The Flash Episode Guide: Season 2, Episode 22 - Invincible

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




Plot

Barry has his speed back just in time for Zoom to unleash his metahuman army on Central City. And leading the pack is Black Siren - the Earth Two version of Laurel Lance! But Barry won't be alone in saving his city... much to Joe West's annoyance as Wally West starts trying to fight the metahuman invaders himself.


Influences

The Justice League of America comics of Gardner Fox (the various Crisis crossovers, Black Siren is clearly inspired by the evil Earth Three counterparts of the Justice League) and the Vibe comics of Geoff Johns (Cisco's creates a focused sonic blast for the first time).


Goofs

How the hell is Black Siren still walking after being hit by a car?

The whole idea of Earth Two counterparts being mirror-images of their Earth One counterpart is just unsound on the face of it, given how many infinite Earths there are.

Katie Cassidy's performance as Black Siren is just awful. This is curious given her best work on Arrow was in an antagonistic role in Season Two. Playing the vampy villainess proves beyond her talents, however, as her delivery is rushed in every scene she's in and seems to be doing a bad impression of Danielle' Panabaker's Killer Frost.  As Cisco says, she's "just a poor imitation."


Performances

Keiynan Lonsdale dominates his scenes as Wally West.  Wally's been an afterthought and/or a hostage for most of the second-half of Season Two. Here, however, we finally start to see something of the young man who could one day be The Flash himself.

It's a brief thing, but I loved the scene between Cisco and Caitlin where he comforts her over her seeing Zoom everywhere since escaping him. Partly because it's so rare to see a close male/female friendship like this on television but also because Danielle Panabaker masterfully portrays what PTSD anxiety attacks are like and Carlos Valdes likewise does a good job showing how to comfort someone going through such trauma. And kudos to the writers for scripting this scene.


Artistry

The opening battle between the police and Zoom's army is a perfect balance of good FX work and fight choreography.

The special effects for the Canary Cry used here are closer to what we saw in Supergirl for Silver Banshee and much better than what we saw in Arrow.

The special effects as Barry runs into Mercury Labs to save everyone are top-notch.


Flash Facts

One of the metahumans in Zoom's army is a flying man who throws green fireballs. This could be an evil male version of Beatriz da Costa (a.k.a. The Green Flame, a.k.a. Fire) whose powers included generating green flames and flying.

Black Siren's costume is clearly a tribute to the comics version of Black Canary, being made of black leather and fishnets - though the fishnet material is on her arms rather than her legs.

The scene where Dr. Tina McGee and Dr. Henry Allen meet is a nod to the 1990s The Flash TV series, where actor Amanda Pays played a different Dr. Tina McGee and actor John Wesley Shipp played Barry Allen.

The name of Black Siren comes from the Justice League animated series.  That show featured a heroine from an alternate Earth called Black Siren, who was clearly meant as a tribute to the Golden Age Black Canary.


Technobabble

Mercury Labs was equipped with a Crash Survivable Memory Unit - a black box for buildings.

Joe wields a new anti-metahuman weapon - a gun which fires shock-collars that latch onto a metahuman and render them unable to use their powers.

Cisco's Vibe Tech didn't work on Earth Two because their dimension operated on a different frequency. Barry suggests there might be some way to use that and the technology Pied Piper used to fight The Time Wraith to create something capable of disabling all the Earth Two metahumans at once.

Strictly speaking, Barry is technically correct saying Mach 50 is not a real thing. It would be more accurate to say that it's not a real thing on Earth. The highest Mach regime runs from Mach 10 to Mach 25, and measures the speed needed to maintain a low orbit in Earth's upper atmosphere. The speed of light in a vacuum, by contrast, is Mach 880,991.09.

According to Harry, any sound over 200 decibels will kill an ordinary human at close range. The blast from Black Siren which Barry survives is charted at 250 decibels. To put this in perspective, a sound of 150 decibels can permanently rupture an ear drum and is the equivalent of a jet engine taking off at close range. The highest recorded sound in human history was 194 decibels.

All matter vibrates at its own unique frequency. Disrupting the frequency disrupts the matter, like how an opera singer can shatter a glass with her voice. People from Earth Two vibrate at a higher (and, according to Cisco, more erratic) frequency.

Hartley postulates that they could create a dimensional tuning fork of sorts. If Barry runs fast enough around Central City to create a refracting field, the tuning fork will send out a pulse that will bounce off of the wave, split apart and collide with itself over and over, amplifying it into a higher frequency on the Earth 2 spectrum. When that pulse hits anyone from Earth Two, it will disrupt their nervous system, knocking them unconscious.

Wells designs special headphones to protect himself and his daughter from this pulse.

Harry Wells makes use of a 75 KTSB 40,000 watt reverberating sound amplifier, designed to single out the operating frequency of every single Earth Two being on Earth One, which, when contained and magnified by The Flash creating a sound pressure wall around Central City, will render all of the aforementioned Earth Two beings without special ear protection conscious.

Cisco creates a special cell for Black Siren in The Pipeline, using double-panned sound-proof glass.


