The Flash Episode Guide: Season 6, Episode 14 - Death of the Speed Force

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




Plot

Wally West returns home for a visit, with a number of new Speed Force tricks at the same time Cisco returns home from Atlantis. Unfortunately, the joy of moment is short-lived after Wally reveals the real reason for his return: something is wrong with the Speed Force and he thinks Barry is responsible. Meanwhile, Iris' doppelganger continues her dark work as Nash discovers the source of his strange visions of other versions of Harrison Wells.


Influences

The Flash comics of Joshua Williamson (idea of Speed Force dying) and Mark Waid (Wally's new Zen Speed shtick is borrowed from Max Mercury)


Goofs

The CGI of the helicopter in the first opening shot is clunky.

Cisco says that any doppelgangers who came to Earth-Prime from a Pre-Crisis Earth would be dead by now because of neurological degeneration, yet there are a number of alien doppelgangers living peacefully in National City in Supergirl, including an alternate version of Al the Bartender.

While part of me wants to laugh at how Barry seemingly doesn't find it all suspicious that Iris suddenly wants to live a normal life after she lectured him about not holding her back from living a life of danger as an investigative reporter instead of saying We Are The Flash, this is a rather glaring plot hole and it is weird that Barry doesn't notice the sudden shift in Iris' priorities.


Performances

Keiynan Lonsdale gets some of his best material ever as Wally West in this episode and rises to the challenge of making some potentially awkward speeches work.


Artistry

The effects work of Wally dissembling the helicopter in midair is fantastic.

The lighting and music used to convey the warped Speed Force are fantastic.


Flash Facts

The concept of the Speed Force dying seems to have been taken from the current run of The Flash comics written by Joshua Williamson, though the execution is quite different. Williamson's cosmology had the Speed Force being used to repel three other energies - the Strength Force, the Sage Force and the Still Force - whose existence somehow threatened the Speed Force and caused it to become less powerful.

Mention is made of Santa Prisca - the island nation where Batman villain Bane was born in the comics.

The opening scene where Wally dissembles a moving vehicle in order to slow its momentum and decrease the damage when it impacts is a classic Wally West stunt from the comics.

At one point, it seems that Wally has several time remnants helping him to disassemble the helicopter. In the comics, Bart Allen (aka Impulse) was able to create temporary clones of himself using the Speed Force. While it is uncertain that is what is happening here (it's possible we just see Wally moving so quick in such a short space that it looks like there's more than one of him) it's still a possibility worth mentioning.

Wally's new zen speed attitude seems to have been inspired by Max Mercury - a character Mark Waid created during his run on The Flash who was retconned to be an obscure earlier Old West speedster hero called Quicksilver who was published by Quality Comics. Waid's background had Max Mercury being the hero Quicksilver and then traveling through time erratically trying to bond with the Speed Force. Max had a different approach to his powers and he mentored the Wally West Flash in new ways to manipulate the Speed Force, similar to what Wally does in this episode.

Cisco is said to have just come from Atlantis, which now exists on Earth-Prime. It is unclear, however, if it is an above-ground island (as it was on Earth-2 Pre-Crisis) or if it is a sunken city as it usually is in the comics or the Aquaman movie.


Technobabble

Based on her single joint T-cell receptors, Barry determines that Maria Volkova was 110 years old when she died.

The kinetic energy level readings of Maria Volkova's body are almost 0, as if someone removed it all. This is how the new Turtle's powers function - by creating potential energy force fields which age people and objects in seconds by draining the kinetic energy around them.

Cisco reworks the Velocity-X formula into something that can speed-up Turtle II and neutralize her powers.

Cisco says that any doppelgangers who made it to Earth-Prime from the now dead Earths would be dead by now due to neurological degeneration.

Barry uses a tachyon enhancer to enhance his speed so he can physically enter the Speed Force


Dialogue Triumphs

Wally: Barry, you don't get it! We are all connected! When I used to talk to the Speed Force, sometimes it would show me visions of different futures, different possibilities of how things could go. There was always one common thread; there was always a speedster that would pick up our mantles, like a chain of lightning stretching through centuries.

Wally: We can't punish ourselves for the mistakes we've made. That's a closed door. But we can take responsibility for our actions, no matter how great the obstacle to overcome.
Barry: Amala teach you that too?
Wally: No. You did.


Dialogue Disasters

Kamilla: Why is it every time I come to visit, all hell is breaking loose? (It's hard to say what's worse - the meta line or the muted delivery.)


Continuity

Reference is made to Santa Prisca - an island nation which was on Cisco's map in 610.

The out of control helicopter is said to be on a trajectory to crash into the new Seaver Building. The old Seaver Building was blown up by Ragdoll in 505.

Wally has gained such fine control of his powers that he can shape the lighting generated by his aura. He demonstrates this by creating a lotus flower - a symbol of purity and renunciation.

Wally is confirmed to have joined the Peace Corps, since leaving the crew of The Waverider.

Wally is continuing to study Buddhism under Bhikkhuni Amala - a Buddhist nun assigned to his camp in the Peace Corps.

Eva is able to use her control of the mirror to show Iris Wally's reunion with her family. It strains her to do this for more than a minute.

Iris says that she's been trapped in the mirror dimension for weeks at this point, but it seems longer.

Eva says that her husband used to come to her mirror every day to try and find a way to get her out before he stopped coming. She says she isn't sure if he just forgot about her or decided to move on.

Eva says she hasn't touched her husband in 72 months, which is 312 weeks, which is 2,190 days.

The fake Iris is shown to go blank and mirror Eva's shaky hands as Eva fixates on repeating the phrase "2,190 days."

Cisco returns, having just returned to Central City from Atlantis.

Atlantis exists on the new Earth-Prime, much as it was confirmed to exist on Earth-2 in 205 as an above-ground island in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. It is unclear based on Cisco's description in this episode, however, if Atlantis is above the sea level or a sunken city, as in the DCEU.

Atlantis smells like fish and the smell tends to stick to your clothing, even after leaving it.

Nash moved into the office across from Cecile's new office in the same office building as Ralph Dibnt's detective agency and the Central City Citizen's offices. He is apparently noisy and continually distracts Cecile from her work, which has her now working nights.

Barry suddenly trips while trying to clean up after the party using super speed. When Wally asks if this is the first "hiccup" he's had with his powers, Barry recalls the flare up he had during 613 and his slowed healing in 611.

Wally says he feels something wrong with the Speed Force.

Wally learned how to send his consciousness into the Speed Force.  Barry says he has done this before, but it usually comes to him and he sees it as his mother. Wally recalls this from 323 but says for him it is more like he hears a voice directing his actions but he hasn't heard the voice in months.

The Russian woman Wally saved from the helicopter crash is killed by a woman named Frida who seemingly stops time around her and then drains all the life out of her body, leaving a dried-out corpse behind once time restarts.

The Russian woman is formally identified as Maria Volkova - a Russian socialite.

Maria's killer is identified as Mrs. Frida Novikov aka Turtle II.

Like the original Turtle from 210, Frida has the ability to drain the potential kinetic energy from those around her, seemingly slowing down time. Frida has the additional power to generate focused force fields that drain all the potential kinetic energy from a person or object, causing people to age to death in seconds or objects to rot or decay, like the helicopter from earlier in the episode.

Frida Novikov was part of a drug ring in Central City. She was caught by Joe West and deported back to Russia.

Cisco heard several stories about Turtle II while traveling the world and came home to Central City hoping to learn more about her.

The Mandaorian is apparently a series in the Arrowverse as Nash refers to Cisco as the Ciscolorian.

Nash asks Cisco if he say any alternate versions of people he knew while traveling around the Earth.

Cisco says it would be impossible for anyone from the alternate realities to have survived.

Nash and Cisco get into a fight when Cisco refuses to drop work on Velocity-X to help Nash with exploring the possibility of doppelgangers surviving the Crisis.

The Iris mirror clone tells Wally about the fight Barry had with the Speed Force in 607.

Cisco picked Kamilla up a state-of-the-art camera from Quimby Labs in Germany. She uses it to take a picture of Iris and Wally.

Iris tells Camilla to delete the photo, as they shouldn't be putting pictures of newspaper employees anywhere Black Hole might be able to find them.

Wally takes Barry into The Speed Force and they determine that it is dying.

Wally says that the Speed Force sometimes gave him visions of the future and he saw the heroes who followed after him and Barry, including Nora West-Allen and his own children and grandchildren.

Wally refuses to take Barry back into the Speed Force.

Nash is attacked by a spectral figure with glowing red eyes like the Reverse Flash.

Barry uses a tachyon enhancer to enhance his speed so he can physically enter the Speed Force

It is revealed that Barry killed the Speed Force by exposing it to the power of The Spectre in A808 when he had Oliver Queen help him get into the Speed Force to go back to the dawn of time to battle the Anti-Monitor.

The Speed Force forgives Barry for his actions, since they were necessary to save the universe.

