Flash S03E11 - Dead or Alive
I was very excited about this episode since I saw the preview. It promised us very high stakes setting with Cisco at the center of it. Did it deliver on its promises?
Although the episode started with a little weird but not a bad mix of HRs fantasy writing that crossed into reality it swiftly went to that classic steady pace that we know. So what are this week’s main points? Iris is chasing a story about the gun dealer and she is becoming more reckless than she should be. Julian tries to fit into the team, little Flash and big Flash run, Cisco trains like there is no tomorrow and HRs life hangs in balance.
I know, from the previous paragraph it might seem like the episode was packed but some of those things were a little less explored than they should have been and others just weren’t as interesting as they could have been.
Let’s start with Julian because let’s be honest, by now you should know that he is one of my favorite characters. As he has been invited to the team he is still kind of looking for his place and what to do. His excessive knowledge on metahumans combined with high intellect makes him great analytic and strategy builder, which is something that the team lacked. Not like they couldn’t figure out what to do, but it took usually longer and required their combined effort. Even though he excels in his area he still struggles with his social interactions with the rest of the team.
Another point on the list is Iris and Wally. These two pair up in pursuit of a story, that Iris desperately wants to publish even though Barry and Joe are highly against her doing so. As the episode progresses we see that Iris is in fact not fine with knowing what the future hold for her in store. This knowledge weights on her and makes her reckless, which only complicates lives for her loved ones.
Now to speak about the main event of this episode: Cisco vs. Gypsy. As we saw in the promo, Gypsy came to bring HR back to his own Earth. However when the team finds out that traveling on other Earths is a crime punished by death Cisco stands up to Gypsy and challenges her to possession of HR. What follows is not very well done training sequence where we actually don’t see Cisco make any progress with his powers. I found this to be a highly disappointing approach because what actually makes him be able to face Gypsy in equal combat is a talk from Barry and not very accurate information from Julian (I am saying this because seeing a thing once doesn’t mean anything and you can’t make an assumption on that). The combat itself was pretty entertaining to watch and I would say that with the low budget they had for something like this they made a pretty good impression on the viewers. Gypsy herself was a pretty good antagonist. She presented a good challenge for the team and that did not come at expense of her background and/or personality. For future episodes, I’d like to see more villains or antagonists done in similar fashion as her.
You might think that I am becoming a little unfair or even too harsh with giving this episode only 7/10, but truth be told I am mostly just disappointed with the lost potential that could make the show so much better if they decided to shift their focus a little more and/or didn’t rush some other things. In other words, The Flash is in very good place and if the show will continue the trend that we are seeing now, I will be happy.
Although the episode started with a little weird but not a bad mix of HRs fantasy writing that crossed into reality it swiftly went to that classic steady pace that we know. So what are this week’s main points? Iris is chasing a story about the gun dealer and she is becoming more reckless than she should be. Julian tries to fit into the team, little Flash and big Flash run, Cisco trains like there is no tomorrow and HRs life hangs in balance.
I know, from the previous paragraph it might seem like the episode was packed but some of those things were a little less explored than they should have been and others just weren’t as interesting as they could have been.
Let’s start with Julian because let’s be honest, by now you should know that he is one of my favorite characters. As he has been invited to the team he is still kind of looking for his place and what to do. His excessive knowledge on metahumans combined with high intellect makes him great analytic and strategy builder, which is something that the team lacked. Not like they couldn’t figure out what to do, but it took usually longer and required their combined effort. Even though he excels in his area he still struggles with his social interactions with the rest of the team.
Another point on the list is Iris and Wally. These two pair up in pursuit of a story, that Iris desperately wants to publish even though Barry and Joe are highly against her doing so. As the episode progresses we see that Iris is in fact not fine with knowing what the future hold for her in store. This knowledge weights on her and makes her reckless, which only complicates lives for her loved ones.
Now to speak about the main event of this episode: Cisco vs. Gypsy. As we saw in the promo, Gypsy came to bring HR back to his own Earth. However when the team finds out that traveling on other Earths is a crime punished by death Cisco stands up to Gypsy and challenges her to possession of HR. What follows is not very well done training sequence where we actually don’t see Cisco make any progress with his powers. I found this to be a highly disappointing approach because what actually makes him be able to face Gypsy in equal combat is a talk from Barry and not very accurate information from Julian (I am saying this because seeing a thing once doesn’t mean anything and you can’t make an assumption on that). The combat itself was pretty entertaining to watch and I would say that with the low budget they had for something like this they made a pretty good impression on the viewers. Gypsy herself was a pretty good antagonist. She presented a good challenge for the team and that did not come at expense of her background and/or personality. For future episodes, I’d like to see more villains or antagonists done in similar fashion as her.
You might think that I am becoming a little unfair or even too harsh with giving this episode only 7/10, but truth be told I am mostly just disappointed with the lost potential that could make the show so much better if they decided to shift their focus a little more and/or didn’t rush some other things. In other words, The Flash is in very good place and if the show will continue the trend that we are seeing now, I will be happy.
A Look Inside
