The Flash Episode Guide: Season 3, Episode 20 - I Know Who You Are

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





Plot

Barry, Cisco and the rest of Team Flash seek out Tracy Brand - the physicist Barry's future self said would one day help him to trap Savitar in The Speed Force. Unfortunately, Killer Frost is looking for her as well, promising a battle between the former friends. Meanwhile, Joe's ponders his relationship with Cecile and how it can grow with half of his life hidden from her.


Influences

The Terminator (a future threat tries to kill the woman who is destined to bring about his downfall, name-dropped by Tracy Brand) and The Flash: Out of Time by Robert Venditti (basic idea for Savitar's identity),


Goofs

As showy and impressive as it is, why did Killer Frost freeze HR's drink - a trick showing more fine control of her powers than she's ever shown before - when all it did was tip him off that she was close? (Caitlin's influence trying to warn him?)

After taking Tracy to STAR Labs, Barry asks Joe why he hasn't told Cecile about Team Flash. Given that all of the events of the episode take place in one night (we know this because Cecile says that she told Joe that she loved him that morning whens he visits him at his house later) when has Joe had time to talk to Cecile?


Performances

The chemistry between Anne Dudek and Tom Cavanagh is brilliant and salvages what might be an otherwise creepy subplot with HR hitting on a woman under severe duress.

Carlos Valdes and Tom Felton do a good job playing off of each other, exploding the underdeveloped dynamic between Cisco and Julian.

Jesse L. Martin is a treasure. Not a lot else needs to be said.


Artistry

The sequence in which Barry saves Tracy Brand from Killer Frost's attack in the lab is a new high-mark for the show's excellent slow-motion effects work.

Ignoring that Killer Frost really should not be able to out-pace The Flash on ice-slides, the chase sequence looks amazing.


Flash Facts

In this episode, Killer Frost shows the ability to create ice-slides - bridges of frozen water on which she can move at great speed. Ironically, while this ability is often utilized by ice-manipulating heroes and villains in comic books (Iceman from The X-Men being the most famous example.) no version of Killer Frost in the comics made use of this ability. This may have been due to the pre-New 52 Killer Frosts being heat-vampires rather than an ice-creating elemental. The Killer Frost in the Justice League cartoon, however, did have the ability to create ice slides.

While not creating ice-slides, the Killer Frosts in the classic comics did have the ability to fly - presumably by using cold air to provide lift or through some latent telekinetic ability that also allowed them to shape and manipulate the ice they created by draining the heat from objects.

At one point Tracy Brand compares herself to Sarah Connor in The Terminator. Cisco corrects her and says she's more like Miles Dyson. In the Terminator mythology, Miles Dyson is the scientist who creates the neural-net processor that leads to the development of Skynet - the artificial intelligence that tries to take over the world but is defeated by John Connor, son of Sarah Connor.

"Eppur si muove" is Italian for "And yet it moves." As HR notes, this statement is attributed to the astronomer Galileo who reportedly said this phrase after being forced to recant his research which proved that The Earth moved around The Sun rather than the reverse, which was the accepted dogma of the Roman Catholic Church at the time. Since then, the phrase has become a rallying cry for scientists whose research is held back or decried by political or religious pressure.

Tracy theorizes that Savitar's armor is made of a theoretical substance capable of dispersing heat at high temperatures. This sounds remarkably similar to how - in the modern The Flash comics - Wally West was able to create a costume of pure Speed Force through sheer force of will to protect him from the effects of friction and static build-up.

The concept of Barry Allen having to fight a future corrupted version of himself lies at the center of the New 52 Flash story Out Of Time.


Technobabble

Tracy Brand's dissertation was on the purely suppositional nature of extra-dimensional energy. Barry tells her - not realizing she hasn't talked with anyone about her hypothesis yet - that her work on relativistic quantum mechanics and its application to interspatial theory to manipulate matter on a sub-atomic level is groundbreaking.

Barry is able to use a spark of his speed lightning to ignite a gas torch as a weapon against Killer Frost.

Tracy Brand's theories of quantum mechanics involve ideas of wave-particle duality, quantization of energy and time- symmetric formulation of quantum theory and how the boundary conditions lead to principle causality and the psychological arrow of time.

Tracy Brand studied speedsters and theorized the idea of The Speed Force's existence based on the energy produced by a speedster in motion being more than they could generate through sheer kinetics. She theorizes this energy could be manipulated or controlled... perhaps even turned into a prison of sorts.

Barry's costume is made of vulcanized Teflon. It neutralizes any electron imbalance and prevents the friction of Barry's movements from generating a lethal dose of static charge.

"Eppur si muove" is Italian for "And yet it moves."

Tracy Brand notes that the way light reflects off of Savitar's armor is unlike any metallic compound she's ever seen.

In Fermi liquid theory, any sort of non-Fermi liquid is called "strange metal". This is a theoretical compound capable of dispersing heat at high temperatures.

Tracy theorizes that Savitar moves so fast that he needs his armor - which is made of this "strange metal" to neutralize the charge that builds up around him.  This seems to be like Barry's vulcanized Teflon costume, but on a much larger scale.

Tracy further theorizes that without the suit, Savitar would just be a man with a major case of static cling. She also guesses that Savitar's own velocity could be used against him with the right device and he could be trapped in The Speed Force.


Dialogue Triumphs

HR: So our hopes of defeating an evil speed god hinge on a grad student?
Barry: Yep.
HR: ... could be worse.

(The window in the door of Tracy Brand's lab ices over and shatters. Killer Frost enters.)
Killer Frost: Admission here is so easy.

(Barry has been knocked down by one of Killer Frost's blasts. Cisco nervously approaches her.)
Cisco: So... you've gone full-on Killer Frost, huh? New threads and everything.
Killer Frost: No more pencil-skirts for me.
Cisco: (raising his hands defensively) I don't want to hurt you.
Killer Frost: You won't. But I will hurt her.

Tracy:You're interested in my theories on quantum mechanics?
HR: Your ideas of wave-particle duality. Your quantization of energy. And your time-symmetric formulation of quantum theory. And -
(Cut to the STAR Labs portable lab van, where Cisco and Julian are manning the station. Cisco is talking into a walkie-talkie.)
Cisco: - how the boundary conditions lead to principle causality and the psychological arrow of time.
HR: ... and the psychological arrow of time.
Tracy: You really know your stuff!
HR: Well... je suis... smart.
Cisco: (over HR's ear-piece) Lay off the French. And lay off the improv too, please?

(Team Flash explains to Tracy why Killer Frost is trying to kill her.)
Joe: We know it's a lot to take in.
Tracy: Well, to be fair you're basically telling me I'm Sarah Connor in Terminator.
Everyone Except Tracy: Wellll...
Cisco: More like Miles Dyson.

Julian: Caitlin could be home now. Had you stopped her, she would be here. But you didn't! You couldn't! Tell me why!
Cisco: Because I'm afraid!
Julian: Afraid of what?!
Cisco: Afraid of killing her! (holding up his hands) I'm walking around with two loaded guns here, ready to go off. I mean, what if she's hurting Barry or Joe or you? And I have to save you and I can't control my powers and I end up killing her?! She's my best friend. And I rather it be me than her.

Tracy: How did you know I was here?
HR: (clears throat) I may have done a bit of holographic stalking. I stalked you. Holographically.
Tracy: You mean, in the future, I'm still obsessed with a 500 year old Italian polymath?
HR: (laughs) It would appear so.

The Flash: I know who you are.
Savitar: It's about time.
The Flash: Yes, it is. Everything with you is about time, isn't it? The past? The present? The future? You know all of it, right? And you know everything about me! About Joe! About Wally!  And Iris?! You know our strengths. You know our fears. You know how much we love each other. And you know how to use that love against us. All this time we thought we couldn't stop you because you were one step ahead. But that's not it! You don't just know what's going to happen to us. You were there. You lived it. You remember... when you were me!
(Savitar kneels down and his armor begins to unfold. Out of it steps a somewhat familiar figure.  The hair is longer and dirtier and the face is scarred... but it's clearly Barry Allen)
Savitar: Like I told you.from the beginning.. I am the Future Flash.


Continuity

According to the data from Future Barry, Tracy Brand will win the 2021 Nobel Prize, The Copley Medal and a Presidential commendation.

In 2021, Tracy Brand develops the technology that traps Savitar in The Speed Force.

During the events of this episode, Wally is on Earth Three visiting Jesse Quick.

In 2017, Tracy Brand is a graduate student enrolled in Central City University's theoretical physics program. She failed her dissertation and is in the process of burning her notes when Barry, Cisco and HR find her.

On Earth 19, the great physicist Einstein's first name was Norbert. Not Albert.

On Earth 19, the fried potato snack Americans call Fries and the British are Chips are called Finger Chips.

HR's drink of choice at CC Jitter's is a triple-shot no-whip mocha Flash.

Tracy Brand's drink of choice is on the CC Jitter's secret menu. It is called The Zoom - triple espresso with a shot of cayenne.

Team Flash wipes the security footage at Central City University to protect Caitlin's identity.

Team Flash tells Tracy Brand about her future and that her theories regarding The Speed Force are right.

HR claims to have written a book of motivational speeches on Earth 19 - All's Wells That Ends Wells.

The Galileo of Earth 19 also coined the phrase"Eppur si muove".

HR is familar with the writings of Galileo and knew that there is a statue of him in one of Central City's parks. It is because of this that he recognizes the landmark in one of Tracy's photos from the future.

