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Loved It? Hated It? What did you think of "The Runaway Dinosaur?"

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  • Loved It? Hated It? What did you think of "The Runaway Dinosaur?"

    What did you think?
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    10 - As BOMB as Affleck was in Phantoms, yo.
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  • #2
    8/10 I think the Speed Force story could have used a little less metaphysical navel gazing, and a little more insight into exactly what it is that makes speedsters, and the Speed Force itself, tick. Good B-story with the zombie metahuman, although it seems a little strange that this whole exercise in zombie baiting escaped Zoom's otherwise nigh omnipotent ability to screw with the STAR Labs crew.

    Other than that, I liked Jesse's entry into metahumanity, and possibly Wally's (that convo, though, hehehe). I do like that we'll be seeing more of John Wesley Shipp, and the metahuman army looked interesting (with a lot of shades of Magneto...)

    Comment


    • #3
      That undead Girder guy came out of nowwhere, and I was left scratching my head going "what the heck?"

      The rest of the flash ep was good, but that part with a old FOTW coming back to life was just........ ehh. It was something of an letdown, because I wanted to see Wally West and Jessie Quick discover their powers and stuff. I was really looking forward to that part and I was disappointed that I didn't get to see that this ep.

      Also what the hell was with them teasing us with the Henry/Iris/Barry thing? I mean, They had this lead up where it looked like Henry was going to do this great fatherly moment where he brings Barry back to the land of the living. And then Iris's all: "Father-son tender moment that viewers would actually like? Nah, what the viewers really want is a shipping moment between Barry and me! I have to be the one to bring Barry back because I'm his true love!"

      The Barry scenes with the speedforce was totally on point, and was the best part of the ep. Oh, and Cisco was being his funny, awesome self as usual.

      Comment


      • #4
        I get what they were trying to do with the speed force stuff... They just did it badly. Really, really, badly

        The only part of this episode that was even remotely enjoyable for me was Cisco. Nothing else worked, IMO.

        Comment


        • #5
          Definitely a filler episode leading up to the final battle of the season against Zoom. I know it's considered comic book canon, but does anyone else think that Iris and Barry is being forced. It just doesn't seem natural.

          Comment


          • #6
            This episode was a mirror, of sorts, to Arrow 4x20 in that the titular hero of the show has to undergo a trial of the mind and spirit in order to refine himself and become the hero his city needs. But whereas the trial for Oliver Queen in Arrow 4x20 took up a whole 3 minutes, Barry Allen’s refining fire lasted the entire episode as he spoke, for the first time, with the sentience that is the Speed Force.

            Picking up in the moments after the last episode, we find a shaken Team Flash who have just witnessed their friend, student, son (times two!), and potential love interest disintegrate before their eyes. A shaken Wells attempts to contact his daughter, only to receive no contact from either Jessie or Wally, causing the Wests, still half-grieving, to go running to find them alongside Wells. Wally and Jessie are found unconscious, having encountered the lightning of the Speed Force as they rounded the corner in the previous episode.

            After the initial running back and forth, and the reawakening of Girder, Team Flash divvies up the responsibilities: Wells and Cisco begin looking for ways to bring Barry back from where he’s been sent (as Cisco Vibed about Barry being trapped in the Speed Force), Iris and Joe look to bring down Girder a second time, and Henry Allen takes the place as team medic for the time being. A few noteworthy points:

            Cisco and Wells: these two have had perhaps the most interesting relationship this season, as Cisco was initially quite distrusting of Wells due to what happened with the last one, and Wells of Earth-2 had absolutely no desire to ‘make friends’ with the Earth-1 Flash’s team. Despite this, the two have grown to have a new kind of friendship, in the fashion that they practically do twin-speak (see Weasley Twins, Harry Potter series for further details). I loved their dynamic in this episode.

            Henry: I absolutely love having Henry back the past couple of episodes, but I worry about the fact that he’s committed to staying in Central City now. The last parent figure to make that sort of declaration, knowing their child was a hero and being there for them, on an Arrowverse show got a sword through her heart. Still, its very interesting, if a bit jarring, to see Henry making the rounds rather than Caitlin.

