Even the greatest shows can have their flaws. Was there any element in The Flash‘s first season that you felt didn’t quite work that you would want them to adjust? In addition, is there anything you would want to add to the show, as a whole, for Season 2?
Andy Behbakht: I think, for me, most of the issues that The Flash had in the first half of Season 1 were taken care of by the time we got to the end of the season. The one thing I do hope that Season 2 and future seasons take into account is whenever they introduce some of these meta-humans from the comics, they don’t need to always kill them off or have us never see them again. While I’m obsessed with the Rogues, Gorilla Grodd, and Reverse-Flash, I did enjoy some of those other individuals that I would have loved to see more of. Especially characters like Kelly Frye’s Plastique in Episode 5, who died (although we never saw her body explode) and Nick Tarabay’s Captain Boomerang (a classic Flash villain) from the Flash/Arrow crossover. So hopefully, they will try to keep some of the new characters they introduce next season around for longer than just one time appearances.
Jasef Wisener: There are probably a few things that I would want adjusted if I really thought about it, but nothing was as bad to me as Iris West’s characterization. Throughout the season, the writers consistently used her as a character that was just absolutely blind to anything that was happening to her or around her, and it really weakened the character in the exact opposite way that, say, Felicity was strengthened throughout the first two seasons of Arrow. I also strongly feel that the storyline of basically everyone learning The Flash’s identity except for Iris went on for way too long, but, thankfully, that was fixed at the end of the season.
Nick Hogan: I wouldn’t say this is a flaw, but more of a nagging concern that I hope to see alleviated during Season 2. I love the time travel element, and for the most part, everything the show does is really cool. However, I’m concerned that (in theory) changing the past and disrupting timelines could be a setback to some of the fantastic character work they’ve done in the first season. Don’t get me wrong, because I would much rather have Cisco alive than Barry and Iris together right away, but I’m worried if they go too far with it, things will change too much, and I really like the show the way it has been.
Laura Schinner: The Flash fell into a pattern that many other superhero shows have fallen into in the past, a pattern that is both frustrating and unnecessary. They refused to let the main female lead in on the big super-identity secret, allowing her to remain one of the only characters who didn’t know about it for much of the season. Clearly, Iris knows now so that won’t be an issue going forward, but it was one of the big things that held the show back this season.
Not only was it disrespectful to Iris, but it also held back some viewers from connecting to the Barry/Iris relationship. If you love someone, you’re supposed to be honest with them and because Barry wasn’t honest with Iris, their communication throughout this first season struggled. As much as I wanted to root for them to get together, it was hard to because they did such a poor job developing the relationship. By the last few episodes, when Iris was finally cued in, I began enjoying their interactions a lot more. So my hope for next season is that they continue developing this relationship in a positive and compelling way, giving Iris the character development she deserves.
Randy Dankievitch: Like its predecessor Arrow, The Flash struggles to make its female characters exist outside of their romantic entanglements. While much of the attention in this first season is given to the ping-pong game played with Iris and the two men who love her, this applies to Caitlin as well, whose scientific knowledge (which oddly seems to lessen as the season continues, to the point she’s the one asking scientific questions in the season finale) comes secondary to her love story with Ronnie, a story that limps and stutters to a shoehorned wedding scene in the final episode. There’s hope for both characters in Season 2, now that lying to Iris about The Flash is no longer a viable storyline, and the visions of Killer Frost Barry has in the finale.
Araceli Aviles: Honestly, there was nothing that didn’t work for The Flash. I suppose the only thing I’d want to see is crossovers that are as cohesive they were this season. It’s going to be much more of a challenge with three shows instead of two, so I hope that the crossovers and even the small mentions work as well as they did this year.
Tiffany Chang: Maybe they can adjust Iris West’s personality a little bit. I know that she’s working at Central City Picture News as a journalist, but the fact that she wants to know everything that’s being kept from her and gets angry when she doesn’t get the answers that she wants just annoys me. Let one slide once in a while! It’s for your own protection, Iris! For Season 2, I would love to see more of Grood, the intelligent, telepathic gorilla, and maybe bring the real Harrison Wells back to life if that’s possible? I really want to see how the real Dr. Wells would interact with Team Flash.
Blaise Hopkins: I think that the show needs to improve the single episode story arcs going forward. The one-shot villains were pretty lackluster, and I don’t think I ever felt like Barry or anyone was ever really in danger. I think on Arrow, when you have a villain like Vertigo pop up for an episode, there is a real possibility that someone could end up in the hospital. If The Flash can just make some of those individual episodes a little more suspenseful, thrilling, and less generic, the show will be near perfection.
Chris King: Although I really enjoyed the first season of The Flash, there were a lot of problems that I still thought the series had, chief among them not being able to produce strong filler episodes or solid weekly villains. Many episodes that didn’t directly connect to the season’s overall story struggled to be as interesting and entertaining as the hours that would focus on Reverse Flash, time travel, etc. Hopefully, Season 2 can bring in some more dynamic villains or become even more serialized than Season 1 was, just to eliminate those weaker, less satisfying episodes.
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