Joe dumps Cecile just before she is taken hostage by Killer Frost.

Killer Frost is able to repeat the exact words Barry is going to use as he tries to talk sense into her. She claims this is because Savitar knows what Barry did in his past and told her what Barry said.

Savitar tells Barry that the time of his ascension is almost about to happen.

Cisco takes a blood sample of Killer Frost while she's fully mutated. Julian thinks he can use that to reverse engineer a permanent cure for her condition.

The team notes that Savitar rescued Caitlin rather than kill Tracy Brand, indicating that he needs Caitlin for something.

Joe takes off his wedding ring and tells Cecile that he loves her, promising there will be no more secrets between them. We later learn that he told Cecile about Barry and Wally's secret identities and his work at STAR Labs.

Barry figures out that Savitar is a corrupted future version of himself.


Untelevised Adventures

We don't get to see HR's talk with Tracy and how he convinces her to try and help Team Flash build a speed trap for Savitar.


The Bottom Line

Flawless. Absolutely flawless.

The Flash Episode Guide: Season 3, Episode 18 - Abra Kadabra

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




Plot

Gypsy returns from Earth 19 in pursuit of another dimension-hopping criminal - one from the 64th century, armed with advanced technology that may as well be magic by the standards of 21st Century Earth One. Calling himself Abra Kadabra, the fugitive seems to harbor a grudge against The Flash and knows far more about him than he should. Still, he is willing to tell Barry all about Savitar in exchange for his freedom...


Influences

The Flash comics of John Broome and Mark Waid. Caitlin invokes Arthur C. Clarke's Third Law. Back To The Future is name-dropped by Cisco. Caitlin's transformation into Killer Frost in the final scene resembles the transformation of dead humans into Wights in Game of Thrones.


Goofs

The office building we see in the opening scene is labeled as belonging to Stagg Industries. In Season One, Simon Stagg's company was Stagg Enterprises. (Possibly he had two companies in his name? Or maybe this was changed by Flashpoint?)

Caitlin's discovery that she's been impaled on a pipe looks more goofy than horrific.

Iris can't seem to decide if she's confident in Barry's ability to save her or not. I swear that it changes from episode to episode whether she is refusing to worry about the future or is desperate to do anything to avert her fate.


Performances

David Dastmalchian proves a perfect Abra Kadabra, finding the perfect balance of smug smarm and showmanship essential to the character.

While I regret the writers' apparent need to give Caitlin a romantic subplot every season, the chemistry between Tom Felton and Danielle Panabaker in this episode is fantastic and they're easily the most convincing couple out of all the romances on the show... which makes the final scene all the more painful.


Artistry

While the show generally does a fantastic job with its slow-time CGI, the sequence in which Kadabra releases hundreds of playing cards into the air as a smokescreen looks particularly well-done.

Between the tense direction, all of the ensemble performances and the pitch-perfect music, everything in the surgery scene works together perfectly.

The final scene - with its use of silence apart from the sound of the heart-monitor as Caitlin dies - is similarly powerful.


Flash Facts

The opening scene takes place at Stagg Industries' building in Central City. In the comics, Stagg Industries is the business of Simon Stagg, who was the chief nemesis of the the superhero Metamorpho.

The DCTVU version of Simon Stagg was killed by Eobard Thawne in the second episode of The Flash's first season.

Stagg Enterprises  was mentioned twice before on Arrow. In the sixth episode of Arrow's first season, Laurel Lance said they were the single largest donor to her legal clinic. In the tenth episode of Arrow Season One, a Stagg Enterprises chemical factory in Starling City was the target of one of Firefly's attacks.

First appearing in The Flash #123 (May 1962), Abra Kadabra is one of The Flash's deadliest foes. Born Citizen Abra in the far future of the 64th Century, he became obsessed with stage magic and illusion at a young age. Unfortunately, science had advanced to the point where the amusements of slight-of-hand magic were passe and Abra could not make a living at his chosen craft. Stealing a time machine prototype, Abra went back in time, armed with a variety of "tricks", to where he thought he might find a more appreciative audience. His efforts to force an audience to applaud him using mind-control technology would gain the attentions of The Flash, who went on to defeat him again and again, as Abra became obsessed with proving his power and gaining true magic powers.

After Wally West took over the mantle of The Flash from Barry Allen in the comics, Abra became obsessed with destroying the new Flash or otherwise making him miserable. This was due to Wally West being the hero who would ultimately defeat Abra at some point in The Future. This grudge has continued even into the Rebirth universe, where Abra Kadabra was the main villain of the first storyline in the Titans series.

The DCTVU version of Abra Kadabra seems true to the original comic form, save for the fact that he comes from an alternate Earth. Gypsy confirms that he's from the 64th century and that they think he has some kind of nanotechnology built into his body which allow him to perform a number of "tricks" including teleportation and telekinesis.

In what seems to be a nod to Abra Kadabra's grudge against Wally West in the comics, Kadabra has a grudge against Barry and he confirms that the two are great enemies in the future, despite this being the first time Barry has met Kadabra and the episode ending with Kadabra going to be executed. This indirectly suggests that Kadabra learned of his final fate at some point in his past and turned on The Flash trying to avert it.

Abra Kadabra's second robbery occurs at Kord Industries. In the DC Comics Universe, Kord Industries is the technologies company run by Ted Kord a.k.a. the second Blue Beetle.

The DCTVU version of Kord Industries has been mentioned several times on Arrow. According to Thea Queen, Kord Industries is one of the largest weapons manufacturers in the DCTVU. They also manufacture consumer goods, including "awesome cel phones." They are Palmer Technologies' main business competitor. The Clock King worked for Kord Industries before he turned to crime.

In considering Abra Kadabra's technology, Caitlin invokes Clarke's Third Law - "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." Arthur C. Clarke was a British author, inventor and futurist, probably most famous for his novel 2001: A Space Odyssey. Along with Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein, Clarke was considered one of "The Big Three" science-fiction writers of the mid-Twentieth Century.

When naming Barry Allen's greatest enemies, including himself, Thawne, Zoom and Savitar, Abra Kadabra also mentions someone with the last name DeVoe. This is likely a reference to Clifford DeVoe a.k.a. The Thinker.

Created by John Broome for All-Flash #12 (Fall 1943), The Thinker was an enemy of the Jay Garrick Flash. Clifford DeVoe was a failed defense attorney who realized that most of the criminals he represented had the skills to commit various crimes but lacked the intelligence to plan their heists efficiently or to manage an organized criminal empire. He established himself as The Thinker, organizing the small-time crooks of Central City into an organized mob. He also fought against The Flash using advanced technology - some of it stolen and some of it of his own design. Chief among this devices was The Thinking Cap - a helmet which enhanced The Thinker's intelligence and allowed him to project mental force blasts as well as control the minds of others.


Technobabble

Barry notes that, instead of sprinklers, every floor in the Stagg Industries building uses a halon gas system that absorbs all the oxygen in case of fire. Interestingly, the manufacture of new halon-based extinguisher systems have been banned in the USA since 1994 due to halon gas depleting ozone. Several halon systems are still in use in around the country, however, thanks to a grandfather clause that prevented existing systems from needing to be replaced. The halon systems were quite popular in libraries, archives and computer labs where a sprinkler-based extinguisher would risk damaging printed materials and electronics.

Gypsy says they think Abra Kadabra's tricks are powered by nanotechnology implanted into his body. This allows him to accomplished several different tricks, including telekinesis, holograms, explosives and teleportation.

Cisco is able to input search parameters into the STAR Labs' satellite to make it search for anyone in Central City who vibrates at a different frequency than "ordinary Earth One folk". This enables him to locate Abra Kadabra without using his Vibe powers.

Julian finds an odd particulate residue at Stagg Industries. He's not precisely sure what it's made of save that it is organic and has some metallic hydrogen properties. Presumably it's a byproduct of Abra Kadabra's nanotechnology.

Kadabra has some device which enables him to locate Eobard Thawne's hidden Time Vault in STAR Labs and to locate a glowing blue sphere hidden inside of it. This is later revealed to be a futuristic power source.

Cisco says that when Caitlin's metahuman powers activate, her metabolic rate offsets cold tissue destruction. In layman's terms, she can regenerate the damage done to her body.

It is normal for shrapnel to cavitate and displace tissue during surgery. Hemorrhaging can occur if there is too much blood loos.

One piece of shrapnel is wedged between Caitlin's kidney and her inferior vena cava. This part of the body is surrounded by several major blood vessels. Damage to them can cause shock. There is also a tendon, which Julian has to work around.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Two guards walk through a high-tech lab in Stagg Industries.)
Guard #1: Looks like we may need to find a new job. Heard Stagg Industries may be getting bought out.
Guard #2: By who?
Guard #1: Doesn't really matter now, does it? All I know is we've got millions of dollars in tech - (gesturing to an large glass case holding some piece of technology) like whatever that thing is - that no one's using.
(Abra Kadabra emerges from behind the case, seemingly appearing out of thin air.)
Abra Kadabra: Then surely you gentlemen won't mind if I abscond with some of it?
(The two guards draw their guns as Abra Kadabra gestures at the case.)
Abra Kadabra: This piece in particular...
Guard #2: How did you get in here?!
Abra Kadabra: Believe me, that's the least impressive of my tricks.
Guard #1: Hands up, pal! Do it now or I'll shoot! Stop!
(Abra Kadabra ignores him and walks around to the other side of the case. The guards open fire as Abra Kadabra presses his hands against the glass. With a flash of blue light, he is inside the case, which it turns out is quite bulletproof. Abra Kadabra raises his hands like a stage magician who just pulled off an amazing trick before turning his back on the guards and taking the technology. The guards stand there, dumbfounded that their shots failed to penetrate the case.)
Guard #2: How the hell did he do that?
(Abra Kadabra waves his hand and there is another flash of blue light. When it fades, the guards are inside the glass case and Abra Kadabra is on the outside, as the alarms begin to go off and red lights flash.)
Abra Kadabra: Maybe you can figure out how I did it? But I doubt you'll have time...
(Abra Kadabra snaps his fingers and turns away. As he does so, water begins to pour into the case, seemingly from nowhere. The two guards begin to panic as the glass case begins to fill up, the water rising to their waists in seconds...)

