The Flash - Plastique - Review

After a week off The Flash is back! Did anyone else miss the show as much as I did last week? This weeks episode introduces us to 2 recurring characters from the DC mythos which I was very excited about. The resolution to Plastique's storyline however left me with some concerns.

This re-imagined version of Plastique was so far the most sympathetic meta-human we've met and it was nice to see that she wasn't portrayed fully as a villain, (more misunderstood due to circumstances then anything). However I took issue with the fact that she was killed off. Her interaction with the main cast was fun to see and she fit right in, but then that ending...well...lets just say I was hoping she'd recur from time to time.

The Flash seems to have a problem with keeping characters alive. Many of these have the potential for a treasure trove of stories (whether they pull from the comics or not), but instead they're just given a one-and-done. I was really hoping the final scene would involve A.R.G.U.S. picking up Plastique's corpse to hint at her reappearing in the Suicide Squad, but alas it didn't happen.

General Eiling however had a more understated presence. Clancy Brown (who has a history with DC adaptions) is indeed the right man to portray the General and while his past was hinted at (hello Grodd), enough hints and teases were put out that it left me wanting more.

On the topic of wanting more, I was happy to see Barry finally pushing his powers even further. While running over water and up the side of a building may not be the most breathtaking powers on paper, the visuals they bring to the TV universe will more then make up for it (just look at Barry outrunning the water-explosion which was one of my favorite scenes in this episode).

Iris also finally had something to do that didn't grate my nerves. While I'm getting major Lois Lane/Chloe Sullivan vibes from her storyline, I'm not hating it. I just hope we don't fall into teen-drama territory with the fallout from the Barry/Iris split. Hopefully they'll use this time to develop Iris as her own character now rather then waiting till the 3rd season to make her somewhat tolerable (Laurel anyone?).

Once again I loved the interaction from Team S.T.A.R. Labs. I found it interesting to see their differing views on Plastique which really helps define how different they all are. Plastique wasn't a villain, yet should she still be locked away? Or should she join the team despite being a danger even to herself? Or perhaps should they just let her go to fend for herself? This echo's an issue that was raised in episode 3. Not everyone can be saved, and sometimes we all have to make hard decisions.

Harrison Wells is also getting less ambiguous with each episode. While still understated, his plans and comments are getting darker and darker. His actions this time depraved Barry of the only meta-human he could relate to (thus far).

The future teases from this episode really stood out to me too. I wasn't sure if they would actually delve into Grodd outside of recurring imagery, but now I'm intrigued. Can they pull off Grodd? From the brief tease, I'm really interested in seeing them try. But that also raises various other questions, how many others has the General experimented on? Did any actually succeed?

Overall Feelings:
Other then the issue of killing off Plastique I have to say I really liked this episode. Seeds for the future were further planted and Iris finally had something to do. The further expansion of Barry's powers was much appreciated and furthered his path of becoming the hero we all know he will one day be.

About the Author - Christopher DeBono

Australian Student. Addicted to TV, novels, comics and all things video games.

Watches everything on The CW and many Australian shows.

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