Loved it? Hated it? What did you think of this episode?

[DigificWriter]

Source?

"Johns clarified that Harrison Wells is a new character who isn’t in the comics that was created just for the show."

The Flash: Lets talk about that big twist

[super_j_man]

"Johns clarified that Harrison Wells is a new character who isn’t in the comics that was created just for the show."

The Flash: Lets talk about that big twist

Producers can be crafty individuals. According to Geoff Johns, "Harrison Wells" is a new character........that doesn't mean he can't be "a professor zoom" or "a reverse-flash".....It would be no different than having Thea Queen (who technically is an original character) become Speedy or Artemis.

Besides, why do you care if people speculate? It's all for good fun!

[DigificWriter]

^ If it goes against unequivocal "word of god" statements, it's not speculation; it's living in denial.

[super_j_man]

^ If it goes against unequivocal "word of god" statements, it's not speculation; it's living in denial.

Not to argue or belabor my point:

*John's said that "Harrison Wells" was an original character does not mean that he can't be "a" reverse-flash (there were multiple reverse flashes)

*My question was not what you thought of "speculation", my question was why do YOU care?

Anyways, debating back and forth is off-topic so that's all I have to say.

Anywho...

[DigificWriter]

There are going to be a lot of people with egg on their faces when Wells turns out to be exactly what the producers said he is: a completely original character not from the comics who was created specifically for the series.

[Thailog]

This show really does give off a Smallville vibe. I like the light hearted atmosphere but I'm not too keen on the overly cheesy moments and the "freak of the week" concept.

Dr. Wells is certainly an intriguing character. One thing I noticed in today's episode... his mannerisms, during the scene where he was talking to Joe, were kind of similar to Barry's. And physically, he does kind of resemble an older version of Barry. Now, I doubt he's actually Barry from the future due to the whole murdering people thing, but the similarities are interesting.

[Knightshadow57]

He's Professor Zoom. He has to be. My guess is, he traveled back through time killed Barry's mother (the man in the lightning looked an awful lot like Professor Zoom, I would argue too much to be coincidence), plus Wells has access to newspapers from the future.............newspapers that hint at The Flash's fate in Crisis on Infinite Earths........perhaps he is meddling with the history of the Flash to alter the crisis somehow in the future. IDK just a guess.

Even if he isn't Thawne or Zoloman, he is definitely has elements of Professor Zoom as part of the mystery surrounding him. One idea that comes to mind is that maybe, Wells is not from the future, but somehow gained access to future tech/history. He became obsessed with The Flash, and created the accelerator accident to create The Flash. Or perhaps he found out about Barry after and simply snapped.

Either way he has his own agenda that involves protecting Barry and leading him to the moment of the crisis, ten years from now. Wells has lost his mind regardless, and it is those loose cannons (unpredictable) that makes this story interesting. He is neither friend or foe but the catalyst for the future to happen.

[DigificWriter]

My full review of the episode:
After getting off to a phenomenal start last week, Flash kicked things into even higher gear this week with "The Fastest Man Alive", showing us something that we don't usually see in superhero shows: the eponymous hero actually struggling as he/she attempts to establish a heroic persona for themselves.

I mentioned in my review of the Pilot that Joe West fills the same archetypal role as both Quentin Lance and John Diggle do on Arrow, and tonight's episode only cemented that assertion, particularly when it comes to the Diggle part of things. His objections to Barry's heroics were nearly identical - in motivation, at least - to Digg's objections to/struggle with what Oliver was doing (as seen in "Damages"), and the resolution to those objections also mirrored what happened with Digg. It was a nice subtle 'echo' of Arrow, and dovetailed really nicely with the use of flashbacks to explore what Barry and Joe's relationship was like in the aftermath of Henry Allen being arrested.

I'm not really sure what the writers are doing with Caitlin Snow; they clearly established in the Pilot that she fills the same archetypal role as Felicity does over on Arrow, but then portrayed her in this episode in a fashion that wasn't really consistent with said archetypal function. When characters like Diggle and Felicity get mad at Oliver, they remain very much entrenched in their specific archetypal roles, but when Caitlin freaked out on Barry, she came across as being an 'overprotective mother hen', which made things feel rather disjointed in terms of her characterization, particularly since she was back in her "female confidante" role by the end of the episode.

I said last week that Harrison Wells fills the same archetypal role as Malcolm Merlyn and Slade Wilson, and also said that I believe he's going to end up being the season's "Big Bad", and tonight's episode - particularly the very end - only cemented those conclusions. Knowing that he's not a character from the comics only increases the intrigue surrounding his motivations and actions, and I really can't wait to see what else the producers have up their sleeves when it comes to him.

I'm probably in the minority, but I would rather Iris and Barry's relationship not progress into romance. I fully expect that it's going to come out at some point that he's romantically interested in her, but, if I had my wish, she'd shoot him down and stay with Eddie. I know that it's probably going to be inevitable that she and Barry end up in a romantic relationship (particularly since she fills the same archetypal role as Laurel does over on Arrow), but, for now, that's how I feel.

BTW, the reason I don't want them to end up in a romance together is because I love the brother/sister relationship they have. It reminds me of the kind of relationship I've always had with my eldest sister (who's two years younger than I am), and I think it'd be a shame to ruin that, especially now that she's developed a keen interest in his superhero alter-ego.

