Source: CW.
Corrina: Lots of plot forward motion this week toward the inevitable confrontation with the Reverse Flash. Cisco and Joe find the body of the real Wells, while Cisco and Caitlin found Eobard Thawne’s secret room aka 50 Shades of Time Travel.
Bonus: Cisco is adorable and someone–Laurel of all people–finally recognizes it. Lady, snap him up. He’s smart, cute, and totally on-board with your superhero self.
Source: CW.
Mordechai: I have to eat my words on something. I’ve been very harsh to Katie Cassidy, commenting constantly on her expressionless portrayal of Laurel. However, this episode shows that it’s not here. This is clearly some kind of directorial choice on Arrow, because the Laurel we see on The Flash is a joy to behold. She emotes wonderfully and has brilliant chemistry with Cisco. So, Ms. Cassidy, if you’re reading this? I’m sorry.
Corrina: Cisco and Laurel are now my Arrow/Flash OTP. Probably won’t happen. Heck, I’m almost 90 percent sure Cisco won’t make it out of next week’s episode.
Source: CW.
Corrina: Joe and Captain Lance talk out daughter issues, with Joe convincing Lance he needs to give Laurel a break, but I’m not sure Joe took Lance’s advice re: Joe’s hiding everything from Iris. Maybe they should swap, or Quentin and Iris should have a coffee and commiserate on over-protective family members.
Mordechai: If anything, I was hoping Quentin would impact Joe to realize what a twit he was.
Source: CW.
Corrina: Meanwhile, Iris does some research! Actual research!
Mordechai: I would go so far as to say that this is the strongest Iris episode. She doesn’t wait around for someone else to save Eddie (who’s framed by the bad guy, Everyman). She even “hacks her dad’s CCPD account,” by which I’m guessing she means she logged in with his password (just like all those “Facebook hacks”) to get some serious evidence. Oh, and speaking of emoting, she has one great look of rage when Eddie makes a (dumb, dumb, dumb) crack early in the episode.
Source: CW.
Corrina: But Iris must has sucked up all the intelligence in the room because Barry is so dumb this episode he should be dead several times over.
Mordechai: Absolutely. Everyman should be a real threat, and he’s presented as one, but the one person he should absolutely not be a threat to is Barry. It’s like the writers keep forgetting that he has super speed. There’s zero believability that this guy can slip away around a corner, or make it to a doorway before Barry can get through, or any of that. Don’t get me wrong, the Eddie storyline was great and the idea that this guy has been operating for a year was fascinating, but to pretend he’d be any kind of physical challenge for Barry is just laughable.
Source: CW.
Corrina: Aside: what did the doppelganger want? What was his motivation other than living up to the name of Hannibal Bates.
Mordechai: Oh, that I got. He wanted to do whatever he wanted, with no consequences. Let other people take the fall. He only went after Barry and the others because they were in his way–although I’m not sure how he knew where Barry lived.
Corrina: But why would he shoot the cops? He went from non-violent bank robberies to first degree murder attempt faster than Flash puts criminals behind bars. I get they wanted to set up Eddie for murder, but then they should’ve put some violent crimes in Everyman’s M.O.
Mordechai: Maybe he just snapped? Speaking of living, c’mon people! A last name like “Bates” and the first thing you do is miss that he’s pretending to be an older adult female family member? Tch. Which also makes for a hole later, when Everyman claims he doesn’t remember what he looked like. Um, there was a picture on your granny’s mantle, man.
Corrina: They have a villain who can change shape and they’re not the least suspicious that Grandma might be him? Why didn’t they have this conversation in the car to watch the exits? Even regular cops going to a suspect’s potential whereabouts try to guard most of the exists.
Mordechai: I’m glad they moved the Wells story along, with the two big secrets out. I’m a little confused as to why Quentin Lance would let a relative stranger carry a body from an obvious crime scene across state lines, though. Wouldn’t it have made more sense for them to just take a blood sample and ask Lance to sit on the case there? But anyway, everyone knows now. Which leads Cisco to actually check for extra rooms in the place, which leads to the aforementioned discovery of Wells’s lair.