(Abra is walking down a staircase, holding a piece of technology, alarms blaring in the background, as The Flash runs up.)
The Flash: I don't think that's yours, pal.
Abra Kadabra: (surprised) Flash?
The Flash: You didn't think I'd want to come meet the newest resident of Iron Heights?
Abra Kadabra: No. I assumed that you'd show. I just didn't expect you to be so young. (grinning as he emphasizes each word) Barry. Allen.
The Flash: Now, how do you know who I am?!
Abra Kadabra: (taking a handkerchief from his sleeve) I'm from the future!

(The Flash looks at him in disbelief. As Abra speaks, he drapes the handkerchief over the technology in his other hand.)
Abra Kadabra: You don't believe me? Let's see... uh... 2017? Hmm...how are things going with your doomed love, Iris West? Or your greatest foe... Savitar?

(Abra suddenly jerks the cloth away revealing his hand to be empty.)The Flash: You know Savitar?
Abra Kadabra: I know everything about him. And you. 

(The Flash suddenly runs forward and grabs at Abra's arm. When he slows down, he realizes he is holding a fake mannequin's arm.)

The Flash:  What the-?
(Abra waves a hand in The Flash's face and there's a bright flash of light.  The Flash is blinded as Abra runs for the door. Suddenly, a breach opens and Gypsy emerges, firing a blast of red energy which knocks Abra down as The Flash recovers. Abra stands as well, slipping some playing cards from his sleeve as he does so.)
Abra Kadabra: Gypsy. Still seeking revenge, I see?
Gypsy: I'm gonna get it this time.
Abra Kadabra: We'll see.

(Abra grins as transfers the cards from one hand to the other, fanning them out.)
Gypsy: No!
(The Flash charges forward as Gypsy ducks and covers and the cards suddenly jump into the air, multiplying into a swarm of cards. Barry bats them away but by the time he gets through the cloud of playing cards, Abra Kadabra has vanished again.)

(Flash, Kid Flash, Gypsy and Vibe have Abra Kadabra surrounded.)
Gypsy: You can't out-rick all of us, Kadabra.
(Gypsy and Vibe both fire their blasts at Kadabra. The blasts go through him.)
Abra Kadabra: I think I just did.
(Abra Kadabra fades away in a flash of light, revealed to be a hologram.) 

Caitlin: (To Julian) I was so focused on not hurting you as Killer Frost that I forgot that I could hurt you as Caitlin Snow. And for that I'm very sorry. So I understand if you don't trust me anymore. But maybe you can find it in your heart to forgive me?

Caitlin: I don't need a hospital! All I need is a mirror and a steady set of hands.

Barry: I have nothing to offer you. No reprieve. No escape from what you're facing. You've done some terrible things. But you are still a man. You have a family. Friends. People you care about. Somewhere inside of you there must be a glimmer of hope. It's that part of you that I'm asking... I'm begging... help me save her.
Abra Kadabra: The Flash. Begging. (grinning wickedly) See, here it is. In the future, you and I have been enemies for years. Oh, there have been others, of course. There was Thawne. Zoom. DeVoe. But none of them hurt you like Savitar. He truly broke you. I have to be honest, I was always a little bit jealous. But now... it's like I get to kill her too.
(Abra Kadabra grins with mock cheerfulness as he glances at his handcuffs.)
Abra Kadabra: If you'll excuse me, I have my execution to attend.


Continuity

Stagg Industries/Enterprises - first mentioned in 102 - is seen. The company is apparently in danger of being bought out.

Julian and Caitlin apparently stopped dating in the wake of 315 and the revelation that Caitlin had stolen a piece of The Philosopher's Stone.

Abra Kadabra's powers allow him to block both Cisco and Gypsy's ability to "vibe" his location.

Earth 19 does not have satellites capable of analyzing the vibrational frequencies of people across an entire city. Cisco offers to set Gypsy up with something similar to the STAR Labs set-up.

Cisco refers to the last time he worked with Gypsy and her kissing him in 314.

Abra Kadabra's third robbery is at Mercury Labs, which was last mentioned in 223 after Zoom stole a magnetar from them.

Mercury Labs does not exist on Earth 19.

Abra Kadabra claims that Savitar was the first speedster and that Barry didn't find a way to stop him until after Savitar killed Iris. He also claims to know Savitar's true name.

Julian served as a field medic during his time in the Royal Army. He never performed surgery, however.

Gypsy confirms that she was dating her former partner and that Abra Kadabra killed him three years earlier.

Gypsy theorizes that the technology Abra Kadabra is stealing is being used to build a time machine.

Cisco confirms that all the components Kadabra had been stealing were similar to what he used to build Eobard Thawne's Time Sphere in 123.

Cisco says the only thing he never understood about the Time Sphere was what it used for a power source. This is revealed to be the blue sphere that Kadabra stole from The Time Vault.

Cisco now has such fine control of his powers that he can create a portal to catch a falling Kid Flash and open a second one to let him land safely closer to the ground in a matter of seconds.

Barry is now able to phase through a moving vehicle, grab a figure inside of said vehicle and phase himself and said figure out the other side of the vehicle while - all while in mid-air!

Cisco tells Gypsy that he's not sure how he feels about her in the wake of her refusal to let Abra Kadabra walk - even for a little while - so that they can learn about Savitar's identity.

Gypsy returns to Earth 19 with Abra Kadabra.

Julia says his stitch-work may leave Caitlin with a scar on her stomach. Caitlin says she was never much for wearing two-piece bathing suits anyway. The two of them apparently make amends, with Julian kissing Caitlin.

Barry decides to go into the future to find out information on who Savitar is.

Strawberry Jell-O is Caitlin's favorite flavor.

HR spent the last two days in a romantic tryst with a woman namdd Rhonda.

Lime Jell-O is HR's favorite flavor.

Caitlin's heart stops shortly after HR returns. She flat-lines in the rush to save her and Julian removes the necklace holding her powers in check. Her heart restarts shortly after that and her scar heals. The episode ends with Caitlin's hair and skin having turned white amd her unleashing a blast of ice, having seemingly finally changed into Killer Frost.


Untelevised Adventures

Gypsy refers to Abra Kadabra having killed before on Earth-19 three years earlier and again more recently. It was three years earlier that Abra killed Gypsy's partner/boyfriend.


The Fridge Factor

Powerfully acted though it is, it cannot be denied that Caitlin's injuries here do little but provide angst for the men in her life (especially Julian) and that her becoming evil because of her powers is a load of bull poop.

Again, Iris has no role in this episode but being saved and inspiring Barry.


The Bottom Line

Easily the strongest episode of the season to date and one of the best episodes of The Flash ever.

The Flash Episode Guide: Season 3, Episode 15 - The Wrath of Savitar

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




Plot

Wally begins to have visions of Savitar while training with Barry - a fact that he decides to keep hidden at first, before his visions seem to become psychic attacks. Meanwhile, another secret threats Barry and Iris' newfound happiness together in the wake of Barry's proposal.


Influences

The Flash: Terminal Velocity by Mark Waid. (plot centers on The Flash training a younger speedster to help him save the life of the woman he loves)


Goofs

Barry expresses concern that Savitar may be able to spy on them through Wally. By that logic, shouldn't he be able to do the same thing through Julian? (At least Julian is ready to consider that possibility.)

Cisco's reluctance to let Wally vibe the future that he's training to prevent seems forced and out-of-character.

Granting that Barry is desperate for evidence that he can change the future, the idea that he can save Iris' life just by proposing to her is idiotic even by Barry's standards as the smartest idiot in the Arrowverse and grand-high carrier of The Idiot Ball.

How does Wally know about the broken piece of the Philosopher's Stone when he wasn't at STAR Labs when Caitlin revealed that she had it?

Why didn't Jesse go running after Wally when he started hallucinating?

Wally turning off the tracking device on his suit shouldn't have slowed down Team Flash in tracking him for long. Ignoring that there's two other speedsters who could run around the town to look for him, Cisco could have vibed Wally.

In all of the planning for the future and saving Iris' life, why haven't they started accounting for the fact that they have a third speedster - Jesse Quick - who is faster and more experienced with her powers than Wally?


Performances

The scenes of Danielle Panabaker and Tom Felton playing off of one another are the high-point of the episode.


Flash Facts

In the first part of the episode, there is a three-alarm fire at the Raab Building. This is a nod to Benjamin Raab - a comic book writer and writer/producer on The Flash.

The team track Savitar's acolyte Craig to Mount Buccelato. Though it is only spelled with one 'L', this is likely a reference to comic book creator Brian Buccellato, who worked on The Flash comic.


