The Flash “Gorilla Warfare” Review By Kevin Morrison: Gorilla Grodd has returned.
Barry and Team Flash are still recovering from last week’s run-in with Zoom, but Central City is still running-including its villainous, but confused inhabitant Gorilla Gordd. With his injuries still recovering and Dr. Harrison Wells wanting to return to Earth-2, Barry is left to re-build on his own-or so it seems to him.
Grodd uses his mind-control to capture Caitlyn Snow and wants her to create more gorillas like him, a sinister plot with, needless to say, dire consequences. I can’t believe a network show has a gorilla as its villain. It is truly a testament to today’s television that people can accept-and, more important, want-a villain like this and to have a big gorilla villain is admittedly kinda cool.
In order to rescue Caitlyn while Barry is still recovering, the idea comes about to disguise Dr. Wells as the now-dead Earth-1 Wells, who accepts as Snow has been kind to him. This is an extremely smart idea and it lets us see the Wells-Zoom we knew from Season 1-and remember what it was that we feared and hated about him. Tom Cavanagh does a great job as Wells, showing a variety of emotions and mind-sets. This is an actor who is really committed to this show.
Who also returns to this episode is Barry’s dad, Henry, played by original Flash John Wesley Shipp. Shipp is a great addition to the show and I am happy he is back, it’s great to see him a part of Team Flash and now out of jail. The father-son relationship between him and Barry is also great, as he reminds Barry he isn’t alone and that he is inspiring people-he’s inspiring his father. It’s a very good plotline and personal story-arc, but perhaps it could have blended better with a main storyline not like the Grodd one. However, I can tell future episodes will invoke this and follow-up on these ideas.
Seeing Team Flash work together to stop Grodd is a blast and the show remains as fun and poignant as ever. It’s great to see a show take these amount of risks and succeed as well as it is. I hope Henry comes back for good and becomes a main cast member-and I also hope that wasn’t the last we have seen of Grodd. This show has a lot to offer and it’s serving it up really well.
Grade: A-
Fun Notes (SPOILERS):
-Cisco’s Princess Bride reference was awesome and subtle at the same time! I really loved that, only true fans will catch it in the beginning.
-Caitlyn Snow is getting better and better the more independent she is. Cisco too. I wonder if I’m going to like Vibe and Killer Frost more.
-Henry better return, I really like this character.
-That Ending. That Song. Perfection. I love Batty (Barry and Patty-yeah I know, deal with it.) Also, HAWKGIRL! I’m excited!
