Why does Barry even wear a mask?

[Aurora Moon]

That's the thing about photos and stuff... in this day and age, nothing is truly private anymore thanks to things like hackers, viral photos and videos, etc. Not even physical, non-digital photos are safe anymore because it's easy to scan and upload those to the internet.

[Backward Galaxy]

I don't know. I don't like it when heroes take off their masks either, but the other option is them telling more stories like the Patty arc, where Barry couldn't tell her "to protect her" and just no thanks. No thanks to more secrets between friends that threaten relationships. No thanks to missed dates and other commitments for Barry because Flash had to save the day. Just have the people close know and the other people not know.

Also, let's be honest. The police know Flash works with Joe, Cisco, and STAR. If this were reality, they wouldn't need him to take off his mask.

[Clada Max-El]

Also, let's be honest. The police know Flash works with Joe, Cisco, and STAR. If this were reality, they wouldn't need him to take off his mask.

That is true. When Wally wanted to thank The Flash, he went straight to Joe, even though Iris was the one who wrote the Flash Blog. I knew Wally would go to Joe because I'd read the synosis prior to watching the episode, but after seeing it, I had second thoughts. It was as if the show writers forgot all about Iris's blog in the last season, turning Joe into the police's way to contact the Flash instead of Iris, like in Season 1.

Tina McGee put two and two together; it was no surprise to me when she addressed him as Mr. Allen after The Flash saved her in episode 22. Part of me wonders if Singh asked where Barry was at the end of that episode to see how Flash would react.

[Aurora Moon]

I don't know. I don't like it when heroes take off their masks either, but the other option is them telling more stories like the Patty arc, where Barry couldn't tell her "to protect her" and just no thanks. No thanks to more secrets between friends that threaten relationships. No thanks to missed dates and other commitments for Barry because Flash had to save the day. Just have the people close know and the other people not know.

Also, let's be honest. The police know Flash works with Joe, Cisco, and STAR. If this were reality, they wouldn't need him to take off his mask.

I actually agree with parts of this.

I still think that Barry could play it smart. Barry can tell the people he trusts all he wants, just don't randomly take the mask off in public!
I mean, how hard is it to restrict that habit to places that he knows is secure... like his home and star labs only?

Just don't take off the mask in random places like the street, an alley way or CC Jitters where there's security cameras and bystanders walking by. Is that really so hard to do?

[Clada Max-El]

I still think that Barry could play it smart. Barry can tell the people he trusts all he wants, just don't randomly take the mask off in public!
I mean, how hard is it to restrict that habit to places that he knows is secure... like his home and star labs only??

This is what I want to see Barry do as well.

This is slightly off-topic, but the last scene in episode 21 bugged me a little. When (SPOILER ALERT) Zoom took Henry Allen, Barry takes the time to stop by STAR Labs and put on his suit while he's chasing Zoom, and to top it off, he doesn't put on the mask, just stands there at the door of his old house staring at Zoom. I under stand from a production standpoint you need the mask off to show emotions, and I'm fine with that. I also understand that storywise Barry supposedly needs the suit to keep his clothes from burning, but in the very next episode he chases after Zoom in his mourning attire!

Don't get me wrong, the Flash is my favorite show, but like everything else, there are parts of the show that just make me want to yell at the TV.

[Backward Galaxy]

I actually agree with parts of this.

I still think that Barry could play it smart. Barry can tell the people he trusts all he wants, just don't randomly take the mask off in public!
I mean, how hard is it to restrict that habit to places that he knows is secure... like his home and star labs only?

Just don't take off the mask in random places like the street, an alley way or CC Jitters where there's security cameras and bystanders walking by. Is that really so hard to do?

Keep in mind that it's mostly done to show Grant's face, not Barry's. It is why Tony constantly removes his faceplate as Iron Man, why Spidey's mask kept getting torn in the Raimi films, and why Thor doesn't wear his helmet. You pay an actor, a lot of the actor's performance is through their expressions, and so you get mask-less heroes.

[Backward Galaxy]

This is what I want to see Barry do as well.

This is slightly off-topic, but the last scene in episode 21 bugged me a little. When (SPOILER ALERT) Zoom took Henry Allen, Barry takes the time to stop by STAR Labs and put on his suit while he's chasing Zoom, and to top it off, he doesn't put on the mask, just stands there at the door of his old house staring at Zoom. I under stand from a production standpoint you need the mask off to show emotions, and I'm fine with that. I also understand that storywise Barry supposedly needs the suit to keep his clothes from burning, but in the very next episode he chases after Zoom in his mourning attire!

Don't get me wrong, the Flash is my favorite show, but like everything else, there are parts of the show that just make me want to yell at the TV.

It can be sloppy at times.

