The Flash: Duet Review

By: Ashley Binion (@ashleybinion)

The long-anticipated musical crossover between The Flash and Supergirl was worth the wait. It was a fun hour with little doom and gloom.

Warning: Spoilers ahead.

“Duet” was one of the best episodes of The Flash this season. Unfortunately, there have been so many problems with the series over the course of its junior run that it has become a chore to watch the show. However, when watching “Duet,” all of those problems flew right out of the window. For 42 minutes, The Flash became fun again. Could this be because they were forced to have a lighthearted episode because of the musical theme? Possibly. Could it be because of the infusion of the Supergirl cast? Probably.

It has become a running theme that some of the best episodes of the series are extremely campy. I say this in a non-disparagingly way: “Duet” was a campfest. It took the quirkiest parts of the show and put them on display. I loved it.

The advantage The Flash had during the episode was the use of the songs. Using the songs subtracted about ten minutes of dialogue. As a result of less written dialogue, it was cleaner, sharper, and wittier. I don’t remember a recent episode of The Flash where the dialogue was that impressive.

For the most part, I am not a fan of musical episodes with Crazy Ex-Girlfriend being the rare exception. Musicals themselves, I love. But the problem shows run into is that only a couple of the actors on the series can sing. The rest can’t. This is where the Arrowverse stands heads and shoulders above the rest. They have fantastic talent and a large pool to select from.

Another difficulty shows run into is the music they use. Some use their own original songs. The Flash only used one original song, “Super Friend.” It’s not a coincidence that Rachel Bloom, star and creator of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend co-wrote the song. It was such a wonderful song that perfectly displayed the wit and exuberance of the two superheroes. Melissa Benoist and Grant Gustin were absolutely perfect in the episode. I want a crossover every week where all Barry and Kara do for an hour is hang out.

Overall, the plot of the dream was nothing to write home about and the solution of a ‘true-love’s kiss’ to bring them back to reality was too on the nose even for a campy episode such as this one. I loved that Mon-El’s alter ego was named Tommy. It hit me right in the feels.

I still have a major issue with Barry and Iris. There has been too much melodrama surrounding the couple, non-couple, and now couple again. The fact that they were engaged two episodes ago, broke up last episode, and are now back to being engaged is too much. I can’t deal with it.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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