            Iris: I’ll be honest. When they first introduced Iris in Season 1 and her storyline seemed to be little more than being caught between Barry and Eddie as a love interest, I was wholly unimpressed. But I have really enjoyed Iris throughout this new season, and this latest episode exemplified not only the strength of her character, but showed her as an equal to Barry and taking risks alongside him. I am sorry for the comparison, but its very difficult to see this and then look over at Arrow and have to go “WTF?” when it comes to the Oliver/Felicity romance which is nothing like this, in my opinion. So I am loving Iris and the budding relationship with Barry.

            Which of course leads us to Barry himself, who underwent a trial of the mind and spirit in this episode. The Speed Force required him to confront the parts of his past that he has avoided (rejected) in order to allow him to return to the mortal world with his powers intact. He had to face what he had lost, as well as recognize that his own selfishness had blinded him to what he had had. Barry has grown in leaps and bounds this season, in no small part due to the fact that Andrew Kreisberg and Greg Berlanti, unlike their “colleague” (a term I use very loosely), Marc Guggenheim, adhere to the fact that respecting the source material equals success. Considering that of the four projects under Berlanti’s charge (The CW’s DC Universe and CBS’ Supergirl), The Flash is the most successful according to Forbes while Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow rank last and second-to-last, it’s clear that this is very true.

            One thing I want to bring up in closing is that The Flash, while keeping a light atmosphere, has also managed to tell a dark story with the struggle against Zoom/Hunter Zolomon. I am personally looking forward to how things play out going forward, and The Flash definitely ranks #1 on my list, while Arrow has sadly sunk to dead last, much like with the Forbes article.

            This was a truly spectacular episode, in my opinion, and deserves my highest rating. 10/10.

            Comment


            • #7
              Such a fantastic episode. I loved the interactions between Barry and the Speed Force and how he got his powers back. When Barry was talking to his Speed Force friends and family, it kind of reminded me of the Doctor Who two parter Silence In The Library and Forest Of The Dead. The parts in those episodes with Donna in the alternate reality is what i mean u know?

              I loved the part with Kevin Smith mainstay Jason Mewes. That cracked me up to see him and his part where he was comparing the Big Belly Burgers. I thought at first he said Starling City but one of my friends said they think he said Star City.

              Barry saving Jesse at the end. Just a nice and quieter moment where Barry touches her hand and wakes her up. I still think she will end up being a Speedster by the end of the season.

              Also, when Joe yelled to Wally that he was going to help Iris, did anyone else think that we were going to see Wally either collapsed or maybe surrounded by lightning?

              The ending with Zoom and his followers was a really nice touch and the look of "Oh beep" on Caitlyn's face just cemented fhe fact that shes worried that maybe Barry is in trouble.

              The ep gets a perfect score. 10 out of 10 for me.

              Oh also loved how Barry came back with a repaired costume. Howd he get that though? We saw the outfit he wore last week was destroyed but be comes out of the speed force with a nice, perfect costume. What happened? Its cool but it made me scratch my head.
              Last edited by Austin 3:16; 05-10-2016, 08:24 PM.

              Comment


              • #8
                I'm kind of mixed too. I thought there were a lot of great moments, but the whole Speed Force thing, even to me who has read the comics, was kind of a "huh?" Not including the shipping stuff I was glad Iris was actually given stuff to do - her comedic moments with Cisco were fun. I guess Jessie will be really Quick soon...

                Also I was kind of hoping Jay would be playing "Jay" and Silent Bob would be with him.

                Michelle Harrison (Nora) is awesome every time.

                Comment


                • #9
                  A couple of weeks ago I said that we needed an episode to reinvegorate the rest of the season and that's what The Runaway Dinosaur did. Terrific episode. It's not so much about being action heavy or having fight scenes, but about doing the characters justice and making us care about them. And this episode accomplished that, especially in regards to Barry and Iris. Kudos Zack Stentz and Kevin Smith.

                  - The speed force scenes were fine imo and specifically designed to delve into Barry's psyche. It's not a case of the show not knowing how to project the speed force in its iconic imagery, because it did so in last season's finale. This was more about addressing some of Barry's hangups and showing the 4 most important people in his life was the smart way to go about it. What I also liked was how the speed force kind of brought Barry to task about rejecting his abilities, which is basically what he did when he gave them to Zoom. At some point, the show had to address the ease in which he did that. Hopefully this will be a new start of sorts for Barry. Don't expect him to be Barry 2.0. Just a wiser hero without the baggage that he's been carrying for so long.