Source: CW.
A lair, by the way, which opens to Barry’s touch. Which makes me think either the Reverse-Flash is hella sloppy, or the TV show is going to touch on them being related. (See the classic crossover Chain Lightning–just know it’s not a classic for being great).
Corrina: I wondered at that, but sometimes plot elements are so sloppy on this show that I wrote off this convenience as the door opening to any human hand. It makes as much sense as Barry not being suspicious when Eddie shows up at his door, mysteriously released early.
Oh, Barry, for a forensic scientist, you’re not bright at all.
Mordechai: On the topic of family, we finally get a mention of Iris’s mom. No name, just a mention from Harrison Wells, vis-a-vis her being something Joe doesn’t talk about.
Corrina: Joe doesn’t talk about any family stuff to anyone! He’s keeping more secrets than Wells.
Mordechai: All-in-all, I’d have to say this was a much stronger episode than last week, with a villain who was a threat. Not to Barry, per se, but a threat. I’m also glad Eddie confessed to Iris he was working with The Flash – there, was that so hard?
Corrina: The villain is a threat, but now I’m ruined by Daredevil‘s Wilson Fisk, the Russian, Westley and the rest of the criminals of Hell’s Kitchen. They had depth and characters. Everyman, despite his promise, was sadly just a plot device.
But I suppose going down the road of comparing Flash to Daredevil isn’t going to do us any good.
in that picture of katie cassiday, what was that weird crescent moon-shaped thing just under her nose?
Good theories
“Meanwhile, Iris does some research! Actual research!”
Yeah, Iris was really out of character this week
Some thoughts:
1. Who wants to bet that the tech that Eobard used to become Wells is based on how Everyman changes.
2. I will be upset if the shape changing serum that was developed this episode isn’t used on Wells to turn him back into Eobard, even if it is only temporary. Cavenaugh is too good on the show, but you don’t hire Matt Letscher for one episode.
3. Barry’s reaction time has to be a conscious decision, it’s the only thing that explains how he keeps getting his ass kicked.
4. I hate Barry’s “Angry Punch Face.”
5. Does Everyman fire parts of himself with the gun? Do the bullets turn back to flesh??? I want to know!!
I don’t get why Barry didn’t just beat Everyman senseless with a 10ft pole.
To follow up on Dan’s point, my prediction is that, a la The Superior Spider-man, we will eventually find out that Eobard’s face-sucking machine worked too well and sucked up Harrison’s personality along with it. That’s why Dr. Wells seems so nice and genuinely warm at some time, and a psychotic killer in others. Cavanaugh’s chemistry with the rest of the cast is too good to forever consign him to the role of villain. At some point, Cisco and Caitlin will come up with a face-vomiting machine that will somehow reverse the process and separate Wells from Eobard.
having JUST watched it (what? I’ve been busy) let me comment on a few things.
1) Barry (as Flash) didn’t touch him to catch him early in the episode for two reasons
(one of them crappy): if he caught him right away, the show would be over before the opening credits.
(one of them explained in story): they didn’t know if his touch absorbed the appearance or the abilities — which is odd that it ended up being appearance only, as what happened to his extra mass when Everyman became the little girl? But within story it was explained why Barry couldn’t touch him (and was wary about showing him he has super-speed).
2) the secret room. I don’t think it was tied to DNA, but rather vibrational frequency. That’s why Barry could open it. . he can vibrate his hand at the same frequency as Reverse-flash, so the door recognized it.
3) Cisco / Laurel. . .GREAT scene, and one of the best acting jobs Katie Cassidy has done. Good on her. I actually liked her character here. . but no mention above of the classic Canary neckband now containing her Canary cry? I was geeking out! even if it was on “Flash” instead of “Arrow”
4) you worry about Cisco next week?. .I think next week is gonna be the trigger for “Vibe”. . .:)