The Flash focused in on a long-standing question this week, but didn’t approach it quite like you’d expect. Instead of Barry seeking answers, we got the cop team up everyone didn’t know they needed.
Joe and Cisco headed off to Starling to investigate the car accident Wells was in 15 years ago. There in the city, they met up with the Lances. Quentin was there to team up and do some detective work. Laurel, on the other hand, needed to talk to Cisco about upping her sonic scream device. Our detective pair managed to actually find the decayed corpse of Wells, while Cisco managed to construct a necklace with the devices powers which he rightfully dubbed the Canary Cry.
Back in Central, Team Flash was after a shapeshifter. This shapeshifting meta was committing a series of robberies and getting innocents blamed. Things got more intense when new Team Flash member Eddie was thrown into suspicion. The shapeshifter gains a few new forms, and we eventually get a Flash vs Flash lookalike fight near the end. Luckily, that fight winds up on camera, thus helping them exonerate Eddie.
Positives
Lance and Joe. Better team up than all the rest. Probably a bit of an exaggeration, but these two are two of the most impressive actors on their respective shows, so it was great to finally see them playing off each other. The small chats about their daughters was a great tough that will likely give some great change to both of them in the coming weeks.
The final scenes with the shapeshifter were seriously cool. Watching him shift between forms was great, especially the moment of “Iris” fighting quite admirably. Even the Flash vs Flash fight was pretty cool, especially with the lingering though that he could oust Barry. This made me glad for the camera footage, as I was wondering how they’d manage to save Eddie and protect Barry’s identity. The last moment where Hannibal had actually forgotten his own appearance was almost chilling to see. An interesting thought for shapeshifters. Plus, it was nice to see Iris finally accepting of Eddie, even before his confession.
Cisco nerding out at Laurel was hilarious. And the photo at the end was a beautifully hilarious cap to it. Also, how about that ending? No way things won’t be ramping up next week.
Negatives
Some moments with the shapeshifter were a little much. Whether it was Barry being surprised and buying that Eddie was free, him recoiling at Caitlin (but not anyone else), or Caitlin not really questioning Barry, these were all behaviors that should not really be happening with a known shapeshifter running around. The worst offences of this episode were people just being stupid when they know what kind of powers that villain has. Also, for an episode called “Who is Harrison Wells?”, The Flash spent a heck of a lot of time on the story not at all about Wells. And the first half of it was definitely weighed down by people completely unaware of how to handle a shapeshifter.
The Verdict
The Flash provided a very entertaining outing this week, thanks to a fun and productive atypical team up.
