Take Three: The Flash

The Flash: Season 1, Episode 3 “Things You Can’t Outrun” (B+)

This show is just running along, continuing to function on its main character’s enthusiasm for the good work he is doing and the consistency of each episodic guest star. I’m very happy to note that this show feels like it’s already well-established, with the dynamics of its supporting players, both of the scientific and law enforcement nature, fully developed. It’s the kind of rhythm that often takes much longer to establish, and this show managed to do it in just a few episodes. The gaseous villain in this episode was pretty cool, and though the people he was hunting – mainly Joe – didn’t come as a surprise, the revelation that he was about to be executed when he was infused with this new ability was considerably more unexpected. This episode included a fair amount of flashback time, filling in some important blanks about the night that Barry became the Flash. I like the casting of Robbie Amell, brother of “Arrow” star Stephen and star of last year’s CW effort “The Tomorrow People,” as Ronnie, Caitlin’s fiancé who died extremely heroically by sacrificing his life to save many others. Barry, Caitlin, and Cisco seem to all have come to a good place now that they’re using the particle accelerator as a makeshift prison, and it’s just a matter of someone figuring out what evil Dr. Wells is really up to. It was good to see Joe go see Barry’s father in prison, and let’s hope that he doesn’t somehow end up dead before Barry and Joe can figure out a way to set him free.