By: Dave Clark
It's been so long since we've visited our favorite speedster, and today he's back! The best thing about this show is that it does NOT drag it's feet. It jumps right back into the action with Barry having a vivid nightmare about Zoom killing his loved ones, specifically Patty. This thrusts us into the drama of Patty not knowing Barry's secret about being the Flash. I'm not a fan of all these superheroes just outing themselves to everyone around them. The point of a secret identity is to keep them SAFE! C'mon guys! Batman would never stand for all this honesty.
The sub-plot of this episode deals with Wally and the Wests coming to terms with their newly revealed family. Wally has a secret, clearly from the first time we see him getting a tour of the Central City Police Department, and a recently caught criminal seems to recognize Wally. Of course, Wally has a need for speed, we see him street racing to come up with the money needed to take care of his mother. He's not happy about the fact that Joe never tried to find him. When Wally is about to return to Keystone City, he and Joe have a heart-to-heart and sit down for dinner and thus the bonding begins!
The villain in tonight's episode is The Turtle (no not the guy from Entourage). Cisco has been tracking him for some time and he believes that The Turtle can help them in their fight with Zoom, by harnessing his abilities and stealing Zoom's speed from him. When The Flash begins to try to stop him from his thieving ways, The Turtle begins to take an interest in Barry's or actually The Flash's life and loved ones. Finally, we have the developing story of Harry helping Zoom against Flash in order to save his daughter. Harry steals Turtle's power, without Team Flash knowing, admitting in a journal entry that he'd do anything to save his daughter. And we're not done yet, but who would appear in the final moments of the episode, Reverse Flash!
Overall, I really liked this episode (big shocker, I know). I was more than hesitant about the announcement that The Turtle would be a villain, but they once again were able to pull him off in a great and sinister way. My disdain for the handling of his secret identity aside, I'm glad it was a topic of discussion for tonight's episode. It being a plot point is actually very smart of the writers. It feels as though, Patty may have or will eventually discover this on her own. Regardless, she tells Barry that she's leaving Central City. There was little progression in the storyline of Zoom, but not too much as this episode was more about the relationships of Team Flash.
What I Liked:
Harry and Cisco bonding. Harry opening up to Cisco about what Zoom has done on Earth 2. Cisco offering to "vibe" to see if his daughter is still alive was also great.
Barry nearly failing to save Patty against the attack of The Turtle...I just love saying The Turtle in a dramatic fashion.
Spivot. Patty Spivot. Not only is she a bad-ass cop and girlfriend, but she looks darn good in a dress. She was great tonight, not putting up with Barry's crap and standing up to a Meta-Human baddie.
The Turtle. He was a special kind of psychotic and I loved it. He wasn't just some throw away, one-off rogue. They went to great detail with his intentions and motivations. He felt a lot like Mr. Freeze in the Batman Animated Series with his origin story.
Finally, the effects team deserves a raise. I loved the way they handled the slowing down effect, and Barry fighting the powers of The Turtle
What I Didn't Like:
The constant insistence that it's a good idea for Barry to reveal his secret identity to Patty. He's been warned many times that Zoom targets loved ones. Everyone is in danger.
Jay Garrick. I'm just not feeling sympathetic for the guy who's moping around about losing his abilities. C'mon dude, you need to step up and help this team, which he sort of finally did. The only way to cure this disease he has is to regain his speed. Why would he NOT try harder to fight Zoom then?
Speaking of Jay, I'm not a fan of the budding romantic relationship between Jay and Caitlin. Feels too soon from when Ronnie died for her to be rebounding already...I may be wrong though.
But this is just what I thought of the episode. What did you guys think? Sound off in the comments below!