Relationship issues take center stage throughout this episode of THE FLASH. Peek-a-Boo shows up to save her love from prison, Barry and Caitlin hit the town while trying to find them, Linda Park arrives on the scene…and that’s just PART of the fun in Episode 112, “Crazy for You”! Want to know more? Just check after the jump!

SOME SPOILERS AHEAD!

We are back to metahuman bad guys with the appearance of Peek-a-Boo, another victim of the accelerator accident who finds herself able to teleport herself (and whomever or whatever she is holding) to any place within her field of vision. She breaks her lover Clay Parker out of Iron Heights prison, but before they can truly leave town he must pay back what he owes to his crime boss. It’s convenient, but it at least keeps this couple within the boundaries of Central City for a good story.

Iron Heights is seen several times in this episode, in part due to the investigation of Parker’s breakout and in part for some face-to-face meetings for Barry and Henry Allen (no barriers, just meeting in person finally!). Henry decides to help with the investigation, and later is attacked in prison for doing so. We’ll come back to that.

Meanwhile, we see a some very interesting side stories developing here. Barry and Caitlin finally decide that it’s time to move on from their old relationships, and during part of the investigation hit the town for what turns out to be a pretty wild night…at least for Caitlin. Remember, Barry can’t get drunk…but Caitlin can and does, summoning Barry to the Karaoke stage for a very uneven rendition of “Summer Lovin” from the musical “Grease” (we do hear Grant Gustin’s excellent singing voice here, for those who remember him from “Glee”).

Another side story picks up from last episode’s reveal that Hartley knows what happened to Ronnie Raymond. We finally get the reveal that comics fans already could guess…that Martin Stein and Ronnie Raymond have been merged into one. That knowledge comes with a price, as Hartley uses the discovery process to make good his escape.

Afterward, Cisco confesses to Caitlin that he had sealed Ronnie in the accelerator chamber back in the pilot episode. Caitlin tells him that Ronnie would have said he did the right thing (probably true) and they immediately move from discussing Piper’s escape to recapturing Peek-a-Boo.

Here’s my only quibble with this episode…Hartley has escaped and we know he is extremely dangerous. He nearly killed Barry last episode. No one wants to go after him? Really? Other than that, this was a great episode, and hopefully this thread will be picked back up before long.

We also find Iris trying to make her mark as a reporter. The Flash visits to give her a story…but she gets a better story with the first published photo of our hero. She hasn’t figured out who he is yet (hopefully that won’t be strung out for too long). Still, quite a scoop for our young reporter.

Another side story of note is the introduction of Linda Park. She meets Barry at that Karaoke bar and gives him her number. There is later an off-camera lunch date, and hopefully we will continue to see more of Linda in the show. I’ll leave it to others to pick apart any differences from the comics version of Linda – I did like her portrayal here.

Finally, we have Henry Allen recovering from that attack. He knows that he has seen the Flash once in person (a few episodes ago when Barry saved Joe while Joe was visiting Henry in prison). And, he knows that the Flash grabbed the man who attacked Henry and left him outside the prison (to be caught and punished for “escaping”). He’s figuring out things (glad there is someone smart enough to figure that out on the show). Henry and Barry’s talk-but-not-a-talk about the Flash is endearing.

I’m looking back and realizing I’ve left the villain-of-the-week out of most of this review. She’s actually pretty good here, but the side stories seem to take precedence for me in terms of character development. We do have some excellent fight scenes (the special effects were good once again), with the Fastest Man Alive trying to catch someone who can teleport away with but a thought. Of course Barry captures her eventually, but the real tale is going on within all the side stories.

This takes us to the epilogue….WITH SPOILERS!

Two men are checking out a storm drain, to find Grodd’s name written over and over again in child-like handwriting on the wall. We get a shadowy version of Grodd who attacks the men…obviously more to come here as well.

SUMMARY: There were multiple character threads floating throughout this episode of THE FLASH, but they all meshed together well. We have some major steps being taken by Barry, Caitlin and Cisco – not without repercussions, but that is to be expected. And, we see the potential for several excellent story threads for future episodes, including Firestorm’s appearance, more down the road from Pied Piper and Grodd…and more from Linda Park. I enjoy a tale when multiple threads are woven together well, and that’s just what we get here. Other than the strange ease with which Piper’s escape is treated, this was a great episode – hope you enjoyed it as well!

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