Showing A Little Emotion Won't Kill You Ya' Know (Warning: Spoilers!)
The first season of the CW's hit superhero action drama The Flash has concluded and let me say, it was very wrapped in an amazing bow. The show proved to be very refreshing in a world filled with superhero competition. Following the childhood trauma of watching his mother murdered by an unknown figure and his father framed and sent to prison, Barry Allen's life-long mission is to clear his father's name and bring his mother's killer to justice. After a freak accident caused by a science laboratory, Barry becomes The Flash, a speedster with the amazing ability to fight bad guys, protect his friends, and ultimately complete his life-long mission.
While all this season's episodes have been awesome to watch, the season-finale proved to be one of the best episodes of any superhero medium on television. Everything The Flash had faced prior was leading up to his ultimate choice, the decision to go back in time to save his mother from being murdered. Throughout the episode, Barry was faced with the question as to whether he should go through with it and he took the audience along for the ride as he considered the consequences of his actions or inactions.
There was not a viewer who didn't think to themselves, "What Would I Do?" Connecting with the audience is what these hero shows should want to do more of. Barry was given the opportunity to seek the counsel of those closest to him (not unlike what normal people do when faced with a difficult decision), and all these scenes hit home, especially the scene between Barry and his father. Superheroes are meant to show amazement, but can also pull us into the emotional burden of their lives.
As the Flash has decided to go back in time to change the past, he is given a warning of what his actions may do and decides to let the past play out as it had. But in the heart-breaking decision not to act, Barry is given the chance to talk to his dying mother. Explaining that he is her son, the two share a moment pulled at every heart string in my chest and put a lump in my throat like I hadn't felt before. Grant Gustin's emotional performance was a great representation of what it is like to have a superhero make us feel the pain and burden that comes with wearing a mask to do good.
More and more superheroes shows and movies will be gracing our presence in the future. It is important to know what it takes to really connect these characters with the audience. We care more about what happens to those characters when we get to know them on a deeper, more emotional level. We love The Flash for his amazing power and also feel for Barry and his difficult responsibilities and burdens. Shows and movies can take a page from the season finale of The Flash and take the audience to see not only what it's like to fight with the hero but to laugh and cry with the hero too.
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