Title: The Flash: “Goldfaced” Review
Release Date: February 5th, 2019
Network: The CW
Genre: Superhero, Drama, Action
As it stands right now, The Flash has become stagnant.
It’s not as bad as season 4. Nowhere close. Last season brought on a lighter-tone that didn’t always fit with the main plot. It also had dull villains and devoted way too much effort into making Iris the team leader (I don’t hate Iris by the way. Her role of Team Flash leader just didn’t sit well with me and reminded me too much of Felicity’s role on Arrow).
This season is a lot better and I strongly believe that. Most villains of the week are exciting and the meta-tech situation has opened the door for some creative ideas. Spin Zone, Ragdoll, and Silver Ghost are just some examples of the great antagonists The Flash has featured this season. The Reverse-Flash, Nora, Iris, and Cisco’s stories have also been fun to see unfold a bit more each week. What is the Reverse-Flash’s plan? How did Nora first team up with him? Can Iris get her paper up and running? Will Cisco create the cure and ultimately cause the desolate future we saw in Legends of Tomorrow? This is what I’m excited to see this season.
What I can’t stand to see each week is the main story of season five. I don’t think I can talk about Cicada anymore. At this point, anything I say is mostly negative on the subject and it’s just a bummer. If you’ve been keeping up with my reviews over the past few weeks, you would know this. If not, I’ll give you a brief summary. He’s probably the worst main villain the series has had so far. He’s a boring character with little personality and for some reason, talks like a villain from the Joel Schumacher Batman movies. Which is extremely disappointing because I feel that, if done right, Cicada could have been amazing.
Until we move on from him, whether that be with a new character as Cicada or Reverse-Flash, I’m not sure the show can actually prosper. It’s just dragging everything down to where our heroes look completely stupid in the process. Barry stops fighting him due to seeing Nora walking again (which he knew would eventually happen as she has speedster healing abilities). Cisco breaches his dagger to space instead of another Earth. The team constantly forgets that Killer Frost is immune to his power-dampening dagger. And now, Iris walks away from a wounded Cicada after finally getting the drop on him. It’s just tiring because “Goldfaced” was a pretty good episode otherwise.
I know, you’re shocked to hear that after the long rant. I did actually like this episode. Ralph and Barry working together was a welcomed sight, even if they didn’t accomplish their goal of getting that device to stop Cicada. “Elseworlds” kinda touched on it but, it has become clear that Barry isn’t Oliver. He just doesn’t have it in him to do the immoral thing for the greater good. So, when an arms dealer offers Barry a chance to try out some “cop killing” weapons, Barry wants to buy them all. Is it stupid because he’s making a questionable call that could blow his cover? Yes, but it fits his character. He just can’t help himself. Barry is the guy who wants to save everyone. The Flash has done this “Can I pretend to be a criminal” arc with Barry many times over the years but I don’t mind it. I enjoy this part of his personality and this story is done right every time The Flash wants to dig it back up.
Goldface (terrible name) was awesome. Actually, while we’re on the subject of bad nicknames. “The Chemist”. Really, Barry? You can do better than that.
Unfortunately, I could not find out the name of the actor who played Goldface to give out credit but, well done. He didn’t have much development in his short screen-time but we got the gist of it for a debut episode. He’s a smooth-talking bad guy and has cool powers. With the show confirming he’s still alive, I’m guessing we’ll see Goldface come back sooner rather than later. Before I forget, the shootout with Ralph and Barry with Rob Zombie’s “Dragula” playing was absolutely epic (They even threw in a Red Dead Redemption 2 reference). Nothing else to say there.
Thankfully, the Nora and Sherloque side-story was able to pick up the slack from Cicada. Sherloque has been very hit-or-miss this season. His accent takes some time to get used to but, in the right situations, is a fun character. Not sure if that’s due to the writing of the character in certain stories, Tom Cavanagh, or a little bit of both. Either way, Cavanagh pulled double duty this week because we got more of Reverse-Flash and his plan to throw Sherloque off Nora’s trail. I think if this genius plan came from any other character, it would have come off as too convenient. But, Eobard Thawne is one of the most intelligent people in the Arrowverse and has probably planned all of this out already.
I almost forgot about the Council of Sherloque’s Wives. This was nothing short of hilarious, especially with Nora’s reaction to it all. I enjoyed this way more than the Council of Wells but I hope that The Flash doesn’t use this too often as a plot device.
Verdict: “Goldfaced” was a good episode despite the issues with a stagnant main story. Its villain of the week and the Nora/Sherloque side-arc helped to pull this episode up above the worst of The Flash season five. Until the series moves on from Cicada, I fear that The Flash will continue to struggle to be anything better than just “Good”.
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