Loved It? Hated It? What did you think of the Flash Pilot? (Spoilers)

[DigificWriter]

Am I the only person wondering what that Barry/Felicity kiss shown in the season preview is going to mean for Felicity and Oliver?

[KSiteTV]

I rarely see Smallville as a bad thing to compare to because that was a show that lasted 10 years - including a few years on a network that was trying its hardest to get rid of it, it was still successful. I think I read somewhere that it was one of Warner Bros.' most profitable shows EVER.

So, with that said, Flash series finale at the end of Season 10, April 2024? A Crisis? Doubtful but wouldn't that be AWESOME.

[costas22]

Loved it. And that cliffhanger is just tremendous. You can tell Wells will be by far the most intriguing character this season.

I just hope they don't let romantic drama drag this show down.

[LanaandPete]

Think Wells is Zolomon and not a Thawne

[Starsaber]

Think Wells is Zolomon and not a Thawne

If he's any version of Zoom, why would he be motivating Barry at the end there. I could see him wanting to make sure the accident that gave Barry his powers takes place (since I think in the comics if Barry didn't gain his powers, the speed force wouldn't have been created for Zoom to tap into), but it would probably be easier for him if Barry didn't become The Flash or died early.

I'm convinced that whoever he is, he's trying to change things so that Barry survives the Crisis.

[President_Luthor]

This was a solid pilot, it definitely set the tone for the series. They introduced the main characters well and there are a few potentially interesting story arcs that could sprout from it. It was good to see Jesse L. Martin again (I'm a big Law and Order fan), though it will probably take me a few episodes for me to perceive him as a cop other than Det. Green.

Barry has a good supporting team and I'm hoping they will have their own interesting plotlines. I can understand the obvious comparisons with SV (and no doubt, the network would love nothing more than to have another series run 10 seasons). It has a similar tone, the superhero angle, origin mysteries and the lead coping with a destiny he's uncomfortable with. These are the elements from SV that work in The Flash's favour.

Melodrama (good ... and bad) will always be a part of CW's series. This includes the inevitable keeping secrets and telling lies. A case could be made that reliance on it contributed to SV's longevity -- and some would argue it prolonged it past the series' best-before date. I'm more than pleased that Det. West knows from the start (well, at least by the pilot's end) that Barry = The Flash. He won't be on the secrets 'n lies roller coaster with Barry -- a good thing. But, he made Barry promise not to tell Iris about any of it. And you know the reason why: to protect her. If we are invoking comparisons to SV, we must also take into account some of the SV elements that didn't work so well, including the well-worn and often over-used secrets and lies subplots among the main characters.

This is where I truly hope Barry and the series as a whole treads carefully. My preference is that Iris isn't left in the dark for too long. If they can find a credible medium between SV Lana's excruciatingly long, nearly 7 season/years in the dark, and Laurel's much shorter nearly 2 seasons out of the loop, then I would take it as a good sign.

Also, SV's throwing into the mix countless super-powered or meta-human beings for the sake of one ep. shout-outs or fan winks, with little or no context and/or sufficient characterization for them is something I hope Flash can avoid. Give me a few well-crafted superheroes or villains on Flash, I'll take them any day over countless one-shot FOTWs -- many of whom we'd never see again after one ep. -- that SV tended to rely on to generate buzz or interest.

But enough about SV, which I still liked and enjoyed despite my issues with its quality. The Flash has the potential to be, if not SV's successor, than a worthy superhero companion to the Arrow series. The Flash isn't my favourite superhero (neither is GA, who occupies a very crowded silver medal podium with the likes of Superman, Green Lantern, etc.). But, I am intrigued to see what direction Barry's story will take him and I cannot wait for Captain Cold.

The Flash is racing on the right track so far. I'm giving the pilot an optimistic 8.5/10, with the 0.5 bonus due to Det. West knowing Barry's secret.

[jpfort1957]

It seemed that Zoom was the one that killed Barry's mom, and will be his ultimate villain. The explosion that made Barry the Flash, will also be the creator of the "freak of the week" for Barry to battle. I wish that so many people did not know his identity......but those who do may not live too long.

[Aurora Moon]

You might hate tomorrow's Arrow premiere then... And Flash episodes 4 and 8, and Arrow Episode 3.8...

I don't mind cameos if they actually serve a purpose other than "oh hey, look it's that random hero/villain that you recognize here in this place for no real good reason!"
That was one of the bad things about Gotham's pilot.... they had to cram as many as villain cameos as they could into a single episode without it serving a purpose at all.

It wouldn't be so bad if Arrow actually showed up and have him be actually important to the episode's pilot... like he was on the case of some criminals and he needed flash's help with it. you know what I mean, right?

