So they’re calling this DC week. In the same week the CW's DC shows all return to our screens, we’re getting a bunch of new treats from their sprouting movie-verse. We’ve already had our first look at the Wonder Woman footage (which looks great), a new Suicide Squad trailer (which was bloody awesome!), and our first teases at the formation of the Justice League via some concept art. While this is spoiling us rotten like a geeky second Christmas, it does feel a bit harsh on the TV shows,, that their movie big brothers are less trying to join the party than steal their thunder altogether. Now, this would be a problem if the shows themselves weren’t so great to begin with. So let the big movies have their week because there’s no questioning the potential of The Flash as it makes its mid-season return. In fact, this week there’s a lot of potential going about.
Potential Energy – As Harrison Wells is figuring out how to make The Flash faster, they encounter a new Metahuman that slows him to a crawl, The Turtle. Barry considers revealing his identity to Patty while Joe and Wally’s new family ties get off to a rocky start.
From Reverse Flash to reverse speed as a series that predominantly sees its hero accelerating, gets its parking brake slammed on by a slow foe. The visual effects of Flash Vs Turtle confrontations are excellent as Barry is effectively super speeding on the spot, trying to push through the energy dampening waves (his powers work by steeling your kinetic energy and converting it into potential energy, preventing movement), especially when he’s inching towards saving Patty from a Phantom of the Opera fate. Even with the obvious outcome, it’s still a wonderfully tense sequence. Then by contrast, the episode squeezes the maximum creepiness of The Turtle’s movements from his victim’s perspective. It turns into flash frame teleporting that has shades of The Ring to it as it blinks closer and closer. After starting out a little comical, Aaron Douglas (Battlestar Galactica) really brings the sinister to this villain, especially when we get to his collectors lair. His exchange with his kidnapped hostage is genuinely chilling as he alludes to taking his time with their fate and reveals the “trophy wife” in his collection. It’s one of the great things about The Flash as a show that in general, can be so lighthearted and fun yet still reaches such dark places when it wants to.
The Barry/Patty relationship drama yields more mixed results. The pair is still the most adorable couple that ever lived when the wind is in their sails and they (along with Catlin and several other regulars) look positively stunning while glammed up at the swanky art gallery affair. Yet there’s a big issue here with their biggest plot point. That is Barry debating over whether or not to tell Patty that he is The Flash because he shouldn’t have to tell her! For many of the autumn episodes, the show slowly teased the idea of Patty figuring out Barry’s identify for herself, using her intelligence and detective skills to make matters into her own hands, and that really made her endearing as a character. So to throw all that away for the notion of Barry spilling the beans is like the show tripping over its own feet. Thankfully, it doesn’t look like the idea has been completely abandoned as certain hints are still dropped Patty’s way and circumstances keep Barry’s beans in the can. However, the episode’s conclusion places a considerable deal of uncertainty over the direction of Patty’s character, which feels like another strange move after creating so much investment in their relationship. While superhero relationships can never be a smooth journey and turbulence can make for great story events, The Flash could do with some clarification over their status next episode.
However, one relationship does not disappoint and that is Joe & Wally. After his Christmas arrival, this episode wastes no time in diving into Wally West’s character, making good implications that he’ll be a regular and significant part of the remaining season. The focus is his paternal relationship with Joe and the pair working towards a father & son level of bonding. It’s both understandable and realistic that this begins with an over-enthusiastic Joe and a hesitant Wally. It does make things feel a bit clichéd (how many times have we seen this play out in different shows) yet it’s a hoop that must be jumped through to arrive at both men understanding a family level of trust must be built up over time. We also get some good expansion on Wally’s background courtesy of his street racing endeavours. Aside a few worrying familiarities to Michael B. Jordan’s introduction in Fantastic Four, this is a great little sequence. It offers a different kind of speed based action and of course establishes Wally as being comfortable with high speeds implying he’s definitely heading towards his speedster identity. The benevolent agenda of funding his mother’s hospital bills keeps his actions within a heroic scope, and Keiynan Lonsdale’s performance is very effective in its subtleties. He’s not trying to make a WWE style, “I’m the next big thing” entrance. You'd be more curious to the facts and feelings he’s still concealing; in short, he’s interesting. It’s also curious to note that like Grant Gustin, Lonsdale has a singing and dancing heavy background. Is that a CW requirement for speedsters?
Another rewarding pairing is Harrison Wells and Cisco. The duo continue to be entertaining in their underlying resentment towards each other but now, we’re starting to see that evolve into a degree of mutual understanding. As time passes, both the audience and Cisco are seeing through this Earth 2 version’s crass exterior to the man underneath: the man that just wants to get his daughter back. This is brilliantly showcased in the van as Wells tells the story of Zoom’s naming as little more than a snide comeback towards Cisco but instead of being offended, he understands that Wells is merely expressing his own fears of Zoom and what he could be doing to Jessie. When Cisco gives him carte blanche vibing privileges to check on Jessie, it’s with nothing but compassion. We also get some good tick over moments between Catlin and Jay, but more importantly, a new development to increase Jay’s significance within the story.
Potential Energy isn’t quite The Flash coming back at full speed but it still delivers everything we’ve come to expect from the show. It’s funny, thrilling, and occasionally downright chilling. The final moments are less of bombshell in their reveal (because the next episode name kinda gives it away) but how and why they’ve come to pass have the makings of a great story. It also must be said that this is the first episode for quite some time not constrained by setting up anything for Legends of Tomorrow and, as fun as that was, that is a welcome change as it lets the show focus back on its own characters. The Turtle may have beaten the hare but this round goes to The Flash.