Technobabble

Cisco tests the box that Barry recovers for radioactive isotopes and gravimetric force residue.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Julian is in a lab, looking at his reflection in a glass case as Caitlin enters.)
Julian: (sighs) Come to talk me into it, then?
Caitlin: No.
Julian: Barry's lost his bloody mind if he thinks I'm going to volunteer to be... abused again.
Caitlin: He's just trying to protect Iris.
Julian: We all are! (sighs) But... not like that.
Caitlin: Is the reason you don't want to do this because... you don't want me to see it?
Julian: I just think... hearing his voice coming out of me... it just makes it impossible for you to see me as a normal -
Caitlin: (taking his hand) Hey. I've had somebody else's voice coming out of my mouth and you were still able to see the real me. How about trusting that I can do the same thing?
(Julian turns and looks at Caitlin. He leans in and gives her a quick kiss right on the lips.)
Julian: Sorry. I just wanted to do that, in case you changed your mind later.
Caitlin: Quite all right.

Barry: You were just a man. Like me.
Savitar: I'm nothing like you, Barry. You are cruel. You are selfish. From my perspective, you're the big bad!

(Julian enters the lab, walking in on a quiet Caitlin.)
Julian: Hey. (sits next to her) You okay?
Caitlin: I'm worried.
Julian: Yeah. I understand. I keep coming back to the thought that... I could be the cause of all this.
Caitlin: What do you mean?
Julian: Savitar's prophecy. "One will betray you." You may well have invited Judas into the group, Caitlin.
Caitlin: It's not you.
Julian: It's impossible to tell. Savitar could be controlling me and none of us would know about it. None of us. Not even me.
Caitlin: But this time we know who it is.
Julian: How?
(Caitlin gets up and moves to a drawer. She pulls out a piece of lightly glowing rock. Julian recognizes it immediately.)
Caitlin: Because... I'm the one who betrayed everyone.

Julian: I can't believe that you would keep part of the Stone. Do you not remember what Savitar had me do with that?!
Caitlin: Yes. I do.
Julian: But you're not concerned, are you? You just want your own personal meta-human specialist to try and find you a cure.
Caitlin: Julian, I don't want these powers. I can't spend the rest of my life wondering if or when I'm going to lose this battle and become Killer Frost. I thought you more than anyone would understand that...
Julian: No. You know what I understand? I understand the real reason you invited me on this team.
Caitlin: That's not the only reason!
Julian: Yeah. I wish I could believe that.

(After everyone but Caitlin has left his sick bed in STAR Labs)
Caitlin: (sobbing) I'm sorry. I should have never... I was afraid.
Barry: I know. Believe me, I know. Fear makes us do a lot of things that we shouldn't. My fear's the reason for all of this.


Continuity

There is a sign on the Central City border that reads "Welcome To Central City: Home Of The Flash." As the episode opens, a workman is adding a sticker which reads "& Kid Flash".

Wally is able to cover the required distance to save Iris in the future in the perfect amount of time (.21 seconds as revealed in Episode 311) for the first time.

Julian returns from London.

We find out that Iris accepted Barry's proposal from 314.

Barry asks Cisco to be his Best Man.

Joe is disappointed Barry didn't ask his permission first before proposing to Iris. He reminds Barry of a story he told Barry about his asking his wife's father for permission to propose.

This episode marks the first time Wally suffers physical trauma as a result of a Savitar vision.

On Earth 19, there is a movie called The Four Amigos that HR cites as an example of good teamwork. It is unclear from the context if this is a reference to The Three Musketeers or The Three Amigos.

Savitar claims that HR (whom he calls "The Pretender" and "The Coward") will survive the battle to come and states it is ironic.

Savitar says that, in the future, Barry will trap him in the one place he could think of and that he will be there long enough to go mad several times over.

Savitar refers to the events of 213 and how the Reverb of Earth 2 told Cisco that he could be a god.

Savitar claims that, in the future, he is considered The Flash's greatest enemy rather than Thawne or Zoom.

Savitar claims that all of Team Flash is responsible for taking "everything" from him.

Savitar also says that his and Barry's first meeting, from Savitar's perspective, is approaching. He also says that Barry was present when he became what he is but denies that Barry had anything to do with him becoming Savitar.

Savitar says he needs only one more thing to win his free of his future prison.

Savitar questions Barry when he says that they got rid of The Philosopher's Stone once and for all.

The team seek out Craig - the Savitar acolyte whom Caitlin confronted as Killer Frost in 307.

Savitar's minion Craig apparently knows Barry's secret identity and about the future where Savitar kills Iris, telling The Flash that he'd better move up the wedding.

The box Barry recovers from the Savitar cultists seems to be precisely the same as the one which held The Philosopher's Stone. Indeed, Julian believes based on their analysis that it IS the same box.

Julian refers to the prophecy from 309 and states that he fears he may be the one who will betray Team Flash. Caitlin says that it can't be him because she betrayed the team.... by taking a piece of The Philosopher's Stone in secret before Barry threw it away.

Caitlin says she took the piece of The Stone hoping that she could use it to get rid of her powers. Unfortunately, she hasn't been able to figure out how to use it.

Savitar appears to Wally posing as his mother, telling him that he now has what he needs to escape.

Barry realizes where he imprisoned Savitar - The Speed Force itself. This explained why Savitar could only appear briefly and only to other speedsters.

Savitar lures Wally into taking his place in The Speed Force. He compares it to Atlas - the giant in Greek myth who held up the sky, finding relief only when another took his place. This would seem to suggest that Wally is the one who, in Savitar's prophecy, suffers the fate worse than death.

One of Savitar's blades breaks off in Barry's body. Cisco says he might be able to do something with it.

When Iris leaves Barry's sick bed, he notices she is no longer wearing his engagement ring.


Location

Mount Buccelato - a remote point located outside Central City.


The Fridge Factor

Jesse can't go help Wally and Barry save people from a fire because she is "preoccupied with the ring" in the wake of Iris and Barry revealing their engagement.

Jesse is pretty much trapped in the default "supportive girlfriend" role for most of the episode, only showing up to comfort Wally when he's freaking out.

Despite the Julian/Caitlin subplot involving some of the best acting in the show this season, it is still worrying that the show can't stop giving Caitlin romantic subplots.


The Boomerang Factor

Honestly, given Barry's behavior in this episode - lashing out at Wally and saying he can't be trusted when Barry is just as guilty of keeping secrets from the team - I think Savitar has a point about Barry being selfish and cruel.


The Bottom Line

Up until the last five minutes. it's a serious candidate for the worst episode ever - ignoring all the scenes of Caitlin and Julian together. Barry's alternating between idiot and asshole kills a lot of the sympathy we're suppose to feel for him and I was almost rooting for Savitar at the end. Somehow, the last five minutes turn it around by making us feel the depth of loss as Wally pays for Barry's arrogance. The twist that Caitlin's betrayal wound up being the only thing stopping Barry from having freed Savitar sooner falls by the wayside, though and the show has no idea what to do with Jesse Quick. Hopefully she'll be given a chance to step up while Wally is gone.

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 10 - Borrowing Problems From The Future

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



Plot

Tormented by nightmares of the future where Iris is killed by Savitar, Barry has hesitated in bringing a new villain named Plunder to justice, remembering that villain's trial as part of the future he wants to prevent. As Wally West steps in to do what Barry won't, Caitlin Snow asks Julian Albert to help her remove her powers and offers him a job at STAR Labs.


Influences

The Flash: Terminal Velocity by Mark Waid (the plot centers around The Flash returning from the future and training a new speedster while working to avert the prophesied death of the love of his life.), The Flash comics of Geoff Johns (presence of Plunder) and the movie Back To The Future (Cisco name-drops it, refers to Barry as McFly, and the general plot involving using time-travel to prevent a death in the future).


Goofs

Given that Barry knows for a fact that past time is not unchangeable (and indeed spent the better part of the last six months suffering because of that fact), it seems odd that he'd question the ability of future time to be altered.  This is particularly maddening given his friendship with a group of time-travelers who averted a future timeline. (Maybe The Legends didn't tell Barry the details of what happened at Vanishing Point when Captain Cold died?)

Given how much withholding information has come back to bite the team in the ass, withholding information from Joe about what the rest of the team is working on re: stopping Iris's death and Caitlin's becoming a super-villain seems incredibly stupid.

That mob cheering "Kid Flash" sure showed up all of a sudden, didn't they?


Performances

This episode contains Grant Gustin's and Candice Patton's best scenes together since Barry and Iris became a couple. These run second, however, to the strange chemistry brewing between Tom Felton and Danielle Panabaker. And Panabaker herself steals the episode with her speech begging the rest of the team to let Julian join them for her sake.


Artistry

The special effects and stunt work for the sequence in which The Flash and Kid Flash chase Plunder are some of the best this show has ever seen.


Flash Facts

The episode opens with an entirely new narration from Barry, relating the events of 309 and how his new goal is stopping Iris from being killed by Savitar.

While insulting Kid Flash, Detective Patterson suggests sending him to Keystone City because Central City already has a Flash. In the original comics, while protecting both cities after Barry Allen's death, Wally West did settle in Keystone City.

In the original comics, Plunder was an assassin whose real name was Jared Morillo. Strangely enough - given the frequency of alternate-universe doppelgangers on this show - Plunder was an alternate Earth doppelganger of a friend of Wally West's, who was an honest cop in the Central City Police Department during Geoff Johns' run on The Flash. Plunder had no powers, but was an expert marksman and tracker.

