This week on The Flash, we finally find out the identity of the Fire Meta, someone from Caitlin's past returns, no one listens to Barry as usual and Iris takes a powder from the show.
The highlight of this episode was Danielle Panabaker, who continues to hit it out of the park. She played Caitlin to perfection this week, giving her a heartbreaking and believable vulnerability as she was blinded by her obsession with bringing her late husband back from the dead.
At this point I'm 100% convinced that Caitlin and Frost are played by two different actresses, and have to keep reminding myself that they're played by the same person.
So far the theme of this season has been "Old Home Week," as the series has brought back a veritable parade of old characters. It started with the Royal Flush Gang, then Impulse & X-S, Goldface, The Hotness, and even Chester's father (sort of).
If I'm being honest, I actually don't mind this new recycling trend— but why's it happening? Welp, this is just my theory, but I'm convinced it's because showrunner Eric Wallace hasn't had the greatest track record when it comes to creating NEW characters and Big Bads (Allegra? Eva McCullouch/Mirror Master/Monarch/Mistress?), so he figured he go back to the beginning and stick with what worked.
The recycling continues this week, as Ronnie Raymond— who figured prominently in Seasons 1 and 2— returns. To refresh your memory, he was one half of the superhero Firestorm, as well as Caitlin's husband (till he died).
I remember back in the day the producers of The Flash devoted a HUGE amount of time to setting up Firestorm— who they intended to join the cast of Legends Of Tomorrow. Then the minute the character was established, Robbie Amell— who played Ronnie Raymond— announced he was leaving the show, which required the producers to scramble to find a replacement.
Supposedly Amell (cousin of Arrow's Stephen Amell!) jumped ship because he wanted to make the jump to feature films. So how'd that work out for him? Welp, starred in such epics as The Duff, Max and The Babysitter. Yeah. Which probably explains why he's returned to The Flash for a few episodes!
Speaking of absences, Iris disappears again this week— literally! I'm convinced that this whole "time sickness" storyline was concocted to give her some time off from the show. In fact they did something similar last year when she requested a leave. This may be an unpopular opinion, but if she needs to take time off in the middle of the damn shooting schedule, then maybe it's time for her to leave altogether. Feh.
In a related note, this week actor Jesse L. Martin announced he's leaving the series at the end of Season 8— but was open to returning for a handful of guest appearances if the show gets a ninth season.
Eh, he might as well leave, as the writers clearly haven't been able to figure out what to do with him for a long time now. Especially after they had him retire from CCPD! He's been relegated to set dressing at this point, standing in the background and occasionally saying a stray line or two.
One more reason why I think it's time to end the show. I still like watching it (despite the tone of my reviews!), but when the actors all start jumping ship on a series, it's time to pack it in!
I wonder... if Joe leaves, does that mean Cecile will follow? It'd be awkward if he disappeared and she still hung around STAR Labs every week! On the plus side, losing the two of them might actually help the show, as there are WAYYYYY too many cast members on this show!
Lastly, there's something I've noticed about the series lately— apparently the writers think it's necessary for EVERY character on the show to be in a relationship. You've got Barry & Iris of course, Joe and Cecile, Caitlin & Marcus, Caitlin & Ronnie (or something pretending to be him), Chester & Allegra (as awkward as they are, it's still a relationship), Sue & Ralph— heck, even FROST has a soulmate now in Chillblaine!
Jaysis! You don't have to pair up everyone in the cast, guys! Single people do exist, you know! How about just letting someone be unattached and happy?
Apropos of nothing, this week I found out there's actually a real-life Central City not all that far from me, in nearby Kentucky! Wow, who knew? Supposedly there are ten other Central Cities in the U.S.!
The Plot:
2012
At STAR Labs, Caitlin has a meet cute with Ronnie Raymond, who's injured himself while working on the Particle Accelerator. They're immediately attracted to one another, and awkwardly chat/flirt as she patches him up.
The Present
Picking up where we left off last week, Caitlin's in her apartment, where she's confronted by the Fire Meta. It claims to be Ronnie, asking her to join him so they can finally be whole. She asks how she can save him, but he disappears.
Over in Coast City, Iris is reeling after her time sickness flared up and disintegrated Tinya's birth mother, Renee Wazzo. Tinya screeches at Iris, demanding to know what she did to the mother she just met. Iris says she doesn't know, and has another attack. Sue tries to call Barry but her phone vanishes in her hand. Sue tells Tinya to get out for her own safety.
