Plot
Felicity Smoak comes to town to help throw Iris' bachelorette party but Caitlin's past may ruin the night. Meanwhile, Ralph takes the male members of Team Flash out for a night they'll never forget... no matter how hard they try.
Influences
The Flash comics of Geoff Johns (character of Blacksmith), The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Killer Frost taking over Caitlin's body while she's asleep) and various Justice League comics where hilarity ensued during Guy's Night Out/Girl's Night Out events.
Goofs
As Felicity notes, STAR Labs needs a security system. Now. The running gag about how easy it is to walk in there has gone on long enough.
Joanie Horton says that she's been a Doctor Who fan since The Doctor became a woman. At the time this episode aired, The Doctor had yet to become a woman - a change that was planned for the 2017 Christmas Special. (Perhaps Doctor Who had a female Doctor before our universe in The DCTVU?)
The fight choreography when Iris attacks Norvok is terrible, with Norvok acting as if he's been hit despite Candice Patton not coming close to him as she waves her tray around.
Performances
It's a great episode for both Candice Patton and Danielle Panabaker. The former is given a chance to play the more proactive Iris fans have been clamoring for since Season One. The later is given a chance to add some depth to her Killer Frost persona. Both actresses play well off of each other and they prove more than capable of holding the spotlight for the span of an episode.
Artistry
The script for this episode does a fantastic job in tackling several problems with the show - i.e. Killer Frost's lack of a personality beyond being enthusiastically evil and the lack of any real relationship between Iris and Caitlin outside the context of dealing with weird superhero stuff. There's also a lot of funny moments in the B-plot with Barry and the boys at Ralph's favorite strip club.
Flash Facts
Caitlin is seen buying an airplane ticket on-line for Ferris Air. In the original comics, Ferris Aircraft was the aerospace, defense and later airline which employed Green Lantern Hal Jordan and was owned and operated by Star Sapphire Carol Ferris. In The DCTVU, Ferris Air is a major airline.
Ralph is seen wearing a paisley shirt with dark and light shades of purple in the pattern at Barry's bachelor party. In the comics, purple is Ralph Dibny's favorite color and most of his costumes have made use of the color.
Norvok - the snake-eyed henchman of Amunet who comes for Killer Frost - shares a name with a comic character named Hunk Norvock.
In the original Flash comics, Hunk Norvock was a crime-boss in Keystone City whom employed Clifford DeVoe as a "thinker" who could help him find the loopholes in laws to keep him and his men out of jail. Eventually, he became paranoid of DeVoe's intelligence and tried to kill him. He was tricked into killing himself, however, and Norvock's followers elected DeVoe as their new boss.
Amunet Black a.k.a. Blacksmith first appeared in The Flash: Iron Heights (August 2001). For fifteen years, Black ran a lucrative black market in Central City, exclusively catering to super-villains needing to fence exotic goods or acquire special gear. During this time, she married the villain Goldface, stealing his formula that gave him super-strong golden skin and altering it so that it gave her the power to merge organic and inorganic materials, such as giving herself metal skin. She attempted to organize her own team of Rogues, bringing her into conflict with both The Flash and Captain Cold's team of ethical robbers.
The DCTVU version of Blacksmith appears to have the ability to telekinetically influence certain kinds of metal, (specifically alnico alloys), reshaping a tin full of bolts and screws into a gauntlet, bullets and a shield as needed in her battle with Killer Frost. She is also a crime-boss with a lot of connections and several metahumans in her employ who has been running a black market in Central City for at least three years.
Ralph suggests that he might be able to stretch the skin on his finger-tip into a key to unlock the door to the jail cell in the CCPD Drunk Tank. In the comics, Ralph did indeed pull this stunt a few times with his powers.
Technobabble
Felicity is able to track Killer Frost's unique cold signature using the STAR Labs satellite.
When ingested, the dark matter in The Weeper's tears alters the brain function like a psychoactive drug - specifically, an aphrodisiac.
Blacksmith has the power to control alnico alloys - metals made of aluminum, nickle and cobalt.