The DCTVU version of Plunder is a jewel thief, an advanced gun and an eye-patch. This, coupled with a scruffy appearance, inspires comparison to a pirate and leads HR to give him the name Plunder.

HR claims to have written a novel called The Future Ain't What It Used To Be.  This phrase is often attributed to baseball star Yogi Berra and was the title of a song by Meatloaf.  The original saying "The future is not what it used to be." seems to have come from a 1937 journal called Epilogue and was in an article titled From a Private Correspondence on Reality by Laura Riding and Robert Graves.

Mention is made in the future news-scroll of someone called The Music Meister getting a six-figure book deal. The Music Meister was a telepathic super-villain created for the animated-series Batman: The Brave And The Bold who used his powers to make people around him spontaneously start singing and dancing as if they were in a musical. It has been revealed that a future episode of The Flash will be a musical special, crossing over with Supergirl, with The Music Meister as the main villain.

HR gives Barry and Iris a pet turtle named McSnurtle as a house-warming present.  McSnurtle The Turtle was the secret identity of The Terrific Whatzit - an animal speedster superhero from the Golden Age who dressed like the Jay Garrick Flash.


Technobabble

Soot gathered around the outside of a door indicates that the fire behind the door has no ventilation. Opening the door in this situation will cause a sudden inrush of oxygen and trigger an explosion. Barry and Wally are able to circumvent this by generating a miniature cyclone that creates an focused exit point for the heat and smoke while draining the oxygen keeping the fire alight.

Julian Albert is revealed to be taking Zolpidem - a sedative used for treating insomnia.

Plunder's gun has an interesting effect on Barry, causing his telemetry readings to drop precipitously. It also used some kind of heat-seeking ammunition that Barry is only able to avoid by phasing through a barrier

Plunder was also able to aim his gun and fire it without touching it

Plunder's gun also fires what appear to be laser blasts and is capable of generating a force-field that momentarily slows down The Flash and Kid Flash as they chase after him.

Cisco creates a device that will allow him to use his Vibe powers to let Barry see the future on the day Iris dies.

Julian and Cisco devise a new means of keeping Caitlin's powers under control - a device contained with a snowflake-shaped necklace, that is solar-powered and recharges itself whenever she's outside during the day.


Dialogue Triumphs

Barry: (V/O) My name is Barry Allen and I'm the fastest man alive! To the outside world, I'm an ordinary forensic scientist but secretly, with the help of my friends at STAR Labs, I fight crime find other metahumans like me. In an attempt to stop the evil speedster, Savitar, I was accidentally thrust into the future and I saw him murder the woman that I love. But I won't let that happen! I'm going to do everything in my power to change the future and I am the only one fast enough to keep her alive! I am... The Flash!

Cisco: Let me give you some advice, Wally. Being a superhero is not about kicking ass. (pauses) Well... no, actually, that's a straight up lie. There's a lot of ass-kicking involved.

(Plunder is breaking open a jewelry display. Suddenly, The Flash runs in.)
The Flash: (apologetically) See, I'm living with someone now, so I can't have criminals constantly interrupting our alone time.

(Barry is reluctant to let Wally help him with taking on Plunder and tells Joe he wants Wally to train more first.)
Joe: Okay. Well, remember the best way to teach somebody something is to throw them in the deep end. That's how I taught you how to swim.
Barry: That was... I'm still mad about that!
Joe: You can swim now, can't you?
Barry: ... yeah.
Joe: Mmm-hmm.

Julian: Look - I - I know I was... rude yesterday.
Caitlin: Yeah. You were a world class jerk.
Julian: Yeah. There is a reason...
Caitlin: Because you ARE a world class jerk?
Julian: ... Fair enough.

Caitlin: Look... what Alchemy did was not your fault.
Julian: Yeah. Tell that to Dave Frieman. Ben Edwards. Jorge Gonzales. These men were part of the CCPD Task Force that Savitar murdered. I should have died - not them.
Caitlin: Julian, what you're feeling... it's completely normal. It's called survivor's guilt. But it wasn't your fault, okay? You're a victim too.  I... (pausing to steel herself) I tortured people and nearly killed my best friends. I didn't ask for these powers. Just like you didn't ask to be used by Savitar.
Julian: Yeah. (sighs) I just don't know how to move forward.
Caitlin: Why don't you come join us at STAR Labs? You can help Team Flash fight metahumans.
Julian: You're being serious?
Caitlin: Yeah. Barry and the team - they'd be thrilled to have you. I would be thrilled to have you!
Julian: Ah... I'll give it some thought.  Uh, thanks for coming.

(Barry asks HR if he believes in predestination or fixed futures.)
HR: Well, I think that a man often meets his destiny on the very road that he takes to avoid it.
Barry: Meaning?
HR: Meaning... the future is fixed.

HR: Wallace! B.A! You're supposed to be dressed for the museum opening!
Wally: HR. We're speedsters. We have time.
HR: No one likes a braggart.

(As the rest of the team say they're reluctant to let Julian onto Team Flash.)
Caitlin: Guys, I need his help. I'm sorry, Cisco, but these cuffs... they aren't cutting it! Every night when I go to bed, I'm afraid I'm going to wake up... be her. Maybe Julian can think of something that we haven't?  Barry, when your mom was murdered, Joe and Iris took you in. Cisco, when Dante died... I slept on your couch to keep you company  The things we see?  The things that we face? No one can do this alone. Trying is the biggest mistake that you can make. He hasn't told anyone that Barry is The Flash. I think we can give him a chance.


Continuity

The opening scene repeats the scene from 309 where Barry briefly traveled to the future and saw Iris' death.

As the episode opens, Barry and Iris have been living together for a month but they haven't unpacked everything in their new home yet.

Barry has had nightmares which had him screaming loud enough to wake up Iris for three nights in a row.

It is confirmed that Iris and Barry's relationship has become sexual and the two share a bed.

Detective Patterson - last seen in 307 - is saved from a fire by The Flash and Kid Flash.

The power-dampening cuffs Caitlin is wearing need to be regularly recharged and are starting to fail. She asks Cisco to fix them for her.

HR hires a Russian woman named Olga to work at the STAR Labs museum, despite her not speaking English.  He also creates a malfunctioning hologram of Cisco to act as a tour guide.

HR dodges the question of just how he is paying for everything going into creating the STAR Labs Museum, but he tells Cisco that money is no object when he asks about ordering parts to repair HR's hologram.

Barry heard a news report of Plunder's trial when he traveled to the future in 309.

Dave Frieman, Ben Edwards and Jorge Gonzales were the three police officers on the CCPD Task Force that were killed by Savitar in 306.

HR claims to have written a romantic science-fiction novel involving time-traveling to the future called The Future Ain't What It Used To Be. It won a Nebula Award. It was about a man trying to stop his own murder in the future.

On that note, Earth 19 has Nebula Awards too.

HR is a believer in fixed futures.

Only two people show up for the opening gala of the STAR Labs Museum. They leave upon finding out the museum is not free.

Barry shows Iris the future newspaper from 2024 and tells her that she is no longer the author of the article about The Flash disappearing during a crisis of some kind. He then tells her about her murder at the hands of Savitar in four months.

Barry and Iris tell the rest of the team (except Joe) about the future where Iris dies on May 23, 2017.

The headlines that Barry sees on the news scroll in the future are as follows -
* Music Meister Gets Six-Figure Book Deal.
* Luigi's Opens After Murder
* Joe West Honored At City Hall
* Killer Frost Still At Large
* STAR Labs Museum Closes
* City Still Recovering Following Gorilla Attack

Cisco and Barry see HR standing on the roof overlooking the stand-off between The Flash and Savitar, holding a gun. Barry says HR wasn't there before. This suggests that Barry telling HR about the future changed it somehow.

Central City has 35 jewelry stores and 48 hotels.

Barry remembers that Plunder was captured robbing the Central City Museum in his future vision.

Barry steals Plunder's gun from the CCPD Evidence Room and gives it to Cisco so he can study it.

Cisco is able to get a crowd of children and teachers into the museum by offering a local elementary school discounted tickets.

Cisco also repairs HR's hologram.

On Earth 19, it is traditional to give reptiles as a house-warming gift. For this reason, HR gives Iris and Barry a female turtle named McSnurtle who bites.

The rest of Team Flash agrees to let Julian join the team.

In the final scene, a woman emerges from a breach and looks at a holographic projection of HR.


The Bottom Line

A solid enough return to form. Villain of the week Plunder could have used more definition, with it being unclear if he just had an advanced gun or if he was telekinetically manipulating the gun and bullets. And we never did find out just where he got that wonderful toy from...

Still, this episode makes good use of its time and settles a lot of the on-going subplots (Cisco's rivalry with HR in particular) even as it sets up the story lines for the rest of the season. The ensemble are all on point, with the chemistry between Grant Gustin and Candice Patton having never been stronger now that the "will they/won't they" tension has finally been excised from their relationship.

The Flash Episode Guide: Season 3, Episode 5 - Monster

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



Plot

With her newfound metahuman powers starting to change her physically, Caitlin turns to her biologist mother for help. Meanwhile, "HR" Wells tries to endear himself to Team Flash... much to Cisco's increasing annoyance and suspicion. And Barry tries to convince Julian Albert to let Barry assist him with his work as a giant monster threatens Central City.


