Flash has been one of the biggest hits on the CW in years, it’s first season proved that the network could not only do a “true” superhero series, but do it convincingly. For many fans, Flash Season 1 was epic from nearly start to finish. Which makes it all the more sad that Season 2 isn’t living up to what it laid out. I’m a big fan of Flash, and after rewatching the first season it’s easy to see what made it so special.
With Season 02 taking a break before the next Flash/Arrow crossover, I thought it would be a good idea to take a look back at the five best episodes from Flash Season 01.
Honorable Mention: Flash V Arrow:
It was almost inevitable that this would happen, after all, Barry Allen actually debuted in Arrow Season 02 via a two-part event, and originally was going to become The Flash (as in suit up) in Arrow as well. But, the CW saw the potential of going full-scale right away, so they didn’t bring him back. However, once it was clear Flash was going to be special, they decided it was time to make history and bring two shows together like few have done before.
Flash V Arrow did a good job of showing that just because two heroes should team up, it won’t always be a smooth working relationship. You might think that obvious, but more times than not, that gets missed, especially in shows with time limits. Here though, we got to see how the different styles of Oliver and Barry actually conflicted quite a bit. Add in a metahuman who could make it so people get enraged, and you have a superhero fight just waiting to happen.
You could tell the writers were having fun making the dialogue for this episode. From Team Arrow and Team Flash “picking their man” for who would win in a fight. To the “training session” for Barry with Oliver, it was great.
So why isn’t this top 5? Well, having Barry fight Ollie because of the metahuman felt a little contrived. Like this was the only way to make them fight logically, when heroes have honestly fought for less. That being said, it was still a good episode, and worthy of being an honorable mention.
5. Pilot
Cheating? Maybe. But the fact of the matter is, if the pilot for Flash didn’t work? The show wouldn’t have done as well as it did. Sure, ratings for pilots are usually high for anticipated shows like Flash, but if they crash afterwards? What’s the point? For the pilot of Flash, that didn’t happen, because in less than one hour it had people believing in the impossible, and Barry Allen.
As mentioned above, the pilot redid the origin of how Barry got struck by lightning, but it was a small tweak that you can forgive, and it made sense in the overall story.
Truly though, what made the pilot so great wasn’t that it had true superhero elements (Barry’s running, Weather Wizard, etc.), but rather that it delved deep into the characters that would become a staple of show, especially in the first season. From Joe and Iris West, to Eddie Thawne, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, and the Harrison Wells, we got a deep roster right off the bat, and they all gelled rather well. Also, they built up the reasoning for why Barry becomes the Flash, and the reason he is needed, as well as teased what was to come.
Sure, there were incredibly cheesy moments and dialogue, but it’s the pilot, it happens. What’s more important was that it set the stage for all of Flash Season 01, and even the most keyed in DC Comics fan could not have predicted that Harrison Wells was from the future, and with a paper from 10 years in the future to be precise! That picture of the paper from the future sent fanboys and fangirls into nerd chatter for a long time, and it hasn’t stopped since.
4. Revenge Of The Rogues
The first episode after the midseason break proved that Flash Season 01 could keep up the momentum in a big way, and it did with the (arguably) best villains of the show, The Rogues. Whereas we met Captain Cold in the fourth episode of the season, episode ten introduced us to his partner, Heat Wave. What was to follow was a fun episode of cat and mouse as Cold tried to lure out Flash in an attempt to duel him to the death.
What he didn’t know though was that Flash was having his own issues, as he was dealing with the fallout from his first true confrontation with Reverse Flash. Still struck by what happened, Barry resolved to get faster at any cost, which included not helping out when bad guys were around.
This was very interesting, as it would’ve been easy for Barry to give up after Reverse Flash’s attack, but instead he used it to motivate him, albeit in the wrong way. This would lead to a very fun Harrison Wells/Joe West confrontation about who Barry was, and what he needed to be.
In my opinion though, the best part was the Rogues, and their inevitable clash with Flash. Wentworth Miller absolutely kills it as Captain Cold, and his performance here was very fun, as was Heat Wave, their personality clashes were very true to the comics and how The Rogues work, but in the end, they came together to fight Flash.
What a fight it was. Using numerous effects to the best of their abilities, the first fight between Flash and the Rogues was something to behold, as was watching how it all ended. From Eddie saving Flash (via a shield made by Cisco) to the Rogues literally cancelling each other out, it was fun from start to finish.
Many of the best episodes of Flash (both seasons 01 and 02) feature the Rogues, and this was a worthy addition to this list.
3. Tricksters
Ok, this episode was just pure fun.
Flash has never been afraid to reference the first Flash series that aired on CBS in the 90’s, to the extent that they got John Wesley Shipp (who was the original Barry Allen) to be his Barry’s father, Henry. But even more than that, they decided to bring back the best villain from that series to reprise his role. Mark Hamill…as The Trickster.
