Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: The Flash: Season 4

 

+++Warning, this contains spoilers from the prior season, but no major spoilers from season 4+++

Season four of The Flash aired during the 2017-218 TV season. The show picks up six months down the line from the end of season three in which Barry exiled himself in the speed force to maintain balance after his defeat of Savatar. Iris is leading team Flash from Star Labs, with mixed results, and Cisco eventually finds a way to get Barry out of the Speed Force without destabilizing it. Of course, once Barry is back, not all is right with the world. This season finally moves away from the speedster "big bad" instead bringing in the character Devoe, who was mentioned by Savatar during season three. The show does still have a bit of the case/villain of the week procedural aspect to it, but it has become, like the other Arrowverse shows, a show with a serial story arc that spans throughout the course of the season. The big Arrowverse crossover, Crisis on Earth-X, occurs eight episodes into the season and includes episodes from Supergirl, Flash, Arrow, and Legends. The season ends on a huge cliffhanger reveal that will have a big impact on season 5.

For those who get the blu-ray set, the A/V quality is the same as it has been for the prior season releases and for the other WB/DC shows. The 23 episodes (plus the three other crossover episodes from the other shows) are spread across four discs, and there is no "play all" feature, so you cannot pick back up from where you stop. For extras, you get the episodes of Arrow, Supergirl, and Legends of the crossover so you can watch it all at one time. Then there is a featurette on the crossover and the 2017 best of DC TV at Comic-Con that are common to all of the Arrowverse DVD and Blu-Ray releases from that season, a gag reel, deleted scenes, and a handful of other featurettes specific to the show.

Overall, the season is strong. There are a lot of recognizable guest and recurring actors this season including Katee Sackhoff (from Battlestar), Jessica Parker Kennedy, Jessica Camacho, Kim Engelbrecht, Neil Sandilands, Bill Goldberg, and Danny Trejo. And, of course, actors from the other Arrowverse shows make appearances throughout the season. I do think it was nice to mix the main bad guy up a bit this year and not do another evil speedster storyline while still giving the team a challenge. So, if you have liked the show up to this point, it is definitely still worth watching.