What I’m Watching: The Flash

The Flash: Season 1, Episode 6 “The Flash is Born” (B+)

This episode was fun because it had a personal feel to it, with Barry coming face-to-face with a bully from school who, when endowed with powers, opted to use them to become even more of a bully. Having Tony go after Iris first helped root this show in the history that Iris and Barry have shared, and then helped make Barry all the more inspired to get a five point three mile running start to take down the guy who made his life miserable. Barry hasn’t exactly managed to solve the problem of Iris being obsessed with the Streak, though he did at least manage to earn himself his proper moniker. Though it doesn’t help get him Iris, Barry talking to Mike and learning how to fight actually proved productive, and it’s important that they get along since they’re inevitably going to be spending plenty of time together. It’s nice to see that Iris and Barry made up and that they’ll be headed good places in the future. Joe is being awfully enterprising in his search for the metahuman who killed Barry’s father, and his first suspect – Dr. Wells – seems to have exonerated himself, though our knowledge of his future-facing tendencies indicate that he’s probably hiding something. Joe did earn himself a troubling warning in the form of a streak-like visit and a note pinned on his wall that very directly threatened the life of the person he cares most about, which is sure to make him question whether the road he’s traveling is worth it.