Thankfully, this was a great fast-paced hour.
Mark Hamill reprised his iconic Trickster role 20 years later, and it was all kinds of fun. There were so many teases and crafty little references that definitely made fans rejoice everywhere (the most obvious one being “I am your father” which was impeccably performed in a devious yet comical matter thanks to that unsettling music), and despite my little to no knowledge of the comics, I thought his Joker laugh was bone-chilling perfection. And yet, did it slightly feel like Gotham?
That’s where I thought things tonight got a little…tricky (that’s right, I said it). Whether you take that as a positive or negative, I found the villain-of-the-week very similar to the kind of baddie you see on Gotham – if only because the storyline simultaneously tried to be both dark and comical (seriously, did that kid try to touch the floating gifts after THEY ALL STARTED EXPLODING?).
Luckily, the character development overshadowed the tonal shift, starting with Henry Allen (played by another 90s Flash actor John Wesley Shipp) getting way more to do. I loved his scenes with Barry, especially his presence at STAR labs asking his son more about his flashy costume. Seeing Henry Allen, Harrison Wells and Detective Joe surrounding Barry was amazing, mainly since the latter is starting to hate Wells. His snarky remarks were a bit on the nose, but I loved seeing Joe’s nervous reactions to them, awkwardly trying to change the conversation abruptly. Hilarious.
What I didn’t see coming was the reveal that Harrison Wells is indeed called Harrison Wells (or at least was, at one point). I loved those flashbacks because I sincerely cared for the Harrison we saw on the beach with his wife trying to come up with a name for his future scientific lab. It was all so genuine, and to see Eobard Thawne orchestrate the whole ordeal was heartbreaking and painful (as was the scene of the car flipping over thanks to those pesky spikes). The fact that Thawne sucked the life out of Harrison (literally), gives the show the opportunity to keep Harrison on the show for a long time whenever Barry finds out the real truth, and I don’t mind seeing this brilliant villain on my screen for as long as the show remains on the air.
And hopefully, that will be a very long time.
Speedy Bits
– The less said about Iris, the better.
– Actually, let me just talk about how the show wants her to look ridiculously stupid. Her scene with The Flash at Jitters was boring, and Eddie’s lie about where Mason Bridge was (Brazil, seriously?) only made her look dumber.
-Barry revealing his secret identity to Eddie seemed a bit anticlimactic. But I am interested to see if this reveal will have any repercussions on Barry if Eddie ever becomes a villain.
– Very little Caitlin this week. Not cool, writers.
– More on the Trickster/Gotham parallels: poisoning the champagne and listening to everyone’s hilarious screams as they watch someone fall and die in front of them.
– Sometimes, it feels like there’s a lot going on in this show. I’m glad to see the writing hasn’t suffered because of all the various ideas running at the same time.
– The Trickster making a Breaking Bad reference was hysterical.
– Incredible scene with Harrison helping Barry “run through walls”. Literally gave me the chills. And even better was Barry realizing that Harrison’s knowledge of how it feels like to run so fast (“breathe, feel the air…”) means he’s the Reverse Flash.
– Another Joe/Barry father-son moment, hooray! And it was fun-tastic.
– We’re heading closer towards the season finale! So. Darn. Excited.
Red Blurs & Quotes
Cisco: Talking in the third person…that’s never a good sign.
Joe: I don’t know why [Harrison] is helping us. All that matters is that he is.
Henry: You always did look good in red.
Harrison: You can do this. I believe in you.
Barry: I can’t.
Harrison: Listen to me, Barry. Breathe. Breathe. Feel the air. Feel that wind on your face. Feel the ground with your feet. Lifting you up, pushing you forward, and the lightning… Barry, feel the lightning. Feel its power, its electricity, pumping through your veins, crackling through you, traveling to every nerve in your body. Like a shock. You’re no longer you now, you’re part of something greater. You’re part of a speed force. It’s yours. Now do it!
Joe: You always want to be the person who sees the best in people. I’ve been a cop for 25 years. All I can see is the flaws, the lies, the dark thoughts that people think I don’t see. I wish I could be you. As fast as you are, that is your real power. Don’t let Wells take that from you.
Joe: You love science, he is science. It’s like you made friends with Einstein.
Conclusion
Entertaining and fast-paced all throughout. Let’s hope they keep up this momentum for the remaining episodes of the season.
Chris Rating
B+