“The Runaway Dinosaur” Review of THE FLASH Ep 2.21

Okay let’s deal with the BIG question….was there a Jason Mewes cameo? Yes, and it was excellent. But, you probably already guessed that would happen with Kevin Smith directing this episode of THE FLASH. This was an episode heavy on emotion and not-so-much action sequences.  But, as a “calm before the storm” of the last two episodes of Season 2, this was an excellent show. Want to know more? Like, what WAS “The Runaway Dinosaur” that was the title of this episode? Just follow us after the jump!

SPOILERS AFTER THE JUMP!

NOTE: This review is posting prior to THE FLASH’s appearance in the Pacific Time Zone (West Coast USA), so if you haven’t seen the show yet, you may want to wait and come back to this article. 

Particle accelerator explosions just aren’t good for business, and a lot of bad things can happen along with the good. Case in point: Barry is trapped in the Speed Force…and Girder is (partially) brought back to life! How can this be?

As for Girder, the accelerator “accident” partially charged up his brain, bringing him back to a sort of zombie-like state. He’s going back to the places he met Iris, which plays out throughout the show. Early on, we see that Mewes cameo as Girder tears apart the car he was driving to impress his date, followed by his shout, “Hey, that’s my mom’s car!”

As for Barry? He has found himself not only in the Speed Force but directly communicating with the Speed Force itself, in the guise of the people closest to him. Think “A Christmas Carol” with a few extra “ghosts”. This is where the real emotional content of the show comes in. Barry has to face something he has been avoiding for years…

Cisco and Harry come up with a way to communicate with Barry while he is in the Speed Force, but Barry turns away, knowing that he would go home powerless unless he completes the task the Speed Force has in mind for him.

Back on Earth 1, the team is simultaneously trying to deal with Girder and to revive Jesse. Both Jesse and Wally were hit by the energy of the accelerator explosion, but only Wally appears to have recovered. No powers for Wally…at least not yet…but Jesse appears to be going through that coma-like state that Barry experienced before waking up as the Flash. Nothing is working, at least for now.

Inside the Speed Force, the key phrase is a counterpoint to the most famous phrase of the show…becoming, “sit, Barry, sit”. He is being forced to confront, eventually, the feelings he has over the loss of his mother. He is still dealing with the pain of that loss, and the additional guilt of letting her die when he went back in time. Eventually, he comes across “Nora”, or at least the Speed Force personification of Nora Allen. She helps him deal with his loss, and we finally see the importance of a children’s book called “The Runaway Dinosaur” in this episode.  I’ll leave that one to you – it’s touching, and if you aren’t moved by it you need to work on that hard, cold heart of yours…

Of course Barry is finally rescued from the Speed Force, powers now intact, and what pulls him out of the Speed Force? Why of course, The Flash is pulled out of the Speed Force by his love for Linda P…sorry, wrong Flash.  He is pulled out of the Speed Force by his love for Iris. And, he makes short work of the “a-b-normal” version of Girder.

After that, Barry visits Jesse…and at his touch of her hand she wakes up! Harry realizes that this was the work of the Speed Force!

There are two epilogues of a sort here. In the first, Iris accompanies Barry on his first-ever visit to Nora’s grave. He can finally accept her loss, and he and Iris seem to officially begin their journey together as a couple. In the second? Zoom threatens Caitlin (again) before going to his crowd of bad guys to talk of taking over the world! That leads us right up to…the two-parter that will end season 2, beginning next week!

NOTES: Those who regularly read my reviews (both of you?) may know that I like character development even more than action sequences, even though the action sequences in most episodes of THE FLASH are fantastic. If you like an action-packed show, this may not have been your episode.  However, this was a GREAT episode for emotional content. And, it was the perfect break before the HUGE action-packed two-parter that is coming up to end the season.  This was a very different…and interesting interpretation of the Speed Force, certainly different than the present New52 version. It was a cool thing to see some of the main cast acting in a very different way than they normally do while taking on the “role” of the Speed Force. And, it’s almost worth the entire show just to see the cameo from Mewes. Would I want this every week? Hey, I still like action sequences, so I’m looking forward to next week. But, I still loved tonight’s episode as a great one-off before the storm hits next week. And, if the rumors are true that Kevin Smith is directing another episode next season, I’ll be anxiously awaiting that, too.

That’s just my opinion – what do YOU think? Leave your comments below!

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7 thoughts on ““The Runaway Dinosaur” Review of THE FLASH Ep 2.21

  1. Steve

    It is amazing how much of classic Wally West is cribbed to make the new Barry. Which begs the question of both the TV show and the comics: if you are syphoning off this much from Wally West, what is left for the actual character that is being reintroduced into the world?

    Reply
  2. Flashfacts

    This show undeniably borrows a ton from Mark Waid’s Flash esspecially. That’s probably why is hits so many of the right notes.

    Wow. Has the speedforce ever actually talked before? It’s always been quasi sentient but obviously on a show where you need to show more human interaction as opposed to the character reflecting in his head on panel they wanted to dramatize this more. I actually think it worked. I liked the calm parent like approach without giving too much away.

    Was it just me or was Iris particularly awesome in this episode? I don’t know why but it seemed like they just uped her badassness. Liked that too.

    Mewes was fun. It certainly didn’t hurt the episode. It was just Kevin putting his signature on things and considering how awesome this episode was, he deserves to.

    Calling it now. Henry dies next week.

    Reply
  3. Sam

    All I want to know is how Barry’s suit worked. If Cisco is holding it, how does Barry have it on and still communicate to Iris?

    Reply
    1. Rocket Jay

      She was communicating through her physical contact with Cisco. They weren’t using the uniform earpiece, they were communicating via the Vibe.

      Now what I want to know, is where Barry’s new uniform came from, since his old one was shredded. A gift from the Speed Force, maybe?

      Heh. Wouldn’t it be cool if when they open the chest emblem unit, there was a certain ring hiding inside…

      I can hear Cisco now: “Frack! We’ve finally got one–and I still don’t know how it works?!”

      Reply
      1. FLASH

        In the comics Wally eventually learns how to make the suit out of pure Speed Force. Perhaps this is what happened.

        Reply
  4. Golddragon71

    In the original Crisis Barry’s Body disintegrated when he was destroying the Anti-Matter Cannon but his suit remained intact and fell to the ground so technically, when he returned from that death he should have been naked but when he did return he’s back in his old suit….
    The interesting thing to note is that when bart “kid Flash” Allen returned from the Speed Force to be The Flash for a year he came out of the Speed Force wearing Barry’s uniform also. (did Barry take a whole pocket full of uniform rings with him before he was abducted by the anti-monitor or do the rings self re-materialize new uniforms every time one is lost?)

    Reply

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