The Flash - Grodd Lives - Review

So...The CW just pulled off Grodd on live action TV. Let that sink in for a minute. Grodd! A character that as a long time comic book fan I never would have thought would translate into TV so well. As an important member of The Flash mythos he has always deserved more attention then adaptions have given him, and thankfully The Flash has given him that chance to shine.

We've had multiple hints throughout the season, along with a very brief cameo at the end of a previous episode. But now we got to see Grodd in his prime. The villain that will plague Flash for years. While his origins have been changed from the comics, it really fits the show with how they have adapted his character. Not to mention the added sense of tragedy as we caught glimpses into what Grodd had been through.

This really stuck out to me, it was subtle and I missed it on my first watch. However the torture and torment that Grodd underwent by Harrison and Eiling was shocking to see. The drawings across the wall also added into that, his mind is now chaotic, broken. Of note, is how Grodd dislikes Eiling but refers to Wells as "Father". Grodd has been mentally broken by these men.

As for Harrison, he didn't have much of a role this week. However that played into his strengths as we head towards this seasons finish line. His manipulative nature in full swing as he drives wedge after wedge into Eddie. Trying to break both his morale and his heart. I feel that if we lose Harrison (or should I say Eobard) in the season final, his presence will live on through Eddie.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the other important event of the episode, and that of course is Iris finally learning the truth. After weeks and weeks of being kept in the dark she finally knows the truth and confronted our heroes (in particular, Barry) about it. I loved seeing her as a member of Team Flash and if we don't get the original Harrison Wells back, then I'd love to see her take his spot on the team. I wonder how Joe would feel about that however.

As for Joe, I'm pretty sure I've said this nearly every week but once again Jesse L. Martin knocked it out of the park. His sense of fear and his sense of dread came across the screen perfectly as Grodd struck terror down his spine.

Overall Thoughts:
Grodd Lives! An intense yet terrifying episode as we finally got to see Grodd take the stage. A perfect debut for a villain that I thought would be impossible to be adapted to TV correctly. We also got some great development for Iris that has been long time coming. 2 more episodes remain, the countdown to the season final has begun!

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.

Recent Reviews (All Reviews)