The Flash "Grodd Lives" review

*Yes, there's spoilers in here. Watch the episode first!*

"I can't believe I'm down here looking for a supernatural gorilla. I'm terrified of regular gorillas!"

CW's The Flash may only be in its first season, but that's not stopping the show from totally embracing the source material and giving us fans a whole lot of love. While the show's been doing an excellent job building up the Reverse-Flash story, this week's episode, "Grodd Lives," brings in a telepathic gorilla named "Grodd." I'm guessing if a casual viewer heard what this episode is all about, they'd probably think it's pretty silly. Comic fans, though? It's kind of surreal this is already happening. Thankfully, the handling of Grodd is far from silly. The foe is frightening and full of promise. Not even a banana joke takes away from this villain's formidability.

Look, obviously the special effects for Grodd aren't going to be on par with the motion capture used over in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes; this show just doesn't have the same kind of budget. So, it is blatantly obvious Grodd is purely CGI. But considering just how much we see of the character, I have to say they did a pretty solid job bringing the big fellow to life and they made him look pretty damn intimidating. To top it off, David Sobolov gave the perfect voice to this scary and imposing threat. With chilling expressions and a fitting voice, you can definitely understand why detective Joe West is so terrified when he comes face to face with Grodd. Thankfully, the "metagorilla" also has a pretty spectacular action sequence. It's not the longest one around, but it most certainly delivers. For once, Barry attempts to end a fight before it even begins by dishing out a swift and powerful attack. It's no surprise the fight isn't over with a single hit, but what is a surprise is how Grodd reacts to it. Witnessing the giant enemy catch the hero's hand and then effortlessly toss him away was totally thrilling.

After going through such a rough patch, I really love how it's Iris who technically saves the day. She may not have the technical knowledge Caitlin and Cisco have, but she can motivate Barry like no other and it was a satisfying way to follow-up all of this episode's tension and drama. The shot of Grodd's defeat is really cool, but part of me was left thinking, "What about the people in the train?" I mean, if the subway train hit something like that, I'm guessing the conductor  would stop the vehicle. Maybe Grodd then ran away instead of lashing out? Also, that train came very soon after the other one. Maybe Central City just has a more efficient commuter system than they do over here in New York? Whatever, it's not a big deal and the awesomeness of that slow motion shot vastly outweighs those questions.

Before I talk about the drama, there is one more thing I'd like to mention about Grodd. Technically, he's just a diversion in this episode. I guess some could label him as a villain-of-the-week, but what helps Grodd stand apart is the amount of depth and previous hype he received. When the episode is over, you can tell this isn't the last we've seen of the character and there's definitely more story to tell with him. And let's be honest, Gorilla City would be a little tough to swallow in this world. Even if you can make it work, then introducing it to Central City would be quite a task, especially since it isn't the main story this season. So yeah, I think his origin story was a fine way to introduce him.

An explosion between Barry and Iris has been building for quite some time and, after Iris finally realized who the Flash is in the last episode, the time has come for that overdue and very passionate talk to take place. While the show does get into some heavy and heated dialogues -- I'll get into those soon enough -- what I love about this show is it always manages to sprinkle in some personality. Before and after a big and dramatic talk between Barry and Iris, we get some much appreciated humor from Caitlin and Cisco. They do everything they can to justify why they should listen to the talk and then they do everything they can to act like they totally weren't paying any attention when the talk concludes. Even later on, after a solid heart-to-heart moment, there's a bit of humor as Iris accidentally presses on her father's injured ribs. This show has plenty of character-driven drama, but it always remembers to make sure we're enjoying the experience, too. It never goes overly dramatic for too long and I love it for that.

As for Iris and Barry, I think it was mostly handled well. Like Barry said, Iris has every right to be upset. Everyone close to her has been blatantly lying to her and now she's finding this all out in such a short period of time. Gustin's physical responses felt fitting -- they were often a mix of empathy and a bit of frustration. It's a lot to take in for Iris, but I can't help but feel somewhat annoyed by two of her reactions. Firstly, when Barry opens up and says he finally knows who killed his mother, you can see a compassionate reaction build in Iris, but then she quickly makes it about her situation and never returns to the subject. I understand why that made her question Eddie's safety, but come on, she understands just how important that is to Barry. It's surprising she didn't bring that up again, even when she's in that mindset. Secondly, her blaming her father for Eddie's situation made me say, "That's harsh, Iris." Technically, the logic holds up, but man, that's some cold logic. But hey, I guess we've all said things we regret, right?

