The Flash Episode Guide: Season 6, Episode 12 - A Girl Named Sue

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here. 




Plot

After months of searching, Ralph finally catches up with the elusive Sue Dibny and finds there's much more to the missing heiress than meets the eye. Meanwhile, Iris joins forces with Eva McCulloch - a presumed dead scientist who is also a prisoner of the mirror dimension that Iris is now stuck in - to try and find a way back to the real world, as a doppelganger of Iris begins manipulating Barry and Joe towards her own ends.


Influences

A Scandal In Bohemia (Sue is set up as the Irene Adler to Ralph's Sherlock Holmes), classic Film Noir movies and pulps and The Flash comics of John Broome and Grant Morrison.


Goofs

The damage dealt to Ralph's camera would do nothing to harm the files inside a digital camera. Even an old-fashioned film camera would be fine so long as the chamber housing the film wasn't broken.

Ralph has a bit of a glass jaw in this episode, despite his powers allegedly making him nearly-invulnerable and super-strong according to The Thinker. In fact, he's able to ignore several hundred bullets at close-range! (Presumably Ralph needs to brace himself and Sue and the henchmen were able to catch him off-guard.)


Performances

Natalie Dreyfuss proves an instantly enchanting presence as Sue Dearbon and her chemistry with Harley Sawyer is amazing. Which makes the twist of the episode all the more effective, yet we're still left wondering how much of her affection for Ralph was an act.


Artistry

The soundtrack for this episode is fantastic, with a lot of jazzy tunes that feel more appropriate to a 1940s detective movie than a superhero show. The music for the Sue/Ultraviolet fight


Flash Facts

This episode confirms the existence of The Mirror World in the post-Crisis Arrowverse. First appearing in The Flash #126, the Mirror World was a fourth-dimensional space discovered by the original Mirror Master Sam Scudder, through which he could travel through time and space. Despite being a perfect copy of Earth, the Mirror World was unpopulated save for a race of telepathic amazonian women known as the Orinocas.

Apart from a lack of Orinocas, the Mirror World of the Arrowverse seems identical to the one in the comics.

This episode introduces the character of Dr. Eva McCulloch, who has been mentioned before but never seen. Eva seems to be a gender-flipped version of Evan McCulloch - the second Mirror Master in the comics.

Evan McCulloch was created by Grant Morrison and first appeared in Animal Man #8.. A life-long criminal turned hitman, McCulloch was given the gear of the original Mirror Master after his death b the FBI, who intended for McCulloch to act as their agent while posing as a supervillain. McCulloch decided he like the idea of being a real supervillain better than being a Fed and went rogue - literally joining with the rest of the Flash's enemies (aka The Rogues Gallery). McCulloch proved to be even more clever about using the Mirror Master's many weapons, even if he was unable to develop them himself.

Sue Dearbon first appeared in The Flash #119, Sue Dearbon was a wealthy socialite from Westchester County, New York, who was married to Ralph Dibny before her first appearance. A later story revealed that Sue fell head-over-heels in love with the Ductile Detective after he and The Flash joined forces to stop a robbery at a high-society party she was at. For some reason, love blossomed between the two and they were quickly married, though Ralph had no need of her money having made a fortune doing personal appearances as Elongated Man.

Sue is notable as the only superhero love interest to become a Justice League member, having acted as the bureau chief for the JLI embassy in Paris. Despite not having any powers, Sue was a woman or rare intelligence who found ways to use the variety of skills she had picked up as a member of the landed gentry to help the Justice League and her husband in their work.

While the Arrowverse version of Sue Dibny is a high-class thief who turned to crime out of boredom, she shows the same versatility and intelligence of her comic book counterpart. She even explains away various skills as things she learned while taking various lessons her parents signed her up for to keep her occupied as a child.

The newspaper articles on Ralph's case board show that Sue Dearbon was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship - a prestigious real-world scholarship offered to students with an interest in foreign affairs and international diplomacy. This may be a nod to sue's role as the embassy chief for the Justice League International office in Paris in the comics.

Sue claims that a black-market weapons dealer and ex-boyfriend named John Loring is the reason why she went on the run. This is a nod to how Sue Dibny was killed in the comics by Jean Loring, the ex-wife of Ray Palmer, in the Identity Crisis storyline. (Arrowverse fans will remember there is a Jean Loring in the Arrowverse, but she was the Queen family lawyer, an old friend of Moira Queen and had no romantic connection to the Arrowverse Ray Palmer.)


Technobabble

Eva McCulloch explains the Mirror World to Iris thus: reality is observed by three dimensions: width, depth, and length. The super-string theory posits that there are other realities, fractal dimensions humans can't see. The Mirror World is one of these dimensions which exists on the other side of our reality.

Eva says that the clone of Iris running around in the real world is a fractal variable.

Ralph set up alerts on Sue Dibny's credit cards, bank accounts and trust funds. It is through this that he learns about her putting a deposit on an apartment in Central City.

According to Eva, liquid nitrogen should slow down the mirror's molecules to the lowest enthalpy state possible.

Barry says the scorch marks at the scene of the house fire were like giant burns created by sunlight through a magnifying glass. This was consistent with the same energy blasts used by Dr. Light and the photon rifle.

The inner gate of the vault at Central City Mercantile Bank is fitted with an anti-theft electrical system. Opening or closing it without the manager's key automatically activates a 50,000 volt fail-safe.

The device Sue uses to analyze the diamond is a Laser Confocal Scanner.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Ralph enters the apartment building where he tracked Sue Dearbon. It is, to put it politely, a dump.)
Ralph: Not exactly the Ritz.
(Ralph approaches one of the apartment doors. As he is about to open it he sears the sound of breaking glass and a struggle. Suddenly, the door swings open.)
Woman: Get down!
(A dark haired woman dives into the hallway, knocking Ralph down as the room behind her explodes. A moment later, after the debris is done running down...)
Ralph: (coughing) What the hell, lady?
Woman: Hey, I just saved your life. You're welcome, by the way.
(The woman stands up and as Ralph looks up at her she is backlit by the whole blown in the opposite wall leading outside. She's gorgeous. And familiar.)
Ralph: Oh, my God. It's you!
(For a moment, Sue looks astonished and looks around nervously at the idea of being recognized.)
Ralph: You're Sue Dearbon!
(Sue relaxes instantly, apparently satisfied Ralph isn't here to hurt her.)
Sue: In the flesh. And you are?

Ralph:  Sue, I I have been looking for you - for nine months.
Sue: Ouch. I hope you don't bill by the hour.
Ralph:  Where have you been? A-and why did your apartment explode in my face?
Sue: Yeah, hate it when that happens.
Ralph: Look, I'm serious. Now who set that bomb? Why are they trying to kill you? And how long has this been going on for?
Sue: Uh, my ex. Because I know too much. About nine months. You done?
Ralph: No, I'm most certainly not done!

(Ralph starts to get out of the car outside of Loring's warehouse. Sue starts to come with him.)
Ralph: Where are you going?
Sue: I'm going with you.
Ralph: No, no, no, no, no.
Sue: Oh, look, I get it. Chivalry's your brand.
Ralph: You're an MIT grad, speak six languages, and you play polo. You belong in a country club, not in the field.
Sue: You belong in the 19th Century with your Victorian, save-the-damsel-in-distress crap.

Ralph: So you mind telling me how you know martial arts?
Sue: My parents sent me to Kyoto for a summer. Trained with a blind sensei. Taught me everything I know.
Ralph: Really?
Sue: No. (scoffs) I trained with a guy named Frank at a YMCA.

(Sue and Ralph run along the rooftop. Sue gets to the edge and realizes there's no fire escape.)
Sue: Whoa! Uh, we have a problem.
(Ralph looks behind them. Loring's men are not far behind.)
Ralph: Do you trust me?
Sue: Define trust.
Ralph: (grabbing Sue) Hang on.
Sue: Are you crazy?!
Ralph: Sometimes? Don't let go.
(Ralph reaches out with one arm and grabs the ledge of the opposite roof. He jumps as he half-swings/half rappels away from the roof. Sue screams as he controls their fall, bring them to a gentle stop just as they reach the ground. Sue is flabbergasted.)
Sue:We just... You just... You're the Elongated Man?!
Ralph: Yeah, I'm just full of surprises.

Sue: How... how did you become the Elongated Man, anyway?
Ralph: (intensely) I was brutally experimented on by a covert organization for years. They forced me to consume rubber-based polymer compounds.
Sue: Seriously?
Ralph: No. (chuckles) I rode a bus.

Sue: Listen... I want you to know how much I appreciate you trusting me with your secret. It means a lot.
(There is a long pause and a definite something there as Sue comes closer to Ralph. Clearly shaken, Ralph changes the subject and tries to get back to business.)
Ralph: Uh...I can call my friends at CCPD and get a warrant for Loring's deposit box. Shouldn't take more than a day.
Sue: We don't have a day. Loring's already spooked. He could move that box at any minute. I feel like our only chance at....Nah, it's too crazy.
Ralph: Come on. Share your thoughts with the class.
Sue:What if ...WE break into CC Mercantile Bank now? Just us. And take the ledger for ourselves.
Ralph: Believe that's called stealing.
Sue: Oh, come on, Slick. You're also a P. I. You can't tell me you've always operated by the book.
Ralph: No, but I can't commit a crime.
Sue: (sadly) I get it. And I respect that. But Ralph? I'm not a hero. So if this is the only chance I have to see my parents again? I have to take it.
Ralph: Sue... being a hero... it's about helping innocent people. I'm not gonna let you do this alone.
Sue: (smiling) You're not?
Ralph: No. But we do this my way. We get inside, get the ledger, and immediately bring it to my friends at CCPD. Deal or no deal?
Sue: Deal.

(Sue hast just locked Ralph in the bank vault.)
Ralph: We are this close to taking down Loring. Sue, why are you doing this?
Sue: Who cares about Loring? I don't even know the guy. I do, however, know where he keeps his valuables.
Ralph: There never was a ledger.
Sue: Keep going...
Ralph:That's why you rented an apartment in Central City. You knew I was keeping tabs on you, so...so you lured me in. You rigged your own apartment to explode for for what? Just to sell the story of of sympathetic socialite running for her life?
Sue: You bought it. But don't feel bad. You're a good guy. And a hero. You probably see the best in everyone. Me, I see what I want and I take it.
Ralph: You used my detective mind to track down Loring's deposit box. You played everyone. Your parents are desperate to find you. Do they even know what you really are?
Sue: No. That's our little secret. If they found out their only daughter was a thief, they'd be devastated. So you keep your mouth shut about who I am, I keep mine shut about who you are. Deal, Elongated Man?
Ralph: Sue, was anything you told me real?
Sue: Yes. And no. See you around, Slick.