Felicity is able to use the STAR Labs satellite to scan Central City on a geological level for small traces of aluminium, nickle and cobalt.
Dialogue Triumphs
(Barry, Cisco and Harry discuss the difficulty in tracking down the DeVoe Barry was told would become one of his greatest enemies by his future self.)
Cisco: Do you know how many people there are, in this state alone, with the name DeVoe?
Barry: No.
Harry: Thousands. And we still don't have an age.
Cisco: Unless one of your greatest foes is three-month-old William DeVoe, who lives four blocks from here.
Barry: I don't think one of my greatest enemies is a baby.
Cisco: (cutesy voice) Evil killer baby!
Harry: Ehhhh... could happen.
Barry: You're right.
(The male members of Team Flash enter into The Golden Booty - a strip club Ralph frequents.)
Ralph: What do you think?
Cisco: I think I should have brought some hand sanatizer.
Harry: (squirting some liquid from a small bottle he pulls from his jacket into Cisco's hand) Always come prepared.
Cisco: (rubbing his hands furiously) Ohhhhh yes!
Barry: Ralph, this isn't really my speed.
Ralph: Speed jokes? You're better than that, Allen.
Barry: I wasn't -
(A dancer walks past and treats Ralph with a wide smile and a hand on the shoulder.)
Dancer: Hey, Ralphie.
Harry: Uh - Disney? You're a regular in this joint?
Ralph: Oh, so much more than that!
(Ralph walks over to where a framed picture of him hangs on a support beam.)
Ralph: The girls may not be bottomless, but for yours truly, the french fries always are!
(Cisco is admonishing Ralph for using his powers to make change from a stranger's pile of bills at the next table.)
Cisco: It's not about your sticky fingers. It's about your stretchy arm outwardly displayed.
Ralph: (sarcastically) Oh, so I should be more like Captain Discrete over there?
(Ralph looks to the bar, where Barry is standing.)
Barry: (clearly drunk) I'm The Flash!
(The crowd of strangers around Barry cheers as he smiles idiotically.)
Cisco: I may have slightly miscalculated his bachelor elixir.
(As the ladies are sneaking into Amunet's club behind Killer Frost.)
Felicity: All right, do you think they're going to be able to tell that we don't exactly fit in here?
Iris: Well, it was your idea to wear boas, so... no.
(Blacksmith is trying to persuade Killer Frost to work for her again.)
Blacksmith: A deal like this requires a lady's touch. In your case, strength. And I'll cut you in for 10%.
(Killer Frost just stares at Blacksmith.)
Blacksmith: 15% and I throw in not killing you right now for your misguided rebellion and that is only because I've got forgiveness in my kidneys, right?
Killer Frost: I think you meant heart.
Blacksmith: No. There's no "beat-beat" in this chest, sister.
Killer Frost: As much fun as it is to play "I'm The Bigger Badass", I'm bored. And like I said...I'm done.
Blacksmith: (sighs) Do you know what everyone's mistake in business is? Hmm? Not realizing who has the power in the room.
(Blacksmith lowers her hand as a tin full of bolts and screws begins to shake ominously.)
Iris: There is a part of you that is good and decent. You just don't know how to accept it.
Killer Frost: You think you know me now?!
Iris: No. But I do know what Caitlin looks like when she's scared. And you have that same look in your eyes right now. You're just as afraid of being Caitlin as Caitlin is of being Killer Frost.
(Joe stands up and raises his arms, trying to take charge of the fight in The Golden Booty.)
Joe: Everybody stop! I'm a cop!
(Somebody hits Joe with a chair, knocking him down. Barry stands up and raises his arms up in the same way Joe did. He is still clearly drunk.)
Barry: I'm The Flash!
Caitlin: I never should have come back.
Iris: That's not true, Caitlin. You can always come back to your friends. Why didn't you tell any of us?
Caitlin: I didn't know who to talk to.
Iris: You could have talked to me! I'm your friend, Caitlin!
Caitlin: Work friend. I mean, it's not like you and I have become "besties" over the last few years.
