The Flash Season 7: How They Mighty Have Fallen

Written by Nena Morena

As the title implies, Season 7 of the Flash really disappointed me. I have been watching the show for some years now and while I used to be thrilled with watching Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) become more of a hero with each episode, it took all my strength and patience to see these last few seasons. I don’t blame Tom Cavanagh (Harrison Wells) or Carlos Valdes (Cisco Ramon) for leaving the show, although it is a shame because throughout the years they have become, in my opinion, the show’s two greatest characters. It wasn’t only their absence, however, that made the show unwatchable. The dialogue was often cringy and nonsensical, some of the characters were shallow and mediocre, and the storylines went nowhere. I do not know if at the end I was more confused or bored by what was going on.

Season seven starts right where season six left off: Team Flash trying to stop Eva McCulloch (Efrat Dor) and find a way to bring Iris (Candice Patton), Kamilla (Victoria Park), and Singh(Patrick Sabongui) back from the Mirrorverse. Once Barry Allen and his team save their friends and defeat Eva, they then must deal with four new forces that threaten the peace not only of Central City but of the entire world: Fuerza, the Speed Force (Michelle Harrison), Psych (Ennis Esmer), and Deon (Christian Magby). The immediate solution seems to be killing them but as soon as Barry and Iris find out that these forces were born from them, they decide to act as “loving parents” and help them overcome their differences and dark sides. The last challenge that Team Flash faces in the show is fighting Godspeed and his clones. Nora (Jessica Parker Kennedy) and Bart (Jordan Fisher), Barry and Iris’ future children, arrive from the future to help. Along with the three main storylines, the show incorporates minor stories such as Cecile (Danielle Nicolet) and the Psycho-Pirate’s Mask, Killer Frost’s (Danielle Panabaker) trial and imprisonment, and Kramer (Carmen Moore) and Joe’s (Jesse L. Martin) investigation of the metahuman Adam Creyke (Julian Black Antelope).

Season seven was the shortest season of the show but it felt like the longest. The writers insert too many storylines that are poorly written, rushed, and repetitive. Most villains were “defeated” by being confronted with a long speech about the importance of love and compassion which they respond to by giving up their evil ways. The action that the fans of the show were used to seeing in the past seasons is mostly replaced with poor and long monologues. I read that the

restrictions imposed because of Covid limited the actors from touching each other too much during the fight scenes but since most characters are metahumans and use their superpowers to fight, physical contact is largely not needed for there to be action. The action that was present was unexciting and monotonous. The atmosphere also suffered this season. The show was never dark but always contained some mystery that intrigued me and made me look forward to the next episode. This time the mood is too cartoonish, the humor is silly, and there is not much of an emotional connection to what is going on.

Another indicator of how bad this show has become is the lack of character development. I remember when Barry Allen used to train hard to become faster and stronger. Now, not only are Barry Allen’s chemistry skills underused, but the Flash has become almost a side character in his own show. Caitlin and Killer Frost finally split into two different beings but neither of them faces real personal growth in the season. Cisco Ramon seemed to have lost his spunk and ingenuity, but this could have been done intentionally by the writers of the show to leave more space to Chester P. Runk (Brandon McKnight), the scientist that replaced him in Team Flash. Joe West remains a solid character, but unfortunately in this season he does not get much screen time. The only character who showed some development was Iris West-Allen who is now the owner/editor of The Central City Citizen, co-leader of Team Flash, and Barry Allen’s emotional anchor. The acting was below average; however, I do not blame the actors who have shown their talent in past seasons. It is the poor writing that, in my opinion, put the actors in a difficult spot and did not give them a chance to demonstrate their skill.

As a big fan of the show, it saddens me to rate The Flash: Season 7 as Below Average on Mike’s five-tiered scale (Bad, Below Average, Average, Above Average, and Excellent). This season had the potential to be good but failed to provide interesting villains and compelling stories. I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks that this show should end or implement some changes. Hopefully, the writers will take people’s feedback and create a more exciting storylines with intelligent dialogue and unexpected developments that will bring back fans of this amazing superhero. We want to see the Flash be the protagonist of his own show. We want to see him be smart, brave, but most of all fastest man alive like in the comic books. We want to see him be the impossible.