From what Wally can tell, he and Barry have a residual amount of Speed Force energy contained within their bodies, but once that power is gone, that's it.

Maria Volkova was one of two CCPD informants who led the police to Frida Novikov. Joe has the other informant in protective custody, figuring Turtle II is out for revenge.

Caitlin calls Cisco out on not asking for help working on the Velocity-X counter to Turtle II's powers and suggest she work on it while he go talk to Nash.

Wally finds Barry in the time vault.

Barry tells Wally how The Spectre's power killed the Speed Force.

Wally forgives Barry for what he did and apologizes for losing his temper.

Turtle II ambushes Joe West at CCPD headquarters.

A news story visible while time is frozen notes that fish stocks are at the lowest level of the decade.

Cisco is attacked by the Reverse Flash in Thawne's body. Fortunately, Thawne cannot access the Speed Force.

Cisco is saved by Cecile, who surprises Thawne with a stun-gun while he is strangling Cisco. She sensed Thawne's hatred from across the hall.

Caitlin completes the new Velocity-X formula.

The fastest route between STAR Labs and the CCPD Headquarters require Barry and Wally phase through the Central City Public Adjusters office.

Barry is able to distract Turtle II while Joe injects her with the Velocity-X formula.

Barry tales the Iris clone about how he killed the Speed Force. She tries to comfort him by saying it isn't really his fault and that maybe they could have a normal life.

Thawne, in Nash's body, is contained in The Pipeline. He says he wants to kill Barry, his family and his friends in that order.

Thawne says that he felt the Speed Force die and that once Barry has lost his speed completely, he'll make his move.

Wally leaves to move to the next Peace Corps project . Before he goes, he tells Joe that there's something wrong with Iris.

Barry decides to build his own artificial Speed Force, like Thawne did when he created the Negative Speed Force.

Kamilla realizes that the Iris clone is fake after looking at the picture of her she took through her new camera's viewfinder.

Kamilla is shot by the Iris clone with the mirror gun is apparently sent to the Mirror World.


Location

The Speed Force.


Untelevised Adventures

All of Cisco's adventures traveling the world over the past few episodes, most recently having traveled to Atlantis.


The Boomerang Factor

It seems really weird that Wally thinks something is off about the Iris clone but Barry seems totally clueless his wife has been replaced by a doppelganger.


The Bottom Line

A rather lackluster episode which treats what should be major events - the death of the Speed Force and the return of the Reverse Flash - as relatively minor subplots compared to Barry and Wally fighting and Turtle II. There's way too many subplots and the best thing I can say about this episode is that the Iris clone (who is even more annoying than the original) was largely absent from it.

Legends of Tomorrow: Season 3, Episode 12 - The Curse Of The Earth Totem

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




Plot

As Sara takes some time off away from the team to go on a date with Agent Sharpe, the rest of The Legends go searching for The Earth Totem to prove they can manage things without her. Naturally, shenanigans ensue, as the crew finds themselves playing pirate while trying to steal the treasure of Blackbeard!


Influences

Disney's Pirates Of The Caribbean movies, particularly The Curse Of The Black Pearl and the book/movie The Princess Bride.


Goofs

Why did Mick let Ray go off to confront Damien Darhk alone? There's no logical reason for this to happen other than setting up the conflict for the next episode.


Performances

I think Keiynan Lonsdale was given more to do and Wally West more character development in this episode than in the entire past season and a half of The Flash. His chemistry with Arthur Darvill is fantastic and I could watch a series about the two of them having drunken adventures forever.


Artistry

Though it is filmed far too-close, what little we can see of the fight scene between Amaya and Admiral Darhk's lieutenant is pretty awesome.

Whoever had the idea to include Careleess Whisper in the soundtrack as a song for Rip and Wally to sing together deserves a medal or a bonus.


Trivia Of Tomorrow

The title for the episode (and general adventurous pirate theme) is taken from the first film in Disney's Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise - The Curse Of The Black Pearl.

As Nate notes in the episode, La Concord was a ship stolen by Blackbeard and renamed The Queen Anne's Revenge. Originally built in Bristol, England in 1710 and named The Concord, it was stolen by the French a year later and renamed La Concorde de Nantes. Blackbeard stole the ship in 1717. Though it was only one of the ships in Blackbeard's fleet and he only held onto it for a year, it is by far his most famous vessel.

Why Blackbeard called his ship The Queen Anne's Revenge is unknown. The two most likely theories are that it was either a reference to Queen Anne's War (aka The War of Spanish Succession), which Blackbeard had fought in while part of The Royal Navy or in honor of Queen Anne of Britain, the last Stuart monarch. This episode suggests a third theory - that Blackbeard named it honor of his lover, a pirate queen named Anne.

The portrayal of Edward "Blackbeard" Teach as a coward who avoided conflict in this episode is oddly consistent with the historical record. While Blackbeard had a reputation as a fearsome pirate, the truth is that Edward Teach was a theatrical sort who counted on his reputation to scare other ships into surrendering without a fight. Far from the vicious murderer depicted in most fictional stories involving Blackbeard, the real Edward Teach was a cunning and shrewd leader who spurred the use of excessive force. Indeed, there is no record of him ever forcing another ship captain to severe under him as part of his fleet or having murdered a captive in his career. Indeed, much of the romantic view of pirates as gentlemen of fortune was inspired by Blackbeard's true behavior.

It should be noted that Anne, the pirate whom Blackbeard tries to make his queen in this episode, does NOT seem to be based on the famous female pirate Anne Bonny. In the first place, Anne Bonny did not become a pirate until 1718. Secondly, there's no evidence that she ever met Blackbeard or that they were romantically involved. The historical record indicates that Anne Bonny sailed with John Rackham (aka Calico Jack).  In the third place, Anne Bonny was a red-haired Irishwoman whereas Blackbeard's Anne is a brown-haired Englishwoman.

Wally West quotes the wisdom of Dom Toretto from the movie The Fast And The Furious - a fitting philosophy for a former street-racer like Wally.

Rip Hunter says that the last time he visited China was during The Opium Wars. These were a series of two wars between England and China that took place from 1839-1860.

In order to lure out Blackbeard, Mick begins telling tales about Amaya being "The Dread Pirate Jiwe." This is likely a nod to the book/movie The Princess Bride, which famously featured a legendary outlaw known as The Dread Pirate Roberts.

Rip Hunter claims to have drunk both "Hemingway and Van Gogh" under the table. This is a reference to writer Ernest Hemingway and painter Vincent Can Gogh - both of whom were notorious for their prodigious drinking.

The Lieutenant serving under Admiral Darhk who is determined to kill Blackbeard is identified as Robert Maynard. In real world history, Lt. Robert Maynard is credited with leading the squad that killed Blackbeard on November 22, 1718.

As Nate keeps reminding everyone, The Bermuda Triangle is also known as The Devil's Triangle.

There is a running gag with Blackbeard making sure to recover his Captain's hat after it is taken from him. This is a nod to a similar gag involving Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean films.

The song which Wally says is one of Jesse Wells' favorites - Careless Whisper by George Michael - is later sung by Rip and Wally at karaoke. Appropriately enough, we see them singing the second verse, which starts with the line "Time can never mend." It's also a song about betrayal and heartbreak, which seems fitting given Rip's recent actions and Wally's recent break-up with Jesse.

Damien Darhk's ship is identified as The HMS Fortitude. While there was an English ship by that name, it was not commissioned until 1780. It was a 74-gun third-rate that became a prison ship in 1795, a powder hulk in 1802 and was broken up in 1820.


Technobabble

Gideon suffers a Level 4 Systems Failure after being parked in the middle of The Bermuda Triangle.

Zari later determines that The Waverider's problems were caused by multiple unexplained malfunctions to the ship's electrical systems.


Dialogue Triumphs

Ray: We need to tell Sara we gotta get to Detroit.
Mick: Nope. She's off to Star City. She's been texting some guy. They're going on a date.
Ray: How do you know? What, are you looking at her phone?!
Mick: I look at everyone's phone. Helps to pass the time.

Nate:All those in favor of setting a course for 1717?!
Amaya: (resigned) Aye.
Zari: (unenthusiastically) Aye.
Ray: (enthusiastic pirate voice) Aye!
Mick: (bleary as he drinks from his beer) Aye.
Nate: Arrrrrrrrr!

(Rip tells Wally that he needs his help to save the world.)
Wally: Well, I'm sorry, my friend, but my days of "fwathooming" are over. Right now, I'm living life one quarter-mile at a time.
Rip: What that a Buddhist koan?
Wally: Dom Toretto. The Fast And The Furious.