Dialogue Triumphs

Iris (opening voice over):  Some people are calling it "the met apocalypse" - the days when Central City was overrun by an army with powers beyond imagination. But in these dark times, we must never forget our own strength. Our own power to fight back. That it is only in the blackest of nights that we can truly see the light and know for sure that we are not alone. We are never, ever alone.

Dr. Tina McGee: There may be one more possibility. A few months ago, I saw Harrison Wells running out of my facility. I know it sounds crazy, but I'm certain it was him. Is there any way he could have anything to do with this?
(Enter Harry Wells, standing in the doorway with a coffee mug.  Dr. McGee's jaw drops.)
Harry: A few months ago? Sure. Now? No.
Barry: Yeah, there are a FEW more things that we could catch you up on, Dr. McGee...

Wally: The Flash can't be everywhere at once! I have to do what I can to help! I have to show him I was worth being saved!
Joe: Wally... you ARE worth it.
Wally: Really? Am I? Because last time I checked, I'm the guy who avoided his dying mother for weeks.  I'm the guy who shamed a bunch of other guys and illegally took their cars from them.  I'm the guy who caused The Flash to lose his powers and start this whole damn Metapocalypse in the first place!
Joe: Wally...
Wally: Last time I checked... I have a whole lot to make up for. And that's what I intend to do.

(Barry enters his lab. He finds Zoom looking over Barry's timeline his mother's murder.)
Zoom: You know, I never saw the crime photos of my mother's murder? Well, I guess I didn't need to. I got a ring-side seat while you got whisked away. Too delicate, I suppose.
(Barry just stares at him.)
Zoom: Not just a hologram after all, are you Flash? (He meets Barry's gaze) Interesting.
Barry: I know you didn't call me up here just to banter. Let's finish this. Right now.
Zoom: Actually, I did. I called you up here to tell you you can't keep running from one meta to the next. Around and around. Like a dog chasing its tail.
Barry: I'll do whatever it takes to stop you.
Zoom: If only that were good enough. 'Cause here's the thing - I know you. I know you. I know what's holding you back. You and me? We're really just the same person.
Barry: (scoffs) Yeah, you keep saying that, but that's not going to make it true.
Zoom: You'll see. We are. Same tragic background. Same reason for running. Same desire to be the fastest - to be the best. The difference? You think your anger is dirty somehow.You want to be seen as pure. The hero. Doesn't it get exhausting? (frantically) Doesn't it get exhausting, Barry?! It was exhausting playing Jay, believe me!
Barry: I'm not pretending.
(In the background, a seismic rumble is heard.  Barry looks across the skyline to see another building starting to collapse.)
Zoom: Now if it were me, I'd let that building tumble without a second thought. But you... you'll never let that happen, will you? That's why I'm going to beat you, Barry. Because you always have to be the hero. And while you're playing the good little boy... I'll be busy winning.

Cisco: Birds! Why? It's like a Hitchcock movie in my head!

(As Caitlin has a panic attack, thinking she saw Zoom.)
Caitlin: I see him everywhere!
Cisco: Look. You literally just escaped the psychopath who kidnapped you, all right? So I think it's normal for you to have a severe reaction like this.
Caitlin: This is so much worse than that! I-I'm afraid all the time. I don't think I can ever move forward
Cisco: You will...
Caitlin: When?! Jay took everything from me! My confidence My trust! My sanity. I don't think I'll ever be whole again!

Cisco: (hugging her) Of course you will. I promise.

(Wally is sitting his his car, listening to a police scanner. Suddenly, The Flash runs up.)
The Flash: Stealing is illegal, you know?
(Wally looks at the scanner and chuckles, as if trying to think of an excuse.)
The Flash: Detective West tells me that you've been... fighting Zoom's army on your own?
Wally: Yeah. I want to help.
The Flash: I admire what you're trying to do. But the best way to help is to just leave this to the police.
Wally: Like you did?
The Flash: I do have powers, Wally. It is a little different. This isn't your fight. It's mine.
Wally:  No, it's all of ours. This is my city now too, now. And it's up to all of us to protect it.

(As Black Siren gloats over a deafened Flash, a car comes out of nowhere and hits her, sending her flying.  Wally West opens the passenger door and waves to The Flash.)
Wally: Get in!
(The Flash crawls into the car as Wally grins, guns the engine, and drives off into the night.)
Wally: Thought you might need a lift.
The Flash (still gasping) Yeah... thanks...
(The Flash exits the car, leaving Wally alone to grin and shake his head.)
Wally: You're welcome.

Joe: (To Cisco) This is where I play stupid and you explain science.


Continuity

Captain Singh is injured in the battle with Zoom's minions.

Caitlin makes her way back to STAR Labs, seemingly let go by Zoom. She's dehydrated, malnourished and in shock but otherwise fine.

Since returning from The Speed Force, Barry is overly optimistic and seems to think he's invincible, talking about how the universe is with them.

Cisco has several vibe visions of birds flying into glass windows and dying. Specifically, canaries.

Dr. Tina McGee figured out that Barry Allen is The Flash through simple observation of the fact that Barry seemed to be far too well informed regarding everything going on in her labs that The Flash was privy to but Barry Allen shouldn't have been.

