Written by Marley Ghizzone
Grodd Lives Plot Summary:
Iris (Candice Patton) confronts Barry (Grant Gustin) about being the Flash which leads to some heavy conversations. Meanwhile, Dr. Wells (Tom Cavanaugh) keeps the team distracted with a telepathic gorilla named Grodd.
Love it. Can’t get enough. The Flash has been consistently strong and captivating through its freshman season. With dynamite cast members and well plotted story arcs The Flash nears the end with bravado. “Grodd Lives” was no exception to the spectacular streak.
This episode, was a set up of the players for the penultimate and ultimate episodes of the season. Usually set-ups are somewhat tedious and obvious, making the act of watching the episode a chore. Therefore it is a testament to the writing of the show and the skill of the actors that “Grodd Lives” was not only a bearable but interesting hour of TV.
I have one little, tiny point of contention with this episode, however. The scenes in Grodd’s lair with Joe (Jesse L. Martin) were kind of uncomfortable. He was very snivelly which is weird because he doesn’t give off that vibe. It didn’t ring completely true for me.
But onto more fun things like relationship drama. I love shipping characters. Reading into each and every interaction for the smallest minutia that could prove true love is how I spend my free time. I have been personally shipping Barry and Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) all season but now I’m not so sure.
My second favorite thing, in regards to secret identities, is when all the main characters are in on the secret. With Iris finally finding out Barry is the Flash and the revelation that in the future they are totally married, I may be jumping on the Iris/Barry boat.
But I grew to like Eddie (Rick Cosnett) so I feel bad but it seems he may be set up as the new villain which could be super interesting because even though he has not yet given us reason to distrust or dislike him, he has the face of a douche.
Tom Cavanagh makes a great villain. I loved the thoughtful, intelligent, and caring Dr. Wells and when we first see his intentions may be more than upright, I felt deeply betrayed and hurt. However, I got over that because it’s not about me but more importantly Dr. Wells as the bad guy adds a fun dynamic to the show and like I said earlier, Cavanagh does a stand up job as a menacing low life.
“Grodd Lives” had it all- emotional distress, inclusivity among main characters, a dynamic big bad, and a clear set up for an end of season blowout. The Flash is kicking ass and taking names.
