Who I Want for The Flash's Season 4 Big Bad

This Post will include spoilers up to episode 3x18 of The Flash. If you don't want to be spoiled, don't scroll past Stephanie.

You've been warned.

I was unhappy when Savitar was revealed as season three's big bad. That isn't to say I particularly thrilled with Dr. Alchemy's antagonism. He was kind of boring and wore a bird mask that looked like it came from a goth carnival, but at least he wasn't a speedster. After back to back "traitor in our midst speedster Big Bads", played to diminishing returns, I was ready for Barry to go up against someone that would involve him beating them by running even faster. But that's exactly what we got with Savitar. "He's so fast only speedsters can see him! If you thought that other guy was fast, or that other other guy, you haven't seen anything yet, because this guy is fast! Fast, fast, fast, fastity, fast fast! So fast!"

As much as I like the special effects on The Flash, I do not watch the show for superpowered track meets. And, yes, speed is Barry's (awesome) superpower, but it's not what makes him a hero. I want to watch someone challenge Barry's heroism in a way where speed wasn't part of the equation. I want a villain that challenges who Barry is, not what he does.

This is why Reverse-Flash worked so much better as an antagonist than Zoom on the show. Barry is a good guy. He values friendship and honesty (or at least he did in season one). So the fact that someone he trusted, someone he cared for and admired, betrayed him on such a deep level, it completely messed with his psyche, with his internal compass and in a way that, quite frankly, he still hasn't recovered from. Dr. Wells, a man Barry saw as a second father, murdered his mother. That revelation completely shifted how Barry saw the world. So while Zoom was an even faster speedster and a completely demented individual, his powers couldn't shake the core of who Barry was. Barry already knew evil existed because of Wells. Zoom was a retread, and his betrayal couldn't cut as deep as Wells's because, while Hunter/Jay was a friend, he was barely a mentor to Barry and certainly not a father figure to him. Zoom was just reopening a wound Wells had already created.

Now I don't know who Savitar's identity is or what the writers have in store for his character,* but this far into the season, he feels very much like EVIL SPEEDSTER 3.0. And I. Am. Bored. Even the potential threat of fridging Iris doesn't add any complexity to Savitar. Reverse-Flash murdered Nora. Zoom murdered Henry. It's par for the course with Flash's big bads by now to murder whomever Barry loves. (I'd be upping my life insurance coverage if I were Joe right about now.) Fighting Savitar doesn't bring any new challenges to Barry's point of view and barely raises the stakes from last season. But do you know who would?

Killer Frost.

I'm not thrilled with the whole trope of guy gets superpowers and becomes a hero, girl gets them and becomes a villain, but I freaking love the idea of Caitlin being season four's big bad, for several reasons.

Firstly, Flash going up against cold powers equals awesomeness. (RIP Leonard Snart).

Secondly, it would mean not having to introduce a new character because The Flash dugout is getting a little crowded.

Thirdly, her villain origin story is compelling as hell. Wells betrayed her - deeply. She lost Ronnie - twice. And while Hunter/Jay's betrayal of Barry wasn't all that devastating, the same can't be said for Caitlin. Zoom was the first guy she opened her heart up to after being widowed, and he turned out to be a deranged psychopath who kidnapped her. Honestly, when the whole kidnapping thing happened at the end of season two, I thought they were building up to Caitlin being the season three big bad, because how could someone go through all that trauma and not come out mentally unhinged?

Finally, Caitlin can hurt Barry in a way no other villain can. Look, I'm grateful Caitlin is getting any kind of plot line of her own - especially on a show so bad with female characters they've made Iris a B-character to Barry's manpain in a story about her own fridging.

ANYWAY, back to Caitlin. So yes, I am grateful to have any Killer Frost story line at all, but the episodes focused on that story have been so good I can't help but want more. Episode 3x07 was pure awesomeness from beginning to end. Has anything this season been more of a gut punch than when Caitlin threw Barry's inability to save his mother in his face? No. No, it hasn't. It hurts because Caitlin is Barry's friend, and like all good friends, she knows his vulnerabilities in a way no one else can. It may be miserable fighting your enemies, but it's always so much worse fighting your friends. That episode was heart wrenching, and I want a whole season of that.

Also, while Barry can struggle with the idea of whether or not to kill Reverse-Flash or Zoom or Savitar or even Grodd, killing Caitlin would never be an option. He has no choice but to save her. He can give up on the evil speedsters, but not on Caitlin, not on his friend. He'd have to believe in her redemption. Caitlin as big bad wouldn't retread Wells's original wound. She would help heal it. Wells caused Barry to doubt the goodness of everyone around him. Saving Caitlin would force Barry to have faith in the goodness of another, even when she can't see it in herself.

Fighting Killer Frost wouldn't end with Barry beating the big bad, but saving his friend, which is so much closer to the heart of who Barry is as a hero, with our without the speed force.

I'm 98% sure we're not going to get Killer Frost as a big bad. But still, a girl can dream.

*POSSIBLE SPOILER FOR FUTURE EPISODES:

A popular fan theory is that Savitar is evil Barry from the future. The evidence to support this theory is solid, and I wouldn't be surprised if it were true. BUT, even if it is true, my position on Savitar still stands. Sure having Barry fighting his own demons could be an interesting premise, but so far the execution has been boring. Season three of Arrow tried to do a similar theme, and that season was garbage. TL;DR If Savitar is future Barry, he'd be a thematically stronger villain than Zoom, but still not as good as Reverse-Flash, and I'd still want Killer Frost as season four's big bad.

#fandemonium #tv #women