Amaya: I want to change my granddaughter Kuasa's past, and... well, improve her future.
Mick: So do it.
Amaya: It's not that simple. What if I inadvertently change my other granddaughter's destiny?
Mick: So don't do it.
Amaya: And then there's Nate. I still have to go back to 1942 and marry someone else so that Kuasa and Mari are even born. We can never end up together. (shaking her head) I feel paralyzed. Every step I take, it just feels like it could have disastrous consequences.
Mick: Take a look around. (motions to the people in the bar with them) Do you think these people give a damn about consequences? Take the night off! A true pirate doesn't live for tomorrow. They only live for the moment.
Amaya: Thanks Mick... but I don't know the first thing about acting like a pirate.
(Amaya gets up and walks off.)
Mick: Well... I do. (takes a swig from his bottle)

Mick: If there's one thing pirates love more than treasure, it's a good story.

(A drunken Rip spies Wally's flask.)
Rip: Gimmie some of that.
(Rip approaches Wally and then trips. Wally grips his own flask protectively.)
Wally: No, this - this is not for you.
Rip: (dismissively) Please! I drank Hemingway and Van Gogh under the table.
Wally: Cisco gave this to me before I left Central City. It's the only way a speedster could get drunk is of of this... rocket fuel.
Rip: Rocket fuel?
Wally: Yeah!
(The two laugh at this. Suddenly, Rip lunges for the flask and grabs it while Wally's guard is down. He takes a swig from the flask and winces at the taste of it.)
Rip: God! Cisco is a rutting genius.
Wally: (sadly) Yeah, he is. So's Barry. And Caitlin. And Wells. Wait, maybe that's why I never fit on Team Flash? (Wally bursts out laughing at this.)
Rip: And here I was thinking you were roaming the Chinese countryside because your girlfriend needed more space.
(Wally goes quiet at that, clearly upset. Rip adopts a more sympathetic tone.)
Rip: Nah, I can do one better than that, mate. Both my favorite protegees conspired to have me put in prison.
Wally: Huh. What happened?
Rip: Well, I lied to Sara. In addition to accidentally aiding in the resurrection of the man who killed her sister. And Ava is angry at me for sending good agents to their deaths.
Wally: Woah. Sounds like you're a bit of a douche. (defensively) No offense!
Rip: Nah.  None taken, man. I intend to make it up to both of them. But first, I need the teensiest ... teensiest of favors...

Sara: (into her phone)  Please tell me that The Waverider did not just crash into Star City!
Zari: Star City? Is that where we are?
Sara: (over the phone)  Oh, you've got to be kidding me!
Ray: Well, the good news is the cannonballs didn't hit The Time Core.
(There is an explosion in the background. Zari sighs.)
Ray: And Nate made a beautiful landing.
Zari: Yeah.
Nate: Thanks, big guy. (forced cheer) So! Sara! How's the date going?
Sara: (sighs) It's over.

Ava Sharpe: We need to find Rip! He has a Time Courier, which means he could be anywhere, any time, causing a whole mess of problems.
(Cut to Tokyo 1992. A still drunk Rip and Wally are singing George Michael's "Careless Whisper" in a karaoke bar.)

(Blackbeard enters the tavern as Amaya and Mick are winning over his crew.)
Blackbeard: Mutiny? Is that what this is, then? You'd rather follow The Dread Pirate Jiwe than your own captain?
(Amaya draws her sword and levels it at Blackbeard.)
Blackbeard: Then I'm bloody joining you!

Amaya: The totems draw on the life force of their bearer. So if Anne was as wicked as you suggest, the totem would have only amplified her worst impulses.
Blackbeard: It turned her into a monster!
Mick: How did you live to tell the tale?
Blackbeard: Well, I did the only decent thing any man would do - I put a musket ball in her head and buried her along with the treasure.


Continuity

The Earth Totem of Zambesi features a giant emerald.

Blackbeard gave the Totem to Anne - his pirate queen.

According to Amaya, her research says there were only five totems of Zambesi with each of the five tribes being given one totem.

Ray runs down the list of totems. Amaya has the Spirit. Zari has the Air. Kuasa has Water. This leaves them searching for Earth and Fire.

Ray notes that the Fire Totem is smashed in the current age, per the events of Vixen: Season 2 and was last seen intact in a Detroit Museum in 2018. Ray also explains that the pieces of the Fire Totem are currently in the possession of Dr. Adam Macalester - an expert on the Zambesi totems and Mari McCabe's current boyfriend.

Sara leaves the team to go on a date with Ava Shape in Star City 2018.

Sara's drink of choice is a vodka martini, extra dirty, stirred. She believes shaken martinis are for lightweights who want their drinks watered down.

Sara refers to the events of 309 and how Ava helped her fight a group of Vikings and saved her from Mallus.

Zari has curled her hair. She doesn't like it, but Amaya thinks it looks nice.

Damien Darhk steals the Fire Totem before the Legends can get to it in 2018.

Nate is able to track the Earth Totem to the manifest of The Saint Lisette - the sister ship of La Concorde in 1717.

Rip Hunter was able to track Wally West through his MP3 player. He notes that Wally has replayed the George Michael song "Careless Whisper" a lot.

Wally says that Careless Whisper was one of Jesse Wells' favorite songs.

The last time Rip Hunter traveled to East Asia was during The Opium Wars. These took place from 1839-1860.

The most embarrassing event in Sara Lance's life was when the first time she had a weapon in her hand - playing Peter Pan in the school play at Starling City Elementary. She froze up and forgot her lines. She broke into a tap-dance before running off stage crying.

Sara can tap-dance.

Blackbeard says that he buried The Earth Totem on Grace Island.

Rip Hunter claims to have drunk Ernest Hemingway and Vincent Van Gogh under the table.

Wally West has a flask full of the same "rocket fuel" that Cisco Ramon distilled for Barry Allen when he wanted a drink since normal alcohol burns through a speedster's system so fast that it does not affect them.

Wally West is confirmed to be old enough to drink legally in the United States - at least 21.

Gary Green has a rivalry with another Time Agent named McNeil, who was just named Agent of the Month at the Star City branch of The Time Bureau.

Wally Wet steals Gary Green's cel phone and Time Courier. He also pulls down Gary's pants.

This is, Gary notes, the second time this has happened to him. The first time may have involved Sara Lance's lifting his ID, which she referred to in 301.

Wally also recovers Rip's trademark brown long-coat from a storage closet in The Time Bureau offices.

Ava Sharpe played paintball at her 15th birthday party. She wound up using someone else as a human shield.

Admiral Darhk's ship is the HMS Fortitude. It creates another anachronism when it gets into a fight with The Queen Anne's Revenge off the coast of Grace Island in 1717.

The Earth Totem gives his bearer the power to control plant life. It can also continue to animate the bearer's body, even after their normal biological processes should have stopped.

Amaya recovers The Earth Totem.

Ray shoots Nora Darhk with his anti-magic nanite pistol.

Sara notes, with amusement, that her bottle of Captain Godfree Spiced Rum becomes Captain Jiwe Spiced Rum and the picture changes from that of a traditional pirate Captain to a portrait of Amaya as The Dread Pirate Jiwe.

Sara suggests that she and Ava fight Genghis Khan for their second date.

A terrible hangover for a speedster lasts three minutes.

Ray comes up with a cure for the anti-magic pistol. He goes back and promises to give it to Nora in exchange for Amaya's totem. Damien Darhk agrees to the bargain.

Nora remembers Ray from her childhood. This does not stop her from using her magic to drain his life to the point where he passes out.

The episode ends with Ray a captive of The Darkhs.


Location

The Bahamas - 1717
Star City - 2018
Detroit - 2018
Yunan Province, China - 2018
Nassau, Bahamas - 1717
Tokyo - 1992


Untelevised Adventures

Damien Darhk steals the fire totem from Dr. Adam Macalester before Ray and Mick can steal it first.

Gary Green refers to having been pantsed and having his Time Agent gear stolen once before.


The Crisis Factor

Ray's decision to go deal with The Darhks without back-up is idiotic, even for Ray, and a prime example of how the geniuses of The DCTVU are frequently the most stupid people on the show.


The Bottom Line

A fun little episode apart from the last two minutes, at which point Ray is thrown the Idiot Ball in order to drive the plot forward a bit. Still, the bits with the pirates and Rip and Wally bonding make up for a lot.

The Flash Episode Guide: Season 3, Episode 13 - Attack On Gorilla City

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




Plot

When Jesse Quick returns to Earth One seeking help after her father is abducted, Barry, Cisco, Caitlin and Julian travel to Earth Two. They are quickly captured by Grodd, who claims he needs their help to stop Solovar - the leader of a secretive city of super-intelligent gorillas - from launching his own attack to take over Earth One!  Meanwhile,Wally is anxious to get to spend some time with Jesse but there seems to be some kind of wall between them now...


Influences

The Planet of the Apes films (Julian name drops the franchise, the concept of an intelligent ape uprising, the general aesthetic of the Gorilla City sets) and the Indiana Jones films (Julian's explorer outfit.)


Goofs

Tom Cavanagh's voice for when Harry Wells is possessed by Grodd isn't intimidating.

The green-screen work during Barry's "I will not kill him" speech looks a bit off.


Performances

Watching Violett Beane and Keiynan Lonsdale play off of each other is the best part of the episode.


