Blu-ray Review: The Flash Season 2

The Flash Season 2 is now out on Blu-ray and it is well worth a watch. The CW have, on the whole, been doing great things with their comic book TV shows – Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow. They will be joined by season 2 of Supergirl – Yet it is The Flash which seems to be getting things spot on. It has a sense of joy and wonder that is sometimes missing from the other shows.

Week by week it is as if they have brought a comic book to life. Sure, not every episode or character hits the mark, but on the whole it is a great ride through the life of The Flash. Grant Gustin keeps on getting better and better as Barry Allen (The Flash). You get the impression that Barry loves the powers he has been given and that helps somewhat with the whole burden of having to protect Central City and all of his loved one. The supporting cast are all fantastic and while Arrow seems to at times get too hung up on the relationships of the characters, The Flash seems to get the balance right.

Season 2 improves on the first season for a number of reasons. We get the whole multiverse introduced and visit Earth 2. That gives the cast a chance to change up and play their doppelgangers – some evil, some good. We get to see Jay Garrick, the Flash of Earth 2, which is something I thought we would never see on TV. Shantel VanSanten as Patty Spivot brings another strong female character to the mix, and gives the chance for Barry to chill out a bit more. Keiynan Lonsdale plays Wally West and seeds are sown for the introduction of Kid Flash. Time travel hits hard again and more could be said on that, but that would spoil things too much.

Of course, we also get lots more bad guys. King Shark! I mean, who would have thought we would get to see King Shark on TV? While there is not much character to this version, he does look pretty good. Not bad for a TV show which has to keep an eye on its budget. Hawkgirl is introduced along with Killer Frost, Deathstorm and so much more. You know what, there is just so much comic book goodness you need to check it out for yourself.

Zoom is an effective bad guy. He is another speedster, but he is quite menacing at times, especially with the gravelly voice of Tony Todd and he does kill a lot of people.

The effects are great, with The Flash’s speed and powers being shown so well. They pick and choose how and when best to kick in the CG and they do it well. The Blu-ray has quite a few featurettes that look at the VFX and how they put the show together, which makes you appreciate it all the more. They also look at the crossover with Arrow, how Kevin Smith got involved with directing an episode and the obligatory deleted scenes and gag reel. Picture quality and sound for the show and extras are all excellent.

There are a few moments in the show that don’t quite work – villains come and go and you never hear from some of them again, the sense of peril diminishes from time to time and the development of The Flash’s powers seems to have slowed down. As with many of The CW shows there is the aspect of soap opera when the superhero action stops. Still, the good far outweighs the bad and that ending! Exciting times ahead in season 3.