Critic Reviews

In the eyes of this critic, showrunner Todd Helbing and company have rediscovered what’s quintessentially The Flash. ... These folks have put together one of the strongest premieres this show has ever produced, and it’s guaranteed to leave people talking.

The Flash‘s return is a tremendous amount of timeline-tweaking fun, though the premiere closes with a gut-punch of a twist.

Nitpicks aside, though, The Flash is definitely off to a strong start, proving that last year most definitely wasn’t a fluke. Building on the history of what’s come before and adding a lot of new elements which are sure to pay off at some point over the course of the next 22 episodes, season 2 of The Flash has all the makings of another amazing year of television.

All the potential here is in the show’s resistance to the joyless atmospherics that have become the bane of comic-book shows and movies.

You don’t have to be a comic book fan to enjoy The Flash, but if you are one, there are so many Easter eggs in the pilot--especially the one at the closing moment--that you just might go into nerdgasms. The Flash isn’t stopping for anyone.

The CW has done an impressive job building a snappy show out of one of the goofier heroes of the DC universe.

The lighter and more optimistic tone is unexplored territory that could be tough to navigate at any speed. For the first hour, anyway, The Flash makes it look easy.

It vibrates with big-picture vision and has smart fun with its premise.

It is amusing in the right places.... It's also reasonably smart without being show-offy. Tuesday's launch, meanwhile, is a nice reminder that nothing--at least that good stuff--has changed.

The Flash continues the CW's streak with the perfect mix of humor and gravity intrinsic to The Flash comics. [Sep/Oct 2014, p.83]