Artistry

The art design on Gorilla City is fantastic.

The CGI for the gorillas is top-notch.


Flash Facts

First appearing in The Flash #106 (April/May 1959), Gorilla City was a technological Utopian society society founded by super-intelligent, telepathic gorillas, who were enhanced by a meteorite. In the original comics, Grodd was originally a rogue member of this society.

Solovar also first appeared in The Flash #106. The progressive leader of the Gorilla City gorillas in the comics, Solovar was respected for his wisdom and his impressive psychic powers. He weathered several attempts by Grodd to overthrow him and usurp control of his people.

Julian lies to Captain Singh, telling him that he and Barry are going to a morphology conference in Bludhaven. In the DC Comics Universe, Bludhaven is a city near Gotham City which was patrolled by the vigilante Nightwing.


Technobabble

Jesse says that she and her father took a week to translate a mathematical cryptogram that was sent to their STAR Labs on Earth Two.


Dialogue Triumphs

Barry: Harry's my friend. I'm not just going to abandon him. I'm going back to Earth Two.
Cisco: And I suppose you'll want somebody to come with you who is going to open those breaches for you?
Barry: We had... so much fun last time!
Cisco: (deadpan) Fun-ish.

(Barry is trying to explain where he is going to Julian, who he needs to cover for him at work. He finally lets the name Grodd slip.)
Julian: Grodd? The telepathic gorilla?
Barry: Yeah.
Julian: Where are you going? Are you going to the Planet of the Apes?!
Barry: No, it's just a city of them.

Jesse: When I first got my power, you were so lost not having yours. And I thought maybe part of the reason you liked me was...you were attracted to speed and not me.
(Wally chuckles.)
Jesse: I know! I know, okay? But... I saw you out there today! Being Kid Flash? You were complete Wally. You were scary complete.
Wally: I could have all the speed in the world. I'm not complete without you.

Barry: Solovar never wanted to attack Central City. You do.
Grodd: You took my home away from me and now I will take it back! The gorillas saw what you did, Flash. They saw you defeat Solovar and now they are afraid of humans and will do anything I order. And I will order them to invade your Earth and your city will burn!
Barry: You were planning this the whole time.
Grodd: Yes. Father taught me well. Always think ahead.

(Cisco proposes his idea that someone kill him to stop Grodd's invasion.)
Julian: He's right. Cisco's death would change the newspaper headline in the future.
Harry: Headline?
Caitlin: It's a long story.
Julian: But it would also make another one come true. The one about Killer Frost...
Caitlin: You want -me- to kill him?
Cisco: Think about it. Grodd doesn't know you have cold powers. You might be able to use them.
Harry: Cold powers? (To Caitlin) You have cold powers? (in revelation, to Cisco) I knew it! I knew that you and I did not get Barry out of that mirror!
Julian: Wait! Caitlin! If you kill someone, there's no going back. You'll be Killer Frost for the rest of your life. Now, I did not come all this way to see that happen!
Caitlin: (incredulous) Did you come here because you "live for danger" or to protect me?
Julian: (putting his emotionless mask back on) I just don't want to see you become something you're not.

HR: When it comes to love. you've got to go for it!  You know? Everything else be damned. Because if you don't, you're gonna end up being the kind of person that lives the rest of their life with regret. And I know that telling your dad that you're switching Earths - that's got to be a difficult conversation to have, but one that you've got to go for if you want to be happy. But - you know -  that's just my opinion. What do I know? I'm just a handsomer guy than your dad, with a song in his heart. Good luck, Jesse.


Continuity

Grodd was last seen in 207 just after being sent through a breach to Earth Two to a sanctuary that Harry Wells said was set up for gorillas who had been mistreated by scientists. Harry Wells also noted that there were talking gorillas on Earth Two.

Barry refers to the news crawl from 310 and the text "City Still Recovering From Gorilla Attack".

Jesse finds out Wally is a speedster now.

The Africa of Earth Two (or, at least, the part where Gorilla City is located) is not hot and has vegetation more consistent with a temperate forest than a tropical jungle.

Grodd is somehow able to repress the powers of Team Flash while they are imprisoned. It is unclear if he is doing this telepathically or if it is a property of the cages.

The Indiana Jones movies apparently exist on Earth Two.

Harry refers to the events of 304 and how they used extreme cold to free Barry from a mirror but it wasn't enough and Caitlin had to finish the job, secretly, with her powers.

Jesse decides to move to Earth One. She and Wally seem to officially become a couple.

Julian asks Caitlin out to dinner.

The final scene show Grodd assembling his armies, talking to Gypsy (or some version of her), telling her that she will open the breaches for him.


Location

Gorilla City on Earth Two.


Untelevised Adventures

How exactly Gypsy winds up under Grodd's control in the final scene.


The Bottom Line

Serviceable but not the slam-dunk one expected from the advertising. The Grodd plot is predictable and most of the cast is given little to do but sit in a jail cell and worry for most of the episode. Given the high-end Silver Age concept, the script is surprisingly joyless and it's Julian of all people who makes the inevitable references to Planet of the Apes. At least the production values are top-notch but the whole episode seems oddly lifeless.

The Flash Episode Guide: Season 3, Episode 12 - Untouchable

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



Plot

A metahuman criminal with a destructive touch has been methodically killing people all around Central City. As Team Flash steps in to deal with him, the killer sets his sites on Joe West. Unfortunately, it's Iris who winds up in the crossfire!


Influences

The Flash comics of Cary Bates and Mark Waid.


Goofs

Iris has undergone a complete 180 since last week, going from being more afraid of not living her life well before dying to being deeply afraid of dying.

How can Joanie Horton say that Kid Flash is the one thing she misses about Central City when Kid Flash first appeared after she left for college?

Why don't the bullets Joe shoots at Clive penetrate his clothes?

While Cisco's idea to use focused cold to slow the decay of Iris' body is brilliant, his analogy is terrible. The decay of bananas is hastened by cold temperatures - not slowed.


Performances

Jesse L. Martin doesn't always get the best-written speeches but damned if he doesn't sell the hell out of Joe's sense of betrayal when he finds out that he wasn't told about Iris's impending death.

Once again, the odd relationship that is slowly developing between Caitlin and Julian is the high-point of the episode's subplots. Kudos to Tom Felton and Danielle Panabaker for two subtle performances.

It's a brief thing, but Keiynan Lonsdale has some great non-verbal reactions in the scene where Kid Flash confronts Clive Yorkin after Barry phases the train.


Artistry

Good special effects on the sequence when Joe shoots at Clive.

There's some great direction and blocking, with reoccurring images of lower arms being gripped - both as a prelude to attack and as a means of comfort.


Flash Facts

The episode opens with Barry and Wally racing each other as part of Wally's training. Speedsters racing each other has a long tradition in the various Flash comics.

In the comics, different speedsters have different tricks they can manage that other speedsters can't. Wally's difficulty in phasing through solid matter is a reference to that. In the original comics, Wally West - at one point - was unable to phase through solid matter without making it explode.

Clive Yorkin first appeared in The Flash #270 (February 1979). A career criminal with multiple life sentences for murder and robbery, he agreed to be part of an experimental procedure that would "cure" him of his desire to do bad things. The process failed, driving Yorkin insane as his pain and pleasure responses were reversed and he developed the power to kill people by touching them.

Curiously, Clive Yorkin was believed to have killed Iris West. It was later shown, however, that she was killed by The Revese Flash, who was moving at super-speed.

The DCTVU version of Clive Yorkin differs from his comics counterpart in that his touch causes matter to decay rapidly. He touches a table and causes it to disintegrate in seconds and the bullets Joe shoots at him dissolve on contact.

This version of Clive Yorkin also seems to have some fine control over his power - otherwise he wouldn't be able to wear clothes - and he is able to turn the power off so he can touch objects without destroying them. We see this when he is drinking from a coffee cup while stalking Laura Stone.

The lounge singer we see Clive Yorkin attack is named Julio Mendez. Julio Mendez was the name of Barry Allen's co-worker in the CCPD crime lab in the 1990's The Flash TV series. Captain Julio Mendez was Barry's boss in the Flashpoint reality. All three roles are played by actor Alex Désert.

Joanie Horton is attending college at Coast U. Presumably this is located in Coast City. In the comics, Coast City is the home of Hal Jordan (a.k.a. The Silver Age Green Lantern.)

Barry using his speed to phase through solid matter is a classic Flash trick and Wally West was able to increase or decrease the speed of objects in motion by leaching their speed through The Speed Force or lending his own speed to them. To the best of my knowledge, however, the trick where Barry makes a train intangible in this episode is the first instance in any medium of any version of The Flash making a large object intangible by lending it his speed. The theory is sound, however, by the standards of comic book science.


Technobabble

When placing bets on the Flash/Kid Flash race, Caitlin declares that her winnings will be going to a new confocal microscope.

Certain chemicals - any acid with a pH below 2, for instance - can cause a similar reaction to an aggressive necrotized fasciliitis (i.e. flesh-eating bacteria)

STAR Labs has a 3-D image medical scanner.