(Sue and Ralph are staring down Ultraviolet.)
Ralph: Is there anyone that doesn't want to kill you?
Sue: Not really.


Dialogue Disasters

Every scene with Cecile in this episode is painful and it's clear the writers are struggling to find ways to include her in the narrative.


Continuity

Iris meets Dr. Eva McCulloch inside the Mirror World - a plane that is a copy of Earth-Prime which exists on another dimension.

Eva is a quantum engineer who was working on a way to open doors to other planes of existence. She became trapped in the Mirror World on the night of the STAR Labs' particle accelerator explosion.

It has been 274 days since Ralph took the case to find Sue Dearbon.

Sue hasn't found any leads on Sue's location since 606.

Cecile offers to work with Ralph on finding Sue, citing their team-up in 506 as proof they work well together. Ralph declines her offer.

Ralph tracks Sue to 24 4530 10th Avenue

As Barry and the fake Iris are eating breakfast, the fake Iris is reading a copy of CatCo Magazine, where the cover story shows Lex Luthor winning the Man of Tomorrow award. This occurred in S510.

Barry is still sore after the fight with Amunet Black and Goldface last week.

The Mirror Gun was last seen in 522. It is being kept in the Starchives.

The fake Iris asks Barry for the Mirror Gun in the Starchives. He refuses, saying it is too dangerous.

Sue Dearbon says that she's been on the run for the last nine months because she learned too much about the operations of John Loring - a black-market weapons dealer, whom she used to date before learning how he earned his fortune.

Sue is hunting John Loring, trying to get the evidence she needs to prove his crimes before she goes to the police.

Sue claims that John Loring is watching her parents and that he has police on the take in every city where he does business, watching for her to make sure she doesn't call her parents or contact the police anywhere charges could be pressed.

Eva attempted 1,322 different plans to escape the Mirror World over the past six years.

Iris suggests they can escape by freezing the mirror to Absolute Zero, the same way that Barry was able to escape being trapped by a mirror by Sam Scudder in 304.

Joe asks Barry to take a second look at a case involving a house fire on Batton Street and bring anything unusual he finds directly to him.

Sue knows six languages, graduated from MIT, plays polo and knows martial arts.

Sue saves Ralph from being drowned in a rain barrel by one of Loring's henchmen.

Cecile says that she can barely tell Ralph and Sue apart on an empathetic level with her powers.

Iris and Eva break the mirror when they freeze it. This does nothing to get them out of the Mirror World.

Fake Iris runs into Nash Wells while trying to search the Starchives on her own for the Mirror Gun.

Nash lies about being asked to do an inventory of the Starchives while Cisco was out of town. As he tells the fake Iris this, he sees Harry Wells again, who accuses him of being a liar. He also makes reference to Nash having unfinished business and knowing what it's like to lose a daughter.

Fake Iris claims she was looking for Nora's journal. She says it's the only thing left that she has of her daughter.

Nash promises not to tell Barry that he saw Iris in the Starchives.

Nash was actually looking for a book labeled The Diary of Harrison "Harry" Wells.

Ralph finds a key to a safe deposit box at Central City Mercantile Bank while searching John Loring's office. He guesses this is where the ledger Sue wants is kept.

Ralph reveals his secret identity to Sue when he lowers them from the roof of Jean Loring's office building with one stretchy arm.

Sue starts calling Ralph "Slick" as a nickname.

Sue persuades Ralph to help her break into the bank rather than wait a day for him to get a search warrant to check out John Loring's safe deposit box.

Barry determines that the fire on Batton Street was started by a focused UV blast, same was what Ultraviolet and Dr. Light generated.

Joe says he's found several cases where it looks like people associated with James Carver and McCulloch Technologies died mysteriously in a fire that was quickly dismissed as an accident and not arson.

Eva is somehow able to summon the broken mirror shards to her hand.

Ralph disguises himself as Joe West and Sue disguises herself as a beat cop so they can sneak into CC Mercantile Bank after hours.

Sue learned French at the US Embassy in Paris and had horseback riding lessons.

Sue is revealed to be a jewel thief who used Ralph to track down a diamond in John Loring's possession. She tells Ralph she'll keep his secret identity a secret so long as she doesn't reveal her secret life to her parents.

Ralph saves Sue from John Loring's men, who are apparently knocked out and/or killed by Ultraviolet.

Ultraviolet was last seen in 606.and has apparently escaped from prison again.

Sue speaks Spanish.. Ralph does not.

Sue has encountered Ultraviolet before and Ultraviolet recognizes her as well.

Sue escapes with the diamond.

Ultraviolet can apparently use her powers to teleport.

Barry shows up in the nick of time to save Ralph from John Loring's men.

STAR Labs satellites finds no sign of Sue Dearbon in Central City. 

Ralph becomes determined to bring Sue to justice.

Barry gives Fake Iris the Mirror Gun.

Eva is able to mentally restore the broken mirror inside the Mirror World. She then somehow summons an image of Barry in his and Iris' apartment.

Barry seems to sense Iris watching him through the mirror.

Sue analyzes the diamond she stole from John Loring in some kind of private lab and finds the Black Hole emblem inside in. She also has a newspaper article on McCulloch Technologies being compromised and a picture of John Carver.


Location

The Mirror World


The Bottom Line

If it were just Ralph and Sue, it would be perfect. Unfortunately, while the lion's share is devoted to the Nick and Nora Charles of the DC Universe snarking at each other, too much of the episode is devoted to Cecile being comically quirky and Iris browbeating a deranged woman who has gone crazy after six years of isolation.

Still, it's a solid episode despite its flaws and the new take on Sue is easily the most interesting supporting character introduced into the show since Ralph himself. Hopefully they'll get their own spin-off in a year or two rather than be forced to fight for screen-time amid all the other people hanging around STAR Labs these days.

The Flash Episode Guide: Season 6, Episode 6 - License To Elongate

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.



Plot

Barry tags along with Ralph on a case, hoping to prepare his protege for his new position as Central City's most prominent superhero. Yet it is Barry who will wind up learning a lesson, as he winds up in way over his head trying to go undercover. Meanwhile, Cecile tries to help Chester P. Runk get his life back in order as Nash Wells seeks out some unlikely help in accessing The Monitor's lair.


Influences

James Bond movies. (Honestly, the episode hangs so many lampshades on the elements it references, I feel no need to list them all here.)


Goofs

It should be noted once again that Barry sucks at maintaining his secret identity and anyone who heard him using his real name at the party should be able to figure out he's The Flash now... even if they think his name is Allen Barry.


Performances

Hartley Sawyer actually does a credible job playing Ralph as a Bond-type. While the odds of an Elongated Man spin-off are seeming increasingly unlikely, Sawyer proves he can front a story in this episode.


Artistry

The music and cinematography do a good job of evoking the spirit of the James Bond films.


Flash Facts

Despite being around since the Silver Age of comics, Ralph Dibny has never really had an Elongated Man emblem like The Flash's famous lightning bolt on a white circle. Most of his costumes work an E into the design somewhere.

The Elongated Man emblem introduced in this episode was taken from the Elongated Man costume seen in the animated series Justice League Unlimited.

Ralph and Barry spend most of the episode in Midway City. In the classic DC Comics universe, this was the hometown of Hawkman and Hawkwoman in the Silver Age of comics. Depending on the writer, it is said to be similar to Chicago and located in Illinois or located in Michigan and comparable to Sault Ste. Marie.

Ralph makes mention of an exclusive fashion designer named Victoria Veil. This seems to be a bit of a knowing nod to long-time Batman love interest Vicki Vale, though the last name is spelled differently and the famous Vicki Vale was a reporter - not a fashion designer.


Technobabble

Eternium creates an anti-vibrational force field that prevents speedsters from phasing through it.

Violent contact with Eternium, such as a jackhammer, could trigger a catastrophic molecular blast.

One of the tools in Cisco's lab is a sonic wrench.

STAR Labs has a multi-rigged private global satellite surveillance system.

Ralph as a camera built into his bow-tie.

Ralph has an explosive cuff-link.

The EYE-3C9 satellite system (aka Ring of Fire) is equipped with 15 dioptric long-range missiles.


Dialogue Triumphs

Remington Meister: Oh, so gentlemen, I don't think we have been introduced. I'm Remington Meister, your host. And you are?
Ralph: The name's Dibny. Ralph Dibny.
Barry: Allen. Barry
Remington Meister: Well, nice to meet you, Allen Barry and Ralph Dibny.

Remington Meister: I must say, I did not expect Central City's resident superhero to crash my little gathering.
Ralph: And I must say, I'm surprised by all the Bond villain cliches. I mean, you've got the accent, the diabolical scheme, even the silent but deadly henchperson.
(Ultraviolet enters the room.)
The Flash: Ultraviolet? I sent you to Iron Heights.
Remington Meister: Luckily, she has friends in low places.
The Flash: And let me guess, you're gonna add my unmasking to your little auction?
Remington Meister: Oh, I could care less about your secret identity, Flash. My interests are global. And to think, Mr. Dibny, that it was the Flash that set off my meta-activity monitor that then triggered the security protocols that got you caught. Danke schon.
Ralph: Do you expect me to talk?
Remington Meister: No, Mr. Dibny. I expect you to die.
Ralph: Oh, come on! That line is literally from Goldfinger!

Ralph: Look, tonight's job was for Ralph Dibny because both parts of my identity have value. The same is true for you, only tonight I could've used your civilian half. What I'm trying to say is Barry Allen is just as important as the Flash. Try to remember that. I know I will.


Continuity

Nash Wells claims that he tracked the Monitor to Earth 1 and that the hole in the sewer of Central City he found leads to an inter-dimensional portal that should lead directly to The Monitor.

Cisco does not appear in this episode, presumably being busy with Gypsy's remembrance ceremony on Earth 19.

Chester P. Runk, last seen in 601, fully recovers and is released from the MAC.

Barry designs an official Elongated Man emblem for Ralph to pin to his costume.

Barry and Joe plan to surprise Ralph with a passing-of-the torch ceremony tomorrow. The problem is Ralph plans to leave for Midway City to check on a Sue Dearborn lead that day. Barry decides to tag along to make sure Ralph gets back to Central City in a day.

