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The Flash Season 1 Blu-Ray Review

By Amanda Chrisman

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The Flash Season 1 comes out on Blu-ray on Tuesday September 22, but Bam Smack Pow was given an advance copy to review for out readers. I was lucky enough to be the one to watch through all four discs and write up this review for all of you. Admittedly, I didn’t keep up with the show when the season was airing; I only caught an episode here or there as my husband was watching. Now that I’ve seen the full season, I’m definitely a fan, and very excited for the coming season.

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Intelligent super heroes are the best super heroes. I like the way Barry can read a crime scene very much like Sherlock Holmes, and I wish they had kept it going throughout the rest of the season. It’s good that both the Flash and Arrow have a team to support and help them, as it’s far more realistic for these heroes to have help thinking through the problems they face, and to have people to keep them grounded, keep them connected to their humanity, and remind them why they do what they do. It is a hero’s support system that prevents them from straying from their path and being perverted by their powers.

At her Dragon Con press conference, Danielle Panabaker said something about the great way Tom Cavanagh played Harrison Wells, and after seeing the whole season, I agree. He puts a little something sinister into his performance right from the first moments we see him interact with Team Flash. Panabaker is such a warm and friendly person, it’s kind of odd to see her so serious as Caitlin Snow, and I’m glad that Caitlin slowly warms up over the run of the season. Caitlin and Cisco make quite a cute pair, not romantically of course, but the way the two interact as friends is very amusing. Actually, all of the nerdier characters in both The Flash and Arrow — Felicity Smoak, Ray Palmer, Barry, Cisco and Caitlin — have similar quirks, like hearing about a meta who can control the weather and going, “Cool … I mean awful, just awful” or however they say it.

I feel like Joe West’s overprotective nature needs to be addressed. Either he treats Iris differently than Barry because she is a female, or as I suspect, his attitude is a result of whatever happened with Mama West. We know she’s not dead or gone for good, and we don’t really know who she truly is or what she’s been doing all these years. It’s my suspicion that Joe won’t let Iris near police work or Team Flash because he’s worried that she’s too much like her mother, and Mama West lives a dangerous life. This is my hope anyway, as I would hate to think that he is simply another parent who treats his daughter differently than his son because she is female.

It might just be me, but I thought Iris’ first meeting with “The Streak” was very reminiscent of a Lois Lane and Superman meeting. I really don’t like the “Will they or won’t they?” approach to Barry and Iris’ relationship. I think it’s done far too often now on television, and I think this show could be just as excellent and would stand out better if The Flash was that rare super hero who was happily married to his soulmate. They’ve got this great iconic couple in Barry and Iris, and if he had her as his wife and partner, he could focus better and always stay grounded as a hero.

Most of the villains on The Flash are metahumans who were created in the particle accelerator explosion (much like Static Shock’s villains, known as Bang Babies), but let’s talk about the two recurring human villains on the show. Captain Cold and General Eiling, the villain I hate to love and the villain I love to hate respectively. I can’t help it, Cold is compelling and interesting and even though he’s a villain and we’re not meant to like the villains, I really enjoy watching him. Eiling, on the other hand … I think it was a great idea casting Clancy Brown, because the voice of Lex Luthor does a great job of making viewers dislike his character. He reminds me a lot of General Ross, calling victims of the particle accelerator freaks, having no qualms about using torture and unethical experiments to accomplish his goals, and wanting to use the “freaks” as living weapons. Captain Cold has always been a pretty great Flash villain, and with most of Barry’s opponents being metahumans of some kind, it’s refreshing that the most intriguing of the rogue’s gallery is totally human.

Overall, the season was awesome. I can’t even think of an episode I didn’t enjoy, though admittedly it was difficult to watch Barry say goodbye to his mother because it was heartbreaking. That’s a compliment to the creative team and the actors for pulling off such a dramatic and painful moment. As far as the special features go, I think they’re great for fans who just want to know more about the making of the show, and pretty informative if you enjoy the show but aren’t familiar with the Flash comics. My one complaint about the special features is that only the pilot has commentary on it; I’m a pretty avid commentary watcher and would have appreciated it if, say, episodes 14 and 15 had commentary as well.

The second season of The Flash premieres Tuesday Oct. 6th! Follow us on Twitter and chat with us as we live tweet each episode, followed by a review here on Bam Smack Pow.

Disclosure: Bam Smack Pow was provided with a copy of The Flash: The Complete First Season on Blu-ray by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment for the purposes of this review.

Next: The Arrow Season 3 Blu-Ray Review

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