Whenever Captain Cold and his crew show up on The Flash, it feels like the show shifts into a satirical tone while still managing a fine line between cliché and fun territory. It’s safe to report that the Snarts’ return this week was amusing from start to finish.
The highlight of this hour has to be every Cold/Flash banter (see below). Wentworth Miller and Grant Gustin are both charismatic actors that have so much fun in their roles, which makes their scenes all the more entertaining to watch. Their first run-in is probably my favorite; Barry calling after him “Snart!” and Captain Cold whispering back “Barry!” in the most ironic way possible is hilarious and exactly the kind of enjoyable scenes that this show does best. It’s so refreshing to see a villain as amusing as Captain Cold, one that still has some decency buried inside him somewhere. It’ll be interesting to see how he makes it out of Iron Heights this time to make it to the Legends of Tomorrow spin-off that’s debuting mid-season.
Even Lisa Snart was redeemed here. I really didn’t like the Golden Glider the last time we met her and I still find her scenes with Cisco unappealing and awkward, but at least this character was developed this time. Giving her a tragic backstory (Papa Snart used to hit her with bottles) makes her much more interesting, but it was the reveal later on that her dad planted a bomb into her head that added a much-needed twist to raise the stakes. Plus, it allowed for a very pulse-pounding scene of Cisco sucking the bomb out of Lisa as Captain Cold simultaneously points his gun at Barry. It was all very…cool (pun intended).
Joe and Iris’ subplot is also very a solid one this week as the former finally tells his daughter that he’s lied to her for the past 20 years and her mother is alive and in Central City even. Thematically, it makes sense to pack this storyline into an episode where the idea of family takes center-stage, but it’s slightly exhausting to see everyone continue to lie to Iris just to “protect her”.
Thankfully, she took it much better than I thought and it made for an incredibly emotional scene at their dinner table. Jesse L. Martin can do no wrong when it comes to delivering a heartbreaking scene. It’s hard not to love him when those tears start rolling.
Jay Garrick was slightly underused here and that’s a shame because he’s been such a great addition to the ever-increasing cast, so I hope the show utilizes him better next time. His chemistry with Caitlin is fun to watch, but much like Barry and Patty, I’m praying the writers take their time to develop this pairing. It’s eerie how Patty is written in a way that resembles Felicity from Arrow, but I’ll let it slide because she brightens up the mood every time she’s on screen with Barry.
Speedy Bits
– I loved the teaser with Iris asking for Barry’s help and him saving her after she jumps off a building. But I really thought this was an opening for some future Barry/Iris romance. Thankfully, I was wrong.
– Jay looks so much younger here, I almost didn’t recognize him at first.
– Central City continues to honor The Flash for saving them from that wormhole. This week, it’s through a special Flash drink at Jitters.
– Cisco and Lisa share many moments here so it was only predictable that they’d smooch by the end. Again, let’s see this go somewhere, writers.
– Barry going undercover as a techie with the Snarts is probably my favorite development about this hour. This show immediately becomes so much better when it delves deeper into its more comical side.
– Barry’s new suit has therma-threading that can protect him from getting frozen to death apparently. The fact that Cisco could remotely control it was a bit much, though.
– Professor Stein has a bit of a weird meltdown in the closing moments of the hour. What’s up with that?
– The STAR Labs team finally getting the “bridge” between the two Earths to work was such a fast development. I can’t wait to see where this whole portal storyline goes.
– It would be a missed opportunity to write an entire review about this episode without making a Prison Break pun, so how long until Wentworth Miller escapes again?
– Speaking of which, the first to make use of this portal breach is Harrison Wells! Oh my, that was one chilling cliffhanger. Who else is super excited to see what kind of trouble he’s going to bring to Earth-1?
Red Blurs & One-Liners
Barry: Snart!
Leonard: Barry!
Barry: Are you OK?
Leonard: Peachy.
Barry: OK, uh, I’m supposed to be here to rescue you.
Leonard: That’s not necessary. You can speed along now.
Leonard: You know what they say: “live fast, die young”.
Jay: After the particle accelerator exploded, I didn’t need to wait years for my research to save a life. I could save one before breakfast. I could save 50 before going to sleep. There’s nothing like that rush. You guys have been fighting so many battles, one after another, I’m not sure Barry’s had time to take it in, to appreciate how great it can feel.
Caitlin: Being a superhero isn’t always about how fast you can run. It’s about helping however you can, wherever you’re needed most. I think that Jay Garrick, physicist, has just as much to contribute as Jay Garrick, superhero. Maybe more.
Barry: Boom! Told you Draycon was my jam.
Barry: Lisa was safe. Why did you do that?
Leonard: He broke my sister’s heart. Only fair I break his.
Conclusion
An amusing, lighthearted hour thanks to Captain Cold and The Flash’s witty banter.
Chris Rating
B+
I enjoyed this episode. Snart's father was a piece of work. It made me feel sorry for Snart and his sister, and appreciate even more the kind of father Joe is to Iris and Barry. Joe may be overprotective at times but he truly loves his children. You can sense his deep fear of losing one of them and his heartbreak when he admitted to Iris the truth about her mother. Thankfully, Joe's fear never came true based on Iris's reaction which was surprisingly mature.
I like how Iris is coming along as a character this season so far, and that the unresolved romantic tension between her and Barry last season has been put on the backburner. It is allowing them to further grow as friends, teammates, and individuals.
I look forward to what Harrison Wells does now that he is on Earth-1. It's clear he's not Zoom since Zoom has the ability to control the breaches and take people between alternate universes without the end of using that portal in STAR Labs. It would be interesting if this Wells is a good guy instead of a manipulative villain like the other Wells. Maybe he could be a manipulative good guy.
BTW I have an idea about who Zoom really is. What if he's a dark alternate version of Barry? In the other universe, he became a speedster like Jay but Jay got to be The Flash before he could, getting all the glory that this Barry wanted for himself which drove him to be fiercely envious of Jay. That envy motivates him to become Jay's nemesis, Zoom. In Dark Barry's mind, beating Jay for good will allow him to become the new Flash.
Agree 100%. Also I LOVE Peyton List and wish she would join the cast full-time. She was also in Blood and Oil this week! What a gorgeous and charismatic actress! She needs her own show!