The Flash: Season 1 Episode 3 "Things You Can't Outrun" (REVIEW)
written by Conrad Wrobel (@conradwrobel) #SoCreative
The latest episode of The Flash was a relay race of emotion (get it, a pun on running in an article about... yeah), the tone of the episode constantly changing hands as the plot jumped between deep character moments to action sequences to the mysterious metahuman villain, Kyle Nimbus (Anthony Carrigan) A.K.A. The Mist. #AnythingButStephenKing
Run Barry Run!
Things begin with Joe West (Jesse L. Martin) fully accepting the fact that metahuman criminals are going to be a regular roadbump in Central City's future, with the remaining members of S.T.A.R Labs recognizing the need for a prison for said villains. As Joe points out, "Iron Heights isn't exactly equipped to handle metahumans..." Perhaps the gigantic, abandoned, and empty particle accelerator under their feet might not be a complete waste of prime real-estate?
DC villain The Mist makes his Flash debut...
Meanwhile, a string of poisonous-vapor-related deaths are haunting the cityscape, complete with high-profile targets at the heart of the attacks. Barry and Joe have their hands full, working to discover the power of this heinous perpetrator, his goals, and how to stop him! It amuses me that the crime-scene investigation work in The Flash triumphs over that of Gotham. It's almost as if one of the cast worked on some sort of Special Victims Unit that dealt regularly in crime-solving.... #BatmanApproves
The other Amell... Robbie (cousin of Arrow's Stephen Amell) makes his debut as Ronnie Raymond... better known in the DCU as Firestorm
While Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) spends less time exploring his powers or saving civilians in this episode, the story was rich with character development as everyone seemed to share a heart-to-heart moment at one point or another. Not to give you an overwhelming play-by-play, but if you listed those heartstring-pluckers in a row, it reads an awful lot like Michael Buffer shouting the night's boxing card! #LetsGetReadyToRumble
TONIGHT'S LINEUP:
Iris West vs. Eddie Thawne
Cisco Ramon vs. Ronnie Raymond
Barry Allen vs. Joe West
Caitlin Snow vs. Barry Allen
Henry Allen vs. Joe West
Joe West vs. Iris West tag-teamed with Eddie Thawne
Heck, even Harrison Wells and Cisco Ramon had a moment!!! I won't spoil whether they kissed or not, but... you'll just have to watch the episode to find out... #YouKnowYouWantToSeeThat
Flashbacks to the day that made The Flash
The cause for the drama spike was largely due to characters revisiting in depth the accident that gave Barry his powers, focusing on the demise of Dr. Snow (Danielle Panabaker)'s fiancé' Ronnie Raymond (Robbie Amell). During the tragic particle accelerator accident, Ronnie locked himself in the chamber to shut down the chain reaction. Although our lead engineer could not halt the impending explosion, he was able to vent the blast upwards instead of outwards, causing the torrent of energy seen in the sky in the pilot episode. Although he died a hero... by accepting the nature of this show, I feel he will show up again with less than amiable intentions. Seeing that he was in the heart of the system when it went off, and that he was immediately disintegrated; if he does come back, it would be as a truly powerful rogue. #AsplosionContainmentMan!
How does one fight gas?
My favorite takeaway from this episode was another installment of the Flash "freezing time" using the speed-force to investigate a scene. These 'freezing' moments are few and far between, but serve as an intrinsic story-telling tool when utilized correctly. In the previous episode, Barry Allen used the speed-force to confess his secrets to an unaware Iris West (Candice Patton). In that scene, Barry was able to get the monkey off his back without exposing his personal feelings and superpowers. In that instance, Iris heard nothing that he said, nor noticed he even moved. In our current episode, he was able to investigate a live crime scene without anyone seeing more than "the red streak" that is his currently public alias. However, I already see a potential discontinuity in using this ability-- can Barry move so fast that time actually stops around him, or was Iris just terribly self-centered in that scene? Regardless, I hope that the writers do not overuse this ability in future episodes, seeing as it has been implemented almost faultlessly so far. Though, I confess I cannot wait to see it happen again! #SoGoodIDontCareAboutScience
