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The Arrowverse might have technically begun with Arrow in 2012, but it surely’s secure to say that the CW’s DC tv universe wouldn’t exist as we all know it right now with out The Flash. The second that Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) walked onscreen in Arrow’s second season was the second the Arrowverse was really born, increasing the CW’s aspirations from a single present to an interconnected universe of tv. Throughout its run, The Flash could be the beating coronary heart of the Arrowverse, the strongest piece of connective tissue by each present and crossover occasion. And now it’s all that is still, given one ultimate truncated season to wrap up not simply its personal story however the remainder of the Arrowverse as we all know it. And it’s wholly unequipped for that activity.
‘The Flash’ Is a Shadow of Its Former Self
If you haven’t been maintaining with The Flash for its most up-to-date seasons, you is likely to be unaware of the sharp drop in high quality it’s skilled over the previous few years. While the present’s high quality has largely trended downwards since its first season, the present has hit new lows within the aftermath of 2019’s large “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover and the COVID-19 pandemic. The crossover came about in the course of The Flash’s sixth season. The starting of the season instructed a contained story whereas additionally constructing as much as the occasions of “Crisis,” however after “Crisis” the present appeared to lose route. The story that got here after lacked the tooth of earlier adventures, made worse by the truth that the season was prematurely reduce brief by COVID. Subsequent seasons didn’t bounce again, riddled with pacing points and storylines that struggled to really feel like that they had any influence on the general narrative of the present. This exacerbated The Flash’s already present problems with an outsized primary solid, more and more subpar particular results, and crappy dialogue so unhealthy that even the extremely charismatic solid couldn’t reserve it.
As Season 9 is starting, it’s clear that these points haven’t been rectified. The pacing remains to be inconsistent, spending most of any given episode having the characters speak concerning the problem till somebody has the concept that will resolve no matter the issue is. There’s little or no significant motion taken in any episode, so reasonably than being a clean journey from level A to level B, it’s extra of a sudden bounce. The writing depends closely on exposition and technobabble. Characters clarify massively traumatic elements of the backstory in monologues that don’t have any oomph as a result of they arrive out of nowhere. The options to new issues depend on fake science with none tangible part for the viewers to latch onto, or worse, power-ups which can be so inconsistent they make it not possible to observe. Nothing on The Flash has any sense of weight as a result of there’s no idea of what’s doable versus what’s not possible. While it nonetheless has its moments infrequently, they’re often introduced on by the moments when it brushes up in opposition to its higher Arrowverse sister reveals or by the gifted solid struggling to raise the fabric they’re working with.
The Arrowverse Is Massive
Given all that, it’s exhausting to think about The Flash being as much as the duty of offering not only a satisfying conclusion for itself however for the Arrowverse as a complete. In the 11 years it’s been round, the Arrowverse has grown to incorporate 6 interconnected reveals on the CW, plus an extra 2 animated net sequence, altogether including as much as a staggering 712 episodes set within the universe. And that’s not counting the reveals which have retroactively been pulled beneath its umbrella, such because the 1990 iteration of The Flash or NBC’s 2014 Constantine, each of which have had their primary characters crew up with the primary heroes of the Arrowverse. And whereas the universe has largely managed to take care of its model and saved a specific amount of stylistic and tonal consistency throughout all its reveals, there’s nonetheless a whole lot of selection throughout these 712 episodes.
The Arrowverse boasts a various solid of characters, settings, and tones, from Arrow’s gritty and largely powerless method to heroics to Supergirl’s earnest and campy sci-fi adventures. Some (like The Flash) prioritized remixing iconic comedian storylines into the present’s continuity whereas others (like Legends of Tomorrow) moved previous their particular comedian inspirations and solid new paths for superpowered tv. Other reveals, such because the later arrivals of Black Lightning and Batwoman, sought to not simply inform enjoyable superheroic adventures but in addition discover social points with extra nuance than a few of their fellow reveals have been able to. This variety of tales and characters is what really helped the Arrowverse to face above its competitors, permitting it to develop past its humble origins.
‘The Flash’ Season 9 Doesn’t Have Room for the Arrowverse
That progress is a part of the issue although. While the remainder of the universe advanced, telling tales about discovered households of time-traveling superheroes, the darker world of Gotham City, or placing the tales of marginalized individuals on the forefront, The Flash remained largely the identical. It may make passes at darker tales or often try commentary, however these are fleeting at finest. This was fantastic when the Arrowverse was alive and properly, and different choices existed to deal with completely different sorts of tales. But now that it’s anticipated to wrap up the entire of the Arrowverse, there’s an excessive amount of to suit into the confines of what The Flash is as a present. The Flash is a campy superhero present by and thru, but it surely takes itself too significantly to seize the whimsy of Supergirl or Legends of Tomorrow. It’s far too filled with superpowers to meaningfully work together with the extra human threats of Arrow or Batwoman. And it’s struggled to meaningfully signify its marginalized characters in the best way Black Lightning or Batwoman strove to.
Even past that, The Flash has its personal present to wrap up, with restricted time to do it. Season 9 will embody solely 13 episodes, 8 episodes lower than the earlier common episode rely for the present. With its giant primary solid and eight seasons price of storylines to be wrapped up, The Flash is already slicing it shut earlier than you issue within the further stress of closing out the Arrowverse with a bang. There are quite a bit of visitor appearances slated for this season from each The Flash’s previous and throughout the Arrowverse, together with Stephen Amell‘s Oliver Queen. And whereas it’s nice to deliver again these actors for one final hurrah, is there time to present followers the closure they deserve? There’s definitely not sufficient time to verify in with the reveals that supplied satisfying conclusions and wrap up those that have been reduce brief earlier than they might attain a correct ending.
It’s doable that The Flash might be able to do some justice to the universe it helped to construct. It’s confirmed it could actually seize the spirit of the opposite reveals beneath the correct circumstances, comparable to its candy coda to Legends’ Darhk household (Neal McDonough and Courtney Ford) story or the welcome go to from Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams) throughout final season’s “Armageddon” crossover. But given its current monitor document and the time it has to work with, it appears extraordinarily unlikely. For all its flaws, the Arrowverse caught round for over a decade for a cause — it deserves a greater finale than this.
New episodes of The Flash Season 9 air on The CW each Wednesday.