Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I review in this blog post. All opinions I share are my own.
Release Date: September 6, 2016
Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 1,020 minutes (excludes bonus features)
Last season, the S.T.A.R. Labs Particle Accelerator exploded, creating a dark matter storm that struck forensic scientist Barry Allen — bestowing him with super-speed and making him the fastest man alive. But Barry wasn’t the only person who was given extraordinary abilities that night. The dark matter also created meta-humans — many of whom have wreaked havoc on the city. With the help of the S.T.A.R Labs team, Caitlin Snow, Cisco Ramon and Dr. Harrison Wells, Barry protects the people of Central City from these powerful new threats as The Flash. Following the defeat of Allen’s arch-nemesis Eobard Thawne (aka the Reverse-Flash), Team Flash must quickly turn their attention to the Singularity left swirling high above Central City, consuming everything in its path. Not only is the Singularity threatening the city with impending doom, but it’s also opened up a gateway to a parallel universe – a world where Barry Allen may not be the fastest man alive; but instead an unstoppable villain known as Zoom.
***
Season two of The Flash was fantastic. Simply put, the second season was just as entertaining as season one and delivered the goods with character development, relationships arcs, and story. I absolutely loved the Earth-2 story arc and it’s safe to say that “Welcome to Earth-2” and “Escape from Earth-2” are two of my favorite episodes of the season, probably of the series.
The show embraced a darker side as Zoom became more of a presence over the course of the season, which was very enjoyable to see. It didn’t become Arrow dark but it was just the right amount of dark for this show. I wonder how long it took to master the right balance here because this show has such a distinct tone and yet it didn’t stray from that in bringing in such a heavy villain. The writers are clearly very, very talented and hard at work.
Now, everyone knows about Cisco’s power and seeing how Cisco embraces this side of him was very exciting. Most of the villains that were introduced were very captivating and compelling. Most. As were the regular additions, including Wally West. Talk about an interesting family dynamic. Shantel VanSanten (One Tree Hill) was a great addition to the show for the short time that her character served a purpose. It’s debatable if her character really was necessary but accepting the fact that she was a placeholder relationship, in a sense for Barry, to keep the pacing on track for Barry and Iris, I didn’t mind.
Finally, I loved the overlap between The Flash and Arrow. There was plenty, so it’s good that it’s so seamless and genuinely enjoyable. It doesn’t take away from The Flash, it expands the superhero universe and makes it that much greater. Without giving away season two details, the cast and crew delivered another wonderful season and in no way suffered the sophomore slump. They killed it here and I am so excited to see where season three goes.
Barry and Iris: New Beginnings (7:35 minutes) – In this feature, Grant Gustin and Candice Patton discuss the romantic relationship that Barry and Iris have, two best friends in love with each other, and the secret (and the boyfriend) that initially stands in the way of more. I love this dissection of the relationship arc so far, as this is one of the only TV relationships that this non-romantic right here is rooting for.
Also Appearing in This Feature:
Executive Producers, Andrew Kreisberg, Greg Berlanti
DC Entertainment CCO, Geoff Johns
Cast Members, Rick Cosnett, Jesse L. Martin
The Flash: Visual Effects: Follow The Flash in 360 (2:13 minutes) – In this feature, viewers get a quick 360 look of The Flash and Grodd from different stages of visual effects which is pretty cool if you’re into this but also a tease since it’s such a short feature.
Appearing in This Feature:
Executive Producer, Gabrielle Stanton
Visual Effects Supervisor, Armen Kevorkian
Whose Helmet Was That? (4:23 minutes) – In this feature, Executive Producer, Andrew Kreisberg talks about Jay Garrick from page to the small screen as well as the dynamic and how it grows between Jay and Barry over the course of the season. I never read The Flash so I’m always interested in hearing more about Jay Garrick, The Flash, their two journeys, and how they collide. Solid feature.
Rogues Gallery: One Cold Father, The Lewis Snart Story (4:13 minutes) – In this feature, Executive Producer, Andrew Kreisberg dives into his favorite scenes that delved into the Lewis Snart story, his father, his sister, and the vulnerabilities that led to the conflict for their story on The Flash. I wish we’d gotten more favorite scenes talk from others as well but it’s always good to hear from Kreisberg.
Heart and Heat: The Story of Firestorm (4:49 minutes) – This isn’t so much the story of Firestorm, it’s more so Visual Effects Supervisor, Armen Kevorkian giving us the story of the visual effects it took to create Firestorm. So. Misleading title but still a pretty fun and fascinating feature.
The Flash: Visual Effects Earth-2 (2:38 minutes) – This feature puts the spotlight on Sand Demon and Zoom and for a hot second, Firestorm again. I really have no idea why all of these visual effects features weren’t edited down to one or two larger features.