Iris: (sighs) Yeah, I guess we haven't.
Dialogue Disasters
The totally forced #feminism moment. At least they didn't say "girl power"!
Continuity
Ralph has now mastered stretching his torso and snaking around.
There are thousands of people with the last name DeVoe in the same state as Central City.
Caitlin is seen buying airplane tickets for a Ferris Air flight.
Joanie Horton is a Doctor Who fan, saying that she asked her mother for a sibling "seven Doctors ago." At the time of this episode's airing, and including The War Doctor and the announced but as of yet unseen Thirteenth Doctor, that would equate to about 1996 and the premiere of The Eighth Doctor. This would fit Joanie Horton's age as a college student in her early twenties.
Iris says she will be hyphenating her last name after getting married.
Felicity refers to the events of A416 and how Oliver got shot with an arrow during their fake wedding to lure out Cupid.
Killer Frost gave a scar to Norvok.
The Golden Booty is a strip-club in Central City with a $4.95 all-you-can-eat steak and chicken buffet. Ralph Dibny is a regular customer and on good enough terms with the management and dancers that there is a framed picture of him on the wall. He also gets bottomless french fries.
Killer Frost is confirmed to be a split-personality, separate from Caitlin Snow. She is unaware of everything Caitlin knows, not recognizing Iris West as one of Caitlin's friends. She is somewhat aware of Caitlin's actions, however, telling Iris that Caitlin was going to skip town because she got involved in something bad. Later, Caitlin reveals that she doesn't remember much of what goes on when Killer Frost is in charge.
Cecile Horton refers to the events of 320 and her being kidnapped by Killer Frost.
Harry is astonished by the fact that exotic dancers make more in a month than teachers. Apparently teachers on Earth Two are better paid than strippers.
Joanie Horton is dancing at The Golden Booty under the name Jasmine. She says that she's doing it as research for a book she's writing on the female experience in modern society.
Norvok is Blacksmith's third-favorite henchman. Killer Frost is her favorite because she listens.
Blacksmith believes in the idea of not starting a fight unless you are sure you can finish it.
The fourth new metahuman is revealed as a man dubbed "The Weeper". His tears cause intense euphoria in those who drink his liquid. Blacksmith sells the liquid in her club as a drug with the street-name "Love".
Blacksmith runs a black market in Central City. Cecilia Horton knows of Amunet Black but hasn't been able to build a case against her.
Killer Frost explains that Caitlin Snow made contact with Blacksmith in order to acquire some technology that could keep her Killer Frost personality under control six months earlier. The tech only worked when Caitlin was awake, however.
Caitlin worked for Blacksmith as an enforcer to pay for the tech. She did not kill anyone with her powers, though Killer Frost says that some people lost toes and fingers.
The Incredible Hulk exists in the DCTVU as a fictional character.
Killer Frost knows another "breacher" besides Cisco who can get her to another Earth.
Caitlin confirms that the cure Blacksmith gave her didn't work all the way. She also confirms that Killer Frost is becoming more powerful and taking over for longer.
Joe West is almost 50.
The Weeper flees the scene once freed, refusing Iris' offer of help.
Ralph is permanently banned from The Golden Booty.
Joe agrees not to tell Cecilia about Joanie's job.
Iris asks Caitlin to be her Maid of Honor.
In the final scene, The Weeper is seen being chased by The Thinker, who says he can't leave until he's completed the task for which he was created.
The Fridge Factor
Averted, with all the seriousproblems of the episode being addressed by the women without superpowers.
The Bottom Line
A solid episode. Blacksmith is fairly forgettable as a villain, despite Katie Sackhoff's spirited performance and the comedy of Barry's bachelor party has been done before and done better, despite having a few funny moments.
What sells this episode and makes it as good as it is is the chemistry between Danielle Panabaker and Candice Patton and a script that finally develops an honest friendship between two women who, honestly, have not interacted that much and really have no reason to do so outside of the context of their work as hostile metahuman fighters.
No comments:
Post a Comment