[Aurora Moon]

Keep in mind that it's mostly done to show Grant's face, not Barry's. It is why Tony constantly removes his faceplate as Iron Man, why Spidey's mask kept getting torn in the Raimi films, and why Thor doesn't wear his helmet. You pay an actor, a lot of the actor's performance is through their expressions, and so you get mask-less heroes.

As I said before a page ago, I understand the reasoning behind this for the directors. I even pointed out that's the real reason why they had glass prisons now too.

But, understanding why they do those things doesn't exactly fix the fact that it just makes everyone look kind of... stupid... in-universe.

But you know, The marvel movies at least did get around those obstacles in clever ways for heroes like Iron man. When he was flying around in his iron armor, they would cut to a view inside the suit, where we could see Tony's face while it was overlaid with computer screens. This was a good way to show us the actor emoting without actually taking off his mask in the middle of battle.

And I happen to think that Barry can emote just fine even with the mask on... so I think the directors don't seem to have a great deal of faith in Barry to be able to get his feelings across with a mask on. Which is a shame.

[Backward Galaxy]

Understanding why isnt enough. You have to take that and use it when translating the reality to where we as an audience can understand that him taking his mask off isn't going to have the same consequences as it does in our world. It's not them being stupid if the consequences are different. You say you understand the why but then don't allow them any leeway in your interpretation of the material.

[Clada Max-El]

You pay an actor, a lot of the actor's performance is through their expressions, and so you get mask-less heroes.

Having taking a few Drama classes, I have learned that the eyes are an important acting tool. Many professional actors learn how to act through two peep holes, where all the audience sees are the eyes. Obviously, this is a hard trick to do, and emotions are much easier to portray when the whole face is shown. However, my point is, a lot of emotion is seen just in the eyes and the mouth.

[Backward Galaxy]

Andy Serkis is a great actor, but how many people know his name? Of those that do, how many know the second best motion capture actor working today? Not many, I'd wager.

[Clada Max-El]

Andy Serkis is a great actor, but how many people know his name? Of those that do, how many know the second best motion capture actor working today? Not many, I'd wager.

I make it a point not to learn actors names (even though I still learn some), so it looks like you just won your wager.

[Aurora Moon]

Understanding why isnt enough. You have to take that and use it when translating the reality to where we as an audience can understand that him taking his mask off isn't going to have the same consequences as it does in our world. It's not them being stupid if the consequences are different. You say you understand the why but then don't allow them any leeway in your interpretation of the material.

You keep on misunderstanding where I'm coming from. I can understand and accept it... even suspend my sense of disbelief when watching the TV show. So I actually do give them a lot of leeway.

I was just simply pointing out that it's one of those things where if you think about it AFTER the show, the more you realize that this whole thing is.... weird.
Fridge Logic, Y'all.

In the end the whole bit where Barry randomly takes off his mask in public isn't going to be a big issue, because obviously the writers are going to make it so that there are zero consequences for that. I can live with that. But once in a while the illogical "logic" of those scenes are going to bug me after the show's over.
It's just one of those minor things that bugs me. that's all.

[Clada Max-El]

I was just simply pointing out that it's one of those things where if you think about it AFTER the show, the more you realize that this whole thing is.... weird.
Fridge Logic, Y'all.

In the end the whole bit where Barry randomly takes off his mask in public isn't going to be a big issue, because obviously the writers are going to make it so that there are zero consequences for that. I can live with that. But once in a while the illogical "logic" of those scenes are going to bug me after the show's over.
It's just one of those minor things that bugs me. that's all.

I agree with you, this is where I am coming from as well. I'm fine with it, and I'll continue to watch the show, it's just that little bit of illogical logic, as you call it, that bugs me.

When I was first introduced to Superman about a decade ago, I started digging into the past and found a lot of old Superman stories. The focus of many of those old stories is Clark fearing someone may have figured out his secret identity, and so the whole comic book/episode is spent on Clark keeping said person from knowing his secret. Since Superman is who introduced me to the superhero genre, I'm used to the hero doing everything he can to keep his secret safe. Seeing Barry carelessly take off his mask whenever he can is just...new to me, I guess.

[Aurora Moon]

I've read about other heroes who weren't that worried about being found out, like Golden age Hal Jordon. He was very casual about dropping hints in front of his loved ones and friends.

But even golden age Hal Jordon was slightly more careful than Barry was... making sure to create plenty of misdirection that made people outside the family doubt that Hal Jordon was Green Lantern. Ironically this lead people to think that Hal's brother Jim was actually Green Lantern, and Hilary ensued. It didn't help that the Jordon Family had an habit of knocking themselves out by accident at random. Green Lantern at the time was known for knocking himself out randomly. And so when they saw Jim knock himself out by accident, they would go: "Yeah, he's Green Lantern alright. Who else does that?"

http://luchins.com/what-were-they-thinking/more-fun-with-the-jordans/

http://luchins.com/what-were-they-thinking/hals-family/