Every week that I download The Flash Season 0, I pray that it will start to capture the magic that we get Tuesday nights on television. This week got a direct follow-up to Mr. Bliss’s attack on Barry’s psyche. Barry is crippled by the attack, basically switching to a catatonic state. The S.T.A.R. Labs team shows up to bail him out, and we get an interesting insight into the motives of the circus performers.
That’s right. I said interesting.
Positives
We got a plot twist that was actually interesting! Some of the circus performers are only there helping Bliss because of the mental/emotional torture he can inflict. This was a very cool twist, as it helped to separate Bliss from the legions of fear inducers we’ve seen over the years. While the reveal didn’t have as much oomph as I’d have liked because it came from Snake-Lady (who still has no name as far as I remember), it still worked in the grand scheme of things. The idea that the strongman is just as unwilling was handled in a nice and subtle manner.
Negatives
The blandness of the villains really killed the reveal of Mr. Bliss’s influence over the performers. I have little to no connection to these sometimes completely unnamed characters, so what could have been a game changer really only feels like an interesting plot twist.
The meltdown by the Flash was uninspired and a bit confusing. He’s crying in two panels and then is unresponsive. But while he is unresponsive he appears to be at least walking, albeit under aid. Finally we are told in the last pages that Flash is in trauma-induced catatonia. It’s an awkward progression that feels forced so as to give us a cliffhanger.
The Verdict
The Flash Season 0 redeemed itself a bit more this week. Unfortunately it is still not at the caliber one would hope from watching the television show.