At STAR Labs, Joe & Cecile report they've found several more potential Fire Meta victims— all of whom were experiencing grief like the others. Barry's confident they can capture the Meta now with the modified Fusion Sphere.
Just then Caitlin arrives, and when she sees the list of victims she recognizes all of them. She says the Fire Meta must have attacked the others because of their connection to her.
She also points out that she just got a visit from the Fire Meta, which spoke to her. She tells Team Flash she's convinced it's really Ronnie, who's somehow still alive and wants her to save him.
Barry points out that the Fire Meta just got done manipulating Chester by impersonating his late father, and says it could be doing the same to Caitlin. This makes perfect sense, but of course she denies it.
She also points out that she just got a visit from the Fire Meta, which spoke to her. She tells Team Flash she's convinced it's really Ronnie, who's somehow still alive and wants her to save him.
Barry points out that the Fire Meta just got done manipulating Chester by impersonating his late father, and says it could be doing the same to Caitlin. This makes perfect sense, but of course she denies it.
Caitlin claims she somehow determined the Meta's radiating "singularity energy." She reminds them that Ronnie died while closing a massive singularity hanging over Central City. She points out that matter can't be destroyed, and believes Ronnie still exists in some form. She says they can use the Quantum Stabilizer (that separated Firestorm into Ronnie and Professor Martin Stein) to restore him.
Barry's skeptical, and suggests they slow down and study the situation to make sure they're doing the right thing. Caitlin reluctantly agrees.
Later Caitlin meets with her new beau Marcus at Jitters. She tells him she's a member of Team Flash, and more importantly, that her late husband's seemingly returned from the grave. She says they should separate "temporarily" for his own safety, but he says he sees no future for them with Ronnie in the picture and breaks up with her.
Back at STAR, Barry tinkers with the Fusion Sphere as Frost walks in. He says the whole Ronnie thing feels too good to be true, and worries that Caitlin can't see it. Frost agrees, but says she has her sister's back. She points out that Team Flash supported him and Iris on numerous occasions, so she owes Caitlin the same courtesy.
Meanwhile, Chester decides this is the absolute best time for one of his podcasts. Allegra comes in and sees him discussing the specs for some technobabble equipment, and asks if it's a good idea to share such knowledge with the public. He says his fans could adapt and use it to save the world, but she points out someone else might use it to destroy the planet. Eventually he realizes she's right and ends the podcast. Was there a point to this scene that I'm missing somehow?
Elsewhere, Cecile's walking through STAR when she's hit by a psychic blast from the Fire Meta, which demands to know where Caitlin is. Barry sees her in pain and asks what's wrong. She says she felt Ronnie's mind, and thinks he wants to die rather than be saved.
Barry and Cecile tell Caitlin that Ronnie's being tortured by the black flames and wants his suffering to end. She doesn't believe them, as she's clearly blinded by her obsession. She says as Ronnie's wife she knows him better than they do. Cecile suggests Caitlin's thinking about herself and not Ronnie, and it might be best to let him go. Caitlin angrily says if they won't help then she'll save him herself.
Barry's skeptical, and suggests they slow down and study the situation to make sure they're doing the right thing. Caitlin reluctantly agrees.
Later Caitlin meets with her new beau Marcus at Jitters. She tells him she's a member of Team Flash, and more importantly, that her late husband's seemingly returned from the grave. She says they should separate "temporarily" for his own safety, but he says he sees no future for them with Ronnie in the picture and breaks up with her.
Back at STAR, Barry tinkers with the Fusion Sphere as Frost walks in. He says the whole Ronnie thing feels too good to be true, and worries that Caitlin can't see it. Frost agrees, but says she has her sister's back. She points out that Team Flash supported him and Iris on numerous occasions, so she owes Caitlin the same courtesy.
Meanwhile, Chester decides this is the absolute best time for one of his podcasts. Allegra comes in and sees him discussing the specs for some technobabble equipment, and asks if it's a good idea to share such knowledge with the public. He says his fans could adapt and use it to save the world, but she points out someone else might use it to destroy the planet. Eventually he realizes she's right and ends the podcast. Was there a point to this scene that I'm missing somehow?