I said last week that Cisco reminded me of Xander Harris, but I've got another Buffy character to add to that description: Andrew Wells. He's got Andrew's techy genius and introverted 'nerd cred' coupled with Xander's role as the 'everyman comic relief', and it's a nice combination that I think adds a fresh new layer to Flash and helps set it apart from its sister series Arrow (since there's not a character on Arrow that fills this archetypal function).

I didn't really get Barry's 'out-of-time' confession to Iris about how he feels, but it wasn't enough to drag down the episode's quality in any way, and I'm giving it a 10 out of 10.

[Terry Gibbs]

The fact that the producers have unequivocally stated that Wells is a wholly original character should make any speculation about him being the Reverse Flash a moot point because it's false, but people have apparently arbitrarily decided that the producers are lying.

Johns was asked about whether Zolomon was Zoom when he created the character, and he denied it, and Johns is involved so it is possible. They could be quite right to do it as they may used two Zoom's just like the comic, both with very different motives.

[vantheman77]

They got Barry Allen down pat in this episode, but the same couldn't be same as his supporting characters such as Iris and Joe West, along with Caitlin Snow. Both Caitlin and Joe were against Barry using his powers to save lives, yet both came around in different ways. I have to agree with the inconsistency with Caitlin as she comes across as bossy.

The chemistry between Barry and Iris seems forced in comparison to Iris' chemistry with Eddie Thawne. I don't know why Barry should answer to Iris about what's going on with him since she's with Eddie Thawne. Iris could be the show's equivalent to Lana Lang and Dinah Laurel Lance in that she's the only one who doesn't know Barry's secret.

I hope the consistency and progression will return next week.

[Caught_In_The_Sun]

9

Great fun.

[PHOENIXZERO]

I'd give it an 8, find it odd how readily some give out 10s and even 9s since at least with 10s there's really no higher to go when a better episode comes along. Show is fun and I don't mind the cheese at all.

I loved it. I still have to watch it again because I missed the first 16 minutes.

I didn't really expect the ending. They also have to stop killing off the villains.

The two villains that have been killed off so far are irrelevant.

It was awesome!
Also, want to know what Simon Stagg's life span was in the comics. Did they kill him off too soon tonight?

I was surprised because in the comics he has a lot more to do but some of it can be passed on to someone else.

All great points Jess! I just wish Barry Allen had a few muscles..........he is the weakest looking speedster I've ever seen!!!!!!

Kinda hard to build up muscle when your super power feeds on a key component in doing so.

[costas22]

Good. Really good. I wa worried it wouldn't live up to the pilot, but it stood out very well. Of course there are elements that remind you you're watching a CW show, but the positives far outweigh said negatives.

Wells is by far the most intriguing part of the show right now.

[Backward Galaxy]

Eh.

I'm liking the people involved more than the show right now, but that's probably to be expected in a fledgling show. Rare is it that series nail it out of the gate.

Things I enjoyed:
- I like that there are flaws in his game. He can move super fast. In theory, no one should be able to touch him, let alone some thug. That said, he's not a trained fighter. It makes sense that if he got overwhelmed, he might have trouble with that. He needs to learn to fight. Him passing out is also a nice touch in the sense that it shows he's not in full control of his abilities. I don't know if they plan to use the food/glucose thing as a plot point in later episodes, but it's good that they acknowledged it.
- I'm enjoying Snow and Wells very much.
- Adding William Sadler in any capacity typically makes your programming imminently more watchable.
- I don't love Iris yet, but at least they're giving her stuff to do. More than that, she branched out and came to her new direction on her own when she couldn't count on Barry's help anymore.
- The humor and lighter tone.
- West deciding to help Barry figure out who killed his mother. I like that "team".

Things I didn't like:
- Jesse Martin's West character is all over the place and it isn't working. First, he wants to protect Barry and keep him in line. Then, after one conversation with Wells, all of a sudden Barry is the only one who can do anything? BS. There's a happy medium. The police can do things and so can Flash. What he should have done is he should have said, "Okay, if you're going to do this, at least let me train you how to fight and protect yourself... and you have to keep me in the loop about everything you're doing."
- "You're not my father." - Yawn.
- Characters flip-flopping from single conversations - Det. West did it, Barry did it... It's just awful writing. Character development should derive from conflicts that are overcome, not from pep talks.
- Barry's lack of confidence in this episode is borderline irrational. His "it's impossible" line about finding the prime made no sense. How is it impossible? Seemed very possible and very easy. It took him 2 seconds to do it. It was just another excuse for them to force inner conflict and have the folks at the lab give him a pep talk that wasn't needed at that point in the episode.
- The lame death. Hated it.
- Barry's cornball speeches. - Yes, it contributes to the lighter tone, but there are ways of saying those types of lines without them coming across this way.
- Killing William Sadler so that he can't come back (if he is in fact dead) makes future programming less enticing.

[Backward Galaxy]

Originally Posted by DigificWriter

The fact that the producers have unequivocally stated that Wells is a wholly original character should make any speculation about him being the Reverse Flash a moot point because it's false, but people have apparently arbitrarily decided that the producers are lying.

There's nothing arbitrary about it. There is ample evidence to suggest that this is a very real possibility. No one has concluded that they are lying, but acting like we can trust their word about a character's true identity, when that identity is deliberately being kept from us and is perhaps one of the most important mysteries of the entire season, is just willful naivete.