Dr. McGee makes reference to seeing Harrison Wells rob her lab back in 204.

Dr. McGee learns of the existence of Earth Two and its version of Harrison Wells.

Jesse asks Caitlin to run tests on her to see if she's become a metahuman after being hit by the dark matter wave.

Caitlin is having PTSD flashes of Zoom.

Barry claims the Speed Force changed him and took away his fear.

Barry refers to the events of 217 and Pied Piper using his technology to take down a Time Wraith.

Black Siren's sonic powers seem to be me more powerful than Black Canary's.  She also seems to be a more accomplished fighter than Earth One Laurel Lance.

Black Siren is aware of the death of Black Canary.

Wally West's licence plate is 6EG-488.

Cisco is right-handed. His Earth Two counterpart, Reverb, was apparently left-handed.

All dopplegangers are mirror images of themselves, at least in terms of which hand is dominant, according to Black Siren.

In a moment of duress, Cisco is able to throw a focused sonic blast at Black Siren, which sends her flying by accident.

For some reason, Jesse Wells is still effected by the pulse wave despite her ear protections, experiencing great physical pain. Harry Wells takes off his protectors and places them over her protectors, saving her but causing him to be knocked unconscious.

Barry, Cisco and Caitlin elect not to tell Sara Lance and Quentin Lance about Black Siren, based on Barry's own bad experiences interacting with his alternate-earth loved ones in 213.  She and several other metahumans are being contained in STAR Labs Pipeline. The rest are being kept at Iron Heights.

Captain Singh survived his injuries. He is aware that the captured metahumans are being kept someplace besides Iron Heights, but trusts Joe when he says he doesn't want to know where.

Captain Singh is unaware of the existence of Earth Two.

Joe West wants his grandchildren to call him Poppa - not Gramps.

A romance seems to be blooming between Tina McGee and Henry Allen.

The same can be said about Wally West and Jesse Wells.

Wally seems to figure out that Barry is The Flash.

In the final scene, Zoom seems to kill Henry Allen in the same spot where his wife died, in Barry's childhood home.


Untelevised Adventures

We don't see the the opening wave of Zoom's metahuman army attacking Central City, with the episode opening in media res in the middle of an all-out battle between the CCPD and Zoom's followers.

We don't see Barry saving the people at the second building collapse.


The Fridge Factor

For all the effort put into making Black Siren seem menacing, she's really not.


The Boomerang Factor

Barry's competence is severely nerfed in order to make Black Siren seem threatening.


The Bottom Line

A bit of a stumble as this season runs for the finish line, to use a running metaphor.

The script fails to properly build on the drama that could have been caused by Team Flash confronting an evil version of a fallen friend and Black Siren's presence is a distraction from the much bigger (yet oddly quieter - no pun intended) menace posed by an army of hundreds of evil metahumans. Had there been some attempt at showing Black Siren's background or allowing the whole team a chance to react to her, it might have worked. That failure, coupled with Katie Cassidy's muted performance, makes the Black Siren subplot largely pointless.

And yet, the rest of the episode has moments that work so well you can ignore how pointless the scenes with Laurel are.  Cisco trying to help Caitlin confront her PTSD. The brief flirtation between Henry Allen and Tina McGee. Every moment of Wally proving that he is his father's son and trying to be a hero? These moments make the episode into something tolerable, if not quite good.

The Flash Episode Guide: Season 2, Episode 20 - Rupture

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




Plot

Zoom returns to Earth One, now intent on conquest. And he is not alone, having brought with him the metahuman Rupture, who is out for revenge against those responsible for the events that led to his brother's death. And who is his brother? None other than Cisco's Earth Two counterpart, Reverb! As Team Flash rushes to find a way to stop Zoom and Barry debates whether or not he can run the risks that come with reactivating the STAR Labs Particle Accelerator a second time to restore his speed, Iris wonders whether or not to reveal her new-found romantic feelings for Barry.


Influences

Justice League of America's Vibe #1 (Origin of Rupture), Fringe (Cisco compares Harry's reduced particle accelerator to The Vacuum from this show.), World of Warcraft (Cisco evokes the name of Leroy Jenkins and refers to Rupture as the World of Warcraft version of his brother), The Princess Bride (Cisco calls Rupture Inigo, in reference to a character who was out to avenge his father's death), William Shakespeare's Hamlet (Barry's indecision here while being beset by the demands of multiple father figures mirrors Hamlet's main conflict), the Harry Potter books (Harry makes a sarcastic jibe about Cisco making a wand to go to a Harry Potter convention that turns out to be accurate, Cisco shouts "Expecto Patronum" when summoning the lightning bolt), Back To The Future (the need for a precise lightning strike to make an invention work, Cisco shouting "Great Scott!" - the catch phrase of Dr. Emmett Brown) and the 1931 Frankenstein film (much of the imagery with Cisco on the roof of STAR Labs, Barry strapped down and Harry playing the mad scientist).


Goofs

Harry says that Rupture is a metahuman but then says that all of his power comes from his scythe.


