The Mind-Blowing Journey of Rewatching The Flash Across 9 Epic Seasons

Summary

The Flash's budget constraints affected the show's visual effects and fight scenes, hindering its overall quality and impact.

The acting on The Flash displayed inconsistency over its nine seasons, with only a few cast members consistently delivering strong performances. Moreover, the show often fell into the trap of relying too heavily on speedster villains, resulting in repetitiveness and predictability, failing to explore the potential of other captivating adversaries from the comics.

The Flash ran for nine seasons on The CW. With the conclusion of the Arrowverse series, rewatching The Flash brings about some harsh realizations. The Arrowverse, the DC Universe on TV, began in 2012 with Stephen Amell's Arrow. It was on this show that Grant Gustin made his debut as Barry Allen, portraying the character before he gained his powers in two episodes of Arrow's second season in 2013. The premiere of The Flash season 1 premiered in 2014, solidifying Gustin as one of the prominent figures in the Arrowverse. He went on to star in nine seasons of The Flash and make appearances in various Arrowverse crossover events.

After an impressive nine-season run, The Flash came to an end. This finale was significant not only because it marked the conclusion of Gustin's portrayal of Barry Allen, but also because it brought an end to all the Arrowverse shows. The Flash captured audiences' attention from the very first episode, and Gustin's portrayal of the speedster remained beloved by DC fans throughout the series. Despite its popularity and the distinction of being the longest-running Arrowverse series, The Flash was not without its flaws. Rewatching all nine seasons of The Flash uncovers exactly where the series fell short.

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10 The TV Show Budget Isn't Always Enough For A Hero Like The Flash

While every season of The Flash boasted a stellar cast of characters, there were some that suffered in terms of visual quality due to budget constraints affecting the show's VFX. Insufficient funds limited the show's ability to deliver awe-inspiring fights, which is essential for a hero like The Flash whose powers must be visually captivating on screen. The subpar portrayal of Fuerza's appearance and the decision to depict The Flash and Godspeed wielding lightning-filled lightsabers exemplify how the show's budget negatively impacted its overall quality.

9 The Flash's Acting Is Very Uneven

8 Too Many Villains Are Speedsters

Throughout its nine-season run, The Flash, like many other long-running shows, has grappled with inconsistent acting. Even during the series' peak of popularity, some actors delivered exceptional performances while others fell short. This disparity may affect viewers who choose to revisit the show, but standout cast members such as Gustin, Jesse L. Martin as Joe West, Candice Patton as Iris West-Allen, and others consistently delivered impressive portrayals, encompassing both dramatic and comedic moments.

Throughout The Flash's nine seasons, Barry Allen faced off against a lineup of speedster villains including Reverse-Flash, Zoom, Savitar, and Godspeed. It's no surprise that the show featured so many speedsters, as they are major adversaries in the comics and always pushed our hero to his limits. However, the repetition of starting the show with three consecutive speedster main villains became a bit tiresome. That being said, there is a catch – the speedster enemies turned out to be The Flash's most captivating villains, overshadowing the less engaging non-speedster main villains. To fix this, a larger role for The Flash's Rogues could have been the solution.

7 The Flash Was Never Better Than Its First Few Seasons

6 The Flash’s Canceled Season 10 Had Great Plans That Would Have Given The Arrowverse A Better Ending

The Flash's early seasons surpassed all others, despite some later-season highlights. Season 1 of The Flash introduced a realm of fantasy to the Arrowverse, previously only inhabited by the gritty Arrow. These initial seasons of The Flash focused on building a rich world, presenting new ideas, abilities, significant events, and intricate character dynamics that formed the show's backbone. The gradual revelation of Reverse-Flash's master plan in season 1, the shocking reveals of Zoom and Savitar's true identities, Team Flash's race against time to save Iris' life, and numerous other captivating narratives stand as The Flash's finest tales.