Ralph thinks Sue Dearbon might be in Midway City because Sue was seen wearing a one-of-a-kind Victoria Veil dress in Milan right before she disappeared. A woman wearing the same dress was spotted at a gala in Midway City three weeks earlier.

The host of the gala Ralph and Barry crash is a German named Remington Meister.

While sneaking in, Ralph and Barry meet a woman named January Galore who immediately sees through their disguise. Ralph later identifies her as an underground weapons dealer.

Nash Wellls runs into Allegra Garcia at the Central City Citizen. He convinces her to use her powers to help him scan for Eternium in the rock wall, in exchange for a world-shattering story.

Cecile helps Chester unfreeze his bank accounts, gets his driver's license reinstated and even manages to get his parking tickets erased.

Jitters has apparently closed their store-front following the Black Hole manifestation in 601, They now run a coffee delivery service called Jitters-To-Go.

Cecile decides to use her powers to help Chester ask out his crush, Natalie.

The dress Ralph identified as a one-of-a-kind turns out to have a duplicate, commissioned by a woman named Idna, as many designers will copy themselves for the right price.

Remington Meister is a master Mahjong player.

Remington Meister says he has not seen Sue Dearborn at one of his galas in six months and confirms that she is not on his guest list. He also realizes that Ralph and Barry are not on the guest list either.

Ralph identifies another of the party guests as Riggs Wellington - a Bratva counterfeiter.

Cecile misreads Natalie's emotions as Chester is talking to her, giving him the absolute worst advice.

Killer Frost says that The Book Of Ralph advises you to be yourself when asking someone else out.

Nash explains the idea of alternate universes and dopplegangers to Allegra.

Nash also accidentally lets it slip to Allegra that Barry Allen is The Flash.

Ultraviolet, last seen in 602, has been broken out of Iron Heights and is now working as muscle for Remington Meister.

Remington Meister is auctioning off a satellite weapon called The Ring of Fire, capable of destroying a city from orbit. He plans to destroy Central City to prove that it works.

Allegra makes reference to Ragdoll (last seen in 520) and how the freakiest thing in the world is watching him eat.

Cecile realizes that she was projecting her own uncertainty over her new job onto Natalie rather than reading her.

Allegra is afraid of using her powers and becoming like her murderous cousin. Nash convinces her that the powers do not make her bad and that she can use them to help people... like him.

Nash says that Allegra reminds him of some one but does not elaborate.

Ralph and Barry are able to stop Remmington Meister from destroying Central City and break up his crime ring.

Chester asks Natalie out. She rejects him but he's feeling more confident in himself thanks to Cecile and convinces her to be more confident in herself as well.

Cecile encourages Chester to look into a job at STAR Labs.

The Flash officially passes the torch to Elongated Man in a ceremony at CCPD HQ.

Elongated Man and Joe West officially recognize Barry Allen for his work as a Cold Case CSI and all the people he has helped.

Ralph shows Iris a photo of a man wearing a familiar looking pin and tells her about how Ultraviolet showed up again in Midway City.

In the final scene, Ramsey Rosso attacks Elongated Man after he meets with Iris.


Location

Midway City


The Bottom Line

A fun filler episode that does a fairly good job of disguising the fact that the regular cast is barely in this episode. I personally could do with a lot less of Cecile's wacky hijinks, but pairing her with Chester somehow manages to ground his character and make you want to see more of him interacting with Frost and the rest of the STAR Labs gang. Ditto Allegra and Nash Wells, who aren't bad but just seem to be distracting away from the characters we've known and loved since Season 1. Still, for the cheesy fun of the Ralph as James Bond stuff, I can forgive a lot.

The Flash Episode Guide: Season 6, Episode 4 - There Will Be Blood

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.




Plot

Barry's efforts to prepare everyone for a world without The Flash are derailed when Cisco starts scheming to find a way to save him from the coming Crisis. Ralph also has a hard time processing the idea of a world without Barry Allen. Meanwhile, Ramsey Rosso taps into his newfound powers to save his life and loses his humanity in the process.


Influences

The zombie movies of George Romero, the Venom movie (the effects to animate Ramsey's blood powers) and The Flash comics of Joshua Williamson.


Goofs

You'd think Barry would take Frost's opinion on Ramsey Rosso into account before ordering Cisco to save his life. at least when it comes to finding a worthwhile person to save. But we do have to set up the irony of Barry being responsible for empowering a dangerous metahuman, don't we?

Cisco, as an engineer, is wholly unqualified to do most forms of medical work, never mind develop a cure for cancer!

Barry said he was going to make Cisco the team leader after his death. Isn't that Iris' job?

Couldn't Ramsey add adrenaline into his cure instead of taking blood from scared people?

The special effects for Bloodwork's powers look like a cheap version of the effects for Venom.


Performances

Hartley Sawyer makes Ralph's depression in the fact of Barry's death incredibly convincing, given how little time he gets to work relative to the Cisco storyline.

Jesse L. Martin spins most of the episode giving inspiring speeches to most of the cast, making me realize how much I missed him during Season 5. While the dialogue in the final scene is sickly sweet, Martin (and to a lesser degree, Grant Gustin) make it work through sheer force of will.


Flash Facts

Iris makes reference to Midway City, when discussing her lead on Sue Dearbon's whereabouts. In the DC Comics Universe, Midway City was home to the Silver Age versions of Hawkman and Hawkwoman as well as one incarnation of the Doom Patrol. It is located somewhere in the American Midwest, though differing comics place it in Illinois and depict it as being something like Chicago or place it in Michigan, near Sault Ste. Marie.

The cure-all Nash promises Barry and Cisco in exchange for their help is located in McCulloch Technologies.The company is named in honor of the second Mirror Master. Evan McCulloch.

According to Nash Wells, the Dominator home world is called Swan Moon. In the classic DC Comics universe, the Dominator homeworld was never given an official name and was simply referred to as the Dominion Homeworld, after the empire ruled by the Dominators.


Technobabble

Ramsey determines that the black blood he absorbed from Mitch Romero's system temporarily cured his HLH cancer but he requires more blood to create a permanent cure to save my life.

Nash Wells requires an anti-vibrational crypto-circuit.to complete his work on Earth-1. He describes his work as thermic excavation.

The Dominators developed an extremely rare bio-regenerative serum capable of healing organic tissue. Injecting it into  the healthy cells of an organic being causes them to replicate and replace unhealthy cells. Unfortunately, the shelf-life of it is limited and it won't work on someone in the advanced stages of something like HLH cancer. Nash Wells claims it might even be able to protect someone from the effects of antimatter, but it seems likely he was just going along with Cisco's suggestion. In the wrong hands, Nash Wells says the serum would be a 12 on a danger scale of 1 to 10.

Nash Wells is armed with a device, similar to Sara Lance's Canary Cry disks, which plays a high-decibel frequency that hurts anyone who hears it. The device also seems to cause electrical interference, causing the lights at McCullouch Technologies to go out and the emergency lights to come on. It can be deactivated by a control on Nash Well's bracer.

Cisco has a device that makes alarm noises. He uses this to distract Barry and Nash while he steals the serum so he can use it on Barry.

The Dominator serum must be kept at -15 degrees Celsius.

Nash's smoke bombs allow the thrower to teleport themselves to a pre-determined safe location - i.e. STAR Labs' lounge. It is not explained how it works.

Ramsey determines that the reason why his dark-matter based cure isn't working is that Mitch Romero was afraid for his life when he died and his blood cells were flooded with epinephrine. The adrenaline released while being attacked is the true bonding agent, which mean that in order to get the blood he needs, Ramsey has to kill people.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Nash Wells offers to help Team Flash if they help him with his work.)
Barry: Your work? What's your work?
Nash: It's thermic excavation.
Cisco: You're a cosmic myth-buster who also happens to be a geologist?
Nash: (beat) Sure.

Barry: Let's just say that we trust you-
Cisco: We don't!
Barry: -which we obviously don't.
Nash: (unoffended) Understood.


Continuity

This episode takes place a few days before Halloween 2019.

Cisco refuses to accept that there's no way to save Barry and stop him from dying in the Crisis.

Iris says that it is six weeks until the Crisis is meant to happen.

Ramsey's newfound power gives him the strength to snap a padlock and the precision to make it look like it was cut with a power saw.

Ramsey steals 10 liters of blood from Central City Hospital.

Barry decides to distract Cisco from his upcoming death by putting him to work on the problem of curing Ramsey Rosso's cancer.

Nash Wells reveals himself to Barry, after also revealing that he bugged Cisco somehow when they first met.

Nash offers to help Barry find a cure for Ramsey Rosso's condition in exchange for STAR Labs building him an anti-vibrational crypto-circuit.

Iris gives Ralph a lead that Sue Dearbon was spotted in Midway City. Ralph thanks her, but doesn't act on it.

Ramsey's second attempt at making a serum based on Mitch Romero's blood fails, only causing the black blood substance in him to surge further out of control, causing him great pain.

Nash Wells leads Barry and Cisco to McCullouch Technologies, saying they have an alien serum that could heal Ramsey.

Ralphi is binge eating and tells Iris that he's given up on the Sue Dearbon case.

Cisco steals the serum and hides it, pretending it was already gone when he cracked the safe holding it.

Barry figures out Cisco was lying to him later.

Barry had planned to make Cisco the team leader after his death, but is questioning that given Cisco's actions.

Ralph has been depressed into inaction because he thinks trying to save anyone is pointless if he can't save Barry.

Joe tells Ralph that he can't save everyone, but he can save Sue Dearbon.

Frost tells Cisco he can't save someone who doesn't want to be saved and trying to force the issue could take him down a dark path.

The serum doesn't work on Ramsey's cells. Apparently the cancer is too far gone.

Ramsey determines that for his cure to work, he must drain the blood of people who are afraid. This leads him to attack Central City Hospital.

Ramsey also determines that he can control the people he kills, though they act like movie zombies and dissolve into black blood once he gets a certain distance away from them.

Ramsey killed five people in his attack on the hospital on Halloween night.

Ralph tells Iris he is going to Midway City to start the search for Sue Dearbon anew.

Nash Wells is apparently tracking the Monitor, who has a base in the sewers of Central City and the circuit Cisco made for him helps him follow his energy signature. The episode ends as Nash is about to hit the wall the Monitor walked through with a pickaxe.


