The Flash the Complete Second Seasonby Jennifer M. ContinoReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Studio
Credits Grade: 9 Warner Brothers Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed. The opinions I share are my own.The second season of The Flash kicked things up a notch, as we saw more rogues, new villains, and heroes, and twists that "you didn't see that coming" happen in these 23 episodes. I could barely wait for this season to begin, after seeing Jay Garrick's famous helmet in the season one finale. I love the Justice Society and couldn't wait to see them, and "Earth 2" in this series. What I have always enjoyed about Flash is it seems like a Silver Age comic book come to full-color life! I love the lighter elements that are present here, even with the hints of danger and despair. I feel that happiness with each episode that I get from a musty 1960s book. I feel like a young comic book fan, when I am watching The Flash. I think that is deliberate. I think this series is going for the family friendly feel of such classics as Batman, Adventures of Superman, and Wonder Woman. I know a lot of families who make a point out of watching The Flash together. I'm glad we have a superhero show that isn't shying away from being all-ages friendly, but embracing it. I love Flash for being that hero. Grant Gustin is a fantastic actor and brings this hero to life with such passion, that I feel he really is the scarlet speedster. This season has so much action in such a short amount of time. I loved seeing the alternate universe version of not just our heroes, but some of the villains. It was quite inventive to have "Earth 2" house villainous versions of the familiars like Ronnie Raymond, Caitlin Snow, and Cisco Ramon; as well as see evil incarnations of the Justice Society, especially one of my favorite characters, Atom Smasher. It made me hope we would, eventually, see the heroic incarnations of the Justice Society in this series. (And I know teasers for season three have already revealed images of the Star-Spangled-Kid!) I was happy to see the introduction of a new Firestorm, even if I wish they had used Jamal Igle's Jason, instead of creating this new "Jax" Jackson to meld with Professor Stein. I've always enjoyed the comic incarnations of Firestorm. It was great to see a few versions already in this television show. I'm hoping on the companion series, DC's Legends of Tomorrow we might see some other Firestorm regulars in the future. I just love a series that surprises me and The Flash does not disappoint. I can't wait to watch new episodes. I can't wait to see what heroes or villains or other Easter Eggs they are going to include for us longtime comic book fans. I love it when there are name drops and other treats. I love hearing the name of a comic book creator or golden age hero or seeing an avenue sign paying homage to one of the greats. This show goes above and beyond to be relevant to all viewers. I was so thrilled to see Gorilla Grodd, King Shark, Killer Frost, and Dr. Light, to name a few, appear this season. I just couldn't wait to see what happened next. I can't wait until I have time to re-watch all of these episodes and really examine some of the scenes and situations panel by panel, so to speak. I think everything that happened in the first fourteen episodes easily could have been an entire season or more's worth of stories. This isn't decompressed storytelling, this is the classic style of presenting so much so quickly, that you almost get sensory overload. I was so happy that we also, between all of this craziness, got a Christmas episode. I love holiday episodes and hope it is a tradition that carries over for every season of The Flash. I also love that this series crossed over with Green Arrow and instead of just getting the Flash portion of the crossover, as some boxed sets have been known to do, we got both parts included. I was so glad both parts of Legends were here. I have a lot of boxed sets of TV series that crossed over with other shows (ER and Third Watch) that I never got the second part of the story, because that show never had the later season released on DVD. Again, having all of the episodes remastered on Blu-Ray and having the opportunity to have digital downloads is a great selling point of the DVD, but the WB goes out of their way to make sure you get a lot for your money with the awesome bonus features. To tell you the truth, I adore the bonus features almost as much as the episodes. I probably will never go to San Diego Comic-Con again, so getting to see these superhero panels from the con included as a bonus is fantastic. It is fun for me, especially after having seen the episodes, to get the teasers and other information being revealed. I love that so much. I also enjoyed seeing the Paley Center panel hosted by comic book fan Aisha Tyler. However it wasn't just panels there were hours of special features. There was a feature about the Hawkman and Hawkgirl. There was an insider's view about how Grodd was brought to life and a lot of Special FX extras showing how Flash and other elements came to life. I enjoyed those behind the scenes looks at the animators and computer generated visuals. There were also some screen tests included. I love seeing the actors trying out for the roles and trying to see if I can find that point that made the producers think this person was ideal to portray the hero. The gag reel had me giggling. I think one bonus feature was better than the last. There were over twenty bonus features! Who does that? Who goes to that kind of trouble to include so much for us fans? I love it! The bonus features really make it feel like you are getting so much bang for the buck. Written: September 4, 2016
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