Grant Gustin wasn't actually the first choice for Barry Allen. It’s a weird thought now, right? But back in 2013, when he showed up for a two-episode arc on Arrow, fans were skeptical. He looked like a kid. He was too skinny. He didn't have the "superhero" jawline we were used to seeing on the big screen. Then he spoke. Within minutes, he nailed that awkward, hyper-intelligent, and deeply empathetic energy that defined the Scarlet Speedster for a decade. Honestly, The Flash series CW didn't just succeed because of the special effects; it succeeded because Gustin carried the heart of the DC multiverse on his back for nine seasons.
Running from 2014 to 2023, the show became the anchor of the "Arrowverse." It outlived Arrow. It outlasted Supergirl. It even survived the chaotic restructuring of DC at Warner Bros. But if you look at the ratings or the fan discourse from Season 1 versus Season 9, you see a massive divide. It started as a tight, mystery-driven procedural and morphed into a sprawling, sometimes bloated ensemble soap opera.
People still talk about it. They talk about the "Run, Barry, Run" memes, the sheer perfection of Tom Cavanagh’s Reverse-Flash, and that one time they actually managed to pull off a four-show crossover. But they also talk about the "We are The Flash" line and how the VFX quality dipped as the seasons progressed. It’s a complicated legacy.
The Lightning Bolt That Changed TV
The pilot was lightning in a bottle. Literally. It was the highest-rated premiere in the history of The CW at the time, pulling in over 4.8 million viewers. That’s a number most network shows today would kill for. What made it work? It was the antidote to the "dark and gritty" era. While Christopher Nolan’s Batman and Zack Snyder’s Superman were busy being brooding and cynical, Barry Allen was just a guy who loved being a hero.
The first season focused on the hunt for the man who killed Barry’s mother, Nora Allen. It introduced Eobard Thawne—disguised as Harrison Wells—and created one of the best mentor-villain dynamics in television history. Tom Cavanagh played Wells with this chilling, calculated stillness. You wanted to trust him, even though you knew something was wrong. That’s the nuance that later seasons struggled to replicate.
Then came the "Multiverse."
Before the MCU was hopping through timelines, The Flash series CW was introducing Earth-2. It brought in Jay Garrick. It gave us "Flash of Two Worlds" homages. It was a golden era for comic book fans who never thought they’d see Gorilla Grodd or King Shark on a TV budget. It felt like anything was possible.
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When the Speed Force Got Complicated
Somewhere around Season 3 or 4, the wheels—or the feet—started to wobble. The show leaned heavily into the "Speedster Villain" trope. First, it was Reverse-Flash. Then Zoom. Then Savitar. By the time we got to an evil version of Barry Allen from the future, the audience was exhausted. It became a meme: Barry loses his speed, Barry gets a pep talk in a hallway, Barry runs faster, Barry wins.
Hallway talks. They were everywhere. Every episode had at least one scene where a character walked out of the cortex because they were "upset," and someone else had to go talk to them. It became a formula.
The ensemble cast also grew massive. In the beginning, it was just Team Flash: Barry, Cisco, and Caitlin. By the end, we had Allegra, Chester, Cecile, and Mark. The focus shifted away from the titular hero. Fans started complaining that The Flash wasn't even the main character in his own show anymore. This is a common pitfall for long-running network series. You have to fill 22 episodes a year, so you start giving B-plots to everyone just to kill time.
The VFX Dilemma
Let’s be real: the CGI in the early seasons was actually pretty great for 2014. The blur effects, the lightning, the way the camera tracked Barry running through Central City—it had a specific style. But as the show went on, the ambition outpaced the budget. When they tried to do "Godspeed" or the "Forces," it started looking like a PlayStation 2 cutscene.
It’s hard to blame the artists. They were churning out movie-level concepts on a fraction of the time and money. But for the viewers, it became a point of friction. It’s tough to stay immersed in a high-stakes battle when the villain looks like a rubbery cartoon.
The "Crisis" Peak
If there is one thing the The Flash series CW will be remembered for, it’s Crisis on Infinite Earths. This was the Super Bowl of nerd TV. It was the moment where the show justified its existence by bringing together every era of DC history.
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- Burt Ward (Robin from 1966) showed up.
- Kevin Conroy finally played a live-action Bruce Wayne.
- Brandon Routh returned as Superman.
- And the unthinkable: Ezra Miller’s movie Flash met Grant Gustin’s TV Flash.
That moment in the S.T.A.R. Labs elevator was the peak of the Arrowverse. It bridged the gap between the big screen and the small screen. It was a love letter to the character. After Crisis, however, the show struggled to find its footing. The stakes felt smaller. The "Graphic Novel" format (breaking seasons into shorter arcs) was an attempt to fix the pacing, but it led to some underwhelming villains like Mirror Master and the Red Death.
The Final Run: Was Season 9 Enough?
The final season was shortened to 13 episodes. It had a lot of heavy lifting to do. It needed to give Barry and Iris a happy ending, bring back the heavy hitters, and close the book on a decade of storytelling.
The return of Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen in episode 9, "It's My Party and I'll Die If I Want To," was a masterclass in nostalgia. It reminded everyone why they fell in love with these shows in the first place. The chemistry between Amell and Gustin was always the secret sauce of the Arrowverse.
The series finale, "A New World," was a mixed bag. On one hand, you had the return of every major speedster villain—Thawne, Zoom, Savitar, and Godspeed. On the other hand, they were all defeated remarkably quickly by the supporting cast. It felt rushed. But when the dust settled and Barry chose to share his power with new speedsters, it felt right. It was a "full circle" moment for a hero who spent nine years learning that he couldn't do it alone.
Why We Still Care
Despite the filler episodes and the questionable "lightsaber" speed-force fights, the show mattered. It proved that a superhero show could be hopeful. It gave us one of the best father-son relationships on TV between Barry and Joe West (Jesse L. Martin). It tackled grief, trauma, and the consequences of time travel without losing its sense of fun.
Grant Gustin’s performance never wavered. Even when the scripts were thin, he played Barry Allen with a sincerity that is rare in the genre. He became the definitive Flash for a generation of fans, much like Christopher Reeve was the definitive Superman.
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How to Revisit the Series
If you’re looking to rewatch or jump in for the first time, don't feel like you have to slog through all 184 episodes. Honestly, the "best" experience is a curated one.
- Watch Season 1 and 2 in their entirety. This is the show at its absolute best. The mystery of the Man in Yellow and the introduction of the Multiverse are peak television.
- Use a crossover guide. The Invasion!, Crisis on Earth-X, and Elseworlds events are essential. They feel like mini-movies and show off the scale of what The CW accomplished.
- Skip the filler in the middle seasons. There are lists online that identify the "Bloodwork" arc in Season 6—it's surprisingly dark and well-acted, arguably the last great villain arc of the series.
- Watch the series finale. Even if you fell off the wagon in Season 7, the ending provides the closure the fans deserved.
The The Flash series CW might not have been perfect, but it was a pioneer. It paved the way for the massive cinematic universes we see now. It taught us that no matter how fast you run, you can’t outrun the past—but you can definitely choose how you face the future.
If you're diving back into Central City, keep an eye out for the small details. The show loved its "Easter Eggs." From the posters in the background to the names on the CCPD files, it was always a show made by people who loved the source material. That love is what kept it running for nine years.
To get the most out of your rewatch, start by looking for the subtle hints in Season 1 about the "Crisis" of 2024. It’s fascinating to see how much they planned from the very first episode. Focus on the character growth of Eobard Thawne across different seasons—he’s one of the few villains in TV history whose timeline actually makes sense if you track it closely.
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