The Bottom Line

Manages the neat trick of seeming like total filler, even though it's almost wholly devoted to pushing the villain's storyline forward. It's odd, but the scenes of everyone being depressed Barry is going to die and coping with Barry's death at the end are the best moments of the episode, repetitive as they are. Everything involving Bloodwork is equally repetitive and predictable, yet somehow stupider and less enjoyable to watch.

The Flash Episode Guide: Season 5, Episode 19 - Snow Pack

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.




Plot

With Barry having stranded Nora in the future without consulting her, Iris takes matters into her own hands to retrieve her daughter using Eobard Thawne's time machine. Meanwhile, Caitlin must join forces with her estranged mother when her father, still dominated by his Icicle persona, returns to enact the next stage of his demented plan.


Influences

The Flash comics of Geoff Johns.


Goofs

Caitlin says she knows nothing about electrical engineering, yet she designed and constructed the delivery system for the metahuman cure earlier in Season 5. (Really, though, it did make more sense for Cisco to do that and for her to develop the cure...)


Performances

Harltley Sawyer delivers a powerful performance here. While he's mostly stuck being comic relief, Sawyer has nailed Ralph when it comes time to get serious, such as his telling off Sherloque and his confronting Iris in this episode. One wishes we got more scenes like this and less of him plastering himself to the inside of the Timesphere.


Flash Facts

The episode title may be a tribute to the supervillain group Mud Pack, which was made up of all four villains at the time who used the name Clayface.

With this episode, Eobard Thawne confirms that rather than tapping into the standard Speed Force, he draws upon the Negative Speed Force. First introduced in The Flash: Rebirth, the Negative Speed Force is, as the names suggests, an equal, opposite and darker power that counters The Speed Force.

Originally, the Negative Speed Force consumed any speedster it came into contact with and ate away at the Speed Force like a cancer. Following the New 52 revamp, it acted more as a dark mirror of The Speed Force, similar to the Dark Side and Light Side of The Force in Star Wars.

Much as Barry created the Speed Force in the comics and refuels it with every step he takes, so too did Eobard Thawne create the Negative Speed Force and empower it with his motions.

A Negative Speedster has most of the same powers that a regular Speed Force user has, including super-speed, accelerated healing, enhanced perception and mental processing, lighting generation, phasing and time/dimensional travel. However, most of these powers have a destructive flip-side to them. A Negative Speedster, for instance, must take care not to disintegrate what they phase through, as they generally make matter explosive when they pass through it.

The aura of a Negative Speedster protects them against more than friction and high-velocity wind-burn. It also vaporizes incoming projectiles. Their auras build up energy over time, however, and will eventually explode in order to release pent-up energy. Naturally this energy does not hurt the Negative Speedster.

Negative Speedsters have access to powers that regular Speed Force users do not. These include the ability to negate the powers of Speed Force users, the power to drain the Negative Speed Force from other Negative Speedsters to boost their own power, the ability to age or deage themselves and the power to erase a person's memories. Perhaps most impressively, Negative Speedsters have an easier time using their powers to travel in time and do not require an external device like the Cosmic Treadmill or a focus to act as their lightning rod. Presumably this is because attempting to alter time is an inherently destructive act.

The lightning of a Negative Speedster tends to be tinted red, black or purple. Their lightning does not follow the laws of physics in regards to energy output and does not act like normal electricity, causing objects to explode upon contact.

A Speed Force user exposed to the Negative Speed Force experiences great pain and may be rendered unable to use certain powers for a time.

The Negative Speed Force in the Arrowverse seems to operate on the same rules, save that the Speed Force in the Arrowverse doesn't have the same limitations regarding time travel. Beyond that, a person has to be in a dark state of mind to tap the Negative Speed Force, drawing upon their hate, fear and anger in the same way that Barry Allen draws upon the joy he feels while in motion and his sense of hope.


Technobabble

Judging by the thermal warping of the glass in Grace Gibbon's hospital room, Barry determines that an energy blast with a lot of heat broke the window. Of course he also points out it doesn't take a CSI to guess Cicada was responsible for abducting her younger self.

The prototype Cryo-Atomizer Icicle steals from Dr. Tannhauser was kept in a docking station lined with a carbon-filled Kapton polymide. This is the same material NASA uses to build probes meant for the coldest reaches of space.

The Cryo-Atomizer has the ability to disperse particles which slow down atoms' molecular motion into the atmosphere. Combined with Icicle's powers, he could use it to plunge Central City into a new Ice Age.

The Cryo-Atomizer can also be used to recreate the process that created Icicle and Killer Frost.

It is sais that the nano-cryoparticles inside the atomizer can be tracked by reprogramming an oscillating inversion scanner. Dr. Tannhauser suggests they use a modified field array instead.

Sherloque saves Barry's life by using the live wires in a piece of heavy-duty lab equipment to generate a current that heats up the copper wiring of his suit's circuitry and heat it up enough to warm Barry and let his speed-healing kick in.

Barry is able to remove Dr. Tannhauser from the Icicle's machine by phasing while holding a lightning bolt. This enables him to create an electronic bridge that gives him the heat he needs to survive a near Absolute Zero environment.

Caitlin develops an endothermic litmus test to determine if a person has Metahuman DNA or not. If they do, it creates a stoichiometric reaction that turns a green fluid white.


Dialogue Triumphs

Iris: That's how you feel, Barry. (sighs) What about asking how I feel?
Barry: I didn't think I had to!
Iris: Of course you didn't. Of course you didn't, Barry! You always see one way through a problem and damn what I think.
Barry: Wait, wait, what the hell does that mean?
Iris: You know, we have been through so much crap, we have been through so much therapy and you are still still making decisions based on your emotions!
Barry: 'Cause I'm right this time!
Iris: (incredulous) Flashpoint? Going to the Speed Force and leaving me? Were you right those times too?

Barry: You know, if this were anybody else, you'd back me. But because it's Nora, because it's our daughter, the person who finally stopped hating you, you refuse to see how dangerous this is. I mean, you talk about making decisions based on emotion? Look in the mirror.

Thawne: I used to idolize your father. I wanted to be just like him. But that was not my fate. I was to be the reverse. Opposite of him in every way. So instead of tapping into the Speed Force to access my powers, I created my own.
Nora: You created your own Speed Force?
Thawne: Yes, I did.
Nora: And I can access it to go back in time?
Thawne: That and more.
Nora: Can you teach me how to use it?
Thawne: Well, I... I have to warn you, Nora... It's a little bit negative.

Sherloque: I can deduce from your faces that you're upset, but you understand the truth need to be exposed?
Ralph: Yes, we understand that.What you don't understand is that this is a family. You didn't include anyone in this.

Dr. Tannhauser: Your father is trapped inside an ice monster, Caitlyn. What was I supposed to do? Split custody with him on the weekends?
Caitlin: I don't know. You could try telling me the truth. But why tell your daughter anything?
Dr. Tannhauser: Funny, I don't recall you telling me that you let the monster out of the prison.
Caitlin: Because you never told me he was in a prison! And now all these years that I could've been working on a cure for dad are gone! We may never get him back.
Dr. Tannhauser: (sarcastic) Well, at least you have someone to blame. Moms are always here for that.

(Iris is in the Time Vault, plotting to steal the Time Sphere. She turns around and Ralph is there.)
Ralph: Planning a trip?
Iris: How did you get in here?
Ralph: Followed you then stretched under the door. By the way, was anybody ever gonna tell me about this secret room? What else do we got in here? A bowling alley or something?
Iris: Ralph, I don't have time for this.
Ralph: Actually, it looks like you have all the time in the world.
Iris: You're not gonna stop me.
Ralph: Who said anything about stopping you?

(Caitlin and her mother are arguing over what equipment they should use to track Icicle.)
Barry: I'll get both. Might take my time.
Joe: (desperately) You need help?
Barry: No.

Nora: I did everything exactly like you told me! How come I can't do this?
Thawne: Listen, not harboring enough rage to fuel your trip is not something to be ashamed of. You're just like your father.Your light is your greatest strength.

Thawne: She's gone.
Iris: What the hell do you mean she's gone? Gone where?
Thawne: I don't know where. I only know when. 2019.
Iris: When Nora said you showed her a way back she meant your way.
Thawne:Yes. And I made a mistake. She wanted to go home, I tried to help her. But listen, Iris, you have to find her. She needs her family.
Iris: And that family does not include you.
Thawne: But it does include Barry. She needs you both united.
Iris: (angrily) I'm only going to say this once. You don't get to comment on us. You stay the hell out of our business or you won't even make it to the end of that timer.
Thawne: I like your anger, but don't let it drive Barry away. The only way for you to help Nora is by doing it as a family. Otherwise, you're simply leaving Barry the exact same way he left Nora.


Continuity

Barry and Iris fight over whether or not Barry should have dragged Nora to the future without giving Iris a chance to say goodbye.

Iris makes reference to Flashpoint (301) and Barry going into The Speed Force (323) in pointing out how Barry let's his emotions govern his decision-making.

Thawne confirms that he created a Negative Speed Force to empower himself.

Cisco is on Earth-47, asking Breacher for advice on tracking the new Cicada.

Cecile is watching after Jenna. Ralph says he will join her later at Joe's house to go through every file they have on the new Cicada.

Cicada kidnapped her younger self from the hospital. Thankfully, her coma was stable, so she should be fine so long as Cicada takes care of her.

Dr. Carla Tannhauser was last seen in 503.

Icicle was last seen in 506.

Icicle steals a prototype Cryo-Atomizer.

Nora's first attempt to tap into the Negative Speed Force fails. Thawne says this is because she's too much like her father when it comes to being positive and upbeat and that using the Negative Speed Force requires you to give yourself over to despair and anger.

Icicle kidnaps Caitlin and Dr. Tannhauser, nearly killing Barry in the process.

Sherloque is about to leave for another Earth when the alarms at STAR Labs regarding Barry's vitals in his Flash costume go off.

Sherloque elects to save Barry rather than just leaving.

Caitlin says that neither she or her mom know anything about electrical engineering.

Dr. Tannhauser never met Ronnie Raymond.

Snow Pack was Thomas Snow's pet name for his family.

It is revealed that Icicle's plan is to use the Cryo-Atomizer to change Dr. Tannhauser and give her an ice persona, creating an ice family for himself.

Iris confronts Nora at Thawne's cell. The fact that she came without Barry gives Nora the anger she needs to tap the Negative Speed Force.