                  - Grant Gustin delivered some of his strongest acting ever on the show. Especially in the scene between Barry and Nora. As played out as this relationship has been in the last 2 years, it's hard not to get emotional when you see how affected Barry is by her loss and how hard it is for him to get over it. Especially after what happened when he travelled back to 2000 last year and basically has to relive the whole tragedy. That was a cruel hand of fate that season 2 never actually addressed, imo. The reciting of the book was the best part of the speed force scenes. Kevin Smith said recently that Grant is destined for great things and he may not be wrong.

                  - Iris had a good episode in her own right. For once, she wasn't just making up the numbers in the scenes she was in. She was heroic and she played a pivotal role with Girder and with bringing back Barry. The WestAllen stuff was ok. I like the fact that the show isn't rushing into anything. Let the connection between the two become more believable with each passing week first. And they're doing a good job of that in recent weeks. All in all, this episode proved that Iris is far from a lost cause when she's written and directed by people who care about her.

                  - Not a lot on the Jesse/Wally front. Wally *seems* to be fine and Jesse only woke up in the end. Although, the fact that Barry's speed force connection brought her back is probably a sign that Jesse's superspeed isn't far away now. My only gripe with the whole thing is that we never saw Wells and Joe actually feel responsible for what happened to their kids. Which they should.

                  - Loved everything about Cisco in this episode. His scenes with Wells in particular are always funny.

                  - I hope I'm wrong, but Henry sticking around for good seems to spell doom for him. Unless the show has decided to have JWS appear more regularly next season, which would be fantastic.

                  - Zoom's army.

                  9/10. As good as anything they've done this season.
                  Last edited by costas22; 05-11-2016, 01:15 AM.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I thought it was a pretty good ep. I didn't mind Barry's speed force quest/existential trip. I get that some of it might seem a bit on-the-nose re: Barry coming to terms with his abilities as a force for change and the emotional baggage that comes with it. It's not exactly new territory -- Ollie over on Arrow had a bit of a ham-fisted identity crisis back in S3 when he was (literally) fighting himself Ollie v. Arrow during his own version of a vision quest. This was Barry's version and overall it was fine for me.

                    Cisco and Harry's scenes were great. When you have a zombie FOTW, I am totally expecting Cisco to dish out the zingers ... and he did this in spades.

                    It looks like they're reinforcing WestAllen. Whether it is the series' endgame remains to be seen, but when they have Iris be the one to bring Barry back from 'Speed Force no man's land' it does advance the WestAllen cause. I'm still not a fan of the 'need' to ship on these shows, but I'd agree that on Flash they at least seem to recognize that it has to be earned -- and seen to be earned if it's going to work. (You can't just plant Ray and Kendra in a ship, for example, and assume the viewers will buy into it. )

                    I'm okay with Wally and Jesse not becoming speedsters immediately. It would be wise if the series does its due diligence and lets them evolve into those roles, and not rush them into sidekick roles too soon.

                    So it looks like we'll have a 'Legion of Zoom'. I can't wait to see how this will play out. 8/10

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      This episode is a definite win for The Flash. The Speed Force (and Barry's reaction to it) was very well done and aptly creepy. The WestAllen was pretty forced, though. I've shipped them since forever, but Iris's sudden realization that they're perfect for each other seems too good to be true, making me wary of the whole business.
                      Barry stepping back into star labs and battling a zombie as a reality check felt very right, like that was the perfect way to wrap up the issue.
                      I love that they're not making Jessie and Wally speedsters at the same time. It balances The Flash, keeping Barry the hero, especially if Harry and Jessie go back to E2 after Zoom is over.
                      At the end of the episode, the Zoom/Caitlin scene jarred me. I had forgotten about that plot throughout The Runaway Dinosaur. I think that they should have worked it in a little better, even with just some mentions of Zoom sprinkled here and there.
                      Last edited by cleoslemonade; 05-11-2016, 10:12 PM.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        The Speed Force was bland. It felt like we were just checking off boxes as we went along - nothing too interesting. I did enjoy the scene with his mother and the book.

                        Colossus was not a character I needed to see again.

                        So, Iris showed up in the Speed Force because she was in physical contact with Cisco. Why didn't Cisco show up as well? He did last time.

