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TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews The Flash Season 04 Episode 3: Luck Be A Lady

October 25th, 2017 by Todd Black Comments

I’m sorry, but that first ten minutes was some of the most painful minutes in the history of the Arrowverse. Seriously! That rivals ALL the screentime that Donna Smoak has had! ALL OF IT!!! Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind the backstory of a villain, but this is arguably the most background we’ve ever gotten, and for a poor imitation of Jinx! One of the classic (and fan-favorite) Teen Titans villains! And it’s wasted on a ditz girl? Really? Ugh…

I will say this, “Luck Be A Lady” did do ok on other things. For example, we now know how all of The Thinker’s “subjects” got their powers. Barry give it to them! When he came out of the Speed Force at the beginning of the season he created a wave of dark matter and energy that turned everyone on a bus into a metahuman. That’s clever! That’s good storytelling! As it shows the consequences of Cisco’s action to bring Barry back. I just wish the rest of the episode was that good.

Now, there were highlights. I like the Joe/Cecil storyline about the new house. That’s a real-life relationship problem! It was mundane, but beautiful!!! That’s what the CW struggles with at times! They always try and go big with relationship issues and yet it’s the simple ones that have the most impact. Joe didn’t want to leave his “vintage” house because of the memories in there. Yet, as Barry wisely pointed out, they could make new memories in a new home.

I also like how Barry tried to go Gandhi on Hazard (thank goodness they didn’t call her Jinx!), thinking that for once maybe reason could fix things. Sadly, it didn’t go that way, but hey, he tried. That honestly does count for something.

But…what doesn’t count is that for all the good they did, they countered it with their typical stupidity that holds shows like Flash back from true greatness. For example, Iris basically tricking Barry into an impromptu wedding? Just because she felt they were cursed? Really? That doesn’t sound like Iris. Then, there’s Harry, who made a return to the team…because he apparently got kicked off of Jesse and the Quicksters (yes, that is a great name.) for being “too much like him”…really? That’s the best reason they could think of for getting him back on the team? That’s…lame. Especially since if you recall “Welcome to Earth-2” he’s kind of rich, and yet he “doesn’t have a home to go back to?” Really? Oh, and don’t get me started on that “Break Up Cube”.

Oh! Or how about that long, drawn out, slot machine sequence? Anyone who goes to casinos knows that the slots do NOT take that long! That’s the whole point! It takes a few seconds, and then you find out if you win or lose. That whole thing took MINUTES…that’s impossible…especially for a casino. All to bring more tension to a situation that we KNEW would get resolved…really?

Don’t get me wrong, the idea of Hazard spreading more bad luck the more good luck she had was clever…it’s just it came a little too late.

Which…brings me to Wally. WALLY!!! Now, I did agree with many people who said that Wally has been wasted. “Too many speedsters” they said, and I kind of agree. And they kind of broke the fourth wall here by having Wally ask why no one noticed he was gone when Hazard almost destroyed the city. That was clever…but having him leave? That won’t stick.

As for the ending, it was a mix of brilliant on one part, and horrible on another. The Thinker planning so far ahead that he KNEW that Cisco would keep the head of the Samuroid and thus use it to spy on them? GENIUS!!!! Joe finding out he’s going to have another kid…? Not so much. See…this is what I meant by “big relationship issues”. Instead of having Cecil admit that she liked the old house, or, having Joe be ok with moving out…they dropped the kid bomb…which will not end well either way.

I try and be tolerant when it comes to the CW shows. I try not to bash, or be mean. But I’m sorry, “Luck Be A Lady” is one of the worst Flash episodes I’ve ever seen.

Todd Black is reader of comics, a watch of TV (a LOT of TV), and a writer of many different mediums. He's written teleplays, fan-fictions, and currently writes a comic book called Guardians (guardians-comic.com). He dreams of working at Nintendo, writing a SHAZAM! TV series, and working on Guardians for a very long time!