Thawne says he can feel Nora in the Negative Speed Force but only knows she is going to 2019.

Caitlin is able to free herself by tricking Icicle into freezing the meta-control cuffs she is wearing.

Barry saves Dr. Tannhauser from the Icicle's machine.

Thomas Snow reasserts control from Icicle after Icicle almost kills Caitlin.

Caitlin fights Cicada and loses. She is saved only by her father throwing himself in between Cicada and Caitlin as Cicada throws a knife.

Cicada steals the Cryo-Atomizer.

Caitlin conducts a test to determine if her mother has metahuman powers. Though it initially comes up negative, it changes to a positive shortly after everyone leaves the room.

Ralph tells Sherloque that he's part of the Team Flash family now.

Barry admits he made a mistake about Nora.

Iris says that she honestly believes Thawne cares for Nora.

Nora is seen emerging in 2019, her eyes glowing red, now drawing fully on the Negative Speed Force.


Location

Wherever Dr. Tannhauser's lab is located - 2019
Iron Heights - 2049


Untelevised Adventures

Cisco goes to visit Breacher, who retired to ranch dragons on Earth 47 in 419.


The Bottom Line

A mostly-harmless filler episode that rushes the story of Caitlin's dad to a conclusion after not being touched for nearly two-thirds of the season. Cicada kidnapping herself is treated as an afterthought and most of the run-time is devoted to Iris' shaggy-dog time-travel story. At least this section has the benefit of being well-acted, but Danielle Panabaker is largely wasted in what should be a major episode for her character. Instead, she too feels like an afterthought and there's no punch to her father's death or her mother being revealed as a metahuman.

The Flash Episode Guide: Season 4, Episode 18 - Lose Yourself

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.



Plot

With the discovery of the final Bus Meta, Team Flash may have a way to get into The Thinker's pocket-dimension hideaway. This leads Ralph to considering crossing a dangerous line in the bid to stop him, as Joe becomes concerned about an increasingly erratic Harry.


Influences

Return of the Jedi (the whole idea of beating the bad guy by not killing him, Ralph's "you already saved me." line to Barry.


Goofs

Barry's talk about there always being a better way than killing your enemies comes off as rather hypocritical given that every single one of his confrontations with his major enemies to date has ended because of someone else killing them.  Reverse Flash in Season One?  Eddie Thawne killed himself to erase him from history... for all the good it did. Zoom? Killed by Time Wraiths after Barry attracted them by creating a Time Remnant who killed himself. Savitar? Iris West straight up shot him!

The green-screen effect of Ralph running from the dinosaur skeleton is of very poor quality.


Performances

This is Hartley Sawyer's best turn yet as Ralph Dibny. I could quite happily watch a spin-off centered around him instead of another season of The Flash at this point. Naturally, this is the point at which they kill him off.


Artistry

The final shot of an empty glass on Ralph's desk is a powerful one.


Flash Facts

The title of the episode comes from the title of a song by Eminem.

Ralph makes reference to being able to use his powers to go to the bathroom without leaving the couch. While Ralph Dibny in the comics wasn't quite so lazy, he did stretch his neck to continue talking to his wife in another room while he was using the bathroom... much to her disgust.

Edwin Gauss a.k.a. The Folded Man first appeared in The Flash Vol. 2 #153 (October 1999). Considered the greatest mind of his generation, Gauss was a physics major at MIT determined to prove Albert Einstein's theories regarding The Unified Field Theory correct. Using resources stolen from tech billionaire Norman Bridges, Gauss constructed a suit that enabled him to fold space-time around him, transforming himself into a two-dimensional or four-dimensional state. This enabled him to become invisible to three-dimensional beings by flattening himself or becoming impossible to surprise as he can see in all directions in his fourth dimensional state. He was also able to teleport through space at will. 

The DCTVU version of Edwin Gauss is a metahuman with the same powers as his comic-book counterpart. He was something of a hippie who appeared to be high when he paid for Ralph Dibny's fare on their bus, speaking of walking paths in colorful terms.

Gauss describes The Thinker as "this bald dude in a Professor X floaty chair." This is a nod to Professor X aka Charles Xavier - the wheelchair-bound leader of Marvel Comics' X-Men.

Ralph makes a reference to Marvel Comics' Thor, referring to Barry as "Thor, Son of Odin" after Barry beats him up.


Technobabble

Cisco designed a new scanner that detects dark matter anomalies.

Edwin Gauss' residual dark matter signature on the bus suggests that he was there one second and gone the next.

Harry builds a sonic scepter - a tuning fork that replicates the powers of Izzy Bowin. Harry claims to have laser-shaved it down to the last angstrom. The best part about it is that since it is non-electronic, it cannot be influenced by Kilgore's powers.

Harry scripted a sub-routine on the pocket-dimension predictor that he thinks will enable them to predict where DeVoe will appear next.

Caitlin says she thinks she has determined what triggers her transformation into Killer Frost.  When her body enters a fight-or-flight state, catecholamines (aka The Stress Hormone) are released into her system. Analyzing her brain chemistry, Caitlin determined that the dark matter reservoirs in her body were primarily focused around her adrenal glands. Guessing that adrenaline triggers her transformation, Caitlin can now give herself a shot of epinephrine to trigger it without Cisco or Harry trying to upset her.

Cisco says that Gauss' powers have given him access to his own pocket dimension. Every pocket dimension is unique unto itself. He guesses that DeVoe needs Gauss' power so he won't be dependent on his chair to create his own safe space anymore.

By simply tracking the two lanes of identifiers, cross-referencing the fluctuation migration patterns and the temporal displacement in the energy app, Harry is able to create a map of Edwin Gauss' pocket dimension activity.

Harry has a set of quantum decryption keys he can use to unravel any sort of hacked code.

Iris has an explosive concealed in her earring which she had Cisco make for emergencies. She uses it to blow the sealed door out of the lab.

The Mechanic fights with some kind of electrified katana.

Null's powers could be used to increase the pull of gravity as well as negating it. The Thinker uses her powers to make The Flash weigh as much as a cement truck, rendering him unable to stand.


Dialogue Triumphs

(After Ralph suggests killing DeVoe.) 
Barry: Ralph, you think we're going to kill DeVoe?
Ralph: The way you're saying that makes me think I'm supposed to say no?

Ralph: Uh, thanks.
Edwin: (bowing his head) Namaste, hermano.
Ralph: (cringing) Nama-stay in the back of the bus.
Edwin: (laughs) Funny fat dude.

Caitlin: (reading Killer Frost's note) Thanks for the badass new jacket. I got some blood on it. Don't worry!  It's not ours.
(Caitlin chuckles as Iris looks disturbed.)
Caitlin: (composing herself) I guess her humor is sort of an acquired taste.

(Team Flash stands ready as a portal opens, expecting DeVoe to emerge. Instead, a funny looking man with long hair clad in a robe, slippers, pajama pants and an over-sized T-shirt emerges. He is whistling happily and moves to a mailbox, placing something inside it. The team just look to each other as Barry finally decides to speak.)
The Flash: Edwin Gauss?
(Gauss spins around, startled and falls backward, another portal opening, which he disappears into.)

Cisco: I'm sorry, but that's too big even for your britches, Harry.
Harry: My britches are plenty big, okay? I fill my britches!
(Barry blinks at this. Caitlin looks at Ralph as if to say "Are you going to comment on that?")

Ralph: Unwashed flower child? Have you seen this man?
(Ralph holds up a picture of Edwin Gauss)
Hippie: Nope. I've seen the soul that belongs to this man. (laughs) Dude's aura is a trip!
Barry: Wait, so you know Edwin Gauss?
Hippie: Sure do. Round here we call him "The Folded Man"!
Caitlin: Folded Man?
Hippie: He is everywhere... and nowhere. (shrugs) But mostly he's around here.

Barry: Look, I know you're worried about DeVoe. About what he might do to you. But there are some lines we can't cross-
Ralph: Wow. You really don't know as much as you think you do, Rookie.
Barry: I know what killing DeVoe would do to you. You would be throwing away everything you've done to become a better man, to become a hero. You've got to realize that!
Ralph: You... are a moron.
Barry: Ralph-
Ralph: I am not afraid of DeVoe! Or what he might do to me. I am afraid of what he might do to you... and Iris. And Caitlin. And Cisco. Joe. Harry. Cecile. DeVoe has taken out everyone who has gotten in his way. And Team Flash? It will always be in his way.
Barry: (in realization) This was never about protecting yourself...
Ralph: I know that killing DeVoe would mean throwing away everything I've done to become a hero. But aside from my mom, this team is the only family that I have ever had. And I would throw myself into a furnace to keep them safe. (determined) DeVoe cannot have them. They are mine.
Barry: What about what we want?  You may not care about losing who you've become, but we do. We like hero Ralph. (sighs) Please don't take him away from us.

The Thinker: You are no threat for an intellect of my magnitude.
Ralph: Please. Everyone I fight is smarter than me, but no bad guy has beaten me yet.

The Thinker: You were born for me, Mr. Dibny. And now, you will die for me.
Ralph: (pained) You! First!
(Ralph grunts and rips open his jacket, revealing the weird pattern of the Sonic Scepter embossed in his chest. Ralph pulls it out and stares DeVoe down.)
The Thinker: What is that?
Ralph: A big ol' fork, to shove up your-
(Ralph strikes the ground and aims the fork, sending DeVoe flying into the wall.)

(DeVoe begins to download his brain into Ralph's body.)
Barry: Ralph! Fight it! Alright?! Fight it!  I'll save you!
Ralph: (quietly) You already did, Barry.


Dialogue Disasters

Continuity

Ralph remembers Edwin Gauss from the bus ride, though he lies about paying for his fare. In truth, Edwin paid for him.

Caitlin is now communicating with Killer Frost through notes.

Edwin Gauss has no college history or known addresses - just a couple of backpacking photos from an old message board from the dial-up era of the Internet.

Barry, Ralph and Caitlin track one of Gauss' portals to a hippie commune.

Caitlin is stabbed by The Samuraoid from 401, shortly after she, Barry and Ralph locate Edwin Gauss.

Ralph refers to the events of 413 and how DeVoe easily broke into a maximum security facility.

Gauss likes spicy ranch Pringles.

Gauss accidentally found a way into DeVoe's lair the second time he used his powers.

Joe confronts Harry about his use of the Thinking Cap and how the way he is acting reminds Joe of his wife, Francine, and how she acted when she was using drugs.

