Wednesday, November 12, 2014

The Flash: Season 1, Episode 5


The Flash
Episode Title: “Plastique”
Channel: CW
Director: Dermott Downs
Writers: Aaron Helbing, Todd Helbing, and Brooke Eikmeier
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Runtime: 43 min
Rated: TV-PG
Original Air Date: November 11, 2014

After a week off The Flash returns with an episode that fixes some of the problems I've had with the show thus far. Most notably, that somehow the public and large, and the authorities have remained in the dark concerning the existence of metahumans, and that for some reason every person affected by the explosion at S.T.A.R. Labs has been an evil scumbag. Tack on some nice lighthearted moments and a great father/son moment in Barry's lab and this was an enjoyable episode.

Right from the start the viewer knows that this week's metahuman is different. Sure she tossed a bomb at the security guard, but immediately after she told him to get down. When we find out more about her we discover that Sgt. Souci was a bomb disposal specialist in the Army. She thinks that a general, known for conducting experiments on soldiers, is responsible for her condition. Sure, when we meet her she's looking for revenge; but upon learning the truth we find that she's a reasonable, otherwise normal person.

The aforementioned general, Wade Eiling played by Clancy Brown, learns of her ability and immediately thinks of her as a weapon. I'm glad to see a vanilla human taking the stage in a villainous role. With the power and resources available to him through the government Eiling has the potential to be a serious threat to Barry and the other metahumans. It doesn't hurt that Clancy Brown has perfected many different flavors of menacing over his years in the business. Dr. Wells definitely recognizes the threat posed by the general and prods Sgt. Souci into eliminating the threat. This is where the show took a bit of a turn back to the same old song and dance, unfortunately, as she fails in her attempt and is killed in the process. Yet another interesting character sacrificed for little to no reason.

This did allow us to once again glimpse the sinister side of Dr. Wells. Near the end he threatens General Eiling, who doesn't scoff at the idea of being threatened by this, to all outward appearances, broken man. There is a brief flashback to time Eiling and Wells spent working together, and we see Wells making a stand against him, even then. We also see Grodd again! I'm wondering if they're not setting him up as the villain in the next season. I'm not sure how that character would translate to the screen, but I'm interested in seeing them try it.

My favorite moment of the show took place in Barry's lab, between he and Joe. It was a heartfelt scene with some laughs that really served to remind the viewers that while Joe might not be Barry's biological father, he's been a dad to him for the majority of his life. It almost served to balance out the nonsense going on with Iris. I really wish that time in the show hadn't been spent to tell her three different times to stop writing about The Streak. I know they're trying to cater to the crowd that loves romantic entanglements between all the characters, but so far this aspect of the show is not being handled well.

Conclusion: Iris being a cliched female side character, and the death of yet another interesting metahuman that could have been used down the road can't ruin the good things that came out of “Plastique.” We've got another villain, and he can pose a completely different threat to the ones we've seen so far. I hope to see more of Clancy Brown's General Eiling.

Rating: 7.5/10

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