The Flash Season 1 Episodes 16-18 review

It's time once again to check in with our fun-loving speedster, the Flash

Rogue time

It’s time to bring that Nostalgia Critic meme again, as this episode rendered the last one…

That’s actually my biggest issue with the episode, sure he used what he knew to get Mark Mardon locked up, but… What would’ve been different if that plotline being ignored entirely? Eddie might not’ve punched Barry… There would’ve been less talk about time travel… That’s really about it.

So, Cisco goes to his Brother’s party, and his family are just as bad as he was saying they were. Good times. But you can’t pick and choose your family and when push comes to shove you’d do anything for them. Cisco demonstrated this point when he agreed to not only rebuild their weapons but to reveal Barry’s identity as the Flash. The fact that no-one holds a grudge is crucial here, showing how team Flash have developed as a family

Interesting that the events mentioned about Simon Stagg, and following the murder of the jerk from the newspaper (I don’t know his name, I really don’t care) allow Barry to come to the realisation that Joe may be right about everything.

But back to the meat of the episode. Golden Glider aka Captain Cold’s sister who has a gun that can turn things to gold? OK, someone explain what the f*ck is going on? Did they have gold to sample for the gun? Is it a permanent change? Is just gold plating (like that gun Hugo-a-go-go used in Batfink)? Explain! Explain! Exterminate! Exterminate! EXTERMINATE!

Sorry, got carried away there. Anyway, the climax happens between Captain Cold and the Flash, with Captain Cold knowing his identity, Barry says he could lock him away in a private prison for good, but Cold already has that angle covered. Barry says he doesn’t care who knows his secret, he will act if Cold kills, so he promises not to. Hence bringing forward something the Rogues should really have been founded upon.

But I digress… I liked this episode, all criticisms aside, it was decently paced, and the villains were pretty good.

Rating 8/10

Tricksters

Run run run run run!

Mark Hamill is in this episode, this episode could be nothing but amazing.

OK, jokes aside this really was a good episode. We have not one but 2 tricksters, the father and the son (that was deliberate to set up a Star Wars reference – this episode is full of them, might date the episode eventually)

Anyway, so the tricksters are secretly working together, with the son looking to break out the father and eventually they work together to pull of heist of the century…. Robbing a bunch of rich people. Villains so rarely have scope in this show…

I digress. Barry: you know that Harrison Wells is dangerous! Making any reference that you’re on to him might force him to more drastic measures, like what he did to the others, so stop making it so obvious!

Yeah, that point bugged me, another thing that bugged me is their continued inability to know what to do with Iris. She was at the rally, she did nothing, she said nothing important… DO SOMETHING!

We got flashbacks showing the truth about what happened with the reverse Flash, and it’s confusing sh*t to say the least. So after sort of maybe killing Barry’s mother, he finds himself stranded because he’s drained all his speed force energy, he then takes interest in a scientist and decides to kill his wife and accelerate his particle accelerator plans. He sort of takes on his form using futuristic things I think.

But an omage to the 90s Flash series, featuring the original actor who played the Trickster, full of funny in-jokes and references, some great action (I know the bracelet thing has been done before but… I still love it) and Barry uses the speed force I think. He managed to vibrate though a truck. I don’t care about what’s wrong with the episode; I can’t not love it

Oh and a couple of new people know Barry’s secret identity… If you can call it that since almost everyone around him knows it now. Barry’s father and Eddie now both know.

Rating 8.5/10

All-Star Team Up

It’s a bird, it’s a plane it’s… a rip of Iron Man, never use this phrase unless it’s Superman, ever!

So, today the Flash has to deal with a woman with a nasty sting, and a deadly bee weapon

OK, I promise I’m not gonna use anyone else’s memes again, unless they fit and I find them funny.

Anyway, so Ray Palmer and Felicity have come to town to try and fix up his second rate Iron Man… I mean the ATOM suit. No, I’m not letting that go.

With them knowing that Harrison Wells is the reverse Flash, Joe and Barry discuss the possibility of Cisco and Caitlin siding with Wells. Barry does take this heart until a conversation with Felicity combined with Cisco taking a bee sting for Ray convinces him to let them in on his secret.

Cisco, as it happens has been flashes of the alternate timeline, where he sees Harrison as the reverse Flash and is killed. OK… this makes no sense, none whatsoever, that time line was erased, this is a different time line. Those events did not happen, the only person who should remember is Barry as he caused the shift. That’s like Thomas Wayne remembering being shot in the Flashpoint universe, it doesn’t make any sense

So, double date where Barry is clearly a third wheel brings to light that Iris is becoming less likeable with every possible scene. She’s annoyed that Eddie is now keeping secrets from her, and this really blows up over dinner. Barry offers what’s actually a really reasonable explanation, something she even admits but then she says screw that and decides if Eddie doesn’t talk, she leaves.

Meanwhile we have our villainess, the Bug Eyed Bandit and that’s really all I have to say about her, she was fired from her job and wants revenge. And there is a noticeable difference in her acting, in that it’s terrible. Speaking of terrible acting, we have the return of Dr. McGee, who said that Harrison was a different person after the crash (dun dun dun!)

Rating 8/10

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