The Thinker attacks Ralph with the animated dinosaur skeleton from 406, shrunk down by Dwarfstar's powers and released into The Pipeline.

The Mechanic refers to her conversation with Iris in 410 about what they were each willing to do for their husbands.

The Mechanic is revealed to be an accomplished sword fighter, capable of parrying multiple blasts from Iris' energy gun.

Harry has been revealed to have been using Gideon in The Time Vault to power his Thinking Cap with Dark Matter.

By the time Ralph wins free of the dinosaur, it is revealed that The Thinker has absorbed Melting Point, Null and The Folded Man.

Joe takes out the Samuaroid robot.

Iris impales herself on The Mechanic's sword to grab hold of her and trigger the teleporter on DeVoe's chair.

Ralph does not kill The Thinker despite having the chance to do so. Unfortunately, Ralph still screws up making sure the power-dampening cuffs he put on The Thinker activated properly.

The Thinker is able to use The Folder Man's powers to open a portal to absorb Cisco's vibe blasts and redirect them back at him.

The Thinker seemingly uses Melting Point's power to take away Caitlin's powers, effectively killing Killer Frost.

The Thinker now has the power of all 12 Bus Metas, except for Meltdown, and his mind resides in Ralph Dibny's body.

Barry goes to pack up Ralph's office - a chore he does alone and at regular speed.

With Ralph's powers, not only is DeVoe now immune to the effect absorbing multiple superpowers has on his body, he is also able to shape-shift himself to resemble his old self.

The Thinker now has a container full of dark matter, taken from The Time Vault thanks to Harry's tapping into it to fuel his Thinking Cap, which he will use for the next stage of his plan.


The Bottom Line

For all the complaints that people have about The Legends being a bunch of screw ups, I think Team Flash has them beat at this point. There's a lot of powerful moments here and some great acting but that still doesn't negate Barry's hypocrisy or the fact that I'd gleefully see Iris die to get Ralph or Izzy or Hazard back. I suppose that is a complement to the writing team that I feel such passion for minor characters who were created to die, but damn it I thought we'd at least see Ralph survive all of this. Funny how for all of the jokes that were added to this season, it seems to be the most joyless exercise yet.

The Flash Episode Guide: Season 4, Episode 14 - Subject 9

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.



Plot

The search for the ninth of the "bus Metas" created by The Thinker leads Team Flash to Izzy Bowin - a country-western fiddle player, whose metagene has manifested in an unexpected way.


Influences

The Flash comics of Robert Kanigher and Lee Elias.


Goofs

You'd think Ralph and Barry would know better than to approach a strange woman and try to lure her away with some crazed story about her being a metahuman whose life is in danger. Even if Barry DID still have his police ID, it would be real tricky.

I'm with Ralph - you'd think one of the geniuses would have thought of checking Izzy's website before he did. (Then again, STAR Labs rightly has a reputation for employing the dumbest geniuses in television.)

Barry sure gives up on trying to work around that force-field in a hurry.

Why doesn't DeVoe grab Ralph's powers while he's there?  He has Barry and Ralph outclassed and dead to rights.


Performances

Miranda MacDougall proves an engaging presence in what is apparently her first major TV role, as Izzy Bowin.

If Hartley Sawyer is meant to be making Ralph seem sleazier and sleazier, he's doing a bad job of it. Apart from Caitlin, Ralph is about the only member of Team Flash I can stand anymore and that's all down to Harley's goofy but likable performance.

The chemistry between MacDougall and Sawyer is so fantastic you really don't mind that they basically fall in love over the course of a half hour.. Shame it only is good for this episode.


Artistry

The special effects work for The Fiddler's sound attacks is impressive and one wishes we'd gotten something like this sooner for the various Black Canaries.


Flash Facts

Izzy Bowin is a gender-flipped, modernized take on the classic The Flash villain Isaac Bowin, a.k.a. The Fiddler. Strangely enough, The Fiddler was a magic-based villain rather than a metahuman.

First appearing in All-Flash #32 (January 1948), Isaac Bowin quickly became the arch-enemy of the Jay Garrick version of The Flash. A thief who was arrested and jailed in a prison in India, Bowin met a snake-charming fakir who taught him the secret mystic arts of music. Bowin was able to build an improvised violin from materials in the prison and learned to go beyond hypnotizing people and animals with music. He was able to unleash destructive waves of energy with his instrument as well as creating barriers of solid sound.

When his teacher declared that Bowin had surpassed him, Bowin arranged their escape, only to kill his teacher and the merchant who saw him arrested before fleeing to America. It was here The Fiddler attempted to replace Maestro Bowin - a violin virtuoso who turned out to be the lost twin brother Isaac Bowin never knew he had!

The Fiddler was one of the villains who united to form the second incarnation of The Injustice Society, to oppose The Justice Society of which Jay Garrick was a member.

The post-Crisis version of Isaac Bowin had virtually the same background as his pre-Crisis counterpart. The chief difference was that Bowin was established as part of the British aristocracy, who was an avid musician and world traveler who turned to thievery after blowing through his savings. He still learned the secret magic of music while in a prison in India and still attempted to murder and replace his twin brother, Maestro Bowin, though he was aware of his twin brother's existence this time.

The post-Crisis Fiddler was one of three villains (along with The Thinker and The Shade) who combined their efforts to hide Keystone City away from the world. Barry Allen accidentally bypassed the vibrational barrier The Fiddler placed around the city, leading to the first post-Crisis team-up between the Barry Allen and Jay Garrick Flashes.

The post-Crisis Fiddler was also part of the international villain group Injustice Unlimited, formed to fight The Global Guardians.

A slight retcon to The Fiddler's origins appeared in John Ostrander's Hawkworld series. One story established that the fakir who awakened Isaac Bowin's powers was truly a demon, who would later awaken similar powers in a guitar player who went on to a short-lived career as the criminal The Thrasher.

Isaac Bowin was part of the original Secret Six line-up formed by Mockingbird in the 2005 mini-series Villains United. He was killed by Deadshot, after a battle with HIVE agents in which his powers proved ineffective. To add insult to injury, Deadshot wondered out-loud why a man who was a classically trained violin player would refer to his instrument as a fiddle - a name nominally used by less-educated, lower-class musicians.

Gail Simone later introduced a new female version of The Fiddler into her follow-up Secret Six series. This villain was dubbed Virtuoso and armed herself with Isaac Bowin's old fiddle. Though she was never given a full name or origin story, she appeared to be of Indian descent and had a Hindu caste mark on her forehead. This seems to be a nod to the origins of the original Fiddler's powers.

The DCTVU version of Izzy Bowin has the metahuman ability to control soundwaves. She does not need her instrument to do this, as she is able to release a focused sonic blast that knocks Barry and Ralph to the ground and deafens them both.

We get a quick glance at Izzy Bowin's touring schedule when Iris goes to her website, which reveals the names of several familiar DC Comics cities. Among them are Central City, Keystone City, Blue Valley, Coast City, Star City and Bludhaven. These are, respectively, the hometown of The Barry Allen Flash, the hometown of The Jay Garrick Flash, the hometown of Wally West, the hometown of Hal Jordan, the hometown of Oliver Queen and the adoptive hometown of Dick Grayson when he became Nightwing.

Izzy Bowin's blog has an entry on 2/1/18 which says that she canceled her concert in Blue Valley because of "some sorta starfish situation." In JLA Secret Files #1(September 1997) and JLA #22 (September 1998), the telepathic alien starfish Starro The Conqueror tried to take over the Earth using Blue Valley as a starting point. This is also probably the incident Wally West referred to in 407 where he mentioned fighting an alien starfish in Blue Valley.


Technobabble

The additional dark matter introduced into The Thinker's system every time he absorbs a new power accelerates the deterioration of his current host's body. It has been about a week since he transferred his mind into Hazard's body and she is already starting to lose control of his motor functions.

Sound is the force of billions of tiny gas molecules colliding into one another. This means that a person who could harness and amplify kinetic energy in the same way as The Fiddler, it could create molecular shrapnel.

It is perfectly safe for most pregnant women to have one cup of coffee a day.

According to The Mechanic, Izzy Bowin's sonic powers were able to accelerate the deterioration of Hazard's internal organs. Specifically, the atrial flutter and bradycardia.

Harry builds a mental activity dampener made of ten pounds of cerebellum-proof anti-telepathy somani steel. He refers to it as a generational breakthrough in vibrational brainwave theory. It is not, as Cecile points out, comfortable enough to sleep in.

The 2.0 version of the mental activity dampener is more compact, but must be adhered to the supraobital ridge. It functions by disrupting inbound brain activity, but by reversing the polarity Harry is able to make it disrupt outbond brainwave broadcasts as well.

Harry dubs this new mental activity dampener, which can be used against DeVoe and block his powers, the cerebral inhibitor.

The cerebral inhibitor is equipped with a kill-switch microchip that prevents it from connecting to a network. Unfortunately, this does nothing to stop DeVoe from hacking it.

Harry speculates that the cerebral inhibitor didn't work because he underestimated the amount of time between each synapse router or overestimated the micro-combustion infrastructure.

Cisco theorizes that DeVoe's lair is in a pocket dimension, based on the fact that the effect produced whenever DeVoe teleports is that of a warping signature of someone moving into a pocket dimension.

Einstein postulated that it was possible for a region-specific fold in space-time to exist between the standard four dimensions that humans perceive - i.e. a pocket dimension.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Ralph and Barry are collapsed on the floor, having just been shot by one of Izzy Bowin's sonic blasts at point-blank range.)
Ralph: I guess now we know what her power is!
Barry: (shaking his head., cupping a hand to one ear, shouting) What?!
Ralph: What?!

(Izzy Bowin has just declared that she doesn't need Team Flash to train her or protect her and stormed out of STAR Labs.)
Ralph: I dunno guys. I kinda feel like if I just followed her into that hallway and just gave her one of those "hey look" inspirational talks, I could probably get her to stay.
Cisco: (annoyed) Then what are you still doing here?!
Ralph: Sorry! I don't know if you like draw straws for this stuff or something?
Cisco: No! Go!