                        Man, I hope Henry moves into the West house so Barry can live with both of his dads.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by nate-dog1701d
                          Man, I hope Henry moves into the West house so Barry can live with both of his dads.
                          The Flash series is actually a backdoor sequel to the Paul Reiser sitcom My Two Dads.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by costas22
                            A couple of weeks ago I said that we needed an episode to reinvegorate the rest of the season and that's what The Runaway Dinosaur did. Terrific episode. It's not so much about being action heavy or having fight scenes, but about doing the characters justice and making us care about them. And this episode accomplished that, especially in regards to Barry and Iris. Kudos Zack Stentz and Kevin Smith.

                            - The speed force scenes were fine imo and specifically designed to delve into Barry's psyche. It's not a case of the show not knowing how to project the speed force in its iconic imagery, because it did so in last season's finale. This was more about addressing some of Barry's hangups and showing the 4 most important people in his life was the smart way to go about it. What I also liked was how the speed force kind of brought Barry to task about rejecting his abilities, which is basically what he did when he gave them to Zoom. At some point, the show had to address the ease in which he did that. Hopefully this will be a new start of sorts for Barry. Don't expect him to be Barry 2.0. Just a wiser hero without the baggage that he's been carrying for so long.

                            - Grant Gustin delivered some of his strongest acting ever on the show. Especially in the scene between Barry and Nora. As played out as this relationship has been in the last 2 years, it's hard not to get emotional when you see how affected Barry is by her loss and how hard it is for him to get over it. Especially after what happened when he travelled back to 2000 last year and basically has to relive the whole tragedy. That was a cruel hand of fate that season 2 never actually addressed, imo. The reciting of the book was the best part of the speed force scenes. Kevin Smith said recently that Grant is destined for great things and he may not be wrong.

                            - Iris had a good episode in her own right. For once, she wasn't just making up the numbers in the scenes she was in. She was heroic and she played a pivotal role with Girder and with bringing back Barry. The WestAllen stuff was ok. I like the fact that the show isn't rushing into anything. Let the connection between the two become more believable with each passing week first. And they're doing a good job of that in recent weeks. All in all, this episode proved that Iris is far from a lost cause when she's written and directed by people who care about her.

                            - Not a lot on the Jesse/Wally front. Wally *seems* to be fine and Jesse only woke up in the end. Although, the fact that Barry's speed force connection brought her back is probably a sign that Jesse's superspeed isn't far away now. My only gripe with the whole thing is that we never saw Wells and Joe actually feel responsible for what happened to their kids. Which they should.

                            - Loved everything about Cisco in this episode. His scenes with Wells in particular are always funny.

                            - I hope I'm wrong, but Henry sticking around for good seems to spell doom for him. Unless the show has decided to have JWS appear more regularly next season, which would be fantastic.

                            - Zoom's army.

                            9/10. As good as anything they've done this season.

                            ^ Pretty much all this.


                            Now that someone has done all the work of analyzing and writing about the episode in a way that captures what I felt, just a few random notes:

                            - Having failed to do any of my assigned homework (ie I didn’t watch Flashpoint Pardox yet [but I will eventually!]; don’t tell Carmine-Infantino) and still as ignorant as ever about Flash canon, I was surprised to see that the Speedforce had a certain … "intentionality", guess might be a word I’m looking for. I was glad they put the line in about the fact that Speedforce is not to be considered like gravity b/c for an ignorant viewer such as myself, that clarification came just at the right moment when I was starting to say “hunh?” Personally, I don’t like when “forces of nature” (so to speak) are depicted as having purpose, as if they are architects working toward a gramd design, but I guess the Speedforce is not a typical force of nature. Also, if this is what the Speedforce is, then that’s what it is, so of course I’ll accept that since it is a fictional creation and it’s not like I’m being asked to believe something, for example, like an idea that a real-world force such as gravity has designs and ideas about what should happen in the grand scheme of things…

                            - One thing I really liked in the Speedforce scenes was the lighting, music, camerawork. It convincingly made me feel like I was in a very different, nostalgic kind of place. And I thought each actor who took turns portraying the Speedforce did a good job. Each time I “bought” that I was seeing the SF speaking and interacting and not Joe, Iris or Henry

                            - I was a bit surprised to learn Barry was still so hung up on, and held back by, his mother’s death. I don’t say that in a callous way – of course most children losing a parent at such a young age and in such a violent manner would always be haunted in some way. But I just never realized that was still such a driving force for him not moving on. But maybe I just wasn’t connecting the dots that were still being shown…

