Over the past few weeks I’ve been playing Netflix catch-up and Arrowverse catch-up. The shows have included The Rain (great), Dark (so-so), Lost in Space (fun) and Supergirl Season 3 (really enjoyable).

This week I’m back in Arrowverse territory, playing catch-up with the fourth season of The Flash. This is the season that sees Team Flash go head-to-head with The Thinker (aka DeVoe); sees Barry and Iris get married; and casts a lighter touch to the overall tone of the show, following the darker material seen in Season Three.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hs9uaZmqEmk

As with Supergirl Season 3, I really enjoyed Season 4 of The Flash – arguably the strongest season since the first. The change in tone from last season took a little getting used to at the beginning of the year, but by season’s end it all worked out and I think that was in large part because of the ensemble cast (aka Team Flash).

All of the Arrowverse shows have a great cast, but the cast of The Flash is just such a comfortable fit that it’s difficult not to like them all. OK, so I’ll admit that to begin with I wasn’t a huge fan of newcomer, Ralph Dibny (Elongated Man) but even he grew on me over time.

However the standout star this season has been Harry Wells, or rather, actor Tom Cavanagh who continues to bring something new every year. This season Cavanagh has shown a different side to Wells, while still maintaining all of the traits we’ve become familiar with.

For those not quite up-to-date on The Flash, Cavanagh plays multiple iterations of the same character, quite often all in the same season. As such, the actor gets to show his impressive acting range through varied and nuanced performances which highlight why he is such a great addition to the cast.

The other big plus point this season has been the change in villain, from the usual ‘speedster’ adversary we’ve seen in Seasons 1 – 3 to a cerebral opponent. Introducing The Thinker played to the strengths of the science element of the show and presented a villain who was always one step ahead of the game. A great choice!

DeVoe

Image: The CW/DC Entertainment

Not everything this year has been a hit. The introduction of Katee Sackhoff as sort-of-villain, Amunet Black just doesn’t work for me (not sure about that accent) and I wasn’t convinced sending Barry to prison was ever going to stick (and it didn’t), but these are very, very minor issues.

As for the best episodes, Think Fast (episode 22) and the season finale We are the Flash (episode 23) prove to be a strong episodes which really ramp up the drama, however Enter Flashtime (episode 15) is easily the best episode of the season in my opinion. The episode sees Barry, Jessie and Jay slow down time in order to save the city (and the world) from a nuclear explosion. Enter Flashtime was not only a gripping hour of television, but also an episode that allowed for some fun superheroics. And who doesn’t want that?

Of all the Arrowverse shows, The Flash is consistently the most appealing for audiences, thanks to its fun characters, it’s great visuals and its comic book aesthetics. Season Four is a perfect example of this and yet another strong year for the show.

Great stuff!

The Flash Season Four is currently available to watch on catch-up via Sky.