The Flash: Gorilla Warfare

November 18, 2015 5:01 PM - Season 2, Episode 7

Grodd returns to Central City and kidnaps Caitlin. Barry and team race to find her before it’s too late. Meanwhile, Cisco plans his first date with the new barista at Jitters, Kendra Saunders and Patty begins to suspect Barry is hiding something from her.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich (22 comments total)

GORILLA CITY GORILLA CITY GORILLA CITY

*Runs around in circles, cackling gleefully*
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 5:51 PM on November 18, 2015 [5 favorites]

Random thoughts:
* Keeping Patty out of the loop is still even more strained than Iris, last season - she's actively skilled and helpful, and excluding her is already having negative consequences.

* When this show is over - hopefully a long time from now - I will be stuck watching whatever Tom Cavanaugh is in, in the hope he'll be half as awesome and creepy as he is in The Flash.

* Cisco bouncing on his date with Kendra when he vibed her was weird. Seemed like it would be more in character for him to stick around and try to learn more, not bolt.

* GORILLA CITY GORILLA CITY GORILLA CITY

Ahem.
*joins Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish*
posted by mordax at 6:01 PM on November 18, 2015 [2 favorites]

"Foolish human. I am Grodd!"

FUCK YEAH YOU ARE.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:04 PM on November 18, 2015 [4 favorites]

GORILLA CITY *dances*

Also man, You-Are-A-Dick-Wells as Creepy-Wells, Dad psyching Barry up, and the total 80s montage of the Kendra and Cisco date at the end, complete with PETER GABRIEL TUNE. ♥ ♥ ♥

Yeah, this episode was awesome.
posted by immlass at 8:06 PM on November 18, 2015 [3 favorites]

*joins the Gorilla City congo line*
posted by Mad_Carew at 8:09 PM on November 18, 2015 [1 favorite]

I am loving Caitlin's Fay Wray getup, which is a clever nod.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:17 PM on November 18, 2015 [3 favorites]

"You've got talking Gorilla's on earth 2?"

"Oh, yeah."

*later*

GORILLA FUCKING CITY
posted by brundlefly at 8:18 PM on November 18, 2015 [5 favorites]

Yes, yes, Gorilla City. We all love it. Now where's my King Shark Variety Hour?
posted by Naberius at 10:45 PM on November 18, 2015 [3 favorites]

* Cisco bouncing on his date with Kendra when he vibed her was weird. Seemed like it would be more in character for him to stick around and try to learn more, not bolt.

Agreed, and it was also just weird and uncomfortable. What was he bolting to do? Ask Caitlin if she knew about any winged people? He didn't have a plan, he just bolted. I'm glad she forgave him because honestly it made little enough sense that I didn't want it drawn out. I'm also happy to see Cisco doing well with a woman, even if I secretly want him to wind up with Lisa Snart.

I understand budgets probably don't permit too many appearances, but if the show wants to throw us a Grodd episode once a season, I would be up for that.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 5:37 AM on November 19, 2015 [1 favorite]

but if the show wants to throw us a Grodd episode once a season, I would be up for that.

NO! Give us King Shark! Just picture it. It's the King Shark Variety Hour! With Joe West and the CCPD Band. The King Shark Dancers. And tonight's guests, astronomer Carl Sagan! Charo! Rip Taylor! And special musical guests the Smothers Brothers! I'm your announcer, Leonard Snart. And now, here he is, KING SHARK!
posted by Naberius at 6:41 AM on November 19, 2015 [7 favorites]

Bulgaroktonos: Agreed, and it was also just weird and uncomfortable. What was he bolting to do? Ask Caitlin if she knew about any winged people? He didn't have a plan, he just bolted.

He's an awkward guy, he suddenly had his (newly existent) social life cross over with his metahuman-hunting day job and didn't know how to respond. Bolting didn't make much logical sense but I didn't think it was out of character.

Naberius: NO! Give us King Shark!

whynotboth.jpg

GRODD V KING SHARK: DAWN OF ANTHROPOMORPHISM
posted by brundlefly at 10:42 AM on November 19, 2015 [3 favorites]

* runs up and hands everyone in the GORILLA CITY conga line a spiked The Flash coffee drink and joins in *
posted by numaner at 12:06 PM on November 19, 2015

"...even if I secretly want him to wind up with Lisa Snart."

I'm loud and proud in my desire for Cisco to be dating Lisa Snart.

For the obvious reasons (their scenes together are pretty great!), but also because it would be narratively interesting. He'd have to keep it a secret and they'd have to navigate what kind of criminality he'll tolerate her being involved in. And Cisco needs a bit of an edge, anyway. Lisa Snart would sharpen him right up.

I'd be pretty happy with Cisco hooking up with Leonard Snart, too, for that matter.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 12:32 PM on November 19, 2015 [5 favorites]

Now that I'm done squeeing over the ending, I'm going to start squeeing over the fight scene right before the ending.

"Foolish human. I am Grodd!"

FUCK YEAH YOU ARE

Exactly! Just the fact that they had an psychic super-gorilla in the show at all was awesome, but now he's exactly comics Grodd. When he showed up speaking in complete sentences I just about lost it. (I also appreciated how nobody exposited out the chain of events where stunning him with a drug overdose also boosted his intelligence beyond Tarzan-speak.)
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:13 PM on November 19, 2015

GRODD V KING SHARK: DAWN OF ANTHROPOMORPHISM


KING SHARK: "Do do do do do de do do do do do do do do do "
GORILLA GRODD: "Mahna Mahna"
KING SHARK "Do doo be-do-do"
GORILLA GRODD "Mahna Mahna"
posted by happyroach at 3:35 PM on November 19, 2015 [4 favorites]

We really like The Flash but one thing the show really suffers from is Terrible Liars Syndrome. It crops up so often.