Quebracho is a Spanish word used to refer to a number of hard-wooded species of tree native to South America. It literally translates as "ax-breaker." Cisco constructs a wall of double-reinforced quebracho to train Wally in phasing through solid matter.

After 8 hours, the victim of the death touch resembles a desiccated corpse. After that, the body disintegrates completely into powder. Julian and Caitlin both note that no bacteria or disease known to medical science causes a body to continue accelerating a host's tissue decay after death.

Barry describes the process of phasing by saying that he vibrates at the natural frequency of air. This puts his cells into an excited state that let him move through solid objects. He does this by connecting his body with the air, feeling everything around him and thinking of becoming pure electricity.

One of the DNA elements found on Julio Mendez's body is consistent with an element found in the husks Julian Albert created as Alchemy. This leads him to conclude that the metahuman killer was one that he created.

Joanie Horton says she doesn't drink coffee since she learned that hot roasted coffee beans carry cancer-causing levels of acrylamide.

In the early stages of the death-touch, the victim experiences a fever (Iris' temperature was 104 degrees Fahrenheit) and elevated heart-rate. At that point, the decay spreads to her subcutaneous tissue.

Cisco hits upon the idea of using focused cold to slow Iris' decay. Caitlin fears that she lacks that fine a control, however, and there's additional risks in failing to keep the process continuous. Too high a temperature and the decay will spread. Too low a temperature and they risk losing Iris' arm to frostbite or killing the nerve endings.

In quantum mechanics, the daughter universe theory tells us that for every decision you make, a universe exists where you don't make that decision.

Julian determines that the way the death touch works is that it causes the blood to attack the cells in her body. This is the precise opposite of the way that Barry's blood causes his body's cells to regenerate damage. He theorizes that introducing speedster blood into Clive Yorkin's system will negate his powers.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Barry and Wally are suited up, stretching on a road a few miles outside of Central City.)
Wally: So this is it, huh?
Barry: Yeah. This is the starting line to our race.  Cisco set up censors all along the course and he'll be tracking your speed all the way to the finish line on the other side of town.
Wally: No, I meant this is it - the day the greatest upset in speedster history goes down.
Barry:Wally, man, this isn't about winning or losing. Okay? This is about training. So you can get faster and beat Savitar and save Iris.
Wally: (nodding) Yeah. Which I'm going to do!
Barry: Okay.
Wally: But first I'm going to make you eat my dust. I'm sorry.
Barry: Okay. You know there's a reason they call me The Fastest Man Alive?

Joe: Do I know you?
Clive: You don't remember me? You and your cronies had a very fun time ruining my life. Not gonna let you do that this time around.
Joe: I think you have the wrong guy.
Clive: No, no. You're the Joe West I remember. Look a lot more full of life now, though. But don't worry. I can change that.
(Clive reaches over and touches a table, which begins to dissolve to ash almost instantly.)

(Caitlin and Julian are left alone in the lab after Joe stormed out and everyone else left.)
Julian: (sarcastically) Well, that went swimmingly.
Caitlin: Joe's right. We should have told him before now.
Julian: What you should have told him is that I'm the one responsible. That the meta trying to kill him is one that I created.
Caitlin: Julian, you can't change what happened to you. It's not your fault.
Julian: You keep saying that, but it IS my fault! People are responsible for their own actions. To say otherwise is just... it's just a way to make yourself feel better.
Caitlin: Is that what you think I'm doing? Making excuses for things I've done in the past?
(Julian says nothing. He just looks at her, unsure of what to say.)
Caitlin:(scoffs) You know, I'm really starting to regret bringing you in here.
(Caitlin leaves the lab as Julian's mask cracks and the regret is plain to see on his face.)

Barry: Look, when I got these powers, I - uh... I was really lucky in a weird way. You know? I had a lot of people helping me through all of this. I had Wells. Both of them. And Jay. And Zolomon. I mean. two of them turned out to be bad guys but they were good teachers who really taught me how to use my powers. I just don't think I've been that for you yet.
Wally: You're telling me everything that I need to know. I'm just not getting it! I-
Barry: No. That's not it. It's-  I- I've been letting you coast by on your raw talent, which you have a lot of. But teaching is a lot more than just doing something and expecting you to follow. It's about inspiring and empowering you to use your gifts to succeed on your own. That's what I need to do. That's what I'm going to do from now on.So the next time you're out there and you're alone, you will win. Deal?
Wally: Deal.

Caitlin: (scared) Just a little bit longer and she's dead. (Killer Frost's voice) How's that for changing the future?
Julian: I know who you are Caitlin, and you do not want to do this!
Caitlin: This is who I am. You said it. It's time for me to take responsibility for my actions. Time for me to own who I really am.
Julian: Who you are is Caitlin Snow! I know first hand the battle going on inside of you. I know what it feels like. When it happened to me, I lost! All right? I was weak and I let it win. And I did - I did horrible things to a lot of good people. And you don't have to do that. You are not going to do that! You're stronger than I am, Caitlin. You're far stronger than I am. You're one of the strongest people I've ever known! You can win this fight.
(Julian slowly reaches over and clasps his hand around Caitlin's left lower arm.)
Julian: Iris needs your help now.
(Caitlin's eyes shift back to normal and she focuses anew on freezing Iris' arm.) 

(Kid Flash phases through Clive Yorkin. Once he is through, he looks down at the cut on his hand that he made before he started running. It has already healed shut and the blood is gone.)
Kid Flash: It worked! I did it!
Clive: You sure did.
(Clive Yorkin walks over and grabs Kid Flash's lower arm.)
Clive: Goodbye Kid Flash.
(There is a brief pause. Kid Flash glances down at Yorkin's hand and then looks up, puffing his cheeks out as he makes a silly face.)
Kid Flash: (in mock surprise) Oh! What?! Look at that!
(Clive stares at his hand in shock.)
Kid Flash: Your powers are neutralized, Yorkin.
Clive:  What did you do?
Kid Flash: I won.


Continuity

Financial wagering was made illegal on Earth 19 following an incident involving Vice President Al Capone.

The Al Capone of Earth One was seen on L208.

Abraham Lincoln is on the $100 bill on Earth 19.

The restaurant where the first murder occurs - Luigi's - seems to be the restaurant mentioned in the news feed from the future in 310. The one that reopened after a murder.

Barry realizes all of the murder victims were cops in The Flashpoint reality.

Cecile Horton's daughter Joanie is a student at Coast University. Presumably this is located in Coast City. She has not chosen a major and is a Kid Flash fangirl, declaring that he is the only thing she misses about Central City.

Iris tells Joe about the future Barry saw in 309.

Cisco is able to use his Vibe powers to get visions of alternate realities, such as Flashpoint, by focusing upon a person as they think about that reality.

Barry has never tried using his powers to lend his speed to a large object and enable it to phase before this episode. He manages to make an entire high-speed train intangible.

Barry says "Run, Wally, Run." to Wally.

Wally phases for the first time.

One Yorkin's blood was stabilized, Julian was able to use it to make an antidote to reverse the death touch.

Joe refers to Savitar's prophecy in  309 and asks if Iris is the one who dies. Barry says yes. (Technically, Savitar said one would betray the team, one would fall and one would suffer a fate worse than death.)

Julian notes there is still one husk meta created by Alchemy unaccounted for.

Caitlin asks Julian out for a drink. He accepts.

At the end of the episode, Jesse Quick arrives through a breach and tells Wally that Grodd has kidnapped her father and taken him to Gorilla City.


Location

Cisco sees a scene from The Flashipoint universe.


The Fridge Factor

Again, we have Iris being placed in danger to give Barry, Wally and Joe angst.

The idea of a power being inherently evil is troublesome enough without it being applied to the one woman with powers on the show's ensemble. Having the pep-talk that keeps her from going over the edge come from her current love interest doesn't help matters, though it IS well acted.


The Boomerang Factor

A lot of the drama in this episode could have been avoided had Team Flash finally learned the lesson about NOT LYING TO EACH OTHER EVEN IF THEY THINK IT IS FOR A GOOD REASON!


The Bottom Line

Another episode where the excellent ensemble acting salvages an otherwise unremarkable script. I appreciate the craft of Danielle Panabaker and Tom Felton's performances even as I struggle with the implications of Caitlin being saved by the promise of love with Julian ala Frozen. The villain of the week is well realized and the conflict between the various Team Flash members doesn't seem forced, though the "We need to be honest with each other" lesson is incredibly old at this point. And the Wally/Barry relationship has rarely been handled this well.

The Flash Episode Guide: Season 3, Episode 4 - The New Rogues

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



Plot

Two new metahumans - Mirror Master and The Top - emerge looking to settle an old score with Captain Cold. Barry and Jesse get in the middle of things, with Jesse's rash actions leading to disaster! Meanwhile, Harry Wells begins scouting the multiverse looking for another Harrison Wells that is willing and able to replace him on Earth One when he returns to Earth Two.


