Flash "Gorilla Warfare" (REVIEW)
Written by Jacob Chimilar (@sweetlows)
This week on The Flash, we see the return of Grodd! Now I'll be honest, while most people seemed pretty thrilled by the fact that the show would even do something so comic book-y as introduce Grodd, I for one did not like it one bit. I love how much The Flash embraces its weirdness and truly superhero style of story telling but I drew the line at grunt talking gorillas. That said, this time around Grodd is a lot more tolerable, and in fact actually pretty good, now that he can speak at least somewhat properly.
We start the episode where we left off last week, Barry is on the mend after being utterly crushed by Zoom, leaving him paralized from the waist down. As a result he is using Wells old chair. This brings about an eerie feeling as not only because he is in the chair, he is also quite grumpy and upset almost becoming Wells a tiny bit more. However Catlin says he is healing quickly and should be up to speed in no time.
Wells himself is trying to figure out the next course of action for taking down Zoom. He decides the only way that it'll be possible is if they shut down all the portals except the one in STAR Labs, from their they can at least know where he is coming from and be better prepared for his arrival.
Meanwhile Joe and Patty are on the lookout for someone going around attacking scientists in charge of creating drugs that help improve intelligence. That person not being a person at all but in fact Grodd, searching to become more than just a half witted gorilla. Caitlin, having a strong connection with Grodd, is sought out and kidnapped by Grodd telepathically leading her to him. He needs her to help him become not only smarter but to create a partner for him as well. It's kind of sweet actually, everyone deserves a mate, much like Frankenstein's monster, he just wants someone like him he can share time with. Back at STAR Labs, Cisco gets Wells to suit up as the reverse flash and pretend to be Earth Prime Wells to talk Grodd out of holding Caitlin hostage. Cisco runs some lines with Wells, including the one he said right before plunging his vibrating fist into Cisco's chest. It's creepy stuff for sure. Wells goes in with as much authority as he can muster as the evil Earth Prime Wells and tells Grodd to release Caitlin, please. This doesn't go over so well with Grodd, as it turns out Wells never said please. Makes sense, evil people don't say their please and thank yous. Let that be a lesson to you, if a person doesn't say please, they might just be the reverse flash. Using the drugs Grodd stole, Wells stabs Grodd with a bunch of needles, making him pass out.
With Caitlin in tow the two head back to STAR Labs where they figure out what to do with Grodd. Wells, as usual, has a plan. There is a sort of "smart gorilla sanctuary" on Earth 2, so that is where they plan to send him. Using Caitlin as bait they lure Grodd to one of the rips that leads the sanctuary. Cisco and Wells work together to create a machine that will temporarily open that rip so that Grodd can be sucked inside of it. With everyone set to go the only thing left is for Barry to get up to speed again. He however is simply not feeling up to the task. After being humiliated and utterly defeated by Zoom in front of everyone, he feels as though he has failed the city and isn't the hero they deserve any more. Not Iris, not Joe can seem to motivate him. That is until Iris puts in a call to Barry's dad and they have some real father son time. This kick starts Barry's motivation and he gets back in the swing of things. It's a long and difficult process but after some bumps and bruises he manages to recover and triumphantly confronts Grodd. With Caitlin in Grodd's grasp Cisco fires up the machine and Barry races to collect Caitlin. He gets her out of the way and Grodd begins to get sucked into the tear. Or so it seems. He is simply too strong for the tear and Barry is forced to run full speed at Grodd smashing him into the Earth 2 and the sanctuary.
Elsewhere Patty is getting upset because during Barry's time recooperating he has had to hide the real reason for being sick and he covers up his lie with another lie in a way, saying that he was seeing his dad, something not everyone would be comfrotable with because he was an ex-con. Patty, not being a cold and heartless, of course is ok with Barry seeing his dad and as per the Arrow code suggest that he not hide the truth from her (if only she knew) as it only makes things worse. They kiss and make up and all is well in the Barry/Spivot universe.
Finally we have Cisco and his date with future Hawkgirl, Kendra. They are about to go on a date to see The Princess Bride when Cisco Vibe's her and sees someone dressed up in a winged costume. He freaks out and bails on her. Later on their make up date, they kiss and he again gets a vibe, this time realizing that the person in the costume was Kendra, and this doesn't seem to bother him one bit, they continue kissing and proceed to watch The Princess Bride as planned. I don't see this particular relationship going very far, seeing as she will be off fighting crime later in her own show on Legends of Tomorrow, but it's nice to see Cisco having some luck with the ladies for a change.
Overall it was a fun episode. We got to see the return of Grodd. Barry having some quality father son time, and another life lesson learned after rolling around in Wells chair for a little too long for his own good. Not the best episode ever but a solid entry none the less.