Influences

The Kaiju genre (giant city-destroying monsters movies like Godzilla) and The Empire Strikes Back (the plan for how to bring down the monster mirrors that used by Luke Skywalker to bring down an AT-AT walker.)


Goofs

Granting that Julian Albert is a colossal dick, he does raise a good point about Barry disappearing in the middle of the day to deal with STAR Labs business and nobody in the CCPD noticing or making a big deal about it. Given what a stickler Captain Singh is, you'd think it would have come up by now even with Joe helping Barry cover.

Nigel, the lab assistant who threatens Caitlin, is an idiot. Not only because he is attempting to hold a woman hostage as a lab specimen to get back at his boss INSIDE of said boss's lab, but the woman he is trying to take hostage is a metahuman who is having trouble controlling her potentially lethal powers. He also threatens her while in the same room as her with no protective measures whatsoever!


Performances

Danielle Panabaker had a limited role in the first few episodes of this season. She more than makes up for it here, as Caitlin deals with her mother issues. She even manages to come off as menacing despite the cheesiness of the scene in which Nigel the lab assistant tries (and fails) to take her captive.

Tom Felton continues to be that guy you love to hate... right up until the final scene, in which he shows he is capable of playing a character more complex than a grown-up Draco Malfoy.

Tom Cavanagh is clearly having fun playing HR and it is a credit to his talents that he's perfectly at home playing a fourth character here.

It's a short scene but Jesse L. Martin is fantastic as he gives the teen who created the monster a well-needed fatherly talk. Dad Cop rules!


Artistry

The effects work for this episode is of high quality even by the standards of this show. Between Caitlin's manifestations of her powers, the CGI for the monster and the sequence with The Flash outrunning numerous sniper bullets, everything looks amazing.


Flash Facts

The sequence in which Barry fixes breakfast as super-speed is a frequent occurrence in the original comics.

It is revealed in this episode that Caitlin's powers do not generate ice - they absorb the energy from other objects, causing them to ice-over as they quickly lose heat. This is consistent with the powers of Killer Frost in the comics, which are based around heat absorption rather than the generation of ice.

The monster turns out to be an advanced hologram. This was a frequent ploy used by The Mirror Master in the original comics.

The monster finally appears on the corner of Second and Fulton. This may be a nod to Helen Stephens - a 1936 two-time Olympic Gold Medal winner (100 meter dash and four-person 100 meter relay) who was nicknamed The Fulton Flash.


Technobabble

Dr. Tannhauser mother wrote a paper on applications in cryo-medicine.

Cisco uses the STAR Labs satellite to get a visual on the monster before it disappears.

Cisco also, based on HR's suggestion, uses the sound of car alarms going off as a crude form of sonar to track the monster's location before it disappears.

HR says that Earth 19 has ropes made of carbon fiber. They are ultra-light yet strong enough to pull a battleship.

After hearing that transformers sort out near the monster, HR theorizes that the monster must generate some kind of electrical pulse.

Dr. Tannhauser attempts to test Caitlin's ability to slow molecular motion with a shaft of solid tungsten heated to 2000 degrees Centigrade.  Tungsten, it should be noted, has the highest melting point of all metals - 3422 degrees Centigrade.

Dr. Tannhauser tests Caitlin for polymorphism that might explain how she can absorb that much energy from molecules causing gelid surroundings.

The blast pattern and scoring on the insulation of the destroyed electrical transformers was consistent with a power surge.

The monster's movements were contained to a prescribed area. Barry suggests that the monster had to be kept within visual range.

Cisco says power drawn from the blown transformers can't be the source of the monster's power since they didn't detect a surge in the power grid. Barry suggests a portable Tesla tower might be powering the monster through broadcast power.

HR proves unable to use a computer to triangulate the position of the signal being used to create the monster.


Dialogue Triumphs

(As her Dr. Tannhauser is in the middle of blowing off Caitlin's request for help with a patient.)
Caitlin: Mom!
(Caitlin pounds her hand onto the desk.  The desk and everything on it immediately begin to ice over.)
Caitlin: I'm the patient!
Dr. Tannhauser: (into her phone) Cancel my appointments and have Nigel meet me in the bio-lab. We have work to do.

(Iris works to pry open the stuck doors on a stalled bus.  The Flash runs up.)
The Flash: Iris!  What are you doing here?
Iris: Working a story! And last time I checked you don't need super-speed and a red suit to help people!

Dr. Tannhauser: I told you, you never should have taken that job at STAR Labs.You could have stayed here, had access to a world class facility!
Caitlin: And have all of my work be in the shadow of your reputation.
Dr. Tannhauser: Of course. The only time you need your mother is when you're in trouble.
Caitlin: What's that supposed to mean?
Dr. Tannhauser: Oh, c'mon, darling! You ran off to Central City to play scientist with that disgraced quack!
Caitlin: I was trying to make a name for myself!
Dr. Tannhauser: For three years. Barely a word. Until trouble hit. And here you come, walking through the door and expecting mommy to drop everything in her life to try and fix it.
Caitlin: You have no idea what I've been through-

(HR describes an epic metahuman battle on Earth 19 as Cisco tries to weave a carbon rope.)
HR: It was like that movie where the gladiator was the lead gladiator... what was that called?
Cisco: Gladiator?
HR: That's better. On my Earth, it was called "Sweaty Men" and it didn't take.

(Julian and Barry are looking at Barry's projection map of where the monster has been seen.)
Julian: You know, this is exactly what I was talking about. Some meta has been gifted this incredible power and this is the very best thing they can do with it? Terrorize a city? It's pathetic.
Barry: Why exactly do you hate metas so much?
Julian: If you think I'm going to break down now and tell you that one of them killed my parents and that's why I have to do this job, I'm not. I don't need a deep, personal reason to hate metas, Allen. I just need to see person after person, transformed given these... extraordinary abilities and watch them be squandered. Robbing banks? Hurting people? Spreading fear? It's just... well, it's not just a crime. It's an absolute waste! I mean, can you imagine what it would be like to have those powers?  I mean, I would... I would be helping people. I would be improving the world. I guess I wasn't one of the chosen few, was I?
Barry: That's it?  You're.. mad at them because you weren't chosen?  I'm sorry, I mean, I'm just saying... It can't be easy being a metahuman. Having your life..  their lives change in ways that neither one of us could possibly imagine. It's got to take some adjusting.
Julian: Right. So now you're defending them?!
Barry: Well, no, I mean.. I don't think-
Julian: This internship thing we're doing is completely over.
Barry: ... whatever.

Cisco: Barry? We're going to do 'Empire'.
HR: Empire of The Sun, Barry!
Cisco: What? Empire Strikes Back!
HR: Empire Strikes Back, Barry!
Cisco: Just take it down, like it was an AT-AT.
HR: Just like an AT-AT!
Caitlin: The bigger they are, the harder they fall.
(HR and Cisco look up at her in surprise.)
Caitlin: Even I've seen Empire.

Joe: Do you realize how many innocent people could have been hurt or worse? What made you do something like this?
Teen: I just wanted to feel powerful for a change.
Joe: And that did it? Scaring people?
Teen: ... yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it did! You know the kids at my school? They tease me. Every. Day. I'm a weirdo there. You know, I'm just sick of feeling scared all the time! I just wanted someone else to feel that way for a change.
Joe: Look.. I know sometimes things are hard at your age. But trust me... it does get better.
Teen: So.. what happens now?
Joe: Well, there are severe consequences for what you did and you're just gonna have to accept that. But listen, you're young. You can turn all of this around.


Dialogue Disasters

Every moment of Nigel's sudden face-heel turn and attempting to threaten Caitlin.


Continuity

Barry is staying with Cisco until he can find his own apartment.

HR is also staying with Cisco.

Caitlin first mentioned her emotionally cold mother in 219.

HR claims that instead of "Good morning." people on Earth 19 say "Sumptuous day!"

HR continually plays with a pair of drumsticks while speaking.

HR learned all of Team Flash's usual coffee orders. Iris likes skim milk chai lattes. Wally likes iced Americano with three espresso shots. We don't hear how Barry usually takes his coffee but HR got him the decaffeinated version. Cisco takes French roast with cream.

According to HR, the entire coffee crop on Earth 19 was wiped out by a blight.

HR claims that the keyboards on Earth 19 are different than on Earth 1. This is why he claims he has trouble turning on the computers.

Caitlin keeps pizza pockets in the STAR Labs fridge.

According to HR, people on Earth 19 say "Until next communion." instead of "See you later."

Every traffic camera in a ten-block radius loses power whenever the monster appears. Barry also notes that electrical transformers blow out near the monster despite not being touched by it.

After Cisco says they don't have a magic monster lasso, HR talks about there being ultra-light but super-strong ropes made of carbon fiber on Earth 19.

Alfred Hitchcock was also a filmmaker on Earth 19, but one of his movies was Murder on the Titanic.

Caitlin first manifested her powers several months before this episode occurred, but she assumes she acquired them during the Star Labs Particle Accelerator explosion.

According to HR, Earth 19 had a Flash who organized a battle between all of the good and evil metahumans in an arena. The event was called World War M.

According to HR, the movie Gladiator is called Sweaty Men on Earth 19. It was not a hit.

Julian dislikes metahumans as much as he dislikes Barry.

Dr. Tannhauser closed herself off to Caitlin after the death of Caitlin's father. He died from some disease which Dr. Tannhauser tried - and failed - to treat.

