The Flash has just begun his final run in his final season. On Wednesday night, the final season premiere for “The Flash” aired and set up both the tone and story of Barry Allen and team Flash this season.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Plot
The episode takes heavy inspiration from the Bill Murray film, “Groundhog Day”. We see Barry and Iris stuck in a time loop due to Barry’s new notebook that predicts his and Iris’s future. This idea to come from the show was actually well thought out. As mentioned in the episode, Barry and Iris have learned so much about their future in nine years from various storylines that it made sense that Barry would be able to come up with a rough estimate of everything that occurs going forward. Barry and Iris finally come to the conclusion that they should enjoy the future they have together in their own path rather than a predicted one.
Villain
In the time loop we finally see a new version of Captain Boomerang who gives the Flash a run for his money. Captain Boomerang was only seen in “Arrow” a few times where Barry fought him once. Given how Boomerang is an iconic Flash Rogue it was nice to see them pay homage and give us a new version of the character who will be sticking around for a little longer. The episode ends revealing that Captain Boomerang is working for Red Death. We get a small glimpse of the vibrating Bat-Speedster.
The Good
Speaking of paying homage, this episode finally brought two things to fruition that were teased all the way back in season one. First we see Barry being recommended for Director of Central City Police CSI Division and second we see Central City Citizen growing and being bought out by Catco which is an easter egg of Cat Grant from “Supergirl”. Barry did one of the coolest things in the history of the show, when he phased a nuclear blast throughout Central City showing off how powerful he has become over his time as the Flash. We also see Joe coming to the conclusion that he should move out of Central City with Cecile and their non-existent daughter, Jenna, so he can finally live a normal life.
The Bad
While the story is still focused on Barry, it feels like they are making it Iris’ story as well and it could overshadow the whole final run for Barry. Allegra and Chester finally kiss in what feels like one of the most drawn out and uninteresting romances on TV. The new version of Frost was teased at the end of episode and unfortunately had the look of a Disney Channel character.
Review
While the episode seemed quite basic, it did a good job of establishing the tone of the final season and setting up the rest of the story while still paying off things mentioned in the past for loyal fans of the show. Episode 1 is a 7/10.