Performances

Nobody really stands out this week but the team effort of the ensemble manages to salvage a fairly clunky script that tries to substitute pop-culture references for wit.


Flash Facts

While meeting Cisco at a bar, Dante requests that the bartender put on the Diamonds game.  In the DC Comics universe, The Diamonds were Central City's Major League Baseball franchise.

In the pre-Crisis DC Comics universe, Cisco Ramon was the oldest of several brothers, His younger brother Armando developed the same sonic-based powers as his brother and, following Cisco's death, became a hero to honor his sacrifice. He went by the code names Reverb and Hardline.

In the New 52 DC Comics universe, Cisco was the youngest of the three Ramon brothers. The oldest brother was Armando and the middle brother was Dante.  The three were attacked during Darkseid's first invasion of Earth, with Armando presumed dead and Cisco developing his Vibe powers after being caught in the wake of an exploding piece of alien technology.

It was later revealed that Armando Ramon did not die but was teleported to the planet of Apokalyps. It was here that he was brainwashed and trained as a warrior, serving directly under Steppenwolf - general of Darkseid's armies. Armando was given the power to travel between dimensions and given the name Rupture.

The DCTVU version of Rupture is the Earth Two version of Dante Ramon. He seems to be primarily based on the New 52 version of Rupture in terms of costume and he wields a similar weapon. However, he is nowhere near as powerful as the New 52 Rupture, who has powers on par with Vibe and is able to travel between worlds independently. Also, his name is Dante Ramon - not Armando Ramon.


Technobabble

Cisco develops a holographic projector that, using STAR Labs satellite, is able to protect a hologram of The Flash anywhere in Central City. This encourages the illusion that The Flash is still up and running, provided The Flash doesn't need to do anything that requires touching something, speaking or going indoors.

Cisco is later able to overcome this difficulty, using a mobile version of the same system that can be contained with a van. This enables him to place a hologram of The Flash inside C.C. Jitters during the fight with Rupture.

Harry builds an abbreviated version of the particle accelerator that Eobard Thawne built on Earth One. Harry figures out a way to isolate the antimatter and dark energy, directing the to Barry instead of across the whole of Central City.

Jesse is able to "hot-wire" the door to The Time Vault. She says there is a motor inside the wall. All they have to do is provide electricity for it to turn on and open the door.

Harry also injects chemicals used in fingerprint analysis into Barry's body, as these chemicals were present in his system when he was struck by lightning.


Dialogue Triumphs

Cisco: (As he's getting readyAll right, Cisco. This is where all those countless hours gaming in your basement are about to pay off.

Henry: I've watched you grow ever since you became The Flash. And I am so proud of that man. But ask yourself - do you really need powers in order to be that person?
Barry: It just feels like every time something good happens in my life, it's taken away.
Henry: Well, maybe it's time we did something about that.

Caitlin: You know they're going to figure out a way to stop you, right?
Zoom: Who? Barry? Wells? The police? No. Nobody can stop me now. Not anymore.
Caitlin: So what's your plan? You're just going to kill everyone?
Zoom: Not everyone.
Caitlin: Then why are you keeping me here?
(Zoom has another flashback of his being condemned to a cruel orphanage.)
Zoom: Because I don't want to be alone anymore.
Caitlin: I am never going to be with you!
Zoom: You think that you're not like me. But I've seen the darkness inside of you, Caitlin. Just like it was inside Killer Frost. All you have to do is unlock it.

(Joe and Harry set Wally and Jesse up inside The Time Vault, turning it into a panic room of sorts.)
Joe: All right. We'll bring down some more supplies later. (hands a tablet to Jesse) How you can reach us.
Jesse: And exactly how long are we supposed to be in here?
Joe: Until someone lets you out. This isn't ideal. None of it. But Zoom's here. And until he's taken care of, this is what we're doing. This is the safest place for the two of you right now.
Wally: What are you going to do?
Joe: Whatever we can.
Wally: Joe, let me do something!
Joe: Wally, there isn't anything you can do right now. Sit tight.
(Joe exits through the door. It starts to seal up as Jesse runs for it.)
Jesse: Okay, but what about the -
(The door is sealed.)
Jesse: - bathroom.
(Jesse looks at Wally and they both chuckle.)
Wally: This room have Wi-Fi, at least?

(Joe walks into a lab where Wells is scribbling equations on a plastic clear-board.)
Joe: Wally and Jesse are all good.
Harry: Thank you.
(Joe looks at the condensed particle accelerator Wells has built.)
Joe: So this is what it takes to get Barry his speed back?
Harry: Yeah. It's not uncomplicated, but... almost there.
Joe: I've told you before - once Barry makes up his mind, it's impossible to change it.
Harry: Well, then we need to convince him that this is the only way before he decides not to do it, right?
(Henry Allen enters the lab.)
Henry: Shouldn't have to convince anyone to do anything against his will. Joe, we're talking about Barry, right? I mean, I can't... I can't imagine that you don't feel the same way.
Joe: Henry, right now I don't know what the right thing to do is.
Henry: Seems clear to me.
Harry: This isn't just about your son, Henry. It's about the people in Central City. About saving those people. This is about stopping Zoom.
Henry: Your daughter is safe! This could kill my son!
Harry: I'm not going to let that happen.
Henry: The last time he was struck by lightning, he was in a coma for nine months! How did that happen?
Harry: I know what I'm doing!
Henry: You're messing with something that is out of your control! And what if it did work? I mean, what then? Joe? He goes up against Zoom? The monster that snapped his back, almost killed him and then took the one thing that he's convinced now he needs to make him whole?!
Harry: This is the way. This is the only way! The people of Central City need The Flash!
Joe: Guys...?
(They turn around to see Barry standing in the doorway.)
Barry: I know that you care about me. Each of you. In your own way. You all have your own point of view on this. But the decision is mine. I have to make it on my own.