Appearing in This Feature:
Executive Producer, Gabrielle Stanton
Visual Effects Supervisor, Armen Kevorkian
Cutting Teeth: The Flash vs King Shark (5:18 minutes) – This is a more in depth feature as we take a look into the CGI making of King Shark and this villain’s interaction with The Flash.
Appearing in This Feature:
Visual Effects Supervisor, Armen Kevorkian
2D Compositing Supervisor, Gevork Babityan
The Power of Dr. Light (5:43 minutes) – In this feature, Executive Producer, Andrew Kreisberg gives us a very compelling compare and contrast of Linda Park on our Earth and Dr. Light on Earth-2. Anyone a fan of this story line will appreciate this feature.
Also Appearing in This Feature:
Visual Effects Supervisor, Armen Kevorkian
Into the Breach: Designing Earth-2 (4:54 minutes) – if you’re as fascinated with Earth-2 as I am, you’ll love this feature which takes a look at the design of Earth-2, which has a mixture of elements from different time periods and how each episode explores more similarities and differences between the earths. I totally would have watched this feature if it had been an hour long, I love alternate universes and what not. Anyway, great feature!
Appearing in This Feature:
Executive Producer, Andrew Kreisberg
Visual Effects Supervisor, Armen Kevorkian
Gag Reel (12:29 minutes) – I don’t know what this new thing is with blooper reels having creative intros but this one actually works. Anyway, thee’s lots of dancing (even a visual effects character dancing) and other legit really funny gags making this 12 minute reel well worth the watch!
DISC TWO
Behind the Story: The Chemistry of Grant and Emily Screen Test (6:54 minutes) – In this feature, we get to see portions of Grant Gustin’s screen test for The Flash as well as portions of the screen test between Grant and Emily Bett Rickards which really helped in the ultimate decision to cast Grant – his likability and chemistry with the current most lovable character on TV in the DC universe. Needless to say, Grant killed it. Even in his screen test, his ease and charm shines through. It’s undeniable from the very beginning that Grant Gustin was The Flash.
Appearing in This Feature:
Executive Producer, Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg
Cast Member, Grant Gustin
Grodd Lives (6:51 minutes) – This is a really fascinating look at the creation and evolution of Grodd for any fans of Grodd out there. I’m not a fan of Grodd but still actually found this a bit interesting to see how Grodd evolved from season one to two.
Appearing in This Feature:
Executive Producers, Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg
Visual Effects Supervisor, Armen Kevorkian
Star-Crossed Hawks (11:20 minutes) – This feature puts the spotlight on Hawkgirl and Hawkman, with the creatives talking about bringing these characters to the small screen from the page as well as the visual effects that come with bringing them to life and the thrill of introducing these characters and being able to cross them over multiple shows. Solid feature, especially if you haven’t already seen a feature dedicated to them yet on say the latest Arrow Blu-ray or DVD set.
Appearing in This Feature:
Co Publisher of DC Comics, Dan DiDio
Executive Producers, Andrew Kreisberg, Greg Berlanti
Executive Producer of Arrow, Wendy Mericle
DC Entertainment CCO, Geoff Johns
Visual Effects Supervisor, Armen Kevorkian
Star-Crossed Hawks: The Hunt for Vandal Savage (11:02 minutes) – In this feature, the creatives gives us a more detailed look into the character of the villain, Vandal Savage who has been around since the beginning of time and shaped the world as it is today more than any other human being, dead or alive. Vandal Savage is one of the more captivating and compelling villains in the DC universe so I was wholly engrossed in this feature, even though everything said here I’d already heard before in some variation from these creatives at cons and in interviews and what not.
Appearing in This Feature:
Executive Producer of Arrow, Wendy Mericle
Executive Producers, Andrew Kreisberg
DC Entertainment CCO, Geoff Johns
Co Publisher of DC Comics, Dan DiDio
The Flash: Visual Effects: A Closer Look (2:51 minutes) – This is basically a recap of the visual effects stuff we’ve already seen in the previous special features regarding Hawkgirl and Grodd from Visual Effects Supervisor, Armen Kevorkian. So if you’ve watched all of the bonus features thus far, you don’t need to watch this one at all.
Christmas in a Flash (4:36 minutes) – In this feature, Executive Producer, Andrew Kreisberg talks about the Christmas episode and what it means to him. This is a great feature and I’m so glad that a feature was set aside for the Christmas Episode. My only complaint? Why didn’t the cast join in on this and share some of their favorite Christmas memories or something? Missed opportunity for some great fun here.
DISC THREE
2015 Paleyfest (29:54 minutes) – What used to be an under the radar, very intimate event for TV fanatics is now on the special features of TV shows, so…there’s that. I guess it’s good for the people who can’t make it to the Paley events. And Aisha Tyler is a fantastic moderator. Her questions were on point, and from a genuine fan of the show, which always makes a difference so her presence was greatly appreciated. What a fun panel, even watching as this took place in March and the entire season hadn’t aired yet.
