A few years ago, the English trickster and mental illusionist Derren Brown showcased a great example about the power of negative suggestion. He used a highly talented circus high-wire artist (at that time a World Record holder) that in his entire career had never, not even once, fallen off his wire. Brown spent several minutes grooming the artist with what would appear concerning questions about dangers and mistakes all strategically designed to implant the single recurring thought of “don’t fall off” into his mind. He even added visual aids like an oversized safety airbag and sure enough, for the first time in his career, the artist fell, for no other reason than he could not stop thinking that he must not do so. No matter how good you are, the mind can always overcome the body. So whether you’re the best high-wire artist in the world or the fastest man alive, if you give in to self doubt and believe you’ll fail, you most certainly will. This is where Barry Allen finds himself this week. His extensive injuries may have healed but his emotional scars still leave him crippled.
Gorilla Warfare – With Barry still physically and mentally recovering from being nearly destroyed by Zoom, Gorilla Grodd swings back into the picture and he’s tired of being the only super smart fear-inducing primate in town. Cisco gets some unexpected vibes from his date with Kendra, and Patty still feels like Barry isn’t being honest with her.
At the same point last season, we received a more comedic take on Barry without his speed (Power Outage), but this is much more dramatic and psychological take on idea as we learn the causes are much more self-induced. It packs in some great imagery like Barry sitting Wells’s old wheelchair, and the memory flashback blasts are utilised very well by director Dermott Downs. We see Barry as fighter recovered from a brutal beat down defeat, now anxious about stepping back in the ring which feels entirely believable based on the events of last week. It even gets nicely expanded to be less about the physical suffering but the public humiliation and Barry feeling like he’s failed his city. Though the most rewarding part of this story by far is the break glass, Hail Mary solution the team calls in. Welcome back Henry Allen and John Wesley Shipp, you have been missed. At first, it seemed a strange move for Henry to leave town after being released from prison, but here is absence makes sense at last. Just like last season, his presence needs to be used more sparingly to be so impactful. Here, Shipp is an utter K.O. to the feels as he gets Barry’s head back in the game. The reflections of Henry on his past experiences of failure and being judged are incredibly effective and like his moments of wisdom in last season’s finale, support the idea of his experiences making him such an emotionally strong character. One other area that must be addressed is the hanging “Z” question mark over the pair. In any “Who is Zoom?”debates Henry is usually one of the top contenders. This episode certainly plays a little with that idea with some dialogue that could be interpreted as classic Harrison Wells double meaning speak. Henry mentions he’s been fishing in the wild, which could be a snide in joke on last week’s “fishing with bait” exchange. Then, when Barry tells of his Zoom ordeal, Henry’s rather flat “That must have been awful” could be similarly intended as a tease. However, the overall evidence points away from Henry being under the dark mask. Above all else, it presents no motive for his actions this episode. Why would he help Barry recover like this after trying to kill him last week? There’s no Eobard Thawne “make him get faster” motive anywhere in the picture or any logical reason for whoever Zoom is to be helping Barry in any way.
While there’s no denying the big guy’s inclusion carries significant fan appeal, Grodd is great choice of villain to compliment Barry’s post-Zoom stress disorder as his story is displaced enough from the regular goings on to allow them to separately co-exist before joining in the final act. Also, there are good parallels between Grodd’s concept of being a fear inducing villain and Barry’s battles with his own fears. However, none of that really matters when the episode gets going as the clear approach is to have as much fun with Grodd’s character as possible.... which they do! It was teased in advance that show would be drawing inspiration from the classic King Kong setup as we see Catlin Snow become Grodd’s very own Ann Darrow (her all-white outfit is a brilliant nod to the classic look). This gives Catlin her biggest episode role all season and like her leading episode's last season, it really pays off as she’s able to play empathy and sympathy for the monster while still delivery the fear. Grodd’s motives are also highly relatable as he’s driven by loneliness. He spent much of his life in a cage with no fellow ape company. Now, he has his freedom and he’s still alone but he’s smart enough to try and do something about it. Strangely, Grodd’s CG effects don’t feel quite as convincing this time around, arguably because he’s doing a lot more this episode but they are still good enough and any niggles quickly forgotten in the episodes climax. Grodd’s final destination will have many comics fans beating their chest and jumping about in euphoria. We can be sure that when see him next, there will be a world of difference.
A surprising gem of the episode is the Harrison Wells & Cisco dynamic. While things are still a little tense between them, this episode sees the writers start to tease in some comedy to their relationship with great results. Someone please give Tom Cavanagh the Robert Downey Jr “I’m dude playing a dude pretending to be another dude” award as he tries to impersonate the Eobard Thawne/ Earth 1 Harrison Wells as Grodd’s father figure.
The scene of Cisco making Wells repeat his infamous pre-chest punch speech to Cisco is equally hilarious and creepy as Wells gets into character with Cisco coaching him on. It’s a great expansion on last episode's Linda Park double play, and Cavanagh doesn’t disappoint as he goes so far that even Catlin and Cisco can’t tell if he’s still acting. It’s the best use Harrison Wells mk2 this season. It’s also great to see the yellow suit get an encore with the added Easter Egg teaser that soon Barry may get his own costume storing Flash Ring! Outside his slightly reluctant bro-down with Wells Cisco also gets some great scenes in advancing the introduction of Hawkgirl (who according to the trailers, will be taking flight in the episode 8 crossover event). His vibes are over Kendra are a great tease that also delivers our first full costume look at the character, which doesn’t disappoint. It’s also really great to see that their date arc was not just an excuse for the pair to meet. Mr. movie references himself going into full blown geek mode over the (deservingly awesome) Princess Bride, and it's simply wonderful to watch. You get the feeling he might have thrown an unsporting rock at her head if she hated the film. Kendra herself is also very charming and enjoyable on screen, which will pay dividends when her re-incarnation story comes to the front.
Gorilla Warfare is a definite all-around success with great emotional arcs, action, fun and character development. Patty’s “I’m on to you” arc feels a little repetitive of last week but still successful enough in the way it builds to her impending discovery. This show ison break next week before coming back with episode 8 Arrow crossover event and the Introduction of Vandal Savage. It looks like it's set to be the beginning of Legends.