Zoom: (To a video camera) Central City! The Flash you've seen in your streets is a fake! A hologram meant to give you hope. But there is no more hope. There is no more Flash. And there is no one left to protect your city... from me. (To Captain Singh) Tell the rest of your force, Captain, that their policing days are over. (To Barry) You're only alive because of Caitlin. Try something like this again and my affection for her won't stop me from killing you.  Or the rest of this city!

Barry: One of the cops Zoom killed tonight... he had a son. Same age I was when Mom was murdered. And now another kid has to grow up without one of their parents because The Flash wasn't there to stop that monster! I left this city unprotected by giving up my powers to Zoom. I enabled him to rule this Earth. I need my powers back.


Continuity

Henry Allen has been spending the last few months living in a cabin outside of Central City.

Garrick is the maiden name of Henry Allen's mother/Barry's grandmother.

The TV Show Fringe - which Cisco references - does not exist on Earth 2.

Cisco has a vibe vision of his brother. This later turns out to have been Rupture.

Wally tells Joe he's thinking about quitting engineering to do something to help people - maybe become a cop.

C.C. Jitters is one block away from the CCPD headquaters.

Dante Ramon, Cisco's older brother, was last seen in 116.  Dante refers to the events of the episode and how he and Cisco were kidnapped by Captain Cold and Heatwave.

Cisco and Dante have not grown closer in spite of their shared experiences.

Cisco does not like watching professional sports.

Dante does not own a car.

Iris confesses her feelings to Barry.

Dante finds the letter that Cisco wrote in 213 that he asked Caitlin to give his family if he didn't return from Earth Two.

Zoom kills all the cops on Captain Singh's task-force except for Joe West and Captain Singh.

Zoom also kills Rupture

Harry has a list of metahumans from Earth Two.

Harry notes that Earth Two has less metahumans than Earth One, since he was able to contain the STAR Labs Particle Accelerator explosion. He suggests it just seems like Earth One has less metahumans since most of them stay in hiding due to presence of The Flash.

Cisco uses the Weather Wand he first built in 115 to create the lightning needed to give Barry his speed back.

Wally and Jesse are caught in the energy blast formed by Barry's dissipation.


Location

Wherever the cabin that Henry Allen was living is located.


Untelevised Adventures

Harry tells the rest of Team Flash about how Zoom took over Central City on Earth Two - by killing government officials and police officers and recruiting metahumans for his army, killing anyone who opposed him.


The Fridge Factor

Iris doesn't seem to have any purpose on the show now apart from being a romantic interest for Barry. At least Candice Patton has made the character likable - a task that Katie Cassidy failed with Laurel Lance under similar circumstances on Arrow - but it is still worrying that Iris has nothing else going on in her life after some broadly successful attempts to give her a story of her own.


The Bottom Line

There's a lot of good moments in this episode. Unfortunately, they involve the subplots that get the least amount of attention. Seeing Caitlin use her brains to help the team despite being Zoom's hostage is good. Seeing Jesse and Wally interact and bond despite their different backgrounds is interesting. And the conflict between all of Barry's father figures is well-acted if nothing else.

By contrast, seeing Cisco try to bond with his annoying jock brother reminds us why we haven't seen the character in over a year. Seeing Iris decide that NOW is the time to unburden herself on Barry makes her seem selfish and unsympathetic. Rupture may be the least-interesting metahuman villain to date and is certainly the most undefined. And the ending in which Barry "dies" would be unconvincing even if we didn't have a preview less than a minute later assuring us that Barry is just lost in time and space.

Overall, it's very flatly written, saved only by the charisma of the ensemble cast and has little purpose other than setting up the grand finale for the second season.

The Flash Episode Guide: Season 2, Episode 7 - Gorilla Warfare

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

Plot

A week has passed since Zoom's attack and Barry has almost healed all of his physical injuries. But his confidence is still in critical condition and he's not sure he's the hero Central City needs any more. But ready or not, Grodd has returned and Barry will need to prove himself once more after Caitlin is kidnapped. Meanwhile, Patty begins to grow more suspicious about Barry's sick-leave and Joe's covering for him...


Influences

Countless The Flash comics where an injury sidelines Barry Allen, King Kong (giant gorilla abducts a woman who was nice to him, Caitlin is wearing all white like Fay Wray when she is abducted), the recent Planet of the Apes movies (a super-intelligent ape plots to make more of his own kind) and the original Planet of the Apes movies (the appearance of Gorilla City)

Performances

John Wesley Shipp steals the show as Henry Allen and makes us wish once again he was a series regular.


