This Is A Fun But Wildly Inconsistent Season

The Flash’s fourth season has the line “We are the Flash”… something that would define this series in the worst possible way. Simply put, no Iris, you’re not the Flash. You’ve actually become the worst part of the season. 

But let’s start out with the good. I like the lighter tone of this season. Feels a bit more like season 1. The whole season is connected by the Bus Metas arc and the main villain Clifford DeVoe aka The Thinker. Both are fun if not a little dragged out. The body swapping thing really slowed the show down even though it had some great moments. Also why would DeVoe’s wife only kiss him when he’s a man? Marlize is a very interesting antagonist. Their abusive relationship unfolds in an unsettling way. That brief flashback interaction between Thawne (as Wells) and DeVoe is one of my favorite scenes in the show. The season has a secondary villain, Amulet Black, she is very over the top but has some entertainment value. Ralph Dibny’s Elognated Man is the best part of this season. Ralph’s story is genuinely well told, feels very human and his journey to being a hero works perfectly. His arc with Barry is particularly engaging. 

The season/crossover has great designs for The Flash, Samuroid, Dark Arrow, Nazi Reverse Flash, King Shark, Guardian (Earth X), Overgirl, Prometheus, White Canary, Mister Terrific, Black Canary, Metallo, Citizen Cold (perfect design for Captain Cold), The Ray, Red Tornado, Elongated Man and the Thinker. 

This season’s crossover, Crisis On Earth-X, is the best crossover in the Arrowverse. It goes so hard. It genuinely feels like a three hour movie. These aren’t episodes that are divided up by that show’s characters or stories but every character is here playing a part. It’s a damn shame they didn’t use Blitzkreig here and that he only appears in Freedom Fighters: The Ray. 

Unfortunately this season has a lot of issues. The pacing is out of wack. Barry Allen is so inconsistent. He has great moments like the prison arc and terrible moments like trying to fix Cisco’s relationship. He’s smart one second and a complete idiot the next. Grant Gustin’s acting is always solid though. Iris being the leader of team flash is one of the many reasons this show starts to suck. She’s written as such a hypocrite and written that way constantly. Kid Flash leaving after one season is just as stupid as it was when Arsenal left Arrow after one season. I think Kilgore and the Fiddler are really cool but underused. Harry feels very different this season but I still like his character for the most part. The mystery girl throughout the season is an interesting addition. Her identity becomes too obvious as the season goes on. The cliffhanger is fun though. 

Despite some surprisingly good CGI especially for Elongated Man, a nice lighter tone, a great new Flash suit and one of the best episodes of the show, season 4 is a clear step down from season 3. And “This house is bitchin’.” is maybe the best running joke in the whole show.

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

Season 9

Specials

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