Caitlin refers to her brief marriage to Ronnie Raymond and his death in 201.

Julian Albert has four years military training and carries a gun despite that not being normal procedure for CSI officers.

Cisco and Barry both note that HR hasn't actually contributed anything to their brainstorming over the monster - he just repeats what they say in different words.

HR claims to run the STAR Labs on Earth 19. He also claims to be a scientist and a best-selling novelist. His preferred genre is science-romance. He came to Earth 1 hoping to get material for a new book based on his adventures there.

The monster is revealed to be a large hologram. This explains its limited range and the blown transformers - the hologram requires a large amount of power to render.

Cisco realizes HR is a complete fraud when he is unable to triangulate a simple signal.

HR claims to have been named Entrepreneur of the Decade by Tech Magazine on Earth 19.

In the end, HR admits that he is an idea man but that he hasn't got the faintest idea how to implement those ideas. He was the face of STAR Labs on Earth 19 and - as he would have it - the inspiration. Then he was exposed and things fell apart for him. He saw the chance to travel to Earth 1 and writing his book as an opportunity.

HR's partner at STAR Labs was the one who actually solved the algorithm that Harry Wells created.

HR claims that he was present for when most of the evil metahumans on Earth 19 were defeated, albeit it in an advisory role. He says he can still be of use to Team Flash by telling them how metas that are unfamiliar to them were defeated on his Earth. The Team agree to keep him on for a few weeks to give him a chance to prove himself.

Julian Albert was the eldest son in a British old-money family that didn't appreciate his desire to become a scientist. He abandoned them to move to the United States where he could study freely, becoming an expert in his field. In the wake of the discovery of metahumans, however, he felt useless and powerless since so much of what he thought he knew was proven wrong. This spurred him to study metahumans so he wouldn't be useless or powerless.

At the end of the episode, Julian and Barry reconcile enough that Julian doesn't make Barry hold to his agreement to move his desk out of the lab.  The two also go out for a drink together.

Dr. Tannhauser determines that the more Caitlin uses her powers, the more difficult it will be for her to reverse the changes to her body.


Location

We aren't told where Dr. Tannhauser's lab is but it isn't in Central City. (She makes reference to Caitlin running off to Central City.)


The Fridge Factor

Apart from forcing the drama, there's no good reason for Caitlin to be hiding her powers from the rest of Team Flash. It's particularly glaring given the problems the team has had recently due to a lack of honesty and all of the scientists among them - Cisco especially - knowing what it is like to be confronted by an evil doppelganger with your powers.


The Bottom Line

A routine monster-of-the-week episode - no pun intended. The actual monster is rather lame but the plot does give the ensemble a chance to play around a bit. It's fun to see the Wells/Cisco dynamic change with Cisco now being the humorless one. And it's gratifying to see Julian Albert developed into something besides "Science Malfoy".  It's the Caitlin subplot that truly sells the episode and it will be interesting to see how things develop in coming episodes. Really, the only weak link is the continuing "Joe romancing the DA" subplot, which hasn't been given enough attention to be interesting. But Joe West's attempt to mentor a troubled teen more than make up for it.

The Flash Episode Guide: Season 3, Episode 2 - Paradox

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




Plot

The effects of Flashpoint are far worse than Barry anticipated, with Iris and Joe now estranged and Cisco oddly angry at him. Of more immediate concern is a new CSI - Julian Albert- who has taken an immediate and inexplicable dislike to Barry. This and the fact that The Rival has somehow reemerged in this timeline along with a mysterious new villain called Alchemy, who has the power to awaken superpowers in other people!


Influences

The comic mini-series Flashpoint (the idea of Barry's efforts to save his mother creating a much worse alternate timeline for his friends), the film The Butterfly Effect (hero makes things worse for his loved ones by trying to fix things with time-travel) the film Back To The Future II (the scene of Barry trying to explain divergent timelines mirrors Doc Brown's attempt to do the same as does the general plot of the hero's actions while time traveling accidentally causing bad things to happen) and The Flash comics of John Broome, Mark Waid and Geoff Johns (the various versions of Doctor Alchemy and Mister Element)


Goofs

How is Wally part of Team Flash - much less on speaking terms with both Iris and Joe - given that he didn't come into their lives until after Joe first admitted that he'd lied to Iris and both of them had to work on him to join their family?


Performances

Tom Felton doesn't get much screen-time in his first appearance as Barry's work-rival Julian Albert. Yet he manages to establish the character as a snobby professional with little interest in playing nice - at least at this point in his relationship with Barry. Comparisons to his most famous role as the equally elitist Draco Malfoy are inevitable but Felton does distinguish the character as being someone different if for no other reason than Albert is very good at his job and can back up his superior opinion of himself

John Wesley Shipp returns as Jay Garrick and all but steals the episode. He plays the character as something close to the original comic character, acting as a mentor and the voice of bitter experience to Barry Allen. The character is immediately made distinctive from Henry Allen and Jay is far less patient with Barry than his father was while being more friendly than Harry Wells or the Thawne/Wells in Season One. It's a brilliant performance and a highlight of the episode.

Carlos Valdes is beloved as the series' comic relief but he's proven capable of showing his dramatic chops when necessary. That being said, it is scary how completely different he seems as he plays a Cisco Ramon that has been torn apart by grief and anger. Cisco almost seems like an entirely different character - not just because his ever-present smile is gone by his entire physiology and the way he carries himself seems to have changed too.


Artistry

The direction and special effects in the sequence in which Rival crashes and burns after Barry tackles him at super-speed. It's a neat twist on the usual super-speed sequences to watch the characters bouncing out of control.

The use of Soul Asylum's Runaway Train during the diner scene is a perfect choice of music. The title suggests a speeding object moving out of control which is an apt description of Barry at that moment but the song is about coping with depression. The lyrics also make references to keeping secrets, breaking promises, becoming jaded and going where no one else can go and knowing what no one else can know.

The Vibe and Flash fight vs. Rival for both the special effects and fight choreography.


Flash Facts

The episode name - Paradox - may be a nod to The Flashpoint Paradox - the animated movie based on the original Flashpoint comic series.

Emily Bett Rickards has a cameo appearance as Felicity Smoak in the first segment of the episode

The scene in which The Flash disassembles the vehicle of a robber at super-speed whilst in the middle of a chase is taken directly from various comics.

We discover that several things have changed in the wake of Barry's altering the timeline once again. These changes include...

* Iris and Joe are no longer speaking, due to Iris not forgiving Joe for having lied to her about her mother still being alive.
* Iris and Barry never kissed before Barry went back in time to try and save his mother.
* Cisco has lost his sense of good humor and joking personality.
* Cisco's brother Dante was killed by a drunk driver and Cisco is in therapy to deal with the loss.
* Cisco is angry at Barry for refusing to go back in time to save his brother.
* Barry is now sharing his lab space with Julian Albert - the CCPD's Meta-Human CSI Specialist.
* Julian Albert has apparently been working with the CCPD for nearly a year.
* Julian Albert does not like Barry and the feeling is apparently mutual.
* John Diggle's infant daughter Sara is now an infant son named John Jr.
* Caitlin Snow seems to have acquired the heat-draining powers of her Earth 2 counterpart, Killer Frost.

Alchemy appears to be based, in part, on the classic Flash villain Doctor Alchemy.

The original Doctor Alchemy was a chemist named Albert Desmond, who suffered from a split personality. One personality was evil and became a villain dubbed Mister Element and used Desmond's knowledge of chemistry to create elemental based weapons and devices (i.e. bullet-proof car paint, a new anti-gravity element he used to throw The Flash into space).  In prison, Desmond learned the secrets of The Philosopher's Stone and adopted the name Doctor Alchemy.

The Philosopher's Stone offers its wielder a number of powers. By pressing the stone in certain places, the person holding the stone can transmute matter from one form to another, such as changing clean air into toxic gases or steel into rubber. The stone can also be used to transform the human body, as Dr. Alchemy once used the stone to transform The Flash's body into water vapor.

The DCTVU version of Alchemy seems to have powers of a similar scope to his comic book counterpart. We see him holding a stone  as he fights The Flash and he certainly had the power to restore Edward Clariss' memories and his powers from The Flashpoint Timeline. He also releases an energy blast capable of knocking The Flash off his feet.

Both Alchemy and Doctor Alchemy have costumes featuring hooded cloaks. Alchemy's costume includes a full face mask that obscures all his features, whereas Doctor Alchemy wore a mask that left his eyes and mouth uncovered.

While Albert Desmond is the only criminal to go by the name of Doctor Alchemy and wield The Philosopher's Stone, his equipment was used by other criminals. Alexander Petrov - a CSI assistant in Keystone City - became the second Mister Element using Desmond's old weapons. Later, STAR Labs scientist Dr. Curtis Engstrom took on the name Alchemist after stealing a fragment of the original Philosopher's Stone Desmond had created.

Given that two other villains with the same gimmick were employed as police lab technicians or scientists at STAR Labs, there is some speculation that Barry's new enemy at work, Julian Albert, is also Alchemy. They do share a common name - Albert - though it's a first name for the original Doctor Alchemy and a surname for the TV show character.

The television in the Motorcar Diner where Jay Garrick takes Barry is showing an episode of Dawson's Creek. John Wesley Shipp - who plays Jay Garrick - also played the title character's father on Dawson's Creek.

Again, reference is made to a sawmill on Williamson Street being Rival's hideout. This is probably a nod to Joshua Williamson - the writer on The Flash comic book at the time this episode aired.

