The Flash (TV Series) The Man Who Saved Central City (2015) User Reviews

smooth start .. off right where they left us on last season .. still waiting for a new friendly/villein to like and hate at the same time :D

[Aktham_Tashtush · 7/10 · 8 October 2015]

So linking us to the last season .. which i think is good. The crisis of the "city popular hero" and how Barry will deal with it .. still bringing us a new "Meta" Humans >> a hitting surprise by killing "one of last season's main Heroes" which was awful to be presented in less than one minute scene .., but it is what it is.

The story is still strong .. more engaging , they haven't really left us for a long time so we still do remember who is what ;) a surprisingly nice video by " Dr.Wells" .. i mean that was lovely ending one of Barry's main goals.

they're kinda casting away "Caitlin Snow" a bit even though i liked her role in the last season ,,. i really need to see more of that breezy funny sarcastically jokes by Cisco and if there's no way for Caitlin to come back to star labs i think bringing one more character to engage more with Cisco and the others in a more anxious comical way would be the better choice .

It is after all the start of a "supposedly" new chapter of a show we dearly cared for last year .. so i hope "now the secret of Dr. Harrison Wells is no more" it steps up to the level we expect and bring us a new mystery to think about or other friendly/villein to like and hate at the same time :)

Zoooom ;) ... and who the hell is " Jay Garrick" !? fingers crossed he would be the one i hoped they present :D :D

Kadima? Kinda

[Fluke_Skywalker · 7/10 · 29 September 2016]

Plot; Six months after helping save Central City, Barry still carries the weight of a friend's death on his shoulders. As a result, he pushes the rest his friends away and tries to protect the city alone.

S1 of The Flash ended on a major cliffhanger... which we see resolved in an unusual way. Fast forwarding (see what I did there) six months, we eventually learn the details in flashback (see what I did there). I suppose it's a matter of having your cake and eating it too, as we move forward (allowing the episode to feel like a launching point for S2) and still see what happened. And it's not a cheat or cop out. There's no deus ex machina. A somewhat major character dies, and that shadow looms over the entire episode.

The Metahuman of the week, as is often the case w/The Flash, almost feels like an afterthought to the drama. It's not until a late reveal that we learn there was more to him than meets the eye.

The Man Who Saved Central City trades in familiar tropes, ironic given that the theme of the episode is "Kadima" or "Forward". There are some steps taken here, but for the most part they're of the well trodden variety, and in the case of The Flash, that's okay.

Forward

[ThomasDrufke · 8/10 · 6 October 2015]

To say season 1 of Flash was fun, is an understatement. It was such a surprisingly great start to what is hopefully a long run of television for the Flash. So heading into season 2, I think it's safe to assume we all had higher expectations. The show-runners had teased more speedsters, more crossovers, and one big villain. I think the season premiere delivered on all of those fronts.

I think the one major negative from all the fans for the season finale last year was the failure to have true closure. After all, we didn't really know what the hell happened as it left off with Barry running into the singularity cloud thing. There were several callbacks to those events and it served as a crux for this episodes arc. So I was glad that we weren't left completely in the dark on that front. It was also revealed that Ronnie did in fact die heroically as he and Barry 'saved' Central City. I'm pretty sure Robbie Amell was cast on another show so that probably attributed to the death, but I have faith in the writers that the Firestorm character is heading in a good direction for Legends of Tomorrow.

Going along with the culmination of last season's events, we found out that Wells left Barry a little gift in the form of a flash drive. On it, he confessed of Nora Allen's murder, thus exonerating Henry Allen. It was a bittersweet moment for Barry as Henry decided to get his own place and leave Barry and his duties as Central City's hero, alone. As long as we are still going to get some occasional appearances from John Wesley Shipp i'll be okay with it.

Speaking of father's, one of the best parts of last season was the relationship between Barry and Joe West. Tonight was no different, and the best part is that Iris was kept to a minimum and Joe took the bulk of the West-Barry moments, especially in the flashback. I have a feeling that this season will take the Batman Begins route in that the flashbacks will only occur when it's plot needs it. That's something I hope Arrow also does. Not only was Joe great during the emotional moments but so was Caitlin. I've always thought Danielle Panabaker was a strong point for the show, but her scene reuniting with Barry gave me the feels. It's just another example of how well this show balances comedy and drama.

On a lighter note, Cisco was just as quick witted as he was last season. He continues to have visions or nightmarish hallucinations, but there was no stopping him tonight. Everything from the fact that he was wearing a button down Flash shirt to the subtle Batman comic book reference was classic Cisco. It was a cool plot choice to make him start working for the police as well. Considering what that kid can build, it makes sense.

