Barry is called into action after spending some time chatting up Iris to stop a car thief. Before Barry leaves he tells Iris to refer to him as anything but the streak in her blog. Lets be honest, calling him the streak is almost as bad as calling him the red/blue blur (hashtag Smallville status). One of the best things about this show is the fact that they are fast tracking all of the things that seem to take forever in other super hero themed shows.
This episode pushed a “you can overcome anything” agenda by focusing on Barry’s journey to eventually overcoming his old middle school bully. Though, an admirable topic, it seemed a bit forced.
The overall plot of this season progressed further as Det. Allen suspects and pretty much accuses Dr. Wells of being behind Nora Allen’s murder. If Det. Allen knew what we know, he wouldn’t have backed off as fast as he did after Dr. Wells gave him a few breadcrumbs to follow. Also, we were treated to a impromptu training session between Eddie Thawne and Barry. It took a few episodes, but someone finally took pity on Barry and decided to teach him how to fight. It came in handy, because Barry spent the bulk of this episode getting beat up by Girder, who is (of course) the boy who bullied Barry as a kid.
To defeat Colossus Girder, Flash has to hit him at mach one, which will create a sonic boom. Cisco could not contain his glee. After Girder kidnaps Iris, Flash confronts him and manages to get a few good shots in but still end ups face down on the ground. It seems Flash is tucking his tail and running away, but in actuality he is gearing up to hit mach one and knock out Girder. His gambit is successful, but it is Iris that hits the final knock out blow. For some reason as Barry locks Girder up in the particle accelerator Barry reveals his identity to Girder, which will most likely come back to hunt Barry in the future. In the end, Barry puts a bug in Iris’s ear that the Streak should be known as the Flash.
Episode Rating: 7/10
This episode had its moments. The action sequences were good, but a bit too short. As always, the show’s special effects really add to its overall awesomeness. It will be interesting to see how Iris’s developing relationship with the Flash plays out. It makes sense for them to have one storyline wise, but it is becoming a bit to Lois Lane/the Red Blue Blur for this writers taste.
