteOr it could be they will retain just one character from the previous gang maybe the father and will say he made another gang with same objectives but better methods.
ReplyDeleteso you think they're doing what they did Once Upon a Time and Once Upon a Time in Wonderland with Will the had two Knaves in the same universe
ReplyDeleteI thought the son died? It was the father? He was the only notable actor. As far as I know Royal Flush Gang is huge in comics. Arrow kind of ruined it with their mediocre portrayal. I think they will some how revive this one.
ReplyDeleteI remember them being mediocre when they appeared on Arrow.
ReplyDeleteyeah it was the father, the son shot at Oliver and the father got in the way, the son technically was knowable to Smallville fans he was there too, i know it's a small thing but to those who caught it's not a small thing and i honestly can't believe that they didn't even think that Arrow fans WOULDN'T pay attention to them and treat them as if they were some two-bit thieves
ReplyDeleteNice catch O D A; regarding Harrison attempt to avoid the question by pointing to newbie reporter Iris; because when is Harrison Wells not manipulating?...that is all he has done since we were first introduce to the character; I also felt that by pointing to Iris he was also trying to gain brownie points with Barry; another form of manipulation.
ReplyDeleteLove seeing Roger Howarth on the show. I do still miss his blonde hair though, reminds me a lot of his past roles from As the World Turns (Paul) and One Life to Live (Todd).
ReplyDeleteJust a thought, did Pied Piper ever wondered as to what was Harrison doing lying on the floor (away from his wheelchair) when he escaped?
ReplyDelete