The Arrowverse's journey concluded with the ninth season of The Flash. However, this installment strayed from the traditional season structure and opted for "Graphic Novels," which involved smaller story arcs spread across several episodes. Unfortunately, this approach consumed valuable time that could have been utilized to create a more satisfying ending for both the show and the Arrowverse as a whole. Originally, The Flash was meant to continue beyond season 9, and the plans for season 10 were brimming with excitement for devoted Arrowverse fans. In this envisioned season, we would have witnessed the iconic Green Lantern narrative, "Blackest Night," uniting the Justice League of the Arrowverse to combat the formidable Despero and his extraterrestrial army. These adventures, alongside other thrilling plotlines, would have provided a grandiose conclusion befitting the magnitude of the Arrowverse.

5 The Flash Made Great Villains From The Comics Forgettable

4 Barry Allen Has Little Agency Throughout The Flash

The Flash failed to live up to its potential when it came to showcasing iconic villains from the comics. While The Flash's Rogues initially had a significant presence in the show's early seasons, they were unfortunately sidelined and largely forgotten as the series progressed. This paled in comparison to the treatment of two formidable foes from the original source material. Although Godspeed was overused exhaustively, the character never exuded the level of menace necessary to be truly memorable. Additionally, the portrayal of Red Death, a dark speedster incarnation of Batman in the comics, was severely lacking in quality, even with the inclusion of Batwoman's Javicia Leslie. The defeat of Red Death was surprisingly swift and unchallenging in the end.

As time went by, one of The Flash's biggest strengths, Team Flash, ended up becoming a hindrance to the series. Despite being the Scarlet Speedster, Barry Allen had very little control over his actions when it came to battling villains in the early seasons. This lack of agency is evident in the instance when Barry faced off against Solovar in Gorilla City during Season 3 of The Flash. Instead of being able to confront the villain independently, Barry received constant instructions from Cisco on how to handle the fight. Sadly, this pattern continued throughout the series with various characters, diminishing the significance of Barry's role as The Flash.

3 The Flash Failed Wally West

2 Elongated Man’s Loss Was A Heavy One

Wally West, who took over as the main Flash for two decades following Barry Allen's death in Crisis on Infinite Earths, held a far more significant role in the comics compared to Keiynan Lonsdale's portrayal of Wally in The Flash. Interestingly, Wally's finest moment in the Arrowverse occurred within a different DC series. After departing The Flash in season 4, Lonsdale's iteration of Wally West found his stride in DC's Legends of Tomorrow during its third season. Despite making occasional appearances in subsequent years on The Flash, his performance never quite reached the same level of brilliance as it did on Legends.

Hartley Sawyer's portrayal of Ralph Dibny, also known as the Elongated Man, breathed new life into The Flash. His comedic touch brought a refreshing element to the show, perfectly complementing Ralph's transformative character arc. From a self-centered individual to becoming Barry's trusted partner, Sawyer's Elongated Man injected laughter and depth into the series. Unfortunately, Sawyer's past controversial remarks resurfaced, leading to his termination from The Flash. This decision had significant repercussions, forcing the storyline involving Ralph's wife, Sue Dearbon, as depicted in the comics, to be abruptly cut short. The Flash opted not to recast the role, magnifying the impact of Sawyer's departure.

1 Earth-2, Jesse Quick, And Harry Wells Deserved Better

The Arrowverse's Crisis on Infinite Earths was a thrilling crossover event for the DC TV universe, but it sadly marked the end for some beloved characters from The Flash. Jesse Wells, also known as Jesse Quick, and Tom Cavanagh's Harry Wells made their debut in The Flash season 2 during Barry's visit to Earth-2. These characters played significant roles in the journeys of Barry and Wally. Tragically, they were both killed alongside Earth-2 by an antimatter wave unleashed by Crisis on Infinite Earths' Anti-Monitor. Although Harry later returned through a complicated storyline involving him inhabiting Harrison Nash Wells' mind and gaining control over the artificial Speed Force, The Flash failed to provide Jesse and Harry with a more satisfactory conclusion.