Talking about Flash himself, I was kind of disappointed they went with the typical superhero story of 'I'm doing it alone because I don't want to put my friends and family in harms way'. To me, it's so obvious that the Flash was going to come around by episode's end that it had no dramatic effect on me. It's also a close rehash of Arrow season 2 where Oliver started out back on the island away from his friends and family. The Atom Smasher was good enough to bring the team back together, and really, that's all he was, a plot device. In reality he was like a poor man's Bane, but he didn't really need to be any more than that. I will say I was glad to see they didn't take Iris the route that Laurel went in Arrow's season 2 which was blaming the hero for the death of her love. It seem as though Iris will not be blaming Barry nor the Flash for any of that.

So the episode in all was a solid beginning to what is hopefully an even better season. A rather weak villain was made up for with all the fun moments and surprisingly emotional ones too. Plus, we got a first tease at Zoom and Jay Garrick, two comic book favorites. Can't wait for next week.

+Comedy and drama mix so well

+Classic Cisco

+Panabaker on top of her game

+Teases

+Henry Allen is free!

+Sets the table for the season

-Typical hero plot lines

-Atom Smasher was a poor man's Bane

8.8/10

Overall good! Kept the first season's pace!

[alban_angel · 10/10 · 6 October 2015]

The episode was pretty good!All scenes were realized perfectly! Things went smoothly(some more than expected). It really kept first season's pace. And at the end of the episode is a big surprise Although I was expecting more about how they saved central city, but it was done in unexpected way. The show of course has it's ups and downs as all TV shows have but the ratio to ups and downs was good, with a lot of ups. You can already see how much potential the show really has to overcome the first season and be better. Also I have to mention the effect weren't so great. In one scene particularly the visual effects weren't the best. But overall it was very good! I would give it a rating of 9/10 but I'm a big fan of this TV show so I'll give 10/10

Are We Really Moving Forward?

[SpoodermanDerp · 8/10 · 7 October 2015]

The Flash Season 2 Episode 1

"Moving Forward" The Flash season 2 returns being reminiscent of the things that made the first season great. It was fast paced, thrilling, exciting, heartwarming and most of all, fun.

Being the opener to a season that will sure to be filled with some exciting episodes, it felt like the very first pilot of this whole show. It starts really quick and leaves the audience guessing what will happen and at the same time, what has happened. Once again the flashbacks return in order to give us a non linear storytelling format that has been well known in the show now. Grant Gustin is back as the Flash and he seemingly is so used to the title role already. Detective Joe returns as the father figure for Barry and this episode has one of, if not the best heartwarming moments from him so far in the series. The typical tropes are thrown back in and it feels like the Flash hasn't really changed, it isn't necessarily a bad thing however it's nice to see that it's still staying close to it's former season and its typical format which may be repetitive for some people, but it undeniably works. The plot revolves around the events after the finale of season 1 and shows how Barry now works alone and is losing his way. Nothing really special here since we've seen this a couple times in the first season, like a lot. Then it all sort of falls a bit predictable if you compare it previous Flash episodes. Sometimes there are points where you know that this scene is going to happen after one other scene and it might not be for everyone. But as I've stated in my previous reviews, this forms it into sort of like a comic book which we all know have the same simple storytelling as The Flash which I personally like. Now moving on to the technical aspect, this episode and the show as a whole remains and still doesn't fail to dazzle with great visual effects for a TV show and action sequences that are already familiar to fans. A tremendous effort to maintain this whole thing efficient throughout the series must've been a huge work and its only right to commend the people working on this show. In the end, we're treated with a cliffhanger leaving us wanting for more that I'm quite sure they'll definitely deliver.

+Reminiscent of the past season +Flashbacks +Barry and Detective Joe -Same tropes are thrown back in that might not be for everyone -Becomes a bit predictable +Fast Paced and the Visuals

Verdict: 8.3/10

Worth the wait

[KevinHe · 10/10 · 6 October 2015]

I was so excited for this episode to come out and the wait was 100% worth it (this review may contain slight spoilers). Not only did it bring back the unique comic humour I've missed the past couple months but it also brought many sad moments with losing a loved one. I can shamelessly say that I was brought to tears near the end of the episode and the show ended on a typically awesome Flash cliff hanger.

This was also a great episode for me because even though I'm not an avid comic book reader, I could still understand the references thrown into the episode, such as the bat signal which got me smiling when Cisco explained how he got the idea, small things like that just make this TV Series so much better for me!

Honestly the only thing I can say about the episode which I disliked, is how short it was and how I have to wait a whole week before the next episode comes out (however cheesy that sounds!).