                            - When Barry did return to his world, I thought GG did a good job portraying him as more mature, and more resolved, and especially through his body language and physical actions which seemed more purposive and felt “stronger”. When the show very first started it wasn’t until about 5-6 or so episodes in that I was even able to see Barry as more than a teenager. Yes, I knew he was older than that, but he always seemed so boyish it was hard to imagine him as someone Iris would ever have taken seriously as a potential romantic partner had they gone there at that time (which I’m glad they didn’t). But eventually I did see him as someone in his twenties. And now finally, I see him as someone who seems to have stepped it up, maturity-wise and I just hope the character stays on this course from here on out.

                            - Enjoyed not just the fact that Iris had an active role for a change, but I liked that she and her father got to work together as a team just by themselves on part of the mission. Also, Iris has always struck me as a somewhat bland character and I enjoyed some of the little humorous touches (she tells Cisco to get behind her for instance while obviously nervous = funny + heroic; and she says something about Joe’s choice to drop and let shatter a cup she gave him …) which gave me a feel for her as more of an individual with her own unique personality rather than the generic placeholder love-interest-character feeling that I often get from her.

                            - Since someone else mentioned this, I did think it was a bit weird that Henry first wanted to go help Barry and then Iris jumped in and decided she would do it instead. Now, if it had been written that Iris just said she would do it (without Henry first wanting to) I wouldn’t have thought anything about it. But the choice to write it the way they did, drew attention to it for me and so I got a bit distracted thinking about that when I’m not sure if I was supposed to put much focus on that or not (the symbolism perhaps of Iris preparing to take over as the primary relationship in Barry’s life? idk… or then I started thinking, well, maybe there were some parent-writers in the room and while they ultimately wanted Iris to be the one to go there for Barry, they also felt like viewers would wonder why his father hadn’t wanted to be there for him?…).

                            - It did seem kind of weird to me that Zoom wasn’t featured until the end. At one point I had to remind myself that Zoom was still around presumably doing stuff, so I agree with another poster that maybe if they’d had one or two other quick scenes with Zoom that would have been useful. As usual I disliked the Zoom-Caitlin ship-scene at the end, but it wasn’t as bad as in the past and his words to her about staying or leaving were generic enough that I just substituted my own head-canon that this wasn’t about Zoom-in-love but rather was about Zoom kidnapping Caitlin b/c he wants her scientific expertise on his side. Works for me, so that’s what I’m going with as much as possible

                            - I like the fact that Wally doesn’t yet show signs of meta abilities/speed and of course loved the scene where Joe “tests” him. By not yet showing that Wally has this, I think it leaves me with something to look forward to and be curious about: how will they show it? how will Wally discover/notice it and what will his reaction be, especially as Joe didn’t tell him what he was suspecting might have happened to Wally? How will Joe learn about Wally’s new abilities – will Wally tell him or will Joe find out?

                            - I felt really uneasy about that nice warm scene where Henry tells Barry he’s there to stay. Yes, I definitely felt that spelled doom for Henry, and for various reasons including that I’m not sure I want another storyline dealing w/ the death of a parent, I’d rather not have Barry’s last biological parent die … I’m skeptical that Henry will get to stay on the show: how will they use him when the cast already seems a bit crowded? And they better not kill Joe to make room for Henry either! For me, Joe is the heart and soul of the show with all his dad-talks and he helps anchor the characters, creating the feeling that wherever he is is their “home.” To me, Joe is to the Flash as the yellow-farmhouse-bathed-in-that-warm-golden-light-w/-Jonathan-&-Martha-in-the-kitchen was to Smallville. I will be very displeased if Joe is not part of the show!

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Shelby Kent
                              - I was a bit surprised to learn Barry was still so hung up on, and held back by, his mother’s death. I don’t say that in a callous way – of course most children losing a parent at such a young age and in such a violent manner would always be haunted in some way. But I just never realized that was still such a driving force for him not moving on. But maybe I just wasn’t connecting the dots that were still being shown…
                              I don't believe you missed anything. It came out of the blue for me, too. This is one of the reasons why I felt this episode didn't work at all. It invented a problem that the character didn't seem to have up to that point. And, like you, I think it's a totally legitimate problem to have. He just didn't show any signs that he had it.

                              Comment

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