The Speed Force is dead, and Barry’s speed has only so much longer to go. Eobard Thawne has taken over Nash Well’s body, though he is trapped in the Pipeline for now…only for now. Iris is still trapped in the mirror dimension, and Kamilla has been zapped by that mirror gun. Black Hole still has a mole in the CCPD, and now we get ANOTHER light-based meta on Carver’s payroll in Central City! If that doesn’t create enough drama for ya, I don’t know what else to say! Wanna know more? Follow us after the jump!
SPOILERS AHEAD! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
NOTE: This review is posting prior to the airing of THE FLASH in the Pacific Time Zone USA. If you haven’t seen the episode yet, STOP HERE and come back after watching the show. You’ll be glad you did!
Facing up to the things that hurt you most is not easy to do. Overcoming fear, overcoming grief, overcoming remorse…it can be over…overwhelming. Dealing with those emotions is so important, whether with help or not (I recommend help if you need it – seriously, getting help is cool). In tonight’s show, both Barry and Nash have to face their own inner demons in powerful ways.
Barry is dealing with two things (we’ll get to the second one later on). Right now, he is dealing with the impending loss of his speed. Barry will do almost anything to hold on to that speed, believing it’s the only way he can keep the city safe. He does some reckless things early on, including grabbing some Velocity X to try to boost his speed. That turns out horribly wrong, again a new villain known as Sunshine. Let’s talk about her and what she is after for a moment.
Sunshine is a new villain who I don’t believe has been in the comics before (if I’m wrong please correct me in the comments). She can bend sunlight, disappear in the sunlight, and use that sunlight to create enough heat to melt steel. She is on Carver’s payroll, and she is after a Prismatic Refractor that is presently held at Mercury Labs.
Sunshine isn’t the only one after that refractor, though. “Iris” and now “Kamilla” (another mirror doppelganger) are trying to grab it for Eve McCulloch. Frost is injured during the battle for the refractor, due in part to Flash barging in and losing his speed for a moment at a critical time.
This refractor gives us our secondary plot thread for tonight. “Iris” does her best to have the refractor stored at S.T.A.R. Labs so she can steal it for herself, but instead it is to be sent to A.R.G.U.S. When Sunshine shows up again, Barry is ready for her – not Flash, but Barry Allen. Barry realizes thanks to “Iris” that he doesn’t have to use his speed to win the day. He lures her to his lab, shuts off all light to the room, and puts the meta cuffs on her. Still, by the end of the show, “Iris” and “Kamilla” manage to get the refractor and pass it through a mirror to Eve. This supposedly puts her one step closer to being freed from the mirror dimension.
Back to the main thread. Team Flash finds that Thawne has multiple brain waves going on – every Wells in the former Multiverse is now in Nash’s head. But, why Thawne, who wasn’t a real Wells? That seems to be more of a “possession” going on. Thawne managed to trick Team Flash into freeing him momentarily. They recapture him and try to do an “exorcism” of sorts. The way to do this? Flood his body with positive tachyons to drive out Thawne. This doesn’t work so well at first.
We see Nash’s memory of meeting Maya, the doppelganger for Jesse Quick of Earth 2. In his travels, he took her on his adventures and taught her “the prize is everything”. That worked well until about a year ago…
Thawne is using the memory of what happened a year ago to try to beat Nash down in a psychic battle. As Cecile helps Cisco and Barry realize what’s going on, they bring out the well-used devices to enter Nash’s mind and to help him deal with Maya’s death.
Here is where dealing with emotions comes into play. Thawne is using the remorse and grief Nash feels over Maya’s death on one of their adventures to beat him down and to take over Nash’s body. As Barry and Cisco enter the fray, Cisco talks Nash into facing that memory. While he does that, Barry stands in Thawne’s way. Thawne uses the grief that Barry feels over the loss of Nora West-Allen to try to gain the advantage. But, Thawne doesn’t win this time.
Nash is able to face that memory, painful as it was. Even though he still blames himself for Maya’s death, He is starting to deal with the emotions and is on the road to some sort of healing. Barry is able to deal with his own loss without letting Thawne take control. “Emotions give us the strength to overcome anything, including you.”
Negative Speed Force Lightning leaves Nash’s body, and afterward Thawne is completely gone. There’s no sign of the Negative Speed Force anywhere on Earth. Of course, Thawne isn’t dead…we’ll see him again someday…but for now there is some peace.
Nash and Cisco talk afterward. All the other brain waves except Thawne are still there, which means Nash will continue to see the other Wells from time to time. Cisco tries to convince Nash to rebuild a relationship with Allegra. As Cisco leaves, Harry Wells appears to tell Nash that it’s a good idea…and Nash is supposedly on his way to restart with Allegra.
So, we are left with Barry, Caitlin and Cisco talking once again about building an artificial Speed Force. Barry has an idea – he understands now how Thawne built that Negative Speed Force. There is some hope – but I will leave this little gem unspoiled for you. It’s a wild twist, and we will have to see how it plays out when THE FLASH returns on April 7th.
NOTES:
- The next episode was supposed to be March 31st, but the production being shut down due to the coronovirus may explain why the CW is trying to stretch out the season just a bit.
- Joe West is starting to realize that something is wrong with “Iris”, even if Barry hasn’t noticed yet. It has to do with her lack of empathy for Barry in multiple moments.
- Looks like the show runners have found a way to keep all the “Council of Wells” intact – just put ALL their brainwaves into one person. Interesting idea, and one that seems to be playing out well here.
- Are we done with Thawne? Really? I’m just wondering who he will possess next time. Should be interesting.
SUMMARY:
This was an episode with real emotional impact. We finally get to see the source of Nash’s pain related to Maya. And, we continue to move along both the Black Hole and Mirror Dimension story lines. I’ll give this one a 9/10. Of course, that’s just my opinion. What do YOU think? Leave your comments below – and wash your hands and stay safe!