Thanks for reading my review and I hope you all enjoyed watching the episode as much as I did!

Nothing but love The Man Who Saved Central City

[imakk2001 · 8/10 · 6 October 2015]

Love the opening sequence of Flash having a GREAT day, taking care of business, with all the people he loves and cares about alive and well. But when Eddie showed up on camera, you're happy to see him but also uneasy. Then when the camera panned to Wells and everyone's reaction to him, then you knew this was all wrong. And sure enough, it was just Barry daydreaming of a better ending to the singularity.

Love Barry living with the guilt that Eddie died saving Team Flash and Ronnie died saving Central City (again), and is thus so reluctant about the city's recognition. It was the best way to acknowledge Eddie's & Ronnie's sacrifices and the resultant cost paid by Iris & Caitlin.

Love the return of snarky Singh, the Joe/Barry moments, Barry/Henry moment (they should have let him stick around for 1 more episode), the Joe/Cisco moments. LOVE Martin's wife was with him at the rally and at the party, love that touch to the shoulder she gave to Caitlin while Martin gave his toast. Finally, relevant Iris! (See? This is why being the LI is never a good thing. It's so limiting and to do more would just turn the character into a Mary Sue/Gary Stu. I'm looking at you, Arrow.) LOOOOOOOOVE the Flash Light going up in such beautifully Batman-esque fashion!

Big surprise was definitely Eobard Wells' will and confession. Did NOT see that coming at all. But in hindsight, it makes sense to clear the deck of the Allen family to make way for West family drama. Still, how is Barry going to pay for the maintenance/upkeep of the place?! Also, the multiverse is a thing out of the gate what with 3 Al Rothsteins in the same timeline. On the other hand, this means there's still hope for Eddie and Ronnie… I would have liked to see Rothstein have a bit of an arc. He is a good guy in the comics, after all. So I'm hoping they might bring in another Atom Smasher from another world, but this one will be good. Team Flash's reaction should be fun.

I was a little worried after reading two recaps (this before even the east coast airing?!). But the show didn't disappoint. Can't wait for Flash of Two Worlds!

An breathtaking start of the season

[michaelafamfulikova · 9/10 · 7 October 2015]

It is come! The new Flash season! It promises plenty of tension and new challenges to be solved. I got really emotional by the fact that Henry Allen returned from the prison,but a real shocker was that Ronnie died:-( My top moments from this episode: Firestorm being joined for the last time, destroying Singularity,which costs the life of Ronnie Raymond Barry Allen comforting prof. Stein after the passing of Ronnie... The Flash/Rothstein clash Thawne confession,Henry Allen meeting his son again,and the toast in Hebrew by Martin Stein All in all, great episode, and really worth watching.And the best actors of this episode? Grant Gustin ( Barry Allen),Victor Garber( Martin Stein),Carlos Valdes (Cisco Ramon), Jesse L.Martin (Joe West).

A great premiere to Season 2

[okraievskyi · 8/10 · 2 September 2022]

I admit, while the episode has some downfalls, it's a pretty good premiere overall and some parts had me squelaing in excitement. While I was confused at the beginning because I didn't understand where the whole singularity plot is, when the flashback came, it was amazing. I loved seeing how the characters changed and grew as six months passed from the events of the season 1 finale. I did not like the Caitlin plotline tho. It just felt like the exact same plot we got for Cailtlin in Season 1. I understand that the actor had to go, though, but they could've handled it better. The CGI was amazing in the singluarity battle, but not so much with the Atom Smasher. The end was really promising. Overall, excited for what comes next.

Not a solid start.

[Jdmaxgaming · 6/10 · 6 October 2015]

Let's get one thing straight, I love The Flash, I think it's one of the best super-hero shows on right now, but I was severely disappointed with this episode. I understand it's the first episode and will most likely get better, but I think as a producer and director, you wanna start a show off with a bang right? This episode felt unnecessarily rushed, the action scenes were brief and the villain was uninteresting. Somehow, this episode managed to hit every cliché line in the book to the point where I was cringing, like Firestorms line before he dies " I have to try!" Ugh, why? This wasn't a factor in the first season! The only thing that kept this episode alive for me was, as usual, Cisco and Barry, other then that, this was straight boring, and you're not missing much if you skip this one. I'm also upset at the fact that they totally skipped that big tornado story at the end of Season 1, that seemed so interesting and they blew over it in a way so frustrating. Instead of showing you what happens (minus a minute of that one scene) they nearly try to force down your throat what happened while reminding you every ten seconds! The Batman reference was pretty cool, and the ending definitely made me smile. But other then a few good things, this episode was very disappointing. But, like I said, it is the first episode, and will hopefully get better in the next to come. Until next time! - JDMAX

1st episode of season 2 was kinda disappointing.... but i'm hopeful...