Influences

The Flash comics of John Broome (creator of The Mirror Master and The Top) and the television series Twin Peaks (Cisco refers to it when explaining how he can make Barry's backwards talk understandable).


Goofs

It seems odd that Iris isn't the least bit disturbed by the idea of kissing Barry in front of her dad, like Barry and Joe are.


Performances

The romance between Jesse and Wally reaches its naturally conclusion and Violett Beane and Keiynan Lonsdale play it perfectly. Ironically, given that they are the younger couple, their relationship seems to be handled with more maturity than the romance between Iris and Barry and I put that entirely down to the performances of these two talented young actors.

Speaking of romance, Ashley Rickards and Grey Damon are stunning as The Top and Mirror Master. Turning these two Rogues into a romantic couple was a bold choice and damned if the actors do not make the most of playing a couple in love who are intent on building a new life for themselves... albeit by robbing Central City blind.


Artistry

The cinematography throughout the episode is stunning, taking full advantage of the mirrors on the set and using them to establish a number of arty shots.

The special effects work is solid throughout the episode, from the high-speed chase sequences to the "twisty world" effects when The Top uses her powers, all the way to the final battle with Mirror Master jumping from mirror to mirror to evade The Flash.

There's some nice comedic irony in the script, with The Flash beating Mirror Master using a hologram and a mirror trick.


Flash Facts

The industrial building Sam Scudder uses as a hideout is Broome Industries. This is a tribute to John Broome - The Flash writer responsible for creating both The Mirror Master and The Top.

Sam Scudder a.k.a. The Mirror Master first appeared in The Flash #105 (March 1959). A criminal since childhood, Scudder became obsessed with mirrors and the idea of entering into them. Eventually, he somehow succeeded, discovering a whole other dimension which he dubbed The Mirror World. Scudder also developed all manner of weapons and devices based around the manipulation of light - chief among these being lasers and holographic illusions.

The DCTVU version of Sam Scudder differs from his comic book counterpart in that his powers are due to his status as a metahuman rather than advanced technology. He has the power to teleport himself and others through reflective surfaces. He can also trap people inside of mirrors.

Harry Wells says that there was a Mirror Master on Earth Two, but he wasn't a metahuman. He was a criminal armed with some sort of special mirror gun. Wells doesn't know how the gun works, but speculates that the gun had dimensional warping tech that changed everything into two-dimensions. This is a nod to the Mirror Master's powers in the comics.

Harry Wells identifies the Mirror Master on Earth Two as a man named Evan McCulloch.  In the comics, Evan McCulloch was the name of the second Mirror Master. An orphan with a dark side, Evan fell into the life of a criminal. After building a reputation as the sort of man who could reliably do dirty deeds with no questions asked, McCullouch was approached by the FBI - who had taken possession of Sam Scudder's costume and equipment after his death - and offered a chance to work for them while posing as a super-villain.  McCulloch played along at first but eventually went rogue (literally!) and soon fell in with The Flash's Rogue's Gallery.

The Top a.k.a. Roscoe Dillon first appeared in The Flash #122 (August 1961). As a boy, Dillon was obsessed with tops to the point where he ignored all other toys. Falling into the life of a criminal as an adult, he got out of prison and decided to build a new career around his favorite toy. Dillon discovered that by spinning at tremendous speeds, he could dramatically increase his intelligence. This eventually lead to him developing psionic powers, including telekinesis, telepathy and the ability to instill vertigo in people. He was also able to possess the corpses of the newly dead, following his own apparent death.

Rosalind "Rosa" Dillon, the DCTVU version of The Top, is a gender-flipped version of the original Top and Sam Scudder's girlfriend. She has the power to cause intense vertigo in other people.

The character of Cecile Horton first appeared in The Flash #332 (April 1984). She acted as The Flash's legal console when he was put on trial for murdering The Reverse Flash.

In the DCTVU, Cecile Horton is a prosecutor with the Central City District Attorney's office rather than a Public Defender. She is also an African-American woman, whereas the comic book version was Caucasian.

We see four versions of Harrison Wells from other dimensions - two of which are named by a specific Earth number. Curiously, these numbers do not correspond with like numbers in the official number of the various universes that make up The DC Comics Multiverse.

The first alternate Harrison Wells (aka Hells Wells) dresses like an American Old West cowboy and speaks with a Texan accent. This may be a reference to the DCM Earth 18 - the Wild West inspired world of the characters seen in the story Justice Riders.

The second Harrison Wells is dressed in a steampunk costume, with a top-hat and goggles. He is identified as being from Earth 17.

In the DCM, Earth 17 is also known as The Atomic Earth. In that world, the crash of the rocket carrying Superman to Earth triggered World War III and 97% of the world's population was killed in the ensuing nuclear fallout.

Curiously, this second version of Harrison Wells would seem to be a better fit for the DCM's Earth 19 - the setting of the story Gotham By Gaslight - a world in which various heroes came into existence during the Victorian era, but various advanced technologies existed.

The fourth version of Harrison Wells comes from what Caitlin labels Earth 19. As mentioned above, Earth 19 is a steam-punk setting in the DC Comics Multiverse.

Cisco refers to Twin Peaks and the character of The Man From Another Place in explaning how he can record Barry's speech when he is trapped in the mirror world and turn it into something they can understand using backmasking.

Joe understands the technique of backmasking and refers to hidden messages being placed in Ozzy Osbourne albums. Officially, Ozzy only did this once - as a sarcastic response to the accusations of hidden Satanic messages being found on his albums when played backwards. That message "Your mother sells whelks in Hull." was itself a parody of an infamous line from the film The Exorcist.

This episode confirms that Caitlin's cold powers allow her to chill an object to Absolute Zero. In the DC Comics Universe, only Captain Cold - out of all the villains with cold-based powers - has the ability to lower temperatures to absolute zero with his Cold Gun.

Ironically, The Flash uses a hologram of Captain Cold and an optical illusion to trap Mirror Master. In the comics, holograms and optical illusions are two of the Mirror Master's most frequent tools.

The Droste Effect is the technical term for when an image appears to repeat into itself forever. The effect is named for Droste cocoa powder - a popular Dutch brand, whose packaging was the first recorded instance of the effect in 1904. Artist M.C. Escher was fond of employing the effect and - as Barry notes in this episode - the effect can be created by standing between two mirrors, creating the illusion of the person between the mirrors repeating into infinity.


Technobabble

Jesse Quick is almost as fast as Barry, her top velocity peaking at just under Mach 3. This is just over 2300 mph.

Jesse's heart rate while running at top speed is 100 BPM.

Harry constructs a "fishing pole' satellite with which to broadcast his "bait" - a message embedded with a tachyon-enhanced laser.

Harry describes his "bait" as "a complex algorithmic cryptogram, designed to test deductive reasoning, intelligence quotient and problem-solving skills." Harry also describes it as an invitation and an elaborate "Help Wanted" ad. Cisco describes it as a riddle.

Harry speculates, when asked about the Mirror Gun of the Earth Two Mirror Master, that it had dimensional warping tech that changed everything into two-dimensions.

Sam Scudder is able to travel in and out of mirrors by linking Einstein-Rosen bridges through anything with high solar reflectance. Or, in simpler terms, he creates wormholes through reflections.

The Earth 19 Harrison Wells complements Harry's embedding secondary measures in the primary data string of his cryptogram.

The sounds made by a person trapped in a mirror sound backwards in the real world. This means that Barry can't be understood by his friends until Cisco figures out a way to take what he says and play it in reverse.

Cisco uses backmasking - a recording technique where sounds are recorded backwards onto a track that is meant to be played forwards - to translate Barry's speech when he's trapped in the mirror world.

Barry is unable to phase through the mirror once stuck inside it because the molecules of the mirror, once used as a wormhole by Scudder, are in a hyper state of flux. In order for the molecules to reach a state Barry can phase through, they need something incredibly cold to slow them down.

Once chilled to absolute zero, the mirror has to maintain zero-point energy long enough for Barry's molecules to pass through it. While doing this, they have to account for the internal energy of the mirror's molecules. This means that while absolute zero is the lowest possible temperature, it is not the lowest enthalpy state possible.

Harry and Cisco try to overcome this issue by building a molecular decelerator onto the cryogenic generator. However, it is only able to lower the temperature of the mirror to -280 degrees Fahrenheit. This is roughly half as cold as Absolute Zero, and is equal to -173 degrees Celsius and 99.8167 degrees Kelvin.

Absolute Zero is 0 degress Kelvin, -273.15 degres Celsius and -459.67 degrees Fahrenheit.

The Droste Effect is the technical term for when an image appears to repeat forever. Barry refers to it as an infinite reflective loop.