Artistry

As before, the CGI for Grodd, is of amazing quality for a TV show.


Flash Facts

Barry's accelerated healing is confirmed to be strong enough to heal a broken spine in just over a week. It should be noted, however, that The Flash's accelerated healing is not the same as the regeneration other comic heroes possess. While most speedsters are depicted as being able to recover from injuries faster than a normal human (say a broken arm healing in weeks rather than months), they can do nothing to grow back severed limbs or torn cells.

Although not identified by title, it's clear from the description - "fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles" - that the movie Cisco took Kendra to see was The Princess Bride.

Patty identifies Encephalopathy as "a blood disease in the brain". Actually encephalopathy is used as a broad term to identify any kind of brain disorder. Hypersensitive encephalopathy, for instance, refers to conditions brought about through acute high blood pressure.

Cisco refers to the creature he saw in his latest vibe as "a bird man". Birdman is both the name of both an award-winning film staring Michael Keaton and a Hanna-Barbera superhero.

Cisco stands outside C.C. Jitters holding a basket over his head as Peter Gabriel's In Your Eyes plays. This is a nod to the movie Say Anything.

The place Harry Wells sends Grodd appears to be Gorilla City. In the comics, Gorilla City was a society founded by super-intelligent, telepathic gorillas, who were enhanced by a meteorite. Grodd was originally a rogue member of this society in the comics.


Technobabble

The initial MRI Caitlin took one week before this episode showed a complete dislocation of the T12-L1 interspace of the thoracolumbar junction.

Having problems breathing is totally normal following a spinal injury.

Cortexin is a serum used to treat encephalopathy - a blood disease in the brain.

Racetam drugs are typically used to treat vertigo.

Both Cortexin and Racetaim are nootropic drugs, used to enhance intelligence.

Barry did not have any spinal cord edema or subacute hemorrhaging and the bone fused fine.

One of the main differences between ape and human brains is the white matter and connectivity in the brain cells. The chemicals Grodd was treated with as an infant were meant to overcome those differences and cause an explosive growth of both, similar to what humans experience in their first few years of life. Caitlin theorizes that those chemicals can be used to duplicate that growth without a particle accelerator explosion.

Once the speed cannon is activated, the quark matter stabilizes, stretching the nearest breach.

The Reverse Flash suit fitting inside a ring is apparently a product of micro-technology.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Barry has just blown off Patty's invitation to bring him some homemade soup.)
Patty: Okay, well... try and stay off your feet.
Barry: (shifting uncomfortably in his wheelchair) Oh yeah, believe me, I am.

Grodd: Foolish human... I am Grodd!

Cisco: Oh, hey, I know I keep asking but have you read any reports or anything recently about a Birdman attacking anywhere?
Caitlin: There's no such thing as a bird-man, Cisco.
Cisco: Okay, like that's a stretch in this city?

Harry: I'm continually amazed by the similarities between our two worlds.
Joe: You've got talking gorillas on your Earth too?
Harry: Oh yeah.
Joe: Remind me never to go there.

Barry: He showed everyone in Central City that their hero wasn't good enough to stop him.
Henry: Well, that's certainly what it looked like. Was he right?  (scoffs) Your body's healed Barry, and yet here you are - feeling the shame of loosing.
Barry: I can't stop him. I know it. He knows it. And now everyone in the city knows it too. They don't believe in me anymore, Dad.
Henry: At my trial for your mother's death, a lot of our family and friends were in the courtroom. They heard awful things about what I had done to your mother. It didn't matter that it wasn't true. Every day, I could see it on their faces, the moment when I lost them, until everybody had stopped believing in me. Well, that was my reality. I was going to serve a life sentence for a crime I didn't commit, but worse than that, every time I looked someone in the eye, from that moment forward, they were going to believe that I killed the woman I loved in front of our son. So yeah, I do know what it's like being destroyed.
Barry: How did you get past that?
Henry: I embraced it. Accepting it was the only way I could move forward. But I knew that if I could survive that, and learn to believe in myself again, then I could survive anything. You know what lit that belief in me, Barry?  You. 11-year old you running around, believing in me, gave me that hope. And now I'm giving it back to you, son. No more monsters can take that from us.

Cisco: I didn't know if you like flowers or chocolate, so I got you both.
Kendra: Well, I'm allergic to chocolate and I think flowers are a waste of money.
Cisco: Um... I have lollipops in my car?


Continuity

At the start of the episode, Cisco hasn't vibed since he touched Wells last week.

Cisco vibes when taking Kendra's hand on their date. He has a winged figure in armor.

Grodd is seen for the first time since 121.

Barry hates canned chicken noodle soup.

Henry Allen has been camping in Granite Peak National Park.

Cisco explains how Grodd had his intelligence enhanced to Harry.

Cisco has Harry practice Wells' speech from 115 about him being like a son.

Cisco's has a second vibe vision when he kisses Kendra. Here, he clearly sees her in the Hawkgirl armor.