Mention is also made of the Rival husk being found in Leawood. According to the DCU Atlas, Leawood is a working-class neighborhood in Central City.

Cisco's super-suit - once we see it - resembles his costume in the New 52 comics. With it, he is able to released focused blasts of vibration energy as his Earth 2 counterpart Reverb did and as the hero Vibe does in the comics.


Technobabble

A paradox is anything made up of two conflicting elements that nevertheless remains true. One of the most famous of these is The Liar's Paradox - "Everything I say is a lie."

One popular paradox regarding time travel - The Grandfather Paradox - dictates that it is impossible to go back in time and kill your grandfather, because otherwise you could never exist to go on to kill your grandfather.

The epidermal husks that the CCPD keep discovering are fully-intact human pelts comprised of nothing but the stratum corneum.

Barry notes that spalling can be caused by toxic epidermal necrolysis or by some kind of moist desquamation from intense radiation exposure.

The husk sample Barry stole from Julian Albert was mostly touch DNA - a forensic method used for analyzing small samples of DNA left at a crime scene, like minute skin cell samples left on an object that was briefly touched.

The fifth husk tests positive for Speed Force energy by not dark matter. This suggests that whatever Alchemy did to activate Rival's powers came from a different power source than the STAR Labs Particle Accelerator Explosion.

Jay uses the metaphor of a broken china coffee cup to explain how time-travel breaks the space-time continuum, noting that while you may glue the pieces back together in a way that works, it still won't be the same.

Another term for the alternate timelines of Flashpoints created by Barry's time-travel is mirror universe.

The Rival husk had above normal levels of hyaluronic acids and the androgen degradation was atypically low. Cellular regeneration seemed to occur at a staggering rate.


Dialogue Triumphs

(The Flash disassembles a bank robber's motorcycle as he's making his escape.)
The Flash: You are not gonna get too far on that thing anymore, are you?
(The robber looks down helplessly at the disconnected accelerator grip he's still holding in one hand as The Flash walks around and opens the robber's backpack.) 
The Flash: I will be taking these back to the jewelry store you stole them from, but ah... you can keep these if you'd like.
(The Flash opens his emtpy hand and drops all the bullets the robber shot at him on the ground, as we hear police sirens approaching in the distance.)
The Flash: Good luck with that.

(Barry just learned that he changed John Diggle's daughter Sara into a son named John.)
Barry: Okay, you know what? I don't want to know any more...
Felicity: Okay. I know this is a lot of pressure, but everything's going to be alright.
Barry: I screwed up everyone's life!
Felicity: Yeah, well maybe you should tell them?
Barry: I'm not going to tell them! I mean, how is that going to help? That's just going to make everything worse! I mean, I don't know how to fix this.
Felicity: Okay, we'll you're going to figure it out. If there's one thing I've learned from you is that with you, anything is possible...
Barry: Why? Because I'm The Flash?
Felicity: No. Because you are Barry Allen. And sweet, loving, kind Barry Allen, that everybody likes - the Barry Allen who is just like pudding - can fix this. So go. And fix this.
Barry: Yeah. Okay. You're right. Yeah.
(Barry continues to sit in shock.)
Felicity: NOW!
Barry: Right now?
Felicity: Yes!
Barry: Okay, alright.
(Barry gets up and begins to run.)

Jay: Having a loss like that in your life... I can see why you'd want to erase it. Who wouldn't try to save their parents? I understand that, Barry. Completely. But the thing is, there are consequences to time travel.
Barry: I have heard all of this before-
Jay: Not from me, you haven't! I'm not some doctor with a theory, Barry. I'm a speedster, like you, who's traveled in time. And made these same mistakes you are making right now. (picking up a ceramic coffee cup) Here, let me show you something...
Barry: Okay, you know what -
Jay: Humor me, kid. This coffee cup right here? Think of it as the space-time continuum. Whenever you go back in time, it breaks.
(Jay vibrates his hand rapidly until the cup cracks. He the tries to put the pieces back together.)
Jay: Now, you can reset the timeline. You can try to fix it. But no matter how hard you try, it's never going to be exactly how it was.
Barry: Look, I've learned... all this stuff that I didn't know before. And I'm not going to-
Both: - make the same mistakes.
Jay: Yeah. What you just said right there? That's the paradox of time travel. And also the paradox of life. I mean, If I only knew then what I knew now...
Barry: Why have these powers if I can't go back and fix what I broke?
Jay: We're not gods! We're men. And for whatever reason we've been given extraordinary abilities. The question you need to ask yourself is.. what kind of hero are you going to be? Are you just going to take a do-over everytime you make a mistake? Or are you going to live with them and move forward?

Barry: I'm really trying here, Cisco.
Cisco: Barry, I'm the one who's been trying. I've been trying this whole time to get you to do this one thing for me. But you kept saying "No, Cisco. I can't, Cisco. I would never do that, Cisco." And now you're telling me you went and did it for yourself
Barry: Were you listening? It went bad. It went... really bad-
Cisco: I don't care! At least I'd have my brother back!
Barry: Yeah, you would have him back. But because of it, somebody might have something happen to them that's just as awful as what happened to Dante. And trust me you don't want that on your conscience. It's a heavy burden to bear.  (Barry starts to leave the lab then turns around) And I don't know how many times I've said this, but... I'm really sorry about Dante, man.
Cisco: Sorry doesn't change anything.
Barry: No, it doesn't. But I can't go back. I can't change it. All I can do is move forward. (pauses) I really hope you can too.

Barry: Hey, uh... I need your help.
Julian: It's the four words I seem to hear you most often say, Barry. That and "I hate that guy."

The Flash: And who are you?
Alchemy: I am... Alchemy.
The Flash: Okay, well, what do YOU want?
Alchemy: To help people achieve their true potential such as he has. (gestures to Rival)
The Flash: And why are you doing this?
Alchemy: Because I'm preparing this world.


Continuity

In the original timeline, Iris learned the truth about her mother not dying in 203. Apparently she didn't take the news that Joe had lied to her as well this time around.  Perhaps Francine West approached her before Joe this time around?

No date is given for when Dante Ramon died in the new reality, but a likely guess is around the time 220 originally occurred, as Cisco tried to reconcile with his brother in that episode and a sudden death then might be capable of pushing Cisco into the doldrums we see here.

Barry notes that he's kissed Iris twice and managed to erase it from history both times it happened. The kisses occurred in 115 and 223 respectively.

John Diggle having a son named John Diggle Jr. was telegraphed in LOT 106, where he was using the name Connor Hawke and was Oliver Queen's last ally in a post-apocalyptic Star City.

Iris's favorite one of Grandma Esther's recipes is "the noodle dish". She hates the chicken one.

An unseen figure is there to see Barry as he loses track of Rival while chasing after him.

The scene of Iris asking Barry to talk to her outside the lab because she knows he isn't telling her something mirrors a similar scene from 301.

Jay Garrick decided to keep an eye on Barry for a while after returning Harry and Jesse Wells to Earth 2.

As in 301, Rival hides out at the Prescott Sawmill on Williamson Street.

Rival repeats Barry's words about "quaking his boots" from 301 back to him.

Iris refers to Cisco giving Captain Cold Barry's secret identity in 116.

In his special suit, Cisco is now able to create focused blasts of vibrational energy as his Earth 2 counterpart did.

Joe and Iris reconcile by the episode's end, as do Barry and Cisco.

There are at least four other meta-humans created by Alchemy at loose in Central City.

Caitlin appears to be manifesting the same cold-generation powers as her Earth 2 counterpart at episode's end.

Albert says that he doesn't like Barry Allen because he doesn't believe his good-guy act and doesn't trust him.

Barry and Iris kiss for the first time in this reality.

Alchemy seems to kill Rival in his prison cell in the final scene of the episode.


Location

The Motorcar Diner in Central City, 1998. It's unclear if this is on Earth 1 or Earth 3.


Untelevised Adventures

At least the last year's worth of events have changed, with Iris and Joe apparently not having been talking for the better part of a year.

Harry Wells told Jay Garrick about Barry's difficulties with Zoom and about the deaths of his parents and that Jay was the alternate universe version of Barry's father.

Jay Garrick refers to his own misadventures with trying to alter the timeline and making the same mistakes as Barry.


The Fridge Factor

Neatly averted in the case of Iris West, who continues to be depicted as both assertive and as a good reporter.


The Boomerang Factor

Most of the problems in this episode would have been solved instantly if Barry had decided to be honest with his friends and family or remembered that changing the timeline never solves anything.


The Bottom Line

Much like last week's episode, this is a good episode in spite of it feeling  somewhat rushed. Once again, the supporting cast is under-utilized (Wally and Caitlin in particular, though at least Caitlin gets that scene at the end) and The Rival has apparently been disposed of as quickly as he was introduced.  Of course the character seemed repetitive in the wake of Zoom and The Reverse Flash but his inclusion in the show given his connection to The Flash mythos seems incredibly pointeless now.

Despite that, most of this episode works well. Julian Albert is effectively established as a foil for Barry at work and the examination of the Cisco/Barry bromance is well-played. Alchemy is an immediately interesting villain - both visually and for his motivation. And it's a joy to see Iris being portrayed as a no-nonsense, smart woman after two years of her having little purpose beyond being the girl hostage or the Dulcinea to Barry's Quixote. And John Wesley Shipp's turn as Jay Garrick is something magical.