Every inch of Sam Scudder's cell has been modified with an anti-reflective material, to prevent him from using his powers.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Scudder is dressed in a fancy suit, admiring himself in a full-length mirror.)
Scudder: How do I look?
Dillon: Better. (pauses) How much?
Scudder: Do we really need to ask that question?
Dillon: Our take wasn't that big.
Scudder: Big enough.
(Scudder takes her by the hand and spins her in front of him, holding her close as he looks at their reflection.)
Scudder: The only question you should be asking is what size rock you want dangling from this beautiful neck. A kiss from you makes my world spin.
Dillon: (chuckles) You're so full of it, you know that?

(Barry trips Jesse as they are racing around the track in The Speed Lab)
Jesse: Okay. Well... that wasn't very heroic.
Barry: Nope. But there is a lesson in there somewhere.
Jesse: What's that?
Barry: The difference between having powers and having precision.
Jesse: What do you mean?
Barry: I mean, it's gonna take more than speed to take down some of these metas. You've got to think. Anticipate. When you enter a new environment, you've got to case every inch of it. You never run in blind.
(Barry suddenly stops, looking astonished.)
Barry: Oh my God...  I've become Oliver.
(Barry laughs as Jesse looks confused.)

(As Harry is describing the criteria he is using to test his doppelgangers.)
Cisco: Will it test their attitudes, too? I'm not sure I can stomach another Wells with your bedside manner.
Harry: I care for you too... you jack wagon!

(Wally enters the room where Jesse is thinking. He points to her mask, dropped on the floor.)
Wally: Aren't you going to need that?
Jesse: What's the point? You know, I thought I was ready. But clearly I'm not.
Wally: Jesse, you can't blame yourself for this. What happened to Barry...
Jesse: - was totally my fault! I mean, he told me to stay back but I didn't listen! You know, I just ran in blind and... and now he's stuck, so...
Wally: Look, you made a mistake. So what? I mean, I'm sure Barry made a lot of mistakes at first too.
Jesse:  ... yeah.
Wally: Don't let this destroy your confidence. You're meant to do this, Jesse. You're meant to be a speedster. That's why you have these powers and I don't.
Jesse: You're just trying to cheer me up. (sighs) I know you said you don't want to hang, so...
Wally: Uh, no. I said I didn't want to hang out because I was scared. Because you live on another Earth. But...I realized I don't want to be scared of that anymore.
(Wally moves in and kisses Jesse.  They hold the kiss a moment and then laugh softly.  Wally steps back does a courtly bow and offers Jesse her mask. She takes it with a wide smile on her face.)

(Mirror Master jumps into a mirror and comes up behind Captain Cold. He tries to punch him but his fist just goes through him. Captain Cold flickers and turns around.)
Captain Cold: Bang!
(The hologram of Captain Cold fades away as The Flash walks into the Hall of Mirrors.)
The Flash: Funny thing about holograms - they're just pale reflections of the real deal.


Continuity

Mirror Master and The Top both gained their powers on the night of the particle accelerator explosion. Leonard Snart was present, ready to kill Scudder for violating his rules about spending their share of the loot while the heat was on.

Mirror Master was apparently pushed three years into the future when he fell into the mirror.

There are metahumans with telekinetic and cloaking powers on Earth 2. Harry suggests both as possibilities for how The Rival was killed in his cell in Iron Heights in 302.

Jesse Quick's costume resembles that of the villain Trajectory from 216, with the addition of a Flash logo.

While training Jesse, Barry refers to the speech Oliver Queen gave Barry while training him in how he had to learn not to rely exclusively on his powers in 108.

Oliver told Barry about Captain Cold leaving with the rest of The Legends.  Barry apparently told Joe about this in the pre-Flashpoint timeline, but didn't in the new timeline.

Caitlin has never been fishing before.

Barry has never taken Wally on a run at super-speed before.

Jesse kisses Wally.

Wally admits to being attracted to Jesse, but he doesn't want to start getting romantic with her when she's eventually going to go back to her Earth. They agree to be friends but Wally laters changes his mind and kisses Jesse.

Four versions of Harrison Wells from other Earths are able to solve Harry's test.

The first alternate Wells dresses like an sheriff from the American West and speaks with a Texas accent. He identifies himself as "Hells Wells" and says he has a checkered past he'd rather not speak about right away.

The second alternate Wells is from what Cisco dubbed Earth 17. He speaks with a British accent and wears a steampunk-style outfit with a top hat and goggles.

The third alternate Wells speaks French and is dressed as a mime.

The fourth alternate Wells is wears a trilby hat and button-up vest with a t-shirt and jeans. He is from what Caitlin calls Earth 19. He seems both nice and not-evil, according to Cisco.

Caitlin uses her ice powers to chill the mirror in secret when Harry and Cisco's improvised device can't get the job done.

Caitlin's powers allow her to lower temperatures to absolute zero.

The CCPD has the ability to monitor specific cells in Iron Heights from their main station.

Joe realizes that Cecile Horton is flirting with him but is afraid to ask her out.

Cisco vibes across 18 dimensions for the first time.

The Harrison Wells of Earth 19 asks to be called HR. He has a much better sense of humor than Harry Wells, speaking in a mock deep voice and saying "Greetings Earthlings" when he first meets Team Flash.

Harry tells Cisco that their device didn't work and that something else removed Barry from the mirror.

Harry and Jesse return to Earth Two, with Harry trying to tell them never to do something just before he vanishes.

HR Wells also likes Big Belly Burger as much as Harry.

Barry decides to move out of Joe's house and get his own place.

Caitlin's cold powers appear to be getting out of control, as she freezes the water in her shower by accident. Her lips have also begun to turn pale blue and a streak of her hair is bleached white.


Untelevised Adventures

The Top was apprehended at some point in the past after her powers manifested and locked up in Iron Heights' metahuman wing.


The Fridge Factor

The scene of Caitlin in her shower is a little fan-servicey.


The Bottom Line

A rare episode where one wishes we saw more of the villains of the week than the supporting cast. Mirror Master and The Top are two of the better baddies to be introduced in recent memory and the interplay between them as a couple is a neat twist on the usual villain partnership. It's certainly a lot more interesting than the forced humor of Wally feeling awkward getting romantic with Iris in the same house as Joe. The romance between Wally and Jesse is more enjoyable, precisely because Violett Beane and Leiynan Lonsdale underplay their scenes. Again, less is more and the episode - while enjoyable - would have done better to sacrifice some of its subplots.  Maybe introduce Joe's new love interest and the new Harry Wells another time?

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 19 - Back To Normal

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




Plot

Left powerless in the wake of his latest encounter with Zoom, Barry Allen is blindsided when a  metahuman named Griffin Grey mistakes Harry for the Earth-One version of Harrison Wells and abducts him, hoping Wells can cure his condition. As the newly discovered Jesse Wells works with Team Flash to find Harry, Wally West confronts his father with a request regarding Joe West's connection to The Flash. Meanwhile, on Earth Two, Caitlin discovers she's not the only captive Zoom's keeping and plans an escape...


Influences

Numerous The Flash comics where The Flash is rendered temporarily powerless, the Silver Age Superman comics (using Harry's unique watch signal to track him seems to be a nod to Jimmy Olsen's special watch for summoning Superman) and the 2006 The Flash series (character of Griffin Grey).


Goofs

Why doesn't Wells try and use his chemistry knowledge to create something that will disable Griffin rather than watering down a placebo in a bid to stall for time? Granting that Griffin seems canny enough to recognize the formula if Wells tries to create chloroform or sulfuric acid, it still seems highly out of character for Harry not to try and fight his way to freedom.

By the same token, Team Flash seems awfully quick to utilize a plan that will almost certainly end lethally for Griffin Grey. If they have enough time for Felicity Smoak to send them material to create a reinforced Flash costume, surely they have enough time for Cisco to devise a reinforced hand-cuff gun like what they used to trap Zoom in last week's episode. Or something else similarly non-lethal!


Performances

Danielle Panabaker steals the show this time around. Between Caitlin being more than just a damsel in distress and playing opposite herself with another vampy turn as Killer Frost, Panabaker's scenes are the most fun part of the episode.

On that note, Bart Sears does a damn good job of making Hunter Zolomon even creepier without the mask. He manages the neat trick of looking like a confused boy as he experiences his flashes of the past, even while acting like the creepiest of stalkers in how he talks to Caitlin.

Keiynan Lonsdale has a great moment when Wally explains why he feels the need to thank The Flash in person for saving his life. It really opens Wally up as a character and shows something of the good heart the character should have.

Violett Beane hasn't had much to work with in previous episodes, her character primarily existing to give Harry motivation for his actions. This episode flips the script, with Jesse having to work to save her father and Beane proves more than capable of keeping pace with the rest of Team Flash.

Tom Cavanagh is always a delight as Harry Wells. In this episode, however, we get to see something we haven't seen a lot from him - honest regret for his actions. Well, the actions of another version of him who wasn't really him, but the sentiment is there all the same.


Artistry

The opening montage in which Barry deals with the petty annoyances of a morning at work that his speed used to help him deal with is inspired and well-directed. Nice use of Desmond Dekker's Israelites as background music too.