[Welling_is_pretty]

OK, I went into this with somewhat lowered expectations. I do not watch Arrow (I am not a fan of Ollie--Smallville actually made me almost like the character. Almost.) so knowing this was a spin off of that made me wary. Mostly I decided to watch the pilot for John Wesley Shipp (loved his Flash!) and to see if they could get Barry right.

Imagine my surprise when I simply loved this! Fast-paced (heh, pun intended), with some really nice character moments and lots of Easter eggs (I'm sure I missed some), it was a breath-taking start to the series. And really, really fun. Yes, we had some serious moments (Mama Allen, etc.) but on the whole this was a lovely break from 'grimdark' we've had pretty unrelentingly from our superheroes lately.

Also, I was pretty impressed with Grant as Barry. I knew him only from his work over on Glee and was dubious about him pulling off Barry Allen. He did a really good job.

If they can keep this up, we're in for one wild ride!

[DigificWriter]

If he's any version of Zoom, why would he be motivating Barry at the end there.

Deflection.

We know three things about the show right now that aren't talked about in the Pilot:
1) There's a "Big Bad" coming
2) Said Big Bad is NOT Captain Cold
3) Arrow has established a pattern of having the primary antagonist(s) that the primary protagonist faces off with be someone that the primary protagonist knows and that we as an audience have seen before

When you combine that with Wells' shadyness and there being something just slightly 'off' about him in general, he is very much the leading candidate right now to be the series' version of Prof. Zoom.

As far as Oliver's presence in the episode goes, it DID serve a narrative purpose: it gave the writers an opportunity to create a 'with great power comes great responsibility' moment for Barry that wasn't blatantly expository.

Finally, I know it's OT, but I want to address the complaint about certain things being 'crammed into' the Gotham pilot by saying that, just like Oliver's presence in this episode, everything that was put into the Gotham pilot served a narrative purpose, either in the short term, or in the long term.

[InactiveUserID]

Hey, better than SHIELD.
Nitpick: if that girl is smart enough to write a thesis paper, why can't she detect that Flash loves her? Nitpick2: for the love of god they sure said "STAR Labs" enough, didn't they! Flash wasn't fast enough to escape from the script writer, it would seem!
Still, it was interesting enough to stay on the air. I'll come back for the finale.

[CraigMax]

Great pilot episode. Some of the dialogue was a bit clunky (mostly because it was exposition) but that's to be expected early on as the writers find the voices of the characters. I hope Iris gets more characterization. So far she's regulated to the "cute girl at the coffee shop" that the hero has a crush on. I hope they pick up on her journalistic abilities sooner rather than later and give her more to do than just being a damsel in distress.

Also, there really wasn't much of Clyde Mardon ("Weather Wizard") here but I guess that's to be expected since most of the focus was on The Flash's origins. I hope we get more superhero/villain battles during the day just to avoid comparisons to Arrow.

Looking forward to seeing Multiplex next episode.

[DigificWriter]

The PtBS have put the kibosh on Wells being Zoom by stating that he's a wholly original character not from the comics, but he's still the best candidate right now for being the season's Big Bad.

[CK_ALL_DAY]

As far as the pilot goes, which I saw back when it leaked, it was very solid. I really enjoyed watching for the second time, especially in HD where the special effects really stood out. I can't wait to see what they have in store as far the special effects go with not only Barry but villain and other heroes. The best thing the pilot did was set everything up in the first episode so they can hit the ground running next week.

As for those that don't watch Arrow, START RIGHT NOW. Both seasons are on Netflix and probably on Hulu+. I can definitely see where the first few episodes turned a lot of people off but once you get about halfway through the season it really takes off. There's also a season 1 recap video on youtube if you don't want to watch the whole season. Now the second season however, is on a totally different level. I recommend watching the whole season because it's amazing. It's honestly where the show finds itself as well as the characters and explodes the DC universe as well as open the doors to Barry Allen. Honestly can't wait for Arrow and the Flash's crossover episodes.

[protege]

The PtBS have put the kibosh on Wells being Zoom by stating that he's a wholly original character not from the comics, but he's still the best candidate right now for being the season's Big Bad.

well, i hope so, because I've never liked the prof. Zoom character as Barry's dark reflection, so I'm cautiously optimistic about things now. overall, i liked the pilot, though i felt the action went by too fast in some places (No pun intended,) so it was hard for me to get my bearings. I like almost all of the characters, although i think Caitlin is a bit bland, and I'm wondering why she and Cisco stayed on with wells, after STAR was shut down. I'd like to liked Eddie Thawane, but I have a feeling he'll turn into another bad guy character.