Appearing in This Feature:
Moderator, Aisha Tyler (Archer)
Executive Producers, Andrew Kreisberg, Greg Berlanti
Cast Members, Rick Cosnett, Candice Patton, Jesse L. Martin, Grant Gustin, Tom Cavanagh, Danielle Panabaker, Carlos Valdes
The Flash: 2015 Comic-Con Panel (15:04 minutes) – Since we’ve seen not only season one but two, it’s really hard to take anything away from this panel now but it’s fine to reminisce on.
Appearing in This Feature:
Introduced Moderator, Ian Somerholder (The Vampire Diaries)
Moderator & Variety Staff Writer, Laura Prudom
Executive Producers, Andrew Kreisberg, Greg Berlanti
DC Entertainment CCO, Geoff Johns
Cast Members, John Wesley Shipp, Candice Patton, Grant Gustin, Tom Cavanagh, Danielle Panabaker, Carlos Valdes
The Flash: Visual Effects: Sticky Situations (2:18 minutes) – This feature focuses on the visual effects in the episodes 2.11 “The Reverse-Flash Returns” and 2.12 “Fast Lane” which was fun to see since the scenes focused on from these episodes in particular were quite grand.
Appearing in This Feature:
Visual Effects Supervisor, Armen Kevorkian
The Flash: Visual Effects: Superheroes and Villains (3:05 minutes) – This is basically a recap of the visual effects features on speed. Worth it if only to see various original shots, final effects, and the stages in between of the developmental process.
Appearing in This Feature:
Visual Effects Supervisor, Armen Kevorkian
DISC FOUR
The Many Faces of Zoom (6:25 minutes) – Wow, there are actually other people besides the main handful that we’ve seen in the special features who work on this show! In this feature, we get a really thrilling look into bringing together the character of Zoom. We even get to see the voice of Zoom, Tony Todd in the recording studio! It’s loads of fun watching Todd do his thing as well as the cast and creatives talk about this extremely menacing villain.
Appearing in This Feature:
Executive Producers, Todd Helbing, Aaron Helbing
Co-Producer, Geoff Garrett
Stunt Actor, Ryan Handley
Cast Members, Tony Todd, Teddy Sears
Chasing Flash: The Journey of Kevin Smith (51:40 minutes) – Whether or not you’re a fan of Kevin Smith, his passion for what he does is something that everyone can agree to love. And watching him fanboy over this show and then get the opportunity to direct an episode and then give us an incredible behind the scenes look at the making of his episode as well as giving viewers insights into his career and the greatest lessons that he’s learned along the way… wow. This is by far my favorite feature on the blu-ray. Smith talks about everything from his love for The Flash to his journey as a director/writer in which over time he learned to loosen up as a writer and director, be more collaborative, be more humble, more kind, more in the moment and appreciative of the moment and of creating. This guy knows how lucky he is and that boundless joy that he carries with him everyday on and off set is so infectious, oh my goodness. That’s why I love this guy and love this feature. So if there’s only one feature you watch on the blu-ray, please, oh please, let it be this one.
Appearing in This Feature:
Director, Kevin Smith
Executive Producers, Aaron Helbing, Todd Helbing, Andrew Kreisberg
Key Set Production Assistant, Michael Debarros
Assistant Editor, Kevin Hancock
Editor, Felicia Livingston
Cast Members, Candice Patton, Tom Cavanagh, Grant Gustin, Jesse L. Martin, John Wesley Shipp, Carlos Valdes
The Flash: Visual Effects: Everything Falls Apart (3:21 minutes) – In this feature, Visual Effects Supervisor, Armen Kevorkian talks about directing Episode 2.20 “Rupture” which was exciting to see since up to this point, all we got to see in every other feature that he was in was a little bit of the same of…every other feature that he was in. Still more of the same here but also with a refreshing addition of having directed an episode that leads into the final episodes of the season.
VARIOUS DISCS
Deleted Scenes (Approx. 26 minutes total) – There are 16 deleted scenes on the DVD, all worth watching if you can’t get enough of The Flash. There’s one deleted scene for the following episodes: 203 “Family of Rogues,” “205 “The Darkness and The Light,” 207 “Gorilla Warfare,” 209 “Running To Stand Still,” 213 “Welcome to Earth-2,” 219 “Back To Normal,” and 221 “The Runaway Dinosaur.”
There are multiple deleted scenes for the following episodes that play all per episode: 201 “The Man Who Saved Central City” (three scenes), 210 “Potential Energy” (two scenes), 215 “King Shark” (two scenes) and 218 “Versus Zoom” (two scenes). It’s safe to say these deleted scenes can be categorized as either unnecessary, overkill, or cut for time. There were a handful of scenes that were strong but overall, be glad what was cut was cut for a reason.
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