Originally published October 21, 2015. Updated April 14, 2018.
The Flash continues it’s Disney Mother-less Ways….
– Another Dad is in the picture – This week we’re presented with 2 juxtaposed fathers: first being our own tear-jerking Joe Martin, who had to confess to his daughter that her mother is not dead like he once told her; but was a junkie who couldn’t handle being a mother who disappeared for 20 years. On the other, we have Louis Snart, who apparently likes to beat up 7 year old girls and implant bombs in them for blackmail. These 2 sides of the scale couldn’t be tipped any further apart; but that’s the rather on the nose point, I guess. None of this needs cleared up; obviously Joe’s decision lays in a moral gray area, but considering the circumstances, it’s completely understandable, and Barry tells him as much and Iris is just as understanding as Barry said she’d be; so you sort of have a storyline that resolves itself before it has legs; but we do get a great Jesse L. Martin break down-weeping scene; his best work. Snart Sr. is played by perennial baddie Michael Ironside who sort of fills the role of empty, hollow villain whose only story progression is to do the bad thing he’s there to do; but instead of our heroes playing around the evil, this time it’s Brother and Sister Snart who do do a wonderful if not Lifetime rendition (especially Lisa) of the life they were forced to lead with him as father. I sort of expected Barry to reflect on his own numerous father situations during all of this but he kept a pretty cool head.
– Anyone else want a Barry and Leonard road-trip episode?- I said it during last season’s first introduction of Leonard Snart; these two just have a great chemistry; it’s a peer chemistry and I love the deal they have between them. Wentworth Miller really knocks it out of the park as a conflicted but not really bad guy who wants to get paid but lives by a code that makes sense to him and has some honor to it. Having that other person in Central City besides his friends that Barry can go to and be real around makes for good drama and Cold being who he is, lording his secret over Barry’s head, really dials into their dynamic; one which has been present in the original source material for over 40 years. I will say the final scene had real tension and I loved the effects of the cold gun burying a thick layer of ice in Snart Sr’s chest. And just because the writers didn’t get enough, we get one more scene between the two that is clearly a precursor to Snart joining the new Legends of Tomorrow show this season as Barry firmly believes he’ll make a hero yet. As Snart replies “and how much does that pay?” eating that line like the steak dinner he made Barry pay for earlier in the pool hall.
– When did the Flash gain so many awkward relationships?- Not only does Iris’ long rehabbed mother come back into the fray for an extremely weird scene with Joe, but we have the return of the odd couple of Lisa Snart and Cisco, Caitlin is still panting over Jay Garrick (who got a new trim) and Barry and Patty exchange nervous dialogue about “having people” in Jitters. I will say, the exchange of the phone number, a time honored tradition between potential mates, was a great scene that jets you right back to those first Arrow episodes where Barry was introduced and came off completely nervous and shy. Patty is being pushed a little strong though; we don’t need our new Felicity given to us; you have to let that magic grow!
Other Notes:
– “We Should Hang Out More” Cisco tells Jay when he names the singularity their new “Speed Cannon”; and of course, he’s sporting a Star Wars tee in honor of the new trailer!
– Linda Park is back; briefly
– Barry getting shot is a classic TV commercial break cliffhanger- resolved in about .025 seconds, appropriate given the show
– Stein returns with an “Excelsior!” wrong comic franchise!
– would anyone like to see some webisodes of the adventures of “Sam the Hacker”?? I know I would!
– E-2 Wells (futuristic strange hair and all) is here- could he also be Zoom? Let’s ponder until next week
