Is it finally happening? Please tell me it’s finally happening! I’ve been waiting for this since he was introduced, please tell me wally is becoming Kid Flash for real this time! But, I’m getting ahead of myself. This episode really moved the central plot along. There was a bit more of Alchemy, Caitlyn dealing with her powers, Wally experiencing flashbacks of Flashpoint, and the reveal of this season’s second big bad.
The episode starts off kind of how every episode of The Flash starts off. There’s a helicopter shot of the city while a character, usually Barry, gives a small monologue about a thing that’s going to be important later in the episode. But this episode, the monologue is given by Wally, talking about how great it is to be a speedster. This is what kicks off Wally’s storyline. We saw in season 2 and earlier this season that Wally’s obsessed with speed and, ever since he found out about the Flash, he’s wanted to be a speedster himself. He’s excited because he believes that this could be a sign of his powers manifesting but Joe believes that this is a sign that alchemy is beginning to reach out to him. Throughout the episode Wally continues to be excited about the prospect of his budding powers but Joe continues to be apprehensive, which causes tension between the two of them. Wally believes that Joe doesn’t trust him with powers the same way he trusts Barry and Joe eventually admits to this. But, he lets Wally know that it’s how he’s getting the powers that he doesn’t trust, not Wally, and he’s nervous because Wally is a lot like him when he was younger, fearless and a risk taker. Wally says he understands and it really helps strengthen the father-son bond the two have that the show has been handling extremely well since Wally was introduced. Majority of Barry and Wally’s interaction was Barry telling Wally what happened to him in the Flashpoint timeline but there was a small moment when they were confronting alchemy that, for some strange reason, got me really excited for the future Flash and Kid Flash team ups. Barry informs Wally that it’s ok to be afraid and that he still gets afraid. Wally is surprised by this and Barry tells Wally it’s what keeps him alert and Wally replies “then I’m on high alert,” and Barry says “let’s do this”. That small teaching moment got me very excited for the potential future team ups and teaching moments the duo will have. Wally’s storyline ends with a small chase between a blue streak and Barry and while that is happening Wally sees one of Alchemy’s…what are those? Crystals? Rocks seem so mundane so I’ll say crystals. It calls to him and he picks it up. He is then enveloped into some kind of cocoon akin to an Inhuman going through terragenesis. And yes I do know that’s Marvel. Will Wally finally get his speed?! Guess we’ll have to wait and find out!
So as the episode ended and Wally started going through terragenesis, a blue streak was darting across the screen, freeing Alchemy’s minions and killing the task force that went with Joe, Wally, and the Flash. It’s faster than anything Barry has ever faced. Kind of like every speed related villain that’s on the show. Barry should probably stop saying he’s the fastest man alive. But, interestingly, this villain cannot be seen by anyone in the room except for Barry. It, also, has the same hand/claw as the unseen assailant that killed Edward Clarriss. It is revealed that the assailant is named “Savitar, the god of speed”. Savitar is, in the comics, a man who is obsessed with speed and creates a “speed cult” that worships the speed force. The show seems to be diverting from that a bit. It is unknown if Savitar is a man is an abnormally large suit or if he’s an entity that oversees the speed force or if he’s an actual god. At the very least he looks extremely different. He’s no longer a shirtless dude with long darkish blue hair. He’s an imposing force that, if my theory is correct, cannot be seen by those who are not connected to the speed force. How does that work? Not sure. Maybe he’s moving so fast that only speedster eyes can keep up, even when he’s standing still. Or maybe it is something more magical where he is a god and his connection to the speed force makes it so those connected to the speed force can see him. I don’t know if either of those are right, but either way I’m excited.
Caitlin also had a great storyline this week. The show has been doing great things with her character this season and I’m happy, and I’m sure Danielle Panabaker is too, that she’s finally getting a storyline that does not involve a male love interest. Some of the best Caitlin scenes last season were when she was Killer Frost or when she was interacting with Killer Frost and now seeing her struggle with possibly becoming the thing she fights against has been really interesting. This episode really pushes her storyline forward. Cisco develops a pair of power dampening cuffs which go missing. He blames HR, who is trying to prove himself as a valuable member of the team but not doing much more than being comic relief and stealing Joe’s girlfriend, but Caitlin later reveals that she stole them. She tells Cisco about her developing powers and asks him to vibe her, to see if she becomes Killer Frost. Cisco obliges and sees the two of them, in full costume, duking it out. He keeps it from her at first but she manages to pry it out of him. Against her wishes, Cisco tells the team because he’s tired of secrets. Caitlin at first gets angry at him, telling him it was not his secret to tell but then forgives and thanks him. Cisco promises that they will do everything they can to help her. Personally I didn’t 100% believe that Caitlin and Cisco were really fighting in the vision. The way they’ve set up Caitlin’s character, it does not seem like she’s going to go down the evil route. They seem to be saying that her powers are corrupting her and making her cold but I believe that the “fight” was more of a training session. It just does not seem like Caitlin will become the completely evil Killer Frost that her earth 2 counterpart was. At worst, it seems like she will become an anti-hero or a sort of lawful neutral character.
There was a monster of the week storyline but it was a bit lackluster. We were introduced to Shade this week but I would argue that he was not really needed. He was such a forgettable part of the episode and the episode wouldn’t have lost anything substantial by cutting that story out. He was really only there for HR to kind of prove he is valuable to the team by figuring out that they can use lights to defeat him. He seemed to have no real motivation and just wanted to meet the Flash. It was a lack luster storyline that didn’t really add anything to the episode.
Overall, the episode was great. Everyone, except for HR really, had something to do and great storylines. The episode could have done without Shade but he didn’t take away from the episode, either. Next week we get “Killer Frost”, directed by Kevin Smith, so we’ll see if my Caitlin theory is correct.
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