This episode of THE FLASH has it all – someone in Team Flash gaining a new power, some poignant moments, some really funny spots, lots of action…and a twist that will knock your socks off! And it all starts with a villain from the pages of The Atom comics – want to know more? Follow us after the jump!
SPOILERS AHEAD!
NOTE: This review is posting before THE FLASH airs in the Pacific time zone USA. If you haven’t seen the show yet, STOP HERE and come back later! You’ll be glad you did!
Let’s start with powers – Cecile realizes that she can now read minds. It appears to be related to some residual energy from the original particle accelerator accident, triggered temporarily by her pregnancy (comic book physics, gotta love it). So…while she is still pregnant, Cecile can read anyone’s mind! While she enjoys this power, it creates some problems for her relationship with Joe. That leads back to the same counselor who worked with Barry and Iris, with results as funny as the last time around. By show’s end, Joe and Cecile work things out, but this is likely not the last we’ll hear about Cecile’s newfound abilities.
At Iron Heights, Barry comes to realize that his father’s friend Big Sir is likely innocent of the murder that put him behind bars. He asks for Team Flash’s help to clear Big Sir – though Big Sir isn’t interested in the help at first. “Hope is dangerous” – at least when you are in prison. More on that later…as the real bad guy from that murder 15 years ago is now our villain of the week.
Sylbert Rundine is his name (the “e” is silent according to the character) and he had stolen some dwarf star alloy just before getting on the now-infamous bus. He has become Dwarfstar, able to shrink and regrow anything he wants, from cars to buildings…and even people!
This is where the title of the episode comes in. As Joe, Cisco and Ralph question Sylbert about 15 years before, he bolts away…then turns and shrinks Cisco and Ralph! They have a lot of fun with this throughout the episode, from silly comments to the very creepy notion of placing them in the lego set from last season that modeled where Iris was to have been killed by the future Flash. Okay, that notion was not so funny, but the rest of the jokes they used really were a lot of fun.
Eventually they do capture Dwarfstar and restore Cisco and Ralph just before they would have exploded (thanks to a treatment from Harry that went awry), but Dwarfstar would not confess. He thinks it’s funny that the wrong guy went to jail, and won’t confess no matter the deal offered to him.
That means Big Sir is stuck – no hope of getting out. That is…except…
Barry is watching the oscillating camera in the prison, between sweeps he phases Big Sir out of prison and across the globe to the one place he wanted to be, a village called Jiaju in China. Barry is back and safe…or so he thinks.
Here’s where we get to the twist…
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Warden Wolfe had installed a second camera, one trained 100% of the time on Barry’s cell. He now knows that Barry is the Flash, and he has plans for Barry…drugging the pudding cups Barry won at cards and sending him to the metahuman wing of the prison. From there he calls…
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Amunet! Warden Wolfe is ready to sell Barry to Amunet!
NOTES: This was one of the best episodes of the season. The chemistry between Joe and Cecile is amazing, the action was spot on, the jokes were for the most part right on the money, and the twist was a huge punch to the gut just after a warm-hearted end to the arc for Big Sir. BTW – Bill Goldberg did a credible job as Big Sir. He was perfect for this role, and I enjoyed every scene he was in. One last note – one of my favorite lines was when Iris questioned why all the bad guys have names that sounded like they came out of comic books – a nice nod to Flash (and all comics) fans. I’ll give this one a 10/10 – but of course that’s just my opinion. What do YOU think? Leave your comments below!