Flashpoint Paradox Review
So the fall has come and October has started. With it comes new seasons of the CW superheroes shows. Most shows came out swinging, Supergirl was interesting, and the new Superman seemed to play the part well. The show I was looking forward to was Flash season three, more specifically how they handled Flashpoint Paradox.
So let’s start off with an overview of what I thought of Flashpoint Paradox. My personal feeling, I was underwhelmed by the entire thing. Now I never read the Flashpoint comic, but did watch the animated movie they made a few years ago. I'm not going to compare the two point for point. That would be a little unfair to the TV show, but some of the larger plot points I will bring up later. The entire experience felt a weird and awkward. The experience is divided into two episodes, let’s get into Flashpoint first.
Flashpoint
So Flashpoint is the first episode of the season. I'm going to try and do this as spoiler free as possible. The episode had no guest appearances, the threat didn’t feel real. I also feel that the reason to return the timeline wasn’t really enough. The entire thing just didn’t work as well as it should have.
Here's why the guest appearances is a little important, and why having none actually hurts this episode. When Flash goes back in time, the time is altered and everyone is affected. In the animated movie, Superman landed in Metropolis, Bruce Wayne dies instead of his parents, almost every character is altered. I understand that the animated film and the CW show would have completely different budgets, but seeing what happened to Arrow as a result of Flashpoint would have added to the episode.
Now the threat, the threat is twofold. One Barry is losing his memories of his other timeline. The second threat is another speedster. First having speedster after speedster as the enemy is getting a little repetitive. Second I feel his motives weren't explained well enough. Which brings me to the why did they go back to the other timeline.
Why did Barry Allen take Reverse Flash back in time and have him kill his mother. Well Wally West was stabbed while being the Flash. Now that’s a pretty good reason, but what were the other changes. Cisco owned S.T.A.R. Labs, Caitlin had a boring life, Joe was a drunk, Iris was partners with her brother. All and all that doesn’t sound so bad, and thats kind of the issue.
Flashpoint was about Barry coming to terms with his mother’s death. In the animated film, the world was steps away from complete destruction. Barry Allen’s mother becomes one of the most important events of the entire DC universe. If it doesn’t happen the world is destroyed. That’s not what happened in the CW's Flashpoint, the world wasn’t that bad for anyone. As a matter of fact, when he changed the timeline back, it didn't make the world better just different.
Paradox
So Paradox, the second episode of the season, I was pretty happy with this episode. The second episode tried to recover as best it could. Though I wish they stayed longer in the Flashpoint universe I have very little complaints as far as Paradox is concerned.
In Flashpoint they never showed an overarching villain for the season, but in Paradox they showed Dr. Alchemy. His goal appears to be returning people to their lives in Flashpoint, at least I think. Not much is known about Alchemy at this time, but that is to be expected.
They also introduced Julian Dorn, who is played by Tom Felton. Its hard to believe, but I actually like him more here than in Harry Potter. Not much is known about him either, it theorized he will be Dr. Alchemy. For now we only know he works next to Barry in the crime lab, and the two hate each other.
The changes to the timeline for this episode are minimal. Iris and Joe don’t talk, and Cisco hates Barry. Iris hates Joe because he lied to her about her mother being dead. Cisco hates Barry because he won't go back in time and save his brother. Both are mostly resolved at the end of the episode.
For now it appears team Flash will be cleaning up after the Flashpoint Paradox, but one great thing happened from this episode.
Barry started to go back in time, again, and was pulled out of the timeline by Henry Garrick. Henry Garrick is another Flash from another Earth. He explains that Flash can't keep messing with the timeline. That plot device was getting on my last nerve, so I hope they will stop with the time travel for a bit.
Final Thoughts
Though it is a rough start to the season, I expect this to be one of Flash's best seasons to date. We have a lot to look forward too. Mirror Master is coming, along with team ups involving Vibe, and Kid Flash should be joining the show soon.
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