Goodbye to the Flash, long live the Arrowverse

Grant Gustin ruined my life. a little.

Gustin cast as Barry Allen in CW drama second season arrow That’s when the series ceased to be a par excellence superhero drama, becoming an Arrowverse that took DC Comics’ cosmic expanse to the often shockingly ambitious small screen, a stable CW show at its best. It was the moment when the It was the most amazing superhero movie adaptation we’ve seen at the time.

This week, Gustin wrapped up his decade-long tenure as Barry Allen/The Flash as the star of nine seasons and 184 episodes. flash, and a few more among the many crossover episodes between his show and the wider world of the show. The finale, “A New World: Part Four,” coincides with the end of the Arrowverse. flash It’s the last remaining show in the lineup arrow2012 debut work.

Frankly, the less said about the finale, the better. It’s a closing whisper and leans into metaphor. flash Time travel, alternate timelines, evil speedsters, and actors playing too many characters were so exhausted about four seasons ago that even one of them died and was barely recognized. The show has felt dated for years and has strangely gotten used to its own stagnation. And yet Gustin showed up, so I was still watching.

It can’t be overstated how much Gustin’s role as Barry helped expand the idea of ​​2010s superhero movie adaptations. The first half of this decade was a transition from the austere, down-to-earth aesthetic of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. arrow We decided to emulate the down-to-earth, yet playful, and fun tone of the early MCU.

flash, But even though he had little budget or means to make it happen, he never hesitated to embrace the exaggeration and absurdity of the comic book original.in the meantime arrow I tried to keep them away from the superhumans with urban vigilance, but flash rejoiced, eagerly flinging the comic’s fanatical absurdity to the screen. before the end of the first season flash It introduces a psychic gorilla, a nuclear superhero made up of two men in one body, a villain calling himself the Weather Mage, and two strangely adorable criminals with no powers, but with hot and cold guns, respectively. I was planning to.

Gustin’s performance as Barry Allen was a big part of why it all turned out so well. in his first appearance, arrowGustin was a believer first and foremost, which is why he was immediately captivated.He’s the audience’s agent who can enjoy the cartoon content around him, and when a supernatural bolt of lightning strikes him, he made him flash, It felt like a child who believed in magic a little bit and got a reward. Like many superheroes, Barry had a tragic backstory, but unlike Stephen Amell’s stern Oliver Queen/Green Arrow, Barry can smile and do good in the world. I never let tragedy define me.

Image: CW

The Arrowverse was built on that smile. Gustin’s boyish charm and enthusiasm were the perfect vehicle to sell the four-color comic plot, revel in the absurdity, and the conviction needed to take soap operas seriously.It is probably due to flash Fans will jump from spin-off to spin-off and dedicate themselves hours into this rapidly expanding world of television. That’s why I did, even though I often questioned my decisions later on.

Unfortunately, flash – It was passed from showrunner to showrunner as performers came and went, eventually succumbing to the rigors of the times and the tragedy of losing his mother at an early age, Barry’s central tragedy. , and in the end it was all that defined him.As the show returned to this beat again and again, the light faded from Gustin’s performance and the series failed to surround him with characters Barry could unequivocally sympathize with – these last characters are likely the original. Gree Co-starring Melissa Benoit in Supergirl.

In the current era of streaming, TV endings matter far more than at any point in the history of this medium. Shows that survive cancellations are often allowed to end on their own terms, or at least play out their endings. flash, Neither seems to have been the case. After a lot of running, I just looked tired. I was the same.