Famed Flash villain The Pied Piper comes to The Flash tonight at 8PM on The CW in an episode that explores what happens when someone with great power is wronged.
The Piper – a.k.a. Hartley Rathaway – is played by Smash veteran Andy Mientus. I admit, when I did some Flash fan-casting last year, I always pictured Grant Gustin’s Glee co-star Chris Colfer in the role; however, once you see what Mientus brings to the table, you’ll see that he is likely better than anything I pictured. With no offense at all meant to Colfer, the role needed to go a little bit older and more experienced, especially considering the ties that Hartley has to some other characters in the Flash universe. Mientus is also a great choice because of the intensity he brings to the role. Even when Hartley is calm, there is something bubbling underneath that you know could explode like a particle acclerator at any moment. Additionally, Andy Mientus plays “calculated” really well, for reasons you’ll see when you watch the episode.
As the episode description revealed, the Pied Piper is not too happy with Harrison Wells and his team after what happened the night of the particle accelerator explosion. Hartley’s backstory reveals some surprises and his technology is cool — but there’s a lot more to like within the episode as well: Iris gets a new gig at the Central City newspaper based on them liking her pieces on The Flash. (If only it were so easy!) We finally learn about some insecurities that certain characters have had. And, yes, we do get more clarification on whether or not Harrison Wells is indeed the Reverse-Flash, and we hear a reference to a certain aspect of Flash lore that excited me to hear when it was said out loud. We even get to see where Wells lives, and it’s pretty amazing. There’s also some subtext within the story that I’m wondering if it is intentional or not.
For those unfamiliar with the comic books, the Pied Piper/Hartley Rathaway was one of the first comic book characters to “come out of the closet” over 25 years ago. This, too, is something The Flash does well — the character is gay, yet, aside from perhaps the lack of support from his parents (who we saw last week), the issues faced by Hartley are faced by anyone, regardless of preference. Kudos to The Flash, though, for not ignoring this part of the character, yet also having it be such a non-issue that as far as I can recall, none of the characters have any derogatory remarks to make about that part of his life. (They do have other choice words for Hartley Rathaway, but holding his sexuality against him is not one of them.) The TV days of characters like Three’s Company’s Mr. Roper dismissing someone because of that background are mostly, and thankfully, over.
I shouldn’t be surprised when a first-year series is so consistently strong, but The Flash has really run a successful first year. The story is consistently moving ahead while at the same time creating new questions. As Barry Allen, Grant Gustin is playing a hero that legitimately wants to do the right thing, that people can get behind. I like that. The supporting cast so far has also been great, and many of them get to shine tonight.
If there’s any complaint, I’m going to say it now: Once Harrison Wells and his true nature are out in the open, what is next for him? Would Wells be done with the show? Tom Cavanagh and Wells are such an important part of the chemistry that makes The Flash work, I’d hope not. But then again, would we want the character to face no consequences? Or, are we going to find out that Wells, while having a funny way of showing it, is actually a good guy? Guess we’ll have to wait and see. But the thought of a show without Harrison Wells makes me a little sad, so that’s what I’ll pre-complain about.
All in all, another solid episode that is definitely worth seeing tonight.
The Flash airs at 8PM on The CW. Take a look at some preview images here and come talk about The Flash on our forum!