I would’ve put this on the list just because of Mark Hamill and his performance, you could tell he was loving every minute of this episode that he got to be a part of. More than that though, he got to show off the skills that got him the role of The Joker in Batman: The Animated Series and subsequent movies and games. It was The Trickster (with that very familiar voice) that came first, so it’s fun to see him use it again.
Beyond that though, this was just an interesting episode as the Tricksters (father and son) wrecked havoc on Central City. As if that wasn’t enough, Barry was struggling with the fact that he knew, definitively, that Harrison Wells was somehow involved in his mothers murder, and yet he couldn’t say a word. This led to several very tense moments as Barry’s trust in Wells was put to the test many times over.
Also, for fans of the comics and certain animated movies, seeing Barry run so fast that he literally phased through objects was very cool. Which of course led to Barry realizing that Wells was in fact Reverse Flash.
I could on for a while about how fun this episode was, but honestly, I don’t think I need to, cause it all ties back to how well written these characters (both past and present) were written.
2. Fallout
I’m a guy who loves story, and character development, and for superhero shows that can sometimes be lost. For Flash, they often had great use of characters, and when they pushed the stories to show off the repercussions of actions and events, the show really shined. Fallout was one of the best examples of that.
To recap, Ronnie Raymond (Caitlin Snow’s finance who was believed to be dead via the Particle Accelerator) was alive, but merged with one Dr. Marcus Stein, and now was Firestorm. In the previous episode, their fusion was causing a literal nuclear meltdown, and resulted in them, again literally, blowing up. Fallout though dealt with not only them being alive, but the reactions their friends and family would have to them being alive.
The character moments here were great, from Ronnie and Marcus bickering about who should’ve “been in control” to the reunion of the two happy couples, they were all on point and believable. Furthermore, the desire to return to normal was once again shattered as recurring threat General Wade Eiling showed up to try and capture Firestorm.
There were many fun action elements here, from Eiling taking down Flash twice with military tech, to Firestorm truly becoming the hero he needed to be, and more, it was very fun to watch. But at it’s core, this was about the people around Firestorm, and what it meant for their lives, a thread that would be picked up once again when Firestorm returned.
Oh, and Fallout had the true introduction to Grodd. So that was fun too!
1. The Man In The Yellow Suit
In every series, there is an episode that the future episodes of said series will have to live up to. It is an inevitability, as the right elements, story, and characters come together to make something very special. For Flash Season 01, that was The Man In The Yellow Suit.
Why? Because this was the episode we had been wanting since the pilot, The Reverse Flash was here, and Barry finally got to “meet” the man who killed his mother. From the opening seconds to the shocking final ones this episode crammed in a lot of story, all the while not losing track of what was important.
First up? Barry, this was easily one of Grant Gustin’s greatest performances, as he had to react on numerous levels to the fact that his mothers killer was alive, and in the city. Barry’s powerful scenes with Henry and Joe showed just how good this show can be when it focuses on its characters, as both fathers told different sides to the same story. From Henry not wanting Barry to chase Reverse Flash cause he “didn’t want him to take any more from the family”, to Joe talking about how Barry changed his life for the better, “I need my Barry Allen”, it was very beautiful, and touching.
Then there’s Caitlin, who finally found out that Ronnie was indeed alive, but not well. Her wanting so desperately to find him, only to see him in the state he was in was heartbreaking to be sure. Her “One minute more” speech was very heartfelt, and felt very true to what the character had gone through.
Then of course, there was Barry finally admitting to Iris that he loved her, and had done so for a long time, which played very well into the theme of the episode. That being “don’t waste time”.
But truly, and emphatically, this was about Flash and Reverse Flash. Their battles were insane, and showed just how cool high-speed battles can look. From the looks of the two, to how they fought, and talked, you could truly see how opposite they were. Reverse Flash’s taunting of Barry was very dark and creepy in an epic way. Noting how it’s Barry’s “Destiny to fail”, and how it wasn’t Barry who was the “Fastest Man Alive” but rather it was him.
Finally, the earth-shattering reveal that Harrison Wells was in fact The Reverse Flash was mind blowing. What did it all mean? How was it possible? The questions mounted for months until we finally got the answers. To be fair, this and Fallout could’ve swapped places depending on the day, but there was just something about this episode that made it the torch bearer, and it’s the episode I’ll probably rewatch over and over again.
In the end, Flash Season 01 had numerous epic episodes, and again, it proved that you could have a superpowered hero show with good effects on a TV budget. When it was given the chance, it shined in numerous ways, and with many episodes to come in Season 02 and hopefully beyond, it’ll be fun to see which episodes rank up with these great ones from the first season.