The special effects for Zoom saving Caitlin from Killer Frost are well-executed and the scene is well-directed.


Flash Facts

In the comics, Griffin Grey was the roommate of Bart Allen - the second Kid Flash (formerly known as Impulse) and the fourth speedster to be called The Flash. Grey gained the powers of super-strength, energy manipulation and fast-healing after being caught in a bomb blast. Dubbing himself The Griffin, he tried to establish himself as a costumed crime-fighter but soon learned that his powers were draining his life-force and aging him prematurely. After abducting Jay Garrick in a bid to study how the elderly speedster had stopped aging, he died after staging a bridge-bombing in a bid to regain the favor of the city.

The DCTVU version of Griffin Grey has the same weakness as his comic-book counterpart. His powers are limited to super-strength and enough endurance to not be hurt by walking into a moving car. He was a junior in high-school at the time of the particle accelerator explosion and disappeared when he was a senior, due to his powers making it impossible for him to pass as a teenager.

Joe, Cisco and Barry confront Griffin at Ace Chemical. In the DC Comics universe, Ace Chemicals was the name of the company in Gotham City where the man who became The Joker was exposed to the chemicals that bleached his skin .


Technobabble

People from different Earths vibrate at different frequencies. This causes them to leave cellular dead zones wherever they go on another Earth. Harry is able to track Jesse by following the trail of these dead zones.

Cisco developed a crash-assist style-device for the STAR Labs vans. This allows him to tell where the van has been and to see what happens should something damage it.

The carbine cell Zoom used to trap Barry Allen proves equally effective at containing Killer Frost.

When examining the crash site where Harry disappeared, Barry concludes that the STAR Labs van hit something strong enough to exert an equal amount of force back onto the van.

The device Caitlin rigs up to free Killer Frost operates by running an electrical current through a cable, which heats up the carbine in the cell window. This, in turn, will speed up the electrons, weakening the molecular structure of the window as they move faster and faster.  Once it heats up enough, it should become as fragile as glass and easily breakable.

Griffin Gray's genes mutated, with the functional myostatin of his cells being essentially gone. Myostatin is a protein which hinders muscle development in the body, causing excessive muscle growth in animals lacking it - i.e. super-strength.

As a result of his super-strength, Griffin is also suffering from oxidated stress - the protein and DNA in his body are being ravaged by oxidants. In short, the more he exerts himself using his super-strength, the faster his body wears-out and he ages.

Jesse is able to locate her father, tracking the signal on his metahuman-detecting watch. Since the signal is meant to go to a server that doesn't exist on Earth One, it just keeps sending the same signal over and over.

Jesse and Cisco upgrade the lining of Barry's costume using the same compound Ray Palmer used in developing his ATOM suit - dwarf star alloy  It is super-strong yet super lightweight Unfortunately, they only got enough material from Felicity Smoak to cover the chest-piece of Barry's suit and their best guess is that it will only be able to absorb one of Griffin Grey's punches.


Dialogue Triumphs

Killer Frost: (upon seeing Caitlin)  What do you know? I can still pull off brunette!

Jesse: (To Harry) I may be afraid of Zoom but I'm just as afraid of you!

Caitlin: So what does Zoom need you for?
Killer Frost: THAT is an excellent question, Caity. You know, I've been asking myself the same thing. But it doesn't matter now. I'm not gonna stick around much longer.
Caitlin: Wait - I thought you said your powers don't work inside that cell?
Killer Frost: They don't. You're right. So you're gonna help me get out of here.
Caitlin: Why would I help you?
Killer Frost: Listen, honey. There is no way you're making it down that cliff all by yourself. So let's make a deal. You. Get me out of this box. And I'll help you get home. I might even throw in some wardrobe tips for free.

Harry: Look. I'm sorry this is happening to you, but there's nothing I can do to fix it.
Griffin: Well, that sucks. Because if you can't figure out a way to help me, Dr. Wells, you're going to die soon too.

Wally: Look, I've been reckless my whole life. Racing cars. Pushing limits. I did everything at full speed without a care in the world. But it wasn't until Zoom took me that... that I really thought I was going to die. And I WAS going to die... if The Flash didn't do what he did. He gave up his powers to save me - a guy he didn't even know! No one's ever done anything like that for me before. I need to tell him how much that means to me.

Griffin: How do you sleep at night? Knowing you've destroyed so many people's lives?
Harry: I don't.

Killer Frost: You know, once I saw you, I realized why Zoom didn't kill me. Because I look just like you. Now... he won't need me anymore.
(Killer Frost throws an icicle at Caitlin. We see time slow down as Zoom enters the room, phases through Caitlin, grabs the icicle, and drives it into Killer Frost's chest.)
Zoom: No. I don't.

Harry: When your mother died, honey... something inside me broke. I couldn't protect her. And I swore, I swore on her grave, no less, that I would protect you. And then Zoom took you, and I snapped. I just snapped! I couldn't breathe, I... I couldn't lose the only other person that I love.
Jesse: Yeah. Yeah, I get that. I understand why you did everything you did to protect me. I mean, you were only missing one day and I would have done anything to find you! But, I mean... I need to know that - that's never going to happen again, okay? Every time I stay out late or get in trouble, you can't track me down or hurt someone because you're trying to save me.
Harry: Yeah, but... you're in danger.
Jesse: I know!
Harry: (stepping closer to her, taking her shoulders) Okay. I'll make you a promise. I promise you I will be the kind of father that you can be proud of if you promise me you'll never run away from me again.
Jesse: (laughing) Okay. Okay. Deal. (hugging him) I love you.
Harry: (hugging her back) I love you too.

Caitlin: Please. Take me back to my Earth.
Zoom: You know... I've always measured my success by counting the number of victims I've had. But... now I think I'm going to widen my scope. Start counting the number of Earths I conquer instead. You want to go home? Let's go. After all, this Earth has already been brought to its knees. (giggles manically)

(Barry enters the lab and looks mournfully at The Flash costume. Harry comes in behind him.)
Harry: Wow. You're here early.
Barry: Yeah. I couldn't sleep.
Harry: Me neither.
Barry: I know that we just took down Grey without my powers, but... I have no idea how to get Caitlin back without them.
Harry: We can't, Allen.
Barry: Then what are we going to do?
Harry: Gray... Gray kidnapped me because.. he thought I was Harrison Wells from... this Earth. And I know he was talking about another guy, but I just... I can't help but think... I still haven't paid for what I've done.
Barry: What does that mean?
Harry: I thought... when you, when we... closed the breaches that I could just forget about everything I've done. But I can't!  But I realize... what I can do. You are going to get your speed back, Allen. And I'm gonna help you do that.
Barry: How?
Harry: (chuckling) By creating another particle accelerator explosion.


Dialogue Disasters

Every line where Jesse is referred to as Jesse Quick. Yes, ha-ha, we know where this is going...


Continuity

Cisco uses his Vibe powers and Zoom's helmet to check on Caitlin and confirm she's alive.

Killer Frost is seen for the first time since 214. Zoom was apparently unable to kill her because she reminded him of Caitlin. He did, however, imprison her in a cell like the one he used to contain Barry.

Cisco is able to match the fingerprint and blood-sample Barry found at the site of Harry's kidnapping to Griffin Gray. He also ages the picture he got of Harry's kidnapper and matches it to an age-adjusted picture of Griffin Gray.

Griffin Gray is 18 years old and was a Senior at Central City High School. He had a girlfriend named Jenny, whom he planned to marry and have kids with.

Bio-chemistry was one of Jesse Wells five majors in college. She seems surprised that having that many majors is uncommon.

The Earth Two Caitlin Snow was a victim of the STAR Labs particle accelerator explosion, but she was not employed by STAR Labs, At the time of the explosion, she had just flunked out of medical school and was living with her mother, who became a frigid narcissist after the death of her brother, Charlie.

The Earth One Caitlin Snow never had a brother, but says that her mother is also a cold-as-ice bitch, like Killer Frost's mother

Barry refers to the first time he saved Iris from being hit by a car, back in The Pilot.

Griffin Gray is skilled enough at chemistry to recognize it when Wells spends half an hour diluting a formula.

Location

Earth 2 - Zoom's Lair.


Untelevised Adventures

Harry somehow knows that he and his daughter are not the only people from another Earth hiding out on Earth One. This seems to be more than a reference to the Earth Two version of Dr. Light, last seen in 205.


The Fridge Factor

Averted, as Caitlin makes a good attempt at escaping her imprisonment with Zoom. It might have worked if it hadn't been for her evil doppelganger...


The Bottom Line

Another villain-of-the-week episode where the action is secondary to the subplots. Thankfully, some of the least developed members of the cast get some much needed development and it's fun watching Caitlin interact with her evil twin. Unfortunately, the script tries to do a little too much and some aspects (like Wally's "Full Speed' monologue) work well while other's (Barry's speech about time stopping and it just being him and Iris) fall flat. These few flat moments are entirely due to the script, however, and the entire cast shines with what they have to work with.