[sulav452 · 10 October 2015]

The final episode of season 1 was so good that i actually watched it 4-5 times waiting for season 2. There was so much energy and excitement. I was expecting a really thrill in the first episode of season 2. But it was kinda disappointing.

It all started out slowed and it was kinda boring. Not what i expected. I was expecting some struggle in stopping that singularity wormhole and some parallel time-line stuffs since the start. At first i was like "Am i watching the second episode and missed the first one? What just happened to all the thrill??"

(Spoilers ahead! Please stop reading if you haven't watched it yet) However, there were some good moments like Dr Wells confessing about the murder of Nora Allen and his dad getting released from prison. The whole team getting back together with Barry's and entire teams mood lightning up. Thank God!

However i'm hopeful that the season is definitely going to get better in the upcoming episodes as they have introduced the new character called "Zoom". I know i wont be disappointed this season.

I woul give it a 9.5

[zainrashad · 9/10 · 27 October 2020]

Acutally this was a nice episode acsept the first part i watched this episode when in the flash day came i diddnt no who atom smasher was but over all the episode was great

Good start to SE2, still better than Arrow

[mickykenny1 · 7/10 · 29 October 2015]

As much as I enjoyed the start to season 2, one of which I was looking forward to, it did have a few flaws which I didn't expect for a series premier.

Let me explain, what was good about the 1st Ep; consisting of the classic one episode villain, who this time was Atom Smasher from Earth 2. Barry goes in head first, gets knocked back, then figures out how to stop him and with the help of his team, he defeats and imprisons Atom Smasher in the Pipeline.

Classic & enjoyable.

However the next couple of things are just nitpicks, but they bothered me: The cliché superhero move of pushing everyone away after a crisis. Barry obviously takes all the blame, for what appeared to be the death of Ronnie Raymond. We know he isn't going to do this for long, its just a filler. This just feels way too overused, this is The Flash, not Arrow.

Linking in with Ronnie Raymond, the line of dialogue Caitlin utters just before he Firestorms up to help Flash. 'It's too dangerous' - well of course it's bloody dangerous, he's going to fly into a wormhole, but he's a superhero that's part of the job description. it's just one of those throw away lines, which is used so often that after a while, it's completely unnecessary and means nothing.

The long awaited release of Henry Allen, evidence proves he didn't kill his wife & he immediately leaves. I had to read up on why he left, as the way I read the scene didn't get conveyed well. Henry Allen leave so that he doesn't burden Barry with another life to protect from evil super villains. it seemed like it would have been assumed, but a few key words would have made more sense of it.

Last one. When the gang are all back together explaining about how secure Star Labs are and Jay Garrick just waltzes in. Probably my smallest annoyance but not surprising in any way, just a way to properly dramatically introduce him.

Either way, the relationships are getting stronger, the characters have more depth and I'm looking forward to what they're going to do with Earth 2 & the main villain Zoom.

7/10

Bad Physics, nonsensical and trite plot

[WYAdams · 1/10 · 7 October 2015]

While I realize that this is a comic book story character, the writers have written a story line that makes no sense at all.

If Eobord Thawne has been erased from history and has never existed, then the events of the last fifteen years will not have happened. In other words, The original Dr. Wells would still be alive, Barry's mother would still be alive, the particle accelerator will not have been built yet, The Flash would not exist, and there would be no memory of Eobord Thawne.

Beyond that, there is the usual time travel paradox caused by Eddie killing himself. If Eobord Thawne was never born, then Eddie would not have had to kill himself, but then had he not killed himself then Eobord Thawne would still be alive, etc., etc. These are the paradoxes that happen when writers start fooling around with time travel and physics that they don't understand.

A much better and more coherent story line would to have allowed Eobord Thawne to return to his own time. It would have allowed the writers to return him in the future if they needed a fresh villain. In addition, they never explained why it was necessary to stop Thawne from returning to the future.

This show needs a science adviser who can put a stop to the bad physics, like calling speed a force. They also need an English teacher to edit and correct their terrible grammar, because right now the dialog sounds like it was written by a fourth grader, and a not very intelligent one at that.

I also gave it a 1 (awful), because I am sick of these stupid melodramatic story lines that have the hero going off into isolation to supposedly "PROTECT" his friends. It is nonsensical and trite.

The same is true with Barry's father leaving so that Barry can supposedly develop to his fullest potential. What hogwash! Having his father around would give him one more layer of support in hard times.

