The Flash: Flashpoint Review

By: Ashley Binion (@ashleybinion)

After the cliffhanger in The Flash’s season two finale, “Race of His Life,” we all knew what we were going to get in the season three premiere: Flashpoint. Did the series deliver on one of The Flash’s most iconic storylines? Let’s find out.

Warning: Spoilers ahead.

I’m hesitant to write this sentence, but I’m going to do it anyway. The episode left me feeling annoyed. With “Flashpoint,” The Flash could have done better. They should have done better. They have done better. Look at the entirety of season one. For 23 episodes, they told a story that felt new and fresh. I was looking for something new and fresh in “Flashpoint.” Really, this didn’t happen. Of course there were different versions of characters much like season two’s Earth-2 extravaganza. But, the story was lacking.

At this point, I think the series needs a permanent restart. This would’ve been the perfect opportunity to do that. But, what did they do? They somewhat continued with the Flashpoint idea by having Barry travel back to his timeline with repercussions. Essentially, they restarted another restart. Ugh.

The major problem with this second restart is that the viewers need to be invested in Iris. At this point, I’m still not invested in her. Do I care that she and Joe have a rift in their relationship? No. Hopefully there are more repercussions revealed in the next episode.

The number one aspect that annoyed me most in “Flashpoint” was that once again the series decided to kill off Barry’s mom. They need to stop. I know, I know – this is the central catalyst to Barry being The Flash. It’s an essential part of his character that needs to stay in place. However, The Flash continues to play with the idea of saving versus killing his mom. The writers need to pick one and stick with it. The storyline feels like it is being wasted and recycled with the constant waffling.

Overall, the re-killing of Barry’s mom would have been better served in this episode if we saw more than three quick glances of his parents’ happiness and only hearing about how happy Barry has been the past three months. Flashpoint needed to be longer than 43 minutes. It was rushed. The Flash has 23 episodes to play with every season and making Flashpoint last this short of time is a disservice.

Maybe Flashpoint should have been saved for the annual crossover event. Seeing how the entire ‘Arrow-verse’ changed would have been much more interesting and broader than the intimate and rushed Flashpoint we got in this episode.

There were parts in the episode that were excellent. Once again, the cast continues to bring their acting chops. Being able to play different versions of the same character is a great test of an actor’s ability and so far they have risen to the occasion every time. The Rival’s lava-looking suit was different for a speedster, especially with the funky looking earpieces. Wally was a fun Kid Flash. It’s exciting that Dr. Alchemy is on his way. And, the Reverse-Flash continues to be a superb villain.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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