The Flash

“To understand what I’m about to tell you, you need to do something. You need to believe in the impossible. Can you do that? Good.”--Barry Allen, The Flash (2014) 

I have recently started rewatching my favorite show, The Flash, but as I glance at the year the first season was released, I cannot help but gasp! 11 years ago… It's been 11 years since this captivating show was released on Netflix, eventually amassing 9 seasons. I will always remember the first day I watched Season 1, the amazement and excitement at this new introduction of a superhero that people know from the DC franchise: The Flash! 

Based on the superhero character in DC comics created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, producers Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, and Geoff Johns have created an adaptation of The Flash. From the very first episode of Season 1, the main hero is introduced. We get a funny and pleasant surprise as we see Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) out of breath from running as he arrives late to work as a forensic scientist–a huge contradiction of the hero we were expecting. The irony of this scene made me laugh out loud. 

The show gets progressively complex and interesting as seasons come out. Throughout Season 1, we get introduced to Barry’s family, Joe West (Jesse L. Martin) and Iris West (Candice Patton). We also get introduced to Barry’s superhero fighting team/friends, Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes), Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker), and Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh). After losing his mother in a horrible death at the age of 11 from “The Man in Yellow,” and his father being sent to prison for his mother’s death, Barry is taken in by Joe West, a cop at the police station, and the father of his best friend Iris West. He spends his whole life chasing impossible, unexplainable things, trying to find an explanation for what he saw that night, the night his mother died. 

When Harrison Wells' particle accelerator project went wrong one night, I found it ridiculous that they did a huge science project in a rainstorm, out of all the times they could have chosen to do it. Barry was struck by lightning, which mixed with chemicals from his forensic lab, resulting in Barry waking from a coma to come face to face with Cisco and Caitlin, his new best friends, 9 months later. He awakens energetic as if he had never been struck by lightning, and he quickly heads to a coffee shop looking for someone, where he sees Iris West. And yes, of course, she is Barry’s love interest in this engaging show. In that moment, he experiences his newfound speed as everything, the whole world, seems to slow down. And in that moment, I felt like I had stopped in the world with him as I watched this scene.

As I continue to rewatch Season 1, I am reminded of the huge plot twists that I had never expected, which are chilling and thrilling. When I found out that Harrison Wells, his own mentor, was “The Man in Yellow,” the one who murdered Barry’s mother all those years ago, I was so shocked and betrayed that I could not believe what I had seen and heard. Ironically, this twist of fate enhanced Barry’s life. We see Barry fight with many villains and conquer his own demons, and ultimately see his character’s personality develop into the speedster heroine we had expected from the beginning of the show. 

This show connects with so many people nowadays. For example, everyday we fight so many problems that we face in our lives and the world. I introduced this show to my younger siblings and family, and they enjoyed the characters and the way it all flows together. And, although I am not a fan of seasons 6-9, I have grown to respect the characters and the plotline. The Flash teaches us that we must never run from our problems, but run to them face-on and solve them with patience and mercy. So, if you have time to spare and need a moment to lose yourself in the impossible, turn to The Flash, and you will feel like you're running alongside him!