Jessie Robertson reviews the twenty-second episode of The Flash…
After all the numerous commercials showing Wells facing off with the pre-Justice League (Flash, Arrow & Firestorm), and waiting for that moment until nearly the end of this episode, I thought “Cool, it’s the teaser for the finale!” Four minutes later, the Reverse-Flash has been caught (and mostly by Oliver, who’s supposed to have just gotten married and left his friends to die (and then mostly by Ray Palmer, who put his nanites into an arrow) Wha…..? Will it bother anyone else immensely if we don’t find out how Oliver knew Barry needed his help for this? And how he got time off from being Ra’s in training? I mean, I know that’s a different show, but some continuity please!
I’ve joked before about the pacing of this show, but after a long and fairly uninteresting plot, Wells walks to the front gate, with a grin that says “My plan’s out there, I’ve only worked on it for over a decade, but you’re still not going to stop me,” for them to stuff a crazy, SEASON-ENDING (mind you) fight into a few minutes? I was completely baffled as to what I had just witnessed. For a man from the future, that knows everything that happens to these people, to have planned for so long how he would get back, either this fight is a misdirect, or Thawne is the dumbest villain there is.
Let’s hit the highlights of what we saw tonight:
A futuristic version of a refurbished particle accelerator is discovered in Star Labs and when it blows, it’s taking out all their metahuman prisoners with it, so Barry, being the nice guy he is, determines they need to save those people’s lives. Joe tries to get some official transport help from CC DA, but no dice. Barry borrows a plan from Lyla Diggle, but they still need a way to transport these guys without having them go crazy and use their powers to destroy the city. Barry wants to recruit Leonard Snart for his cold gun and meticulous planning. Joe advises against it, strongly, repeatedly, but Barry doesn’t listen. He even agrees to erase Snart’s complete criminal history in exchange for the favor. By the time we get to where they are transporting the criminals to Ferris Air to get picked up by ARGUS, I can’t remember why they needed Snart in the first place. Let’s hit this point by point, and help me if I’m forgetting something: 1) They needed passage through the city so as not to disturb citizens with no questions asked: They do it at night and Flash runs through putting up parking barricades and cones everywhere. So, Joe going to the DA became moot. 2) They needed something to move them in – Cisco recruited a delivery truck from his uncle. 3) How can they keep them from using their powers?- I thought this was where Cold came in, but no, Cisco steps up with yet another off the cuff invention, a power dampener to keep these monsters at bay. So, the only thing I can think of that Cold ended up providing was his sister Lisa’s Class-A CDL license! And how does Snart disable Cisco’s dampener when he just invented it that night!?! I would question how he got into Star Labs, but we all know by now, they leave the damn doors unlocked every freakin’ day! Frustrated by this whole scenario.
We finally found nice guy Eddie- he was in Star Labs basement the whole time; he comes out a different man. He even 1,000-yard stares Barry and Iris mere moments after he’s rescued as if they’d been having an affair while he was prisoner. Before long, though, he’s back at work and dishes the deets of his future to Iris, not his bride to be. Iris confronts him after showing him the massive ring she found (which Wells left on the floor) and she tells him, matter of factly, that doesn’t have to be her future; she’s her own person and can make her own choices. Eddie says so can I, and a tinge of evil flickered in the air during that exchange. Eddie moves around like a zombie during these scenes as well. Funny that Iris doesn’t even flinch a bit when she finds out she has married Barry in the near future. What happened to that ring as well?
Captain Cold coming back was a welcome return because he chews scenery longer and better than most. His ordering of a drink “Ice Cold”, and playing Foreigner’s “Cold as Ice” on the bar jukebox, along with Lisa Snart and Cisco’s foreplay was the most fun elements of this episode. We get a tiny bit of Peek-A-Boo in action, but she was one dimensional the first time around and none of the Rogues that escaped impressed; in fact, it took several minutes for me to remember who they were and what they did. Captain Cold deep freezing Deathbolt was a highlight.
As we move into the finale, it feels like the biggest and most intriguing component of the season has been fulfilled; Barry screams how he’s not fast enough to catch Thawne, several times, but he did outsmart him, at least for now. This one felt as overstuffed as your grandma’s Thanksgiving bird.
Other Notes:
– I made a note when Barry, Joe and Cisco went down to the prison to find Wells that they entered with “a gun, Super-speed, and a Big Gulp”
– “Jerk” “Trainwreck” Even supervillain siblings are still siblings.
– Lisa Snart calls Caitlin uptight and it gets awkwardly silent, even from her friends.
– We find out Ferris Air was shut down because of a pilot gone missing; Will we see Hal Jordan’s face on a milk carton?
– During the big finale fight, Oliver seemed to do the most damage, actually hitting Thawne with an arrow, then plugging him with another one after he fell onto the parked car.
– Wells also reveals Ollie lives to be 86 years old; wonder if he grows out a full beard and moustache?
Jessie Robertson
https://youtu.be/8HTiU_hrLms?list=PL18yMRIfoszFLSgML6ddazw180SXMvMz5
Originally published May 13, 2015. Updated April 13, 2018.