Harry sends Grodd to a nature preserve for gorillas experimented on by other scientists on Earth 2. It turns out the gorillas have built a city of some kind...


Untelevised Adventures

Harry Wells apparently has experience dealing with talking gorillas.


The Bottom Line

A solid episode, through and through. Lots of good character development for everyone, though you'd think everyone involved would have learned the dangers of keeping secrets at this point.  And it's weird that Barry is comfortable telling his ex-girlfriend he is The Flash but not the woman who has been consistently smart enough to see through every lie he's tried telling her. But hey - Gorilla City is now part of the DCTVU!

The Flash Episode Guide: Season 1, Episode 12 - Crazy For You

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



Plot

When a new metahuman with the power of teleportation breaks her boyfriend out of Iron Heights and goes on a crime spree, The Flash and his team at STAR Labs are quickly on the case.  And Henry Allen takes it upon himself to become a jailhouse spy to help his son.

Meanwhile, Caitlin decides to take advantage of a stakeout of the local bars to drag Barry out for a night on the town, having further decided to move on from her fiance.  But Cisco isn't quite so ready to give up the chase for Ronnie Raymond... even if it means letting the Pied Piper loose on a short leash.


Influences

The Flash comics of Geoff Johns.


Goofs

How does Clay Parker get out of the car and away in the dark faster than Barry can return to the car once he's disabled it?


Performances

When playing drunk, there is a temptation for actors to go over the top to a ludicrous degree.  Danielle Panabaker manages to stay on the right side of the line as we get to see Caitlin Snow cut loose.  The chemistry between her and Grant Gustin is quite good and you get the feeling that only her total inebriation and Barry's being a total gentleman is the only thing that stops the characters from going further after Barry changes her clothes at super-speed.

Once again, John Wesley Shipp delivers a masterful performance as Henry Allen.  We dare you to keep your eyes dry during his final speech!


Artistry

The prison break scene is very well directed and filmed.  Nice choice of music for the action.

The special effects for Peek-A-Boo are quite impressive and the fights between her and The Flash are cinema-level quality.


Flash Facts

Peek-A-Boo's secret identity on the show is Shawna Baez.  In the comics, it is Lashawn Baez. Curiously, the IMDB page for the episode names the character as Lashawn Baez.

Peek-A-Boo is based on a character from Geoff Johns' run on The Flash.  Both characters are teleporters and African-American women, but there are differences between them apart from their names.

One difference is their weaknesses. In the comics, Peek-A-Boo's powers are reflexively triggered whenever anyone makes physical contact with her.  This can cause dangerous implosions if she is startled and teleports reflexively.

On the show, Peek-A-Boo's weakness is that her teleportation is based on a line-of-sight.  She can't use her powers in darkness or if her vision is otherwise obscured.

In the comics, Lashawn Baez was a medical student who dropped out of school to take care of her sick father. When he needed a kidney transplant, Lashawn offered up her own but the stress of the surgery triggered her latent metahuman teleportation powers. Unfortunately, the powers triggered whenever Lashawn was touched, so she could no longer donate her kidney.  She resolved to use her powers to steal a suitable donor kidney to save her father - an action that brought her into conflict with The Flash.

On the show, Shawna Baez is a career criminal who gained teleportation powers after the accident at STAR Labs.

Clay Parker is the name of a character from The Brave And The Bold #46 - Strange Sports Stories.

Cisco uses a hand-held device to shut-off Hartley Rathaway's hearing-aids, noting that Rathaway isn't the only one who understands vibrations.  This is a reference to Vibe - the vibration-controlling superhero whose secret identity in the comics is Cisco Ramon.

Barry notes that he is "a lot faster than a speeding bullet."  This is a reference to a line from the introduction to the 1950's The Adventures of Superman show, which eventually entered the comics as the most frequent description of how fast Superman was.  Since The Flash has usually been agreed to be faster than Superman, clearly The Flash would be "a lot faster than a speeding bullet."

Linda Park - the reporter who picks up Barry at the karaoke bar - is based on a character from the comics.  In the comics, Linda Park was an investigative television reporter who came to know the third Flash, Wally West, and eventually befriend him.  The two eventually began dating, married, and had twins together.

The DCTVU version of Linda Park is a sports reporter for the Central City Picture News - the same newspaper that employs Iris West.

At the end of the episode, two sewer works find the name "GRODD" scrawled on the walls of a sewer before being attacked by an unseen creature.  This is likely our first appearance of Gorilla Grodd - a super-intelligent, psychically empowered ape who is one of The Flash's deadliest enemies in the comics.


Technobabble

Barry collects organic particulate residual from Clay Parker's cell at Iron Heights.

The particulates contain the DNA of both Clay Parker and Shawna Baez.

Shawna's cell samples move faster than Barry's unless they are in total darkness.

A bomb shadow or "nuclear shadow" is created by the carbon imprint of an object being burned onto a surface during a nuclear explosion. The "shadows" of people burned onto walls during the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are prime examples of this phenomena.

Clay Parker's cells adopt the properties of Shawna's cells when they come into contact with one another.