Subpar Premier

[DarkManX2 · 10 October 2015]

Of all the shows I watch there isn't one I've been more excited for than the Flash. The first season was amazing with great characters, an interesting storyline, and an amazing cliffhanger for the series finale. Anticipation for season 2 was high and announcements that Jay Garrick was coming along with Zoom and Earth 2 made the anticipation that much harder to bear. When the day arrived I was counting the hours wishing I had the power to run through time ala Eobard Thawne, before he got stuck and half depowered. But by the end of the Season 2 premier "The Man Who Saved Central City" I found myself disappointed.

The episode begins six months later completely ignoring the cliffhanger the show left off on something that irritates me with any show. Barry is having a fantasy sequence where he battles Captain Cold and Heatwave and is saved by Firestorm. We then find out Barry has been on his own for the past six months after saving Central City from the singularity. Barry blames himself for the death of Ronnie after he and Dr. Stein became Firestorm and separated in the center of the black hole to close it. Robbie Amell is leaving the show so I don't fault them for having to kill Ronnie and I am impressed they had him go out heroically.

Barry has been ignoring his friends as he fights crime on his own, rebuilds the cities damaged buildings on his off hours, and broods about the death of Ronnie. I wouldn't mind this if the death of Ronnie had been Barry's fault. Both Ronnie and Dr. Stein made the decision to separate in the singularity and Flash was in no way involved in this decision. If he had somehow been forced to involve them I might understand but he didn't and so the whole thing feels forced. What's worse is that they don't even run with lone wolf idea. Barry makes up with everyone and the team gets back together at the end of the episode making this storyline pointless.

We get to see where the team is after six months. Cisco works for the police and is developing high tech weapons to combat metahumans. I thought this was a great idea for him. It's a logical step for him to take since he did this once before in season one. Caitlin is now employed at Mercury Labs and has not been with the team since Barry disbanded it. She still seems to miss it though as she comes to Flash Day (a nod to the eventual museum) to see the Flash accept the key to the city and later helps bring the episodes villain down.

The villain of the episode is the Atom Smasher and I've been excited to see him since his announcement. I love the JSA and have been looking forward to seeing these characters on the Flash. Al Rothstein is from Earth 2 and kills his Earth 1 counterpart because…he's evil? He attacks the Flash for no apparent reason at first but by the end Barry discovers Al was hired by Zoom to kill him right before Al dies. In the end Atom Smasher is really just a device to get Barry to hear the name Zoom and for the team to get back together. I don't mind this, but I am disappointed he had to die with no chance to become the hero. The CGI for the Atom smasher wasn't very good which was off-putting considering how well Grodd was done in the previous season.

In this episode Barry finally gets what he wants the most and what fans of the show have been waiting to see. Henry Allen freed from prison! Harrison Wells leaves Barry STAR Labs in his will on the condition he watch a video Wells made. In the video Wells confesses to the murder of Nora Allen (which is odd considering he hates Barry) and Henry is freed shortly thereafter. But now comes the moment the episode is already infamous for. Henry Allen goes to a party celebrating his release and then promptly tells Barry he has to leave. And he does! After working so long and so hard to get Henry out of prison he just takes off. He gives his reason as Barry needing the city more than him but the excuse is very weak. We don't know where he goes just that Joe dropped him off at the station. It was a terrible conclusion to the first season's major overarching storyline.

At the end of the episode the team is back with Dr. Stein taking the place of Harrison Wells. Unfortunately Victor Garber seems to have forgotten how to act between seasons because he does a poor job in this episode. At the very end we are introduced to Jay Garrick who presents himself to the team with a warning that their world is in danger. It's an exciting moment albeit a little too brief.

All in all this episode was a very subpar episode though not the worst episode of the series. Everything seems rushed so that Jay Garrick can enter the picture in the episodes final moments. I'm still looking forward to the rest of this season but hope this episode isn't indicative of how season 2 will be overall.

Ranking/Reviewing every Flash episode: The Man Who Saved Central City

[lbramson · 5/10 · 10 June 2023]

The Flash is celebrated after saving the city from the singularity. But someone is here to mess it up. This amazing season had an abysmal start as the Season 2 preimere is the first bad Flash episode, it sucks. The main problem is it's just boring. It didn't seem like the writers knew where they wanted to go so it's messy and boring. Boring, boring, boring! Nothing but boring! I had to use the word boring over and over again, but I have to fill this review somehow because nothing happens that is of substance. Well, I guess Ronnie dies, but that just kinda happened with no emotion at all. BORING!!! Nothing else, boring! 4.7/10, it sucks don't subject yourself to this boring, filler mess.