Team Flash has its winning formula back with comic relief, having restored to the equation. Now it needs to stare down its clear-cut No. 1 enemy to culminate the crowd-pleaser. This is, after all, still a superhero series.
CW’s The Flash never took itself too seriously. A forensic scientist gaining superhuman speed when a particle accelerator explodes should constitute a comedy, not a drama.
Yet as the seasons progressed, the show became increasingly darker. Last season, The Flash revealed an ominous plot focusing on Barry Allen’s race against time to prevent the death of his beloved Iris West from an evil version of himself, known as Savitar. As a result, the show eliminated most comedic elements and many fans questioned how The Flash could regain its old promise.
Much like its comic-book counterpart, The Flash needed a rebirth. Luckily, to this point, the fourth season has delivered on that potential by returning to humor.
When Team Flash first rescues Barry from the speed force, his character draws symbols that make no sense. Eventually, Cisco Ramon, his best friend, solves the mystery of these symbols only for the message to be revealed as “This house is bitchin.”
Later, in a recreation of the Risky Business dance scene, Barry cooks breakfast at superhuman speed. And in Episode 3, Team Flash plays laser tag with a group of rowdy teenagers.
The Flash desperately needed a return to more comedy, and so far it has delivered. Now it is on the showrunners to demonstrate why fans should worry about the Thinker’s plans for Team Flash.
But the return to comedy, though a welcome sign for fans seeking a lighter tone, does not mean this season has erased the show’s past problems completely. A consistent hero-villain saga is in order, and may or may not be the eventual reward for sticking through Season 4.
So far, the season has revived a pattern from the first where Barry and Team Flash confront and defeat a disposable and forgettable villain each week. They discover that these villains pop up because Barry emerged from the speed force and exposed a group of 12 bus passengers to dark matter.
This season’s main antagonist, the Thinker, seeks to gather these metahumans together for an unclear purpose.
As of now, nothing is really known about the Thinker. Fans do not know how he gained his powers, his plan is for Central City or why he wanted Barry to escape from the speed force.
In the comic books, the Thinker possesses powers of mind control and telekinesis. Those traits could play well in a battle between the “fastest man alive and the fastest mind alive.”
But if the first few episodes are any indication, the season could delay that battle. Team Flash figures to fight a series of 12 disposable villains with no connection to one another.
No connection, that is, until the Thinker has them all in one place. Once that happens, the Flash could fight them all if they formed a villainous team. Until that time, fans will be left waiting to see if the showrunners decide to escape the box they have set for themselves.
In the end, The Flash desperately needed a return to more comedy, and so far it has delivered. Now it is on the showrunners to demonstrate why fans should worry about the Thinker’s plans for Team Flash.
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