Elsewhere, Cecile's walking through STAR when she's hit by a psychic blast from the Fire Meta, which demands to know where Caitlin is. Barry sees her in pain and asks what's wrong. She says she felt Ronnie's mind, and thinks he wants to die rather than be saved.
Barry and Cecile tell Caitlin that Ronnie's being tortured by the black flames and wants his suffering to end. She doesn't believe them, as she's clearly blinded by her obsession. She says as Ronnie's wife she knows him better than they do. Cecile suggests Caitlin's thinking about herself and not Ronnie, and it might be best to let him go. Caitlin angrily says if they won't help then she'll save him herself.
2013
Ronnie wakes up and notices Caitlin's packing. She tells him she's planned an elaborate trip to celebrate their one year anniversary.
Coast City— The Present
Iris wakes again in her hotel room, and tells Sue that maybe it's time she returned to Central City. Just then Tinya enters, intent on punishing Iris for disintegrating her mom. Sue threatens to fight Tinya, warning her to stand down. Tinya effortlessly phases right through her and grabs Iris by the shoulders. Somehow she makes her vanish, and tells Sue she'll do the same to her if she tries to follow.
Back at STAR, Barry says he's gonna use the Fusion Sphere to capture the Fire Meta and end Ronnie's suffering. Frost suggests using the Quantum Stabilizer to separate Ronnie from the Meta (I think?). Chester warns that won't work unless Ronnie's willing, and could end up causing a massive explosion.
2013
Caitlin and Ronnie get stuck in the snow (heh) on their way to their vacation cabin in Piedmont State Park. Caitlin says their weekend's ruined, claiming she was going to propose to Ronnie. He admits he planned on proposing to her as well! They both get down on one knee and propose to one another.
The Present
Frost tattles to Caitlin, telling her what Barry & the others have planned. She says she was still inside Caitlin's head when she was with Ronnie, and felt her anguish when he died. She says she's ready and willing to help her save him. Caitlin says she knows where to find Ronnie, as Frost hands her the Stabilizer she somehow palmed.
Cut to Piedmont State Park, where a group of campers are telling ghost stories around a fire. Suddenly the Fire Meta appears above them and roars.
Back at STAR, Chester somehow picks up the Fire Meta's energy signature. Barry grabs the Fusion Sphere and speeds himself, Cecile and Allegra to the park. He tells the campers to beat it, and activates the Sphere. It pulls the Fire Meta into it.
Just then Frost and Caitlin somehow arrive at the camp as well (presumably courtesy of one of Frost's ice ramps?). Frost fires an ice blast at the Sphere, knocking it out of Barry's hands. It shatters on the ground, releasing the Fire Meta.
Caitlin then confronts the Meta, saying she knows it's really Ronnie. She reminds him of all the good times they had together before he died, and the flame suddenly takes on human proportions. She places the Quantum Stabilizer on it, and the shape solidifies into Ronnie. He instantly collapses, but claims he's OK.
The next day at STAR, Caitlin reports that Ronnie's in stable condition. Everyone says they're happy for Caitlin, and Barry apologizes for doubting her. Cecile says she sorry as well, wondering how her psychic powers were so wrong.
That night Barry tries calling Iris, but there's no answer. Sue arrives at the apartment, and tells him Iris has disappeared, and she has no idea where to find her.
Back at STAR, Caitlin checks on Ronnie but sees he's not in the Med Lab. The lights go out, and she wanders through the darkened corridors. She sees a light ahead in the Lounge, and finds Ronnie there, staring out the window.
Caitlin says he should be resting, but he says he feels stronger than ever, thanks to her and the Stabilizer. He tells her Ronnie died back when he sacrificed himself to close the singularity. That act unleashed chaos and gave life to a new entity. It turns, revealing solid black eyes. It reaches up and adjusts the Stabilizer, and the entity transforms into a flaming being that calls itself Deathstorm.
Thoughts:
• The episode begins with a flashback to 2012, and an establishing shot of STAR Labs.
Hey, wouldja look at that! All three of the pylons were whole and undamaged back then!
• In the 2012 flashback, Ronnie Raymond pays a visit to STAR's Med Lab, where he meets Dr. Caitlin Snow. It's love at first sight, as the two immediately fall for one another.
Is it just me, or does Caitlin look noticeably younger in this flashback?