As usual, actor Jessie L. Martin offers a powerful performance. You can't help but feel sorry for the guy as he's beyond petrified of Grodd and the final scene with his daughter was legitimately heartfelt. Iris has every right to be upset and hold a grudge, but seeing her father suffer is the wake-up call she truly needed. It allows her to realize they did this because they love her. It's something she of course knows early in the episode, but disappointment and frustration took over and understandably so. Was lying to her the right thing for them to do? Probably not, but it's time to move forward and have the honest talk they need to have. It's an appropriately moving and humanizing conversation, one which puts the drama behind them and allows them to focus on what's now important: finding Eddie and stopping Wells. It makes me so happy they resolved this conflict in the span of one episode. I could see them dragging out Iris telling them she knows until the cliffhanger. Then there's an episode full of drama. Then there's an episode that allows them to resolve it. Instead, this tension gets the attention it deserves, everyone has mostly natural reactions, and then they're able to put it behind them. Thank you so much for not making this conflict last any longer than it needs to!

Wells isn't in the spotlight for much of this episode but he definitely isn't forgotten. As a comic fan, Eddie Thawne's last name immediately made me (and countless others) question the character's future. "How long before he potentially turns evil?" Well, this episode adds a little more weight to that question and leaves me wondering if they're purposely building him towards a more villainous future or if he'll remain strong and end his time on the show as a good guy. Noble, but heartbroken. I hope it's the latter, but we'll just have to wait and see. Oh, and it's also worth noting that Wells had some very amusing dialogue in that sequence. The one about his intelligence immediately comes to mind.

One of my biggest criticisms of the episode is really pretty minor. Joe hesitates for way too long during the heist sequence. I get what they're trying to say there: good guys don't want to kill and Joe is most certainly a very good guy. But to have an experienced detective hold off firing for that long against a heavily-armed gunman -- one who just shot two of his partners and is now taking aim at him? It's just a little too silly and took me out of the moment. Maybe -- just maybe -- you can say that, deep down, Joe was waiting for the Flash. However, as an experienced officer, waiting for that long in that dangerous of a situation is just foolish. Anyway, that's a lot of words for such a minor critique, but I think it was worth noting.

Random thoughts: So, now that Wells' cameras are taken down, I guess they have like, zero security in S.T.A.R. Labs? It's pretty funny how Iris just comes and goes as she pleases. You'd think they'd put something in place now that Wells is out there and knows where they operate. They probably know it won't do them much good, but something is certainly better than nothing at all. I love how Wells is hiding right under their noses. Also, I was left wondering why Wells didn't have Grodd kill Joe, but I'm guessing it's because that would make the team act emotionally and that would make their actions less predictable and potentially far more dangerous. He didn't need them broken; just distracted. Lastly, I'm glad they didn't cheese it up and have Barry and Iris kiss when it was blatantly implied the feelings are mutual. I didn't mind it in the previous episode (they were going to potentially die in a minute or so), but now that Eddie's in trouble? That would have been messed up, so I'm glad they brought it up. Oh, and I can't help but love how Cisco's dropping so many movie references and then Grodd's final scene is a blatant nod to King Kong.

"Everything Grodd did, it was just to distract us." That line probably makes some people think this episode was filler, but I disagree. In just one episode, The Flash handles a major dramatic plotline (something other shows may have dragged across several episodes), properly introduces the world to a major villain, and it makes a few small developments with Wells while also dropping a teaser or two. "Grodd Lives" may have a little too much emotion and drama for some viewers and I do think a reaction or two from Iris was frustrating, but overall, I believe it was all handled in a fairly realistic way. Best of all, it addressed the drama head-on and didn't save the resolutions for another day. Even if you aren't happy with that arc, aren't you at least glad they got it out of the way and didn't make it last for a few episodes? Plus, Grodd was awesome. Man, when he caught Barry's punch? How can someone not love that? This may not be one of my favorite episodes, but it sure is an important one and it takes some critical steps to set the stage for what's to come. Thanks to The Flash's personality, excitement, and heart, you really don't need to be a comic book fan to love this show. 

4/5