Hello, everyone. I just want to take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Dan Johnson and I am a huge fan of The Flash. The character has been my favorite superhero since I was seven and I have loved him in all his various incarnations, from comic books to cartoons to television series. When it comes to the Scarlet Speedster, I am his number one fan. Just hang around with me long enough and that will become very evident. This sure was to Dave Hearn, the writer who used to do the reviews for the CW series here at Psycho Drive-In. Recently Dave had to step down from this duty and I was honored to be asked to step into this role. I just want to thank him publically for this opportunity.
As fate would have it, I couldn’t have come in on a better episode than this week’s “Gorilla Warfare.” This was a terrific follow-up to the first season episode that showcased Grodd and a logical conclusion to the events seen in the previous episode, “Enter Zoom.” The episode picks up a week after the crushing defeat Barry received at the hands of Zoom which left him with a broken back. While Barry’s body is on the mend from an injury that would have crippled a normal person for life, there is some residual damage that no amount of super speed will cure. The thrashing Barry suffered has left him doubting his ability to stop the Speedster from Hell. “Zoom destroyed me,” Barry laments to Joe in one scene. “He showed everyone in Central City what he could do and that I’m powerless to stop him. When they think of the Flash all they see now is someone who’s not strong enough to protect them.”
Barry isn’t the only one feeling disheartened at the Flash’s defeat as Harry Welles is ready to head back to his world in the hopes of stopping Zoom there before anyone else gets hurt. The only person on Team Flash who seems eager to have him stay is Caitlin, who realizes that he is the one man who knows the most about Zoom now that Jay Garrick has departed. As it turns out, convincing Harry to stay proves advantageous when Grodd shows up again.
Grodd has started to evolve and is determined to make more super simians, just like him. After savagely killing two research scientists who were working on two separate drugs, one that is used to treat disorders of the brain and the other to treat vertigo, Grodd kidnaps Caitlin. The drugs the Super Gorilla has stolen have the side effect of enhancing intelligence and he wants the good Dr. Snow to whip up the cerebral cocktail that will give him the peers he desires. Since Barry is unable to go into action, Harry steps in wearing the costume of The Reverse-Flash in the hopes of tricking Grodd into believing his ‘Father’ has returned. The plan hits a bump when Harry makes the mistake of asking Grodd to release Caitlin. This tips Grodd off that something is up because Reverse-Flash never asked for anything, ‘Father’ just did what he wanted. Still, any rescue you can walk away from is a good one, and Harry and Cisco are able to get Caitlin back. In the end, Barry finally gets the push he needs to get back on the super speed horse when the team decides to send Grodd through one of the breaches that leads to Earth-Two and they need The Flash to be the bait to bring the big guy to the breach.
Like I said, I am a huge Flash fan and this episode featured bits of Flash mythology that made me a happy fanboy indeed. First, there is the return of Grodd, who was always one of the Scarlet Speedster’s most dangerous foes in the comics. He’s also one of my all-time favorite villains. Seriously, he’s a talking gorilla with awesome mental abilities, what’s not to love? Plus, the tag at the end of the episode made me go squee like nothing else has this season, the place on Earth-Two that Harry sends Grodd to: Gorilla City. If you know comics, you know the potential this holds for the series (if you don’t know them, just trust me, things are gonna be mega-awesome when next we see this locale). Also, we get the first hint that Barry is going to get his own costume ring.
Besides those moments for us uber geeks, there was so much else to love about this episode. Barry’s doubt about being the hero that Central City needs was wonderfully portrayed by Grant Gustin who continues to amaze me in this role. Also, the scene where his father, Henry Allen, gives him a much needed pep talk and relates what Barry is going through with ordeal he endured during his trial was equally powerful and it makes me sorry we haven’t seen more of John Wesley Shipp this season.
It was also great to see Harry really becoming a member of Team Flash and bonding with Barry and Cisco finally. The scene where we first see Harry in the Reverse Flash costume won the WTF!? moment for this episode. The thing is, trying to trick Grodd into thinking he is The Reverse-Flash was a dangerous move on Harry’s part and it goes a long way to show he isn’t the jerk a lot of us thought he was when he first showed up on Earth-One. Also, Harry’s revelation that the 52 breaches on Earth-Two all lead to different locations where as the 52 on Earth-One are concentrated in Central City is sure to prove interesting in future episodes.
As faithful viewers of The Flash and Arrow know, the first batch of episodes of this season for both shows have been devoted to helping set-up DC’s Legends of Tomorrow spin-off series. I think The Flash has been doing a better job at managing this and we certainly got a fantastic first look at Hawkgirl in this episode. In the process we got to see what Cisco considers to be the perfect date movie, The Princess Bride. Smooth, brother. Very smooth. It looks like this series building will be coming to a head in the next episode, which will also be this year’s crossover event for the two shows.
All in all, the hits just keep coming with this show, in my opinion. I rate it a 4.5. My only major gripe is I have to wait two weeks for a new episode, but judging from the preview, it will be worth it.
Additional note: Like I said up top, I am a huge fan of The Flash, so much so, I have declared Sunday, December 6, 2015 Flash Appreciation Day. On that day, I encourage everyone on Facebook to change their profile and cover pictures to something Flash related. If can be a picture of one of the Flashes, a member of the Rogue’s Gallery or a member of the Flash’s cast of supporting characters. Plus it can be from any media. The main thing is to show some much deserved love to the best superhero out there. Till next time, kids, I gotta run! Later!