Here she is alongside her present day self for comparison. I think she may be wearing a wig in the flashbacks, but there's more to it than that. Did they CGI her face to make her look younger? Digital de-aging ain't cheap, so I can't imagine The CW would spring for it. Whatever they did, it worked, as she definitely looks ten years younger. Good job!
• Over in Coast City, we get this establishing shot of Renee Wazzo's apartment building.
I assumed this was yet another location in Vancouver (where the series is filmed), but it's actually 10 Columbia Place in Brooklyn! Weird.
• Iris has another of her time sickness spells in Renee's apartment. This causes the normally calm Sue to grab her phone and say she's calling Barry. Whoops!
I realize Sue's panicking and not thinking straight here, but she should have said she was calling the Flash. I don't think Tinya knows Barry's secret identity yet, but she definitely would if he zoomed into the room at superspeed wearing his street clothes!
In the end it doesn't matter, because Sue's phone vanishes in a burst of temporal energy before she can call anyway.
This shot right here is why I keep saying the show has wayyyy too many characters, and needs to thin the herd a bit. Jaysis, just look at 'em all! There're so many current cast members they can barely all fit on the screen at the same time!
Even worse, Iris isn't there! If she was, that'd make a whopping EIGHT main characters!
That's far, far too many for a weekly series, as it makes it difficult for the writers to properly service them all and give them something to do each week.
As it stands now, instead of one character simply saying a paragraph of exposition, they split it up among everyone, so they ALL speak a sentence of it. No one talks like that in real life, and it just comes off as strange and awkward.
• When Caitlin says she believes the Fire Meta is her late husband Ronnie, Barry's immediately skeptical. He brings up a reeeeeally good point too, gently reminding her that just a couple weeks ago the Fire Meta manipulated Chester by taking on the physical form of his father. He wonders if it might be doing the same to Caitlin, which makes a lot of sense.
As it stands now, instead of one character simply saying a paragraph of exposition, they split it up among everyone, so they ALL speak a sentence of it. No one talks like that in real life, and it just comes off as strange and awkward.
• When Caitlin says she believes the Fire Meta is her late husband Ronnie, Barry's immediately skeptical. He brings up a reeeeeally good point too, gently reminding her that just a couple weeks ago the Fire Meta manipulated Chester by taking on the physical form of his father. He wonders if it might be doing the same to Caitlin, which makes a lot of sense.
Of course she completely ignores the idea so that the episode can happen. I get it— she's so intent on getting her husband back that it's blinding her to logic— but it's pretty stupid to refuse to even consider the possibility that the Fire Meta's playing her.
Maybe someday the members of Team Flash will listen when Barry objects to something. They could save themselves a lot of time and heartache by following his gut instincts.
• Caitlin provides proof to Team Flash that the Fire Meta's really Ronnie:
Barry: "Are you sure it didn't just want you to think it was Ronnie?"
Caitlin: "I wasn't sure at first. But that's why I downloaded the data from when the fire was in the NCCU. This is cold fusion radiation, but these readings are 10 to the negative 28 watts."
Chester: "That's Hawking radiation. You can only pick up rads like that from inside a singularity."
First of all, I have no idea what the "NCCU" is. In the medical field it can stand for "Neuroscience Critical Care Unit," but that doesn't make any sense here. I dunno what it means.
Secondly, Hawking radiation is a real thing. It's thermal radiation (aka heat) released outside a singularity's event horizon due to relativistic effects. Unfortunately I'm not smart enough to understand if Caitlin's "10 to the negative 28 watts" makes sense in context or is just technobabble regurgitated by the writers.
• Caitlin tries to explain why the Fire Meta/Ronnie is drawn to people experiencing grief:
Caitlin: "When Ronnie died, his brain was flooded with ACTH. It's the hormone the human brain creates when it experiences grief. So maybe when he was reborn as a sentient fire, that same process gave him an overwhelming attraction to the same hormone."
Cecile: "So he's been eating people's grief because of some primal urge?"
Caitlin: "I think he needs it to survive, which is why he's been trying to reconnect with me so I can help him."
OK, I was about to shout my usual mocking battle cry of "Comic Book Science!" here, but if you strip away the Fire Meta's motivation, it's actually accurate. ACTH, or AdrenoCorticoTropic Hormone, is a substance secreted by the anterior pituitary gland in the brain, and is often produced in response to biological stress— aka grief.
