After I finished the second season of The Flash, I suspected that rewatching it would strain my suspension of disbelief. As I did for the first two seasons, I planned to watch the third season as it aired on Hulu. When I discovered that the CW no longer had an agreement with Hulu and independently launched an app, I actually tried to watch the third season of The Flash by using the CW app on my Kindle. After watching the first episode of the third season, I realized that even though The Flash had my favorite cast and characters out of all the CW DC Comics’ TV shows, the writers were already recycling ideas from its prior two seasons. Isn’t it a little soon to plagiarize your old scripts? So I decided to wait until this summer when the third season became available on Netflix to rewatch the second season and catch up with the third season instead of dealing with the hassle of dealing with the app.
Unfortunately my instincts were correct. The Zoom storyline from the second season has huge plot holes. The Speed Force was not the only one angry with Barry for making the same mistakes in less than two seasons. I predicted most of the twists and turns in the third season, including the secret identity of the big bad and his head henchman. The best part of The Flash is the chemistry of the cast, and they messed with it too much in the first third of the season, which I understand was the point, but no. We watch Arrow for clashing personalities, not The Flash!
They briefly broke my favorite character, Cisco, but he was back midway through the season. I like the transformation from Caitlyn to Attempted Murder Frost, but either The Flash needed to introduce a theory that all metahumans are susceptible to insanity, which would have added more credibility to the third’s season storyline, or just explain why she is the only meta who gets to pull a Sybil. Wally has always been too aggrieved, and when he finally gets the girl, I feel like he wanted to pull a Kara. Maybe he belongs on Supergirl and not The Flash considering that he usually cares more about fame and adulation from the public than being a do-gooder though he improves as the show progresses.
There were ill-conceived, overly indulgent detours. Did we really need two episodes devoted to Grodd? Am I the only one not into it? There was a musical episode, which usually is the beginning of the end for TV series. The amnesia trope is usually saved for soap operas. The Flash needs to admit that it may not have enough material for twenty-three episodes.
So why do I keep watching? I really love the characters and how they interact with each other. I don’t think that they have to be unhappy with each other to create dramatic tension. Joe is a perfect example of how The Flash gets things right. He went through numerous obstacles, but most of his individual relationships remained intact and provided a secure anchor for others to rely upon. We finally got to see Barry and Iris get romantic, but the final episode suggests a reprise of missed connections reminiscent of the beginning of the first season. DC Comics TV shows are notorious for hating love and finding the most contrived ways to stomp it out before it can flower.
Sadly the final two episodes were the strongest episodes of the entire third season as it emphasized The Flash’s core values: love, kindness, self-sacrifice and forgiveness. The biggest heroes were the least likely ones, and the supporting characters had better development than the main players.
I am a completist so I will watch season four of The Flash because I love the characters. The majority of the third season’s storyline was pure dreckitude and nonsense. A solid ending will not make me forget an unremarkable, repetitive story arc and has made me lose faith in the writers ability to create a story worthy of the talent.