When God is gone, and the Devil takes hold…who will have mercy on your soul? Passion is the source of our finest moments. The joy of love… the clarity of hatred… and the ecstasy of grief. -Angelus
As I’m sitting here thinking about the ramifications of Season 3 as a whole, I’ve thought of the most important element the writers could have explored more than anything…
Who is The Flash and what is a hero?
Think about it. Isn’t now a good time to find out? We are 4 years into a show that has had plenty of time to develop its characters. Season 1 gave us a taste, Season 2 wanted to continue on, but, it seems like the original purpose of the show has left its lexicon.
When I think of this, my thoughts immediately go back to Joss Whedon and Season 5 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. A show that still packs a powerful punch to this day. In that particular season they addressed the meaning of “What is a Slayer” “Is she a killer” “Is she a vigilante outlaw?” “What is the moral code?” “Is she a protector of the innocent?” “Is she a true hero?”
Whither you care to admit it or not, Buffy is a icon, more than one, it’s the more of a superhero show that pushes boundaries and breaks the stereotypical molds of what is expected of “the typical female character.” She’s “super” but she’s still human, in that, she is no Mary Sue, a person/female with flaws, just like how people are in life; and that makes her relatable no matter what gender you are. Characters used to be like that before social justice took over literacy.
Buffy is everyone thrust into an extraordinary world. Joss was also very clear on the metaphor of “the daily demons of life juxtaposed with the actual demons Buffy and the Scooby Gang often fight.” Not bad for a ginger screenwriter who created a B-movie based on the titular TV character.
The Flash could have potently explored this aspect of Barry much more than attempting to save his step-sister/fiance. Among the many, many plots they could have gone with, they went with the typical trope. I don’t want to see that in my superhero shows. Not only is it cliche but it’s boring to watch.
What doesn’t get old no matter how many times it’s told, if at all is delving into flaws. Discovering something about ourselves that even we did not know we had within us. The darkness within. What is wrong with this? Stories like those don’t often get told and it angers me to no end.
I feel like there are elements that have been building toward Barry going in that direction. Barry being haunted by the consequences of his actions, the events that broke him, which in turn, transformed him into an evil version of himself. Tell me that is not a more compelling story than “Barry tries to save step-sis love interest”?
Exploring a character like Savitar can only benefit the show greatly. First of all, in the little time we did get on him, the man is honest. Of course as honest as villains can be. He is confident, self-assured, ruthless and numb to pain of any kind. Having him pussy out like the writers did goes against everything that made him who he is.
The reason why people love villains much more than heroes is not because they are sexier. No, it’s because they have more stories in them. They are tortured souls. They have mountains of existential woes. That have a straight agenda, they take what they want and don’t give a fuck anymore because the burden of life has burned out what’s left if their humanity. Or has it? Which reminds me of how much I wished Whedon would have expended Faith’s redemption arc instead of throwing her on Angel to “wrap it up” in a couple episodes.
Keeping a villain like Savitar on the show can finally allow us, as an audience, into the psychosis of Barry Allen. What is causing this pain? The events that trigger them – OK – why is Barry so triggered? And while we are at it, why don’t we learn a little more about Savitar.
- Who made his suit? What is it made from?
- How/why did he get those scars on his face?
- What does he really need Killer Frost for?
- Why didn’t he just kill Iris a second time when he had the chance?
This actually leads me to the main question I had from knowing Savitar’s true identity:
Why does he want Iris West dead?
Did we ever get an answer? Are we planning on getting an inkling of something to finally put that to rest? Is this just something we are supposed to accept? Isn’t this a big deal? Savitar is a future version of Barry, I don’t care if he is a duplicate, he is Future Barry Allen. He has Barry’s memories, everything about Barry is inside of him. So this is Barry Allen in an essence, he is just turned over. Which actually has worked out for him since becoming evil made him hella smart. Observe:
Anyone wanna take a guess on what that other thing was that Savitar wanted? Could it have something to do with a Frost Queen aligning with him as he carries out unknown agendas from beyond?
All in all, I genuinely wanna know…
Why would Barry want to kill Iris? Correct me if I’m wrong, if you love someone, don’t you want/need them with you? I can’t fully define love, but I am pretty sure it has to do with both parties being alive. No? I’m wrong? Seriously? I can’t with this…why are these writers so neglectful? Basic information we might never get now that Season 3 is over. Does this look like a man who loves Iris?
Looks like this dude has murder on his mind. But where does this come from? Smh, I wish we got the answer to this. Not that I really needed one, there are several reasons Iris should die, but, for the sake of the plot making sense, we are left with nothing. He just does because he wants God status, OK, but why does the supposed “love your life” have to die to get that? Has Iris never been the one he truly loves? Was it someone else? The one who has never abandoned him, the one who’s helped him since he became a hero, the one that essentially made him the hero?
Can anyone tell me 5 things Iris has done to help Barry become The Flash? It’s OK, I wasn’t serious, I expected crickets.
Saving this woman was pointless since she gives nothing to the show and to the hero, saving someone from the brink of insanity, true darkness within, now that is my kind of story.
They’ve only scratched the surface to the darkness within our hero, why is that? Why was Savitar killed off before he had a chance to really be fleshed out in front of our eyes? Now that would have been a more thrilling story to watch unfold. We only have snippets of Barry, present Barry, the one who wants to bone his step-sister for life, admitting he could “see the same sadness in himself as Savitar did.” I feel like there are a lot of deleted scenes the show has kept for no reason.
I’m trying with this show, I really am. I’m hoping it will pick up somewhat in the next season. And yet, I am worried. I’m only hoping when Season 4 comes around the show will focus on their plots more carefully. Filling in what needs to be known. Stop forcing romance at all angles. Stop pretending to write stories and actually write them!
Snowbarry Talk 