The first episode back from the midseason break was a fast paced and fun episode that offered a fair amount of laughs as well as action. One of the most impressive things about The Flash has been the show’s ability to properly balance drama and comedy. That is actually one of the things that set The Flash apart from its predecessor Arrow. Where Arrow is the more dark and brooding show, The Flash is a bit lighter hearted. Every superhero property can’t be The Dark Knight. Its great the CW figured that out early.
After getting pretty soundly defeated by Reverse Flash in the midseason finale Barry and his team seemingly have been spending a ton of time training. Dr. Wells is pushing Barry to become faster, which further lends credence to the thought that Dr. Wells is Hunter Zolomon, the second Reverse Flash who was obsessed with making Flash a better hero. That would also explain how he was able to be in two places at once in the midseason finale (Zolomon has some wonky time traveling powers that are too silly to bother examining here. Just go with it).
The Elephant in the room for the entire episode was the awkwardness between Barry and Iris. Barry had to know that telling Iris how he really feels about her would cause conflict, but in the end letting her know was the right thing to do. Not surprisingly Joe realized right away something was off between Iris and Barry. Barry comes clean to Joe and they are both left to ponder now what. In his heart of hearts Joe would prefer for Iris to be with Barry but he knows how she feels about Eddie and the danger she would be in having a relationship with Barry would be to great. We all know that eventually Iris and Barry will end up together, but it will be interesting to see to see how that will effect the overprotect dad (Joe) and the current boyfriend (Eddie).
This episode saw Captain Cold return as well as the debut of Heat Wave. Who knew there would be a reunion between “Prison Break” stars Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell, let alone that it would take place in an episode of The Flash. Wentworth’s Captain Cold is extremely calm and calculated, which is a bit of a departure from the comic character. As the episode progresses, we see glimpses of Cold’s obsession with defeating Flash seep out. It no longer becomes about the money. It becomes about dispatching Flash so you can THEN get the money.
Purcell’s portrayal of Mick Rory was at times a bit over the top, but when playing a totally insane pyromaniac, one would probably be a bit on the maniacal side. Watching Purcell wax poetic about the nature of the flame was a nice touch. It added layers to a character that if portrayed by many others would have been a bit one-dimensional.
After Flash ignores Cold's attempts to get his attention he and Heat Wave kidnap Caitlyn. In theory that was a great plan, but the execution left a bit to be desired. They kidnapped her because they knew Flash has partners, but to expect that his other partners would not attempt to rescue her during the battle was a bit foolish. Before you say it they did booby trap her chair but let's be real these are super scientist. That wasn't the greatest trap that could be used to stump them. It was way to simple to bypass after being activated.
Once Flash does engage Cold and Heat Wave we are treated to some pretty coexisting action sequences. The image of Flash running from the cold and heat blast was memorable. Have to give the writers a gold star for the "Cross thes" Ghostbusters reference. That was a nice touch.
In the end it wasn't all of Flash's training to get faster that foiled Cold's plans it was going slower and taking a direct shot from both guns that won the day. The ending illustrated that in some cases you can't out run your problems you have to face them head on. Can't help but wonder if this lesson could be the catalyst that leads to the break between Dr. Wells and Barry.
Episode Rating: 8.5