Ralph: Look, Izzy? I know how you're feeling. That day you got your powers? I was on the same bus. So that evil chipmunk? She wants to kill me too.
Izzy: Please. I think I'd remember seeing you on my bus.
Ralph: (chuckles) Actually, I was kinda... big boned back then. I was on a strict diet of gin, donuts and regret. But I got another shot at it. And I worked my tight butt off. And now I'm the hottest superhero in town.
Izzy: (scoffs) Please....
Ralph: My life has never been better. Kinda like yours.
Izzy: Yeah, but aren't you afraid of losing it all?
Ralph: Yeah. I am. Which is why I'm part of this team. You said that your family bailed on you, so I can understand why you wouldn't trust someone to look out for you, but Izzy - I can tell you that these amazing weirdos? They won't bail. They created a buddy system for me. And if you'll stay, they'll keep you safe. I promise.
(The elevator opens. Ralph and Izzy both stare at it expectantly. Finally, Izzy grins at Ralph.)
Izzy: So - who's gonna be my buddy then?
Ralph: (smiles) I may have to pull some strings, but I'll see if I'm available.
(Izzy smiles back and actually giggles a bit.)

(Harry has just noticed the odd expression on Barry and Iris' faces as he reveals the cerebral inhibitor.)
Harry: What's that? What are you guys doing?  What are - what are those faces?
Iris: When Savitar came to STAR Labs, he said we would build a device to use against DeVoe.
Barry: (smiling) The cerebral inhibitor.
Harry: Well, I wish I had known that before I spent all this time trying to come up with a second name. Naming is hard.


Continuity

Despite having all the charges against him dismissed, Barry is still asked to take an indefinite leave of absence from the CCPD per the new Mayor's orders.

The new Mayor's last name is revealed to be Van Buren.

Publicly, Warden Wolfe is said to have died a hero trying to stop a break-out at Iron Heights, during the events of 413.

Again, it is affirmed that DeVoe has taken the powers of Brainstorm, Hazard, Kilgore, Black Bison and Dwarfstar.

Fallout is safe with Tracy Brand.

 Ralph is with Team Flash.

The Weeper is MIA, but we know that DeVoe has his powers as well.

This leaves four bus metahumans at large.

Ralph wears a retainer.

Ralph sweats a lot when he sleeps.

According to Cisco, Ralph's apartment has no lamps but neon beer signs and Ralph uses the kitchen sink as a shower.

Ralph also owns a futon.

After retrieving the lost-and-found box from Bus 405, Ralph discovers Izzy Bowin's demo CD.

Vibe is able to learn who Izzy Bowin is aver vibing her CD. He discovers she is playing a gig at The Busted Saddle Saloon.

Ralph hates country music.

The Thinker says that Izzy Bowin has not yet refined her power to the fullest but he does not have time to wait or locate another host. This means that The Thinker has not found the last three bus metas either.

Izzy Bowin's sonic blasts are capable of permanently deafening a person. Luckily, Ralph's eardrums stretched with the blow and Barry was able to heal the damage after a few hours.

Harry returns from his trip to Earth Two.

Cecile is being kept awake at night because she can't shut off her telepathy to stop from reading Joe West's mind when he's dreaming.

Harry offers to build something that can help Cecile with her telepathic insomnia.

Izzy Bowin's sonic powers are able to hurt The Thinker.

Caitlin suggests using Izzy's fiddle as a means of helping her to focus her powers.

Barry accidentally wounds Izzy by trying to throw skeet targets at her.

Izzy is able to knock Ralph out with one targeted whistle.

Harry creates the cerebral inhibitor - the device Savitar said Team Flash would make to fight DeVoe back in 323.  (It is pointed out, however, that Savitar never said it would work.)

DeVoe is somehow able to sense when Cisco is using his Vibe powers to focus in on a person or location and strike back at Cisco psychically.

This is later revealed to be part of Brainstorm's enhanced powers. Though Dominic Lanse never unlocked the potential himself, his powers allowed him to affects minds as well as read them. This allows DeVoe to attack Cisco while he is vibing on Izzy and to attack Barry with a psychic attack that gives him an aneurysm.

DeVoe is able to hack the cerebral inhibitor using Kilgore's powers, which also allow him to listen in on Team Flash's comm signals.

Cecile tells Harry that the MAD 2.0 worked perfectly and she is sleeping again.

Cecile suggests that Harry call his daughter and invite her to visit him on Earth One.

Ralph invites Barry to be his partner in his detective business.


Untelevised Adventures

Apparently Starro the Conqueror attempted to take over Blue Valley recently, forcing Izzy Bowin to cancel her concert there.


The Fridge Factor

Izzy is killed off to make Ralph angst over her death, to give his character more depth.


The Boomerang Factor

Honestly, most of the problems in this episode would have been solved immediately if Barry and Iris didn't act like idiots/jerks.


The Bottom Line

A likable character is introduced and fridged to give Ralph Dibny more definition. The sad thing is this is the best storyline in the episode and Ralph is the only member of Team Flash apart from Caitlin who isn't a total jerk. Barry suddenly pushes Izzy away so she can be put into danger. Iris and Cisco are pushing Ralph away, further cementing his insecurity about being a hero.

Honestly, if it weren't for the fact that DeVoe is an unrepentant murderer who is responsible for killing all the likable characters on this show while sparing the idiots and jerks, I'd be rooting for him.

The Flash Episode Guide: Season 4, Episode 4 - Elongated Journey Into Night

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.




Plot

The search for the rest of the twelve new metahumans leads Barry to an encounter with an old nemesis - a dirty cop turned private eye named Ralph Dibny. Meanwhile, Cisco is horrified to discover that Gypsy's father has come from Earth 19 to meet him and goes somewhere past horrified when Breacher decides to hunt him for sport.


Influences

The film Predator (Cisco being hunted by Breacher and deciding to take the fight to him rather than evading him) and The Flash comics of John Broome (character of Elongated Man).


Goofs

Ralph Dibny was identified as one of the people killed by The STAR Labs particle accelerator explosion in 107. We find out in this episode that Ralph is alive and well. (Unlikely as it is, there could be two men named Ralph Dibny in Central City)

You'd expect the thugs dangling Ralph upside over the roof-ledge to have some kind of reaction to his legs stretching as Ralph slowly starts to sink down the side of the building. Like, say, letting go of his legs in shock?


Performances

While not given much to do but stand around and look menacing, Danny Trejo does that better than anyone and proves an effective presence as Breacher.

Hartley Sawyer instantly engages the audience with his performance as Ralph Dibny.


Artistry

Tom Cavanagh nails it again with his direction.

The script for this episode is witty and full of a lot of good lines. It also does a good job of balancing the various subplots.

The SFX work for Barry getting his fist stuck in Ralph Dibny's face is well executed.

While the slow-motion effects for when Barry uses his powers are par for the course at this point, the scene in which Barry stops Mayor Bellows' thugs is one of the better ones in recent memory.


Flash Facts

This episode is the first of Season Four to feature a new opening narration by Barry.

This episode was direct by Harry Wells actor Tom Cavanagh.

The episode title is a pun on the Eugene O'Neil play Long Day's Journey Into Night. Considered the best of O'Neil's plays, it won The Tony Award and The Pulitzer Prize. As the title suggests, the play focuses upon one long day in the life of the dysfunctional Tyrone family, whom O'Neil modeled upon is own parents and brother.

Breacher is a new character unique to the DCTVU. He is played by veteran tough-guy actor Danny Trejo, who is perhaps most famous for playing the title role in the Machete films. 

When Cisco leaves with Breacher, Harry tells him to "have fun storming the castle". This is a reference to a line from the movie The Princess Bride.

Ralph Dibny is known to comics fans the world over as The World Famous Elongated Man. He first appeared in The Flash #112 (May 1960) and was created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, with input from editor Julius Schwartz. A gangly geek and class-clown as a child, young Ralph came to admire contortionists, who used their own lengthy bodies to great advantage. Ralph came to wonder if there was some x-factor that made body-benders the way they are. His research led to the discovery that many contortionists drank the same obscure brand of fruit cola - Gingold. Using his chemistry skills, Ralph made an elixir from the essence of the gingo fruit plant, which gave him the power to stretch his limbs to superhuman lengths!

Ralph is notable as a superhero in several respects. He was the first superhero to reveal his identity to the public, following the events of The Flash #115. He was also the first superhero to marry his love interest, though Sue Dearborn's first appearance in the comics came on her and Ralph's honeymoon in The Flash #119! Finally, Ralph's powers originally broke the post-Crisis rules regarding the metagene as Ralph was shown to have a metagene but still needed to take his Gingold elixir to use his powers. This was eventually explained by writer Mark Waid (apparently using material from the website Dibny Dirty) by suggesting that Ralph's stretching powers were an unintended side-effect of Ralph's real metahuman power - an immunity to the allergic effects of gingo fruit!

The DCTVU version of Ralph Dibny is a private investigator and was apparently a CCPD cop before being kicked off the force. As a young CSI, Barry Allen proved that Dibny faked evidence and planted a murder weapon in order to secure a conviction. The comic-book version of Ralph Dibny was never a cop and was an honest, fair-minded man who would never fake evidence to convict an innocent man for the sake of his own glory.

Unlike his comic-book counterpart, who was known for looking tall, skinny and goofy, Iris describes Ralph as "handsome in a square-jawed, Oliver Queen sort of way."

Much like at the start of this episode, Ralph and Barry did start off with an antagonistic relationship in the comics, though they quickly became fast friends. In The Flash #112, Barry became jealous of the attention that Elongated Man - a new superhero in Central City - was getting. When he discovered Elongated Man at the scene of a crime, he jumped to conclusions and began trying to fight him. Ralph revealed his secret identity and the source of his powers to The Flash, saying that he was a detective in his secret identity and that he had been follow the criminals. The two teamed up to bring the criminals to justice and were both named Central City's "Man Of The Year".

The client Ralph is speaking to when we first see him is named Mrs. Broome. This is a nod to John Broome - the comic writer who created Ralph Dibny.

Ralph drops his famous catchphrase from the comics - "I smell a mystery" - when Joe and Barry ask him if he was on the 405 bus four weeks earlier and he asks why they need to know. In the comics, whenever Ralph uncovered a clue or a case, he would wiggle his nose and say "I smell a mystery." At the end of the episode, he says the line again - this time wiggling his nose.

When Barry and Iris are searching Ralph's office, Barry opens Ralph's desk drawer. In addition to several half-eaten donuts, the drawer contains a bottle of something called Gingold, the label of which boasts "Pure Gingo Extract". This is a nod to the soda and the fruit that were originally the source of Ralph's stretching powers in the comics.