Last season it was with Barry and Joe, then Barry and Iris, now it's Barry and Patty. WTF would he tell her had a cold, as opposed "I hurt my back and I can't move, don't come over I'm really grumpy I'll be fine soon." GAH. Like his stupid blind eyes two episodes before.

Also, I love how everyone is totally cool with Barry's dad just pissing right the hell off as soon as he got out of jail. I mean, Shipp is obvs contracted for a certain number of episodes, but the show is just sometimes so damned lazy, it couldn't even be bothered thinking up a remotely plausible reason and it really stands out because there are moments that aren't lazy at all. I'm also finding Barry's confidence crisis of the week a little wearying. They need to better separate the episodic stuff, and give him and the others an emotional throughline they can develop over and around the episodic stuff.

I dunno, I thought this week was a bit of a comedown from a superb episode with the delightful creepy Zoom (theories? My wife thinks Earth 2 Joe, I think maybe Earth 2 Barry's real dad). The fact that no one except Barry seems bothered at all that Zoom kicked Barry's ass, nearly killed him, and is nowhere to be found is weird.

Tom Cavanaugh continues to be glorious, I think I like this version of Wells even more.

Still love Grodd, still love the show.
posted by smoke at 2:30 AM on November 20, 2015 [4 favorites]

Tom Cavanaugh continues to be glorious, I think I like this version of Wells even more.

I definitely prefer this version. Thawne-Wells was great, but he was never really going to join the team - that situation always had to come to a head, and it's good they didn't drag it out. (I really like the pacing on Barry's conflict with Reverse Flash.)

Earth-2 Jerkass Wells can be his awesome self indefinitely. (If anything, he'll have good reason to continue working with the team, if the whole 'rescue his daughter' thing goes well.)
posted by mordax at 5:21 AM on November 20, 2015 [1 favorite]

Also, I love how everyone is totally cool with Barry's dad just pissing right the hell off as soon as he got out of jail.

That was one complaint I had with the episode. They wrote Barry's dad out so randomly that it seemed like it must be a contract, rather than storytelling, choice, and then BAM! he's back a few episodes later. It feels so haphazard and sloppy.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 5:21 AM on November 20, 2015 [1 favorite]

When the show was racing through the first season, emotional/characterization and plot holes were, I think, still noticeable but not as egregious because of the way the Thawne-Wells character drew everything together and drove the plot. Now that we're in the second season and we know all these characters better, the sense that they're trying to do a lot of things at once and not being able to sufficiently cover everything is a lot more palpable.

The amount of things they're packing into this season -- 52 universes! Patty! Firestorm Problems! Kendra and the inevitable 2 episode crossover with Arrow that's probably meant to launch Legends of Tomorrow! Zoom! New, Occasionally Suspiciously Knowledgeable Earth 2 Wells! Cisco's a metahuman! Barry's Emotional Crisis of the Week! Francine and the mystery brother! Where'd Barry's dad go! -- feels a lot more frantic than last season, and not in a good way, sadly.

If it weren't for Cavanaugh, I probably would have stopped watching, because unfortunately I don't feel strongly about Grodd or King Shark.
posted by automatic cabinet at 6:44 AM on November 20, 2015

I am loving Caitlin's Fay Wray getup, which is a clever nod.

I really enjoyed that.

Gorilla City is fun but I am already exasperated with Barry for failing to believe that Solovar is a good guy.

You know, I sort of don't mind the bad lie about illness here because (a) it was somewhat necessary, as temporary paralysis would be hard to explain and (2) Barry being too awkward about it to just use a plausible I am just so not good company when I am sick let's save it is actually reasonably in character. The only real issue I have with it is Patty's lack of a steel fist in the velvet glove. Forgiving is one thing, not saying let's not repeat this shit in the future huh is just too doormatty.
posted by phearlez at 7:38 PM on November 20, 2015

Also, I love how everyone is totally cool with Barry's dad just pissing right the hell off as soon as he got out of jail. I mean, Shipp is obvs contracted for a certain number of episodes, but the show is just sometimes so damned lazy, it couldn't even be bothered thinking up a remotely plausible reason and it really stands out because there are moments that aren't lazy at all.

The funny thing is, this ep actually had a comics-plausible reason for Barry's dad heading off, and it got treated as a throwaway line - Dad says something like, "There isn't any good cell coverage in Mount Whoosi-Whatsis National Park." Implying that he's deliberately seeking solitude and wide open spaces and green things. They could've easily had him toss off a bit about "After 15 years inside a steel and concrete box cheek-to-jowl with the worst of humanity, I need to head out into the wilderness to clear my head" just before he left the first time. Maybe even throw in a short scene of him getting freaked out by the buildings and hustle of downtown. Which would've been more satisfying than, "Walp, good to be out, kthnxbai everyone."
posted by soundguy99 at 11:14 AM on December 12, 2015

So what was that about Thawne/Wells promising the city to Grodd and how did E2 Wells know that? The look he gave after walking through his Thawne/Wells impersonation with Cisco makes me think something is up.

The Patty stuff is a bit annoying because TV is always super reluctant to let romantic relationships progress unless it's the focus of the show. So everything is soooooo drawn out and then any problems that do crop up get overblown.
posted by ODiV at 11:22 PM on January 14, 2016