Good job, writers!
• Unfortunately, the writers flush all that previous goodwill down the crapper with this next exchange:
Chester: "The Quantum splicer?"
Caitlin: "It's what made him Firestorm in the first place. I think if we can use it to make Ronnie human again, his mind will regain control."
Cecile: "And the killings will stop."
Barry: "Even if you are right about this, the splicer needs two people to work, and we can't ask anybody to volunteer. It's too dangerous."
Chester: "Yeah. But we wouldn't need another person if we use one of Eva McCulloch's R-CEM chips, 'cause if we fuse one of Eva's chips to the splicer, it'll do all the heavy lifting by duplicating Ronnie cells and coalescing another body for him, right?"
Frost: "Like it did with Katie and me."
Allegra: "Okay, but raising the dead, that's intense, even for us."
Comic Book Science!
• Excited by the prospect of resurrecting her late husband, Caitlin goes off to find the Quantum Splicer. Chester leaves as well, saying, "I'll get an R-CEM chip from the Starchives."
Wait, what? First of all, how do they still have any of Eva McCullough's mirror-based tech? Didn't she take all her crap with her when she disappeared back into the Mirrorverse? And even if she didn't, why in the name of sanity would Team Flash keep and store such dangerous technology inside such an unsecure location as STAR Labs? This sounds like something they should have handed over to ARGUS.
I could probably find the answers to these questions by rewatching the Mirrorverse Saga from Season 6, but there's no way in hell THAT'S ever happening!
Barry: "Are you sure it didn't just want you to think it was Ronnie?"
Caitlin: "I wasn't sure at first. But that's why I downloaded the data from when the fire was in the NCCU. This is cold fusion radiation, but these readings are 10 to the negative 28 watts."
Chester: "That's Hawking radiation. You can only pick up rads like that from inside a singularity."
First of all, I have no idea what the "NCCU" is. In the medical field it can stand for "Neuroscience Critical Care Unit," but that doesn't make any sense here. I dunno what it means.
Secondly, Hawking radiation is a real thing. It's thermal radiation (aka heat) released outside a singularity's event horizon due to relativistic effects. Unfortunately I'm not smart enough to understand if Caitlin's "10 to the negative 28 watts" makes sense in context or is just technobabble regurgitated by the writers.
• Caitlin tries to explain why the Fire Meta/Ronnie is drawn to people experiencing grief:
Caitlin: "When Ronnie died, his brain was flooded with ACTH. It's the hormone the human brain creates when it experiences grief. So maybe when he was reborn as a sentient fire, that same process gave him an overwhelming attraction to the same hormone."
Cecile: "So he's been eating people's grief because of some primal urge?"
Caitlin: "I think he needs it to survive, which is why he's been trying to reconnect with me so I can help him."
OK, I was about to shout my usual mocking battle cry of "Comic Book Science!" here, but if you strip away the Fire Meta's motivation, it's actually accurate. ACTH, or AdrenoCorticoTropic Hormone, is a substance secreted by the anterior pituitary gland in the brain, and is often produced in response to biological stress— aka grief.
Good job, writers!
• Unfortunately, the writers flush all that previous goodwill down the crapper with this next exchange:
Chester: "The Quantum splicer?"
Caitlin: "It's what made him Firestorm in the first place. I think if we can use it to make Ronnie human again, his mind will regain control."
Cecile: "And the killings will stop."
Barry: "Even if you are right about this, the splicer needs two people to work, and we can't ask anybody to volunteer. It's too dangerous."
Chester: "Yeah. But we wouldn't need another person if we use one of Eva McCulloch's R-CEM chips, 'cause if we fuse one of Eva's chips to the splicer, it'll do all the heavy lifting by duplicating Ronnie cells and coalescing another body for him, right?"
Frost: "Like it did with Katie and me."
Allegra: "Okay, but raising the dead, that's intense, even for us."
Comic Book Science!
• Excited by the prospect of resurrecting her late husband, Caitlin goes off to find the Quantum Splicer. Chester leaves as well, saying, "I'll get an R-CEM chip from the Starchives."
Wait, what? First of all, how do they still have any of Eva McCullough's mirror-based tech? Didn't she take all her crap with her when she disappeared back into the Mirrorverse? And even if she didn't, why in the name