There is another nod to the original source of Ralph's powers in the comics when, in response to Caitlin asking him to drink the solution she made to stabilize his body, Ralph says that he does not just drink stuff without knowing what it is.

Breacher says that the creatures who destroyed his planet were known as The Plastoids. While creatures called Plastoids do exist in the DC Comics Universe, they are not aliens - they were the robotic minions of a villain called The Molder, who fought Batman and Plastic Man in Brave And The Bold #76 (February 1968). Plastoid is also the name of a robot built to kill Daredevil in the Marvel Comics universe. Plastoid is also the name of the substance used to make Stormtrooper armor in the Star Wars Universe.

Gypsy's first name is revealed to be Cynthia. In the original comics, Gypsy's full name was Cynthia Reynolds.

When Ralph asks Barry for a superhero code name, Barry suggests Plastic Man. Ralph dismisses this as the dumbest name he's ever heard. In the comics, Plastic Man is another superhero who is frequently compared to Ralph Dibny, though Plastic Man is a pure metamorph (i.e. shape-changer) whereas Ralph only has the power of elasticity. The effective difference is like that between a wad of Play-Doh and a Stretch Armstrong figure.


Technobabble

Harry says that the dark matter has polymerized every cell of Ralph Dibny's body, basically elasticizing. He further says that they have formed unbreakable bonds at the atomic level, so they can stretch forever, much like Silly Putty.

Lorazepam is a medication used to treat sleep and anxiety disorders. Caitlin says it is amazing what 50 milliliters of it converted into an aerosol form can do after she uses it to sedate Ralph Dibny.

Caitlin says she thinks she can stabilize Ralph's condition given a DNA sample from before he was exposed to dark matter.

Caitlin introduces a stabilizing enzyme that resets Ralph's body to its default shape through vulcanization. Or, in plain English, his body restored itself through a process like muscle memory. This allows Ralph to reshape his body to before he developed a beer gut and give himself abs.

The serum Caitlin gives Ralph is made up of sulfur, zinc oxide and steric acid and cross-links Ralph's polymerized cells.

Cisco uses an anti-vibrational force-field with an oscillating power grid to trap Breacher. It's the same design he used to hold The Reverse Flash.


Dialogue Triumphs

Barry Allen: (voice-over) My name is Barry Allen and I am The Fastest Man Alive. To the outside world, I'm an ordinary forensic scientist. But secretly, with the help of my friends at STAR Labs, I fight crime and find other metahumans like me. But I became lost in time. It took everything in my friends' power to bring me back, and in doing so our world was opened up to new threats. And I am the only one fast enough to stop them. I am... The Flash!

(Barry looks at Joe and smiles.)
Joe: What?!
Barry: I don't know! This morning. You're like... glowing.
Joe: (defensively) What do you mean "glowing"?
Barry: I just mean, like, you've got like... a warmth about you. Like a Lite-Brite.
Joe: (annoyed) There's no warmth, no glow and I ain't no damn Lite-Brite. You're wasting time. STAR Labs.
Barry: Glowing and irritable.

(Brecher is introduced to Harry.)
Breacher: You look like someone I once sent my daughter to kill.
Harry: (deadpan) I get that a lot.

Harry: What is wrong with you?
Cisco: Have you seen his face?! That guy has killed people with that face! I'm not even joking! Gypsy said that literally happened!
Harry:  You want his approval?
Cisco: Yes, I want his approval! He's my girlfriend's father!
Harry: Of course. Cisco. Listen. You're a fine, upstanding, smart, well-groomed young man! Any father would be happy to have you date his daughter, except me. Can't date my daughter. Allright? Can't date Jesse. Jesse is off limits. 
Cisco: Went for the complement. Did not stick the landing.

Ralph: I promised there wasn't a single case I couldn't crack. And a promise made is a promise kept.
(Ralph spins around dramatically in his chair and throws an envelope down on his desk.)
Ralph: Dibny detects... your husband didn't die in that plane crash, Mrs. Broome.
Mrs. Broome: He didn't? Then where is he?
Ralph: Well, that brings us to the difficult part. Turns out he got remarried and moved to Minnesota. Has two kids now. (chuckles before turning thoughtful) Twins... in The Twin Cities.
(Mrs. Broome looks at the pictures in the envelope and starts crying.)
Ralph: Oh, oh, oh. Hey, hey hey.
(Ralph gets up and comes to stand behind Mrs. Broome.)
Ralph: No, no, no, no, no. Don't. Don't cry for that jerk. He doesn't deserve it! The sun still shines! The birds, they still chirp! (sweetly) Chirp!  Chirp!
(Ralph starts rubbing Mrs. Broome's shoulders comfortingly as he speaks.)
Ralph: Mrs. Broome, you are a very attractive woman. And you will find someone else. Someone who will hold you. Someone who will... wipe away those tears. (pauses) Do you like shrimp?
(Cut to the hallway, where Barry and Joe have just walked up. We here an audible slap as Ralph yells in pain. Mrs. Broome walks out angrily a moment later, pushing past Barry.)
Barry: Uh-
Joe: This is definitely his place.

(Harry has just explained what happened to Ralph's body because of The Dark Matter.)
Caitlin: Like Silly Putty?
Harry: Like Silly Putty.
Ralph: (nervously) I'm Silly Putty?
Caitlin and Barry: No.
(Ralph looks to Harry.)
Harry: Kinda.
Ralph: (angrily) I'm Silly Putty?!

(Breacher announces his intention to hunt Cisco.)
Cisco: Do you do this with all her boyfriends?
Breacher: I hunted her last one, yes.
Cisco: Where is he now?
Breacher: I don't know.
Cisco: (hopeful) He got away?
Breacher: I don't know where you go when you die.

Barry: What's your business with Mayor Bellows?
Ralph: Nothing. Just calling to tell him what a swell job I think he's doing.
Barry: 15 times?!
Ralph: (knowingly) 12 of those were butt-dials.

Ralph: I'm gonna stay here. Stretch my legs.

(Caitlin enters the lab where Ralph's sick bed is located.)
Ralph: I farted. I'm not sure everything is still where it's supposed to be down there.
Caitlin: Drink this.
Ralph: What is it? I don't just drink stuff. (flirtatiously) My body is a temple.
Caitlin: Clearly. Drink it.
Ralph:  I want to know what it is.
Caitlin: It's 17% alcohol.
Ralph: (grabbing the beaker) You should have led with that, sister!

(Ralph has just handed Mayor Bellows the pictures he has of him cheating on his wife. Bellows holds up a briefcase full of money which Ralph regards for a moment before shaking his head.)
Ralph: Keep the money.
Mayor Bellows: What?
Ralph: I take it back.
Mayor Bellows: Take it back?
Ralph: I take my blackmail back.
Mayor Bellows: Is this some kind of trick?!
Ralph: I'm not dirty. And I don't want any part of this anymore. (pauses) And don't you forget, I can tie you to that bomb that you had your goons plant in my office. So if you don't walk away, I will go to the cops.
Mayor Bellows: That's still blackmail.
Ralph:No, it's not!
Mayor Bellows: Yes, it is. You're telling me that if I don't give you this money, you won't go to the cops.
Ralph: Okay! Fine! I am blackmailing you into not being blackmailed.


Continuity

Breacher is a metahuman from Earth 19 with the same powers as Gypsy and Vibe. He is also Gypsy's father.

Mayor Anthony Bellows was formerly a police officer in the CCPD and is running for reelection.  He was last seen in 117.

Barry took down his chart regarding his mother's case - partly because it was solved and partly because he needed space to start charting the dozen metahumans created when he exited The Speed Force.

The driver of the bus died at some point in the last three weeks, drowned in his own bathtub.

Cisco tells Breacher that Barry is his personal assistant in a bid to impress him. He does tell the truth about Joe West being a cop and Breacher says that he can respect Joe as a fellow lawman.

Breacher refers to the events of 311 and Gypsy being sent to kill HR Wells.

The bus driver had an IOU for $5 written on the business card of Ralph Dibny - Private Investigator in his wallet.

The date Barry escaped The Speed Force is confirmed as 10/10/17.

Both Iris and Caitlin think Oliver Queen is hot.

The bus hit by the Dark Matter wave was Bus 405.

Barry exited The Speed Force at around noon.

Ralph Dibny has not spoken to Joe West or Barry Allen in five years.

For the first time in four years of dealing with the strange as a cop fighting metahumans, Joe West finally throws up at the sight of Ralph Dibny's face after sneezing and stretching his face.

Breacher's pet name for Gypsy is "petal".

Breacher makes reference to the fact that Earth 19 has no coffee due to the coffee bean plants being destroyed during an invasion by "the worst, most evil creatures in the multiverse." He says he has sworn never to drink coffee again. He does, however, drink tea.

Breacher names Marla The Dark Lord, Soolunga of Sheerdra and The Sand People of Scar as the worst breach criminals he has hunted across reality.

Barry confirms that he was the reason Ralph Dibny was kicked out of the CCPD as it was Barry's examining the evidence Dibny used to secure a murder conviction that proved it was fake.

Barry is able to phase himself and Iris through the floor of Dibny's office just before a bomb goes off.

Breacher has a knife which he took from a hunter-killer from Earth 48 which is capable of cutting through Cisco's force-field.

Breacher mistakes Ralph Dibny for a Plastoid - an alien race responsible for nearly destroying Earth 19.

Breacher declares that while he hates Cisco, he does respect him as a warrior and considers him worthy of his daughter in spite of that fact.

Gypsy's real first name is Cynthia.

Breacher's real first name is Josh.

Joe tells the rest of Team Flash the news about Cecilia being pregnant.

Caitlin finds a message scrawled on her apartment door - "We Miss You. Come Back Soon."

Ralph agrees to let Barry train him in using his powers.

Ralph reveals that a man named DeVoe hired him over the phone to investigate Mayor Bellows. This causes Barry to remember his talk with Abra Kadrabra in 318 and his talk with Savitar in 323 regarding an enemy named DeVoe who Barry hadn't met yet.


The Fridge Factor

Iris' freaking out over a stretched leg in the hallway at STAR Labs really seems insulting given everything she's encountered before that is far more disturbing.


The Boomerang Factor

Circumstances are manipulated so that neither Cisco nor Barry can save Joe from Mayor Bellows without Ralph helping so that Ralph can be given a "big damn hero" moment.


The Bottom Line

It's contrived at times. It's silly at others. It's the best episode so-far this season. Probably one of the ten strongest episodes of The Flash ever.