Wells describes Peek-A-Boo's power as quantum entanglement - the ability to manipulate interconnected particles over an infinite distance.  Or as Albert Einstein called it "spooky action at a distance."

Professor Martin Stein specialized in transmutation, molecular transmography and quantum splicing - the act of making two things into one.

Hartley theorizes that the dark matter unleashed by the particle accelerator explosion merged Martin Stein and Ronnie Raymond into one being - one with Raymond's body and Stein's mind.

Peek-A-Boo's cells become dormant without light.


Dialogue Triumphs

Hartley: The mystery isn't why Stein went to STAR Labs that night. It's why he didn't leave.

Cisco: (To Hartley) How can you speak six languages and sound like a dick in every one of them?

Cisco: (after activating his device to disable Pied Piper's hearing aids) You're not the only one who understands vibrations, Hartley!

Barry: My social life consists of running at superhuman speed and Netflix.

Peek-A-Boo: Not too many men can keep up with me.

Barry: Every time I got close, she disappeared. It was like we were playing a game of -
Caitlin: Peek-A-Boo! (beat) Come on!  Can't I name one?

Barry: I keep making this mistake. Every time Iris falls, I race to pick her up thinking that one of these times things are gonna change. But I... things never change. I am just destined to be just the friend.
Caitlin: At least you're not pining for someone who bursts into flames and wants nothing to do with you.

Caitlin: You're fast AND you can sing? What can't you do?
Barry: Stop you from drinking, apparently.

Caitlin: Let's just say I envy your inability to get drunk. I don't remember much from last night.
Barry: Yeah.  That's probably for the best. (singing) Summer Lovin' ...
Caitlin: Oh God.  THAT I do remember...

Caitlin: I told you to let it go!  I didn't want you looking into that for me!
Cisco: I wasn't doing it for you!  I... I sealed Ronnie into the accelerator before it blew.  He told me to wait two minutes and I waited.  But he didn't come back.  And I can't stop thinking... 10.. 20 seconds and... Ronnie wouldn't be like he is right now.  I wanted to tell you so many times.... I'm so sorry.
Caitlin: So you carried that around this whole time?  Do you know what Ronnie would say if he was here?  He'd say you did the right thing.

Henry: (To Barry) Look, I.. I.. .I don't get to feel useful very much in here. So if I can help you for a change, I'm gonna wanna be there for you. Just like you were there for me, all these years.

Peek-A-Boo: Why the hell do you care what we do? Are you a cop or something?
The Flash: Something.

Henry: (holding up a newspaper) Hey.  Did you see this?
Barry: No. I haven't.
Henry: The Flash.  I saw him once.  In here?  Watched him save Joe's life.
Barry: Joe told me about that. I guess he was lucky.
Henry: Hmm.. Lucky Joe. (beat) Strangest thing.  I get roughed by Julius.  End up in here.  Next thing I know Julius is caught trying to escape. Claims The Flash broke him out. Won't be seeing Julius for a LONG time now. Guess I'm lucky too, huh?
Barry: Dad... If I was... The Flash, don't you think that you'd be the first to know about it?
Henry: Well, if The Flash were my son I'd tell him a few things. First off, I'd tell him it's a dangerous world, so be careful. Then I'd tell him he's a hero and he's saving a lot of lives. But the most important thing for him to know, I feel, is that his father's proud of him.


Continuity

Caitlin says that Barry's speed when he saves a couple from a car that is about to explode is his fastest clocked speed ever, though we do not get an exact number.

Martin Stein was at STAR Labs the night of the particle accelerator explosion.

Hartley Rathaway can speak six languages, including Japanese.

Caitlin bites her lower lip when she's upset about something.

Barry is faster than a speeding bullet at close range.  At least, he's fast enough to catch a bullet behind his back before it can do more than break the skin.

Barry and Caitlin sing Summer Nights from the musical Grease.

Caitlin is not a drinker.

Hartley Rathaway escapes.

Cisco reveals that he sealed Ronnie Raymond inside the particle accelerator, on his instructions - an act we saw for ourselves in the flashback of 103.

The penalty for attempted escape in the state Central City is located in is ten years added onto the convict's sentence.

As The Flash, Barry gives Iris information on his most recent battle for her article.  As he is doing this, Iris is able to take the first clear picture of The Flash with her camera phone.

By the episode's end, Barry has gone on one lunch date with Linda Park.

Henry makes reference to the events of 103 and how he saw The Flash save Joe West from The Mist.

We see another reference to Grodd from The Pilot.


The Fridge Factor

Some of the changes to Peek-A-Boo's character from the comics for the show are a little disturbing. They took an African American medical student who turned to crime only to save her father's life and turned her into a career criminal who was trying to help her boyfriend pay off a mob boss.


The Bottom Line

The weakest parts of the episode involve our villain-of-the-week, which is surprising given how good the effects work is for all of the action scenes.  The best parts of this episode involve the dialogues between various pairs - chiefly Hartley and Cisco, Caitlin and Barry and Barry and his father.  The drama is well-played though and the development of these characters more than make up for the lack of action.  Shame that for all the focus on Barry's love life, the only real chemistry we see is between Danielle Panabaker and Grant Gustin.