THE FLASH Season 1 Episode 1
Episode Title: “Pilot”
Story by: Greg Berlanti & Andrew Kreisberg & Geoff Johns
Teleplay by: Andrew Kreisberg & Geoff Johns
Director: David Nutter
When Grant Gustin made his first guest appearance on “Arrow” last season, I wasn’t convinced that he was the right choice to play Barry Allen on “The Flash.” He just didn’t seem like an actor who could carry his own show.
But based on Gustin’s performance in the the pilot episode of “The Flash,” I got it wrong. He’s actually a great choice for this version of Barry Allen. Gustin manages to be emotionally relatable and fairly convincing in his superhero scenes. Plus, he looks like he’s genuinely having a good time playing “the fastest man alive.”
In the comics, Barry Allen tends to be one of the most boring men alive, even under some talented writers. Geoff Johns injected a major tragedy in Barry’s backstory a few years ago, and that element is included in Johns’ script here as Barry witnesses the murder of his mother by someone who hates him. But it’s Barry’s dad, Henry Allen (as played by TV’s original Flash, John Wesley Shipp) who goes to jail for the crime.
Shipp is one of the rare cases where the stunt casting actually works. There’s only one scene between Gustin and Shipp in the entire episode, but it featured some strong work by both men. I really bought into the father and son bond between them.
“The Flash” is clearly built around the winning formula of “Arrow,” which is why he’s already got a Team Flash by the halfway point of the pilot episode. But the inherent problem is that Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes) and Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker) are the least interesting and the least developed characters in this episode. I was already getting annoyed with Cisco by the end of the hour, so that doesn’t bode well for the future.
Speaking of the future, Tom Cavanagh had a great turn as Dr. Harrison Wells, the man who ends up becoming Barry’s mentor as The Flash. Cavanagh was so good in the role that it would have worked even without the twist ending that calls his motivations into question. But it was a good twist and it puts a pretty definitive time limit on Barry’s career as The Flash. Although ten years may prove to be too optimistic. Not every superhero show is going to match the run of “Smallville.”
“Law and Order” veteran Jesse L. Martin also brought a human touch as Detective Joe West, Barry’s defacto foster dad who doesn’t initially believe in Barry. It was refreshing that Barry’s double life as The Flash wasn’t kept from Detective West for very long. But it was still an awkward turn when West suddenly believed Barry’s story about his mother’s murder.
It’s a little too soon to judge Candice Patton as Iris West, Joe’s daughter and Barry’s love interest. Although if you know anything about Iris West from The Flash comics, it is super-creepy to see her dating Eddie Thawne (Rick Cosnett). Here’s a reference that only long time comic book fans will understand: it’s like watching Sue Dibny dating Arthur Light. And I wonder if that implication was lost on the writers of this episode.
The Weather Wizard was a bit of a one note villain and he was dispatched fairly easily. But there is very little to complain about here, and I really enjoyed this episode. I was so drawn into the story that I actually forgot that Stephen Amell was making a cameo as the Arrow until he popped up on-screen. And it was a very “cool” moment between the two heroes as they admired their respective exits.
After any pilot episode, the challenge will always be for the weekly series to live up to the same standard. At the very least, “The Flash” is off to a great start and I want to see more.
