The Flash Season 2: 8 Ups And 2 Downs From 'The Last Dinosaur'

With all things going from bad to worse last week for Barry – from having no powers to supposedly dying – this latest Flash offering had a lot of question surrounding it, particularly where it pertains to what happened to its titular hero.

For better or worse, The Good Dinosaur wasted no time in giving viewers some answers, with Barry revealed to have actually gotten stuck in the Speed Force itself. Whilst he can return home without his powers at any given moment, if he’s to regain his superspeed then he must confront certain demons from his past.

Elsewhere, back in the real world, the particle accelerator incident of last week has stirred up one of Season 1’s villains-of-the-week in the shape of Girder. Reanimated and zombie-like, the undead rogue is intent on finding Iris West, with it down to the surviving members of Team Flash to tackle this foe whilst Barry is stuck in limbo.

Directed by uber-nerd Kevin Smith, this latest Flash episode was one of the best that we’ve seen to date. Given how the Speed Force was depicted as a sentient being, The Good Dinosaur had the potential to become a convoluted, timey-wimey episode that was a little too far out there for some. Luckily, the episode was perfect for what it needed to be; a calming of the waters that gave Barry new focus ahead of the season’s final two episodes.

So, let’s have a look at what The Good Dinosaur got right and where maybe it went a little wrong.

The Energy Of The Episode

Whether it was Kevin Smith’s influence or whether it was down to the script from Zach Stentz, or a mixture of both, there just seemed to be a whole new level of energy to The Flash with The Good Dinosaur.

Stentz’s script seemed absolutely tailor-made for Smith, and the director didn’t disappoint in delivering an episode that very much had the vibe of a Kevin Smith project yet remained firmly in fitting with that we’ve come to expect from The CW’s Scarlet Speedster show.

The cast, particularly Candice Patton’s Iris West, felt amped-up to 11 in the best possible way, and the heart and humour of the show shone through in a way that served each of its characters brilliantly well. So key to the success of The Good Dinosaur were the dynamics between various pairings – something Smith is well versed in overseeing – and it seems like the team of Zach Stentz and good ol’ Kev Smith is one that is a perfect match. With the pair already confirmed to work together on another episode next season, that is a hugely positive thing for fans of the Sultan of Speed.