The Flash: The Complete Third Season [DVD]

My first introduction to a speedster in comics came around 1952 with Johnny Quick, who's coyly referenced in "Flash" through the mathematical formula which gave him velocity and through the character Jesse Quick, his daughter in comic books. I vividly remember when the Barry Allen Flash came into being in 1956, ushering in the Silver Age of superheroes. He fought DC's strongest line-up of villains -- Captain Cold, the Mirror Master, Captain Boomerang, etc. Carmine Infantino provided cool, modernistic art for action adventures written for early adolescents in a cool, modernistic style. Iris West graduated from Barry Allen's fiancee to "just good friend". Emotional temperature stayed low, as it did in the revived and revised Green Lantern, Atom, and Hawkman-Hawkgirl stories. DC characterization remained equally cool and mostly vestigial. At one point a "Justice League of America" script had Wonder Woman as the monthly rotational chair of the group; the printed comic had Batman taking the role without a single word changed in dialogue. Try that after the Dark Knight revolution... The 1990 "Flash" series starring John Wesley Shipp remained truer to old DC than not. By contrast, the current "Flash" has given us two seasons of complex, charming characters in complicated story arcs firmly based in human relations, not just hero-villain interaction. Grant Gustin's winsome Barry Allen anchors the stories to a slightly goofy, noble, flawed individual who screws up a lot and tries to bear the weight of his world on too slender shoulders. His questionable choices at the end of Seasons One and Two have had huge consequences for the folks in this series, and have remolded the entire Arrowverse, particularly the "Arrow" series. The story arc for Season Three includes an alien invasion crossover with "Arrow", "Supergirl", and "Legends of Tomorrow". The writers top even that with an additional "Supergirl".crossover in musical format. I thought the Season Five ending to the darker, fiercer "Arrow" wrenched my emotions. The finale to "Flash" Season Three took me on an open-mouthed roller coaster ride with characters I have come to love, respect, and enjoy on the deepest television level. Themes exploring the meanings of family, responsibility for personal actions, and defeating the savage burden of despair have cornerstoned "Flash" from its first episode. The continuing characters have expanded remarkably since the beginning and each one continues to blossom even more fully this time around. Special mention needs to go to Tom Cavanagh who has played a different Harrison Wells in each season. He brings more than one to this storyline, replacing the austere prior Wellses with a jiving ditz who still manages to rise to heroic stature when his team needs him.

The first 2 seasons of The Flash were great. They built on a fantastic cast of characters. There was a nice balance between taking on the "villain of the week" and the overall nemesis of the season. Season 3 had some of that balance, but there were a lot of areas where the show didn't shine as bright as the first 2 seasons. SPOILER WARNING FOR SEASON 3 While the characters are generally written well, the story had many problems in season 3. After the first few episodes, Barry travels to the future and witnesses Iris being killed the mysterious speedster known as Savitar. The rest of the season focuses on Barry and the gang trying to change the future and prevent Iris from dying. While this is a very interesting idea, it was not executed very well. The focus switched from facing off against fun and entertaining villians to a total drama fest of Barry trying to save Iris. There were also production issues with the show. It costs a lot to render the CGI effects for Barry's super speed and the writers complicated the story by introducing 2 new speedsters in the story. Wally West and Jesse Quick both get their Speedster abilities in season 3, but due to budget limitations, they are constantly written off and on the show. The main focus on the show is supposed to be Barry Allen and his struggle to keep his friends and family safe, so the other 2 speedsters do not get to shine as much as they logically should. It seems weird to me to introduce these characters, but keep them on the sidelines and away from the story most of the time. Another issue is that the nemesis for season 3 is yet another speedster. It makes sense for Barry to have to face off against someone with powers that can rival or exceed his own, but the same cookie cutter nemesis for 3 seasons gets boring very quickly. We did get some good things in season 3 as well. They finally put in Mirror Master as a villain and gave him an interesting backstory. Tom Felton also plays a great reoccurring character throughout the season. Most people will probably recognize him as the guy who played Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies. Overall season 3 was enjoyable, but it was not nearly as amazing as the first 2 seasons.

“The Flash: The Complete Third Season” opens with forensic scientist Barry Allen, aka, The Flash (Grant Gustin), living his dream life. His parents are alive. He’s dating beautiful, smart Iris West (Candice Patton). And he’s able to stand back and let the new speedster in town, Kid Flash (Keiynan Lonsdale), step in to protect Central City. But the better Barry’s life gets, the more dangerous it becomes. His nemesis, Reverse Flash (Tom Cavanagh), warns Barry of serious repercussions if he remains in the alternate Flashpoint universe. In addition to memory loss, his powers will fade. When disaster strikes, Barry must decide whether to continue life as Barry Allen or return to his universe as The Flash. As Barry deals with his identity crisis, he and the S.T.A.R. Labs team fight off lethal threats from the God of Speed, Savitar (Andre Tricoteux). “The Flash” is based on the DC Comics character, a costumed superhero crime fighter with the power to move at superhuman speeds. The series follows Barry Allen, the Flash’s secret identity, a crime scene investigator who uses his incredible speed to fight criminals, including others who have gained superhuman abilities. “The Flash” was spun off from another DC Comics show, “Arrow,” and premiered on October 7, 2014. The pilot became the second most watched premiere in the history of the CW Network. Season Three starts with the exciting episode “Flashpoint,” in which Barry teams up with Wally West/Kid Flash, but Wally is badly injured while the duo do battle with Wally’s nemesis, Edward Clariss. The timeline is reset and Barry’s memories are restored, but back in the present, Barry discovers that the timeline didn’t reset properly, causing new problems. As a whole, Season Three isn’t as sharply scripted as the first two seasons. The writers have put Barry Allen into bad situations of his own making, which brings up questions about his intelligence. It’s interesting to portray a superhero as less than perfect, but when a lead character repeatedly makes bad decisions, he seems unworthy of the amazing power fate has bestowed on him.

This 3rd season of The Flash starts off with the flashpoint story arc where Barry travels back in time thus changing the timeline where both of his parents are alive and well. However, he must choose whether to remain in this alternate flashpoint universe, where the timeline will continually change as long as he remains, or return to his own universe, thus not fracturing the timeline any further. This is an excellent story arc displaying the misuse of The Flash' speed for the furtherance of his own goals of happiness.

The season starts with "Flashpoint," but it's not as epic of a Flashpoint as in other media. Initially everyone is angry at each other for various reasons, but c'mon, it's #TeamFlash, so of course they work it out. Plus, the got a new big-bad to that Barry has to outrun. It's a good season, one of the best. But the best parts of the season are outside of the main plot. There's a musical episde...A MUSICAL EPISODE! WITH SUPERGIRL TOO!!! Also, there was a big all-show crossover for "Invasion" where they get to fight off aliens. That right there is worth it.

Flash is the strongest most enjoyable show in the Arrowverse. I normally find the acting and storylines to be strong. This season, had a different feel to it right from the start. **SPOILER**It also was dragging out the same storyline from the previous seasons, where the big bad was a speedster.**END SPOILER** They lost part of what made season 1 great, which was the individuality of each episode with the overarching story of the big bad almost a subplot.

This is the epitome of comic book stories which connects to all facets of the genre and links so much in the comic book universe that it cannot be anything but an incredible and awe inspiring showcase. The cast is perfect, no matter which character storyarchs they may portray. Along with stunning, exemplary and astonishing graphic and visual effects which truly makes you believe you are watching thr genuine article, right out of the pages of The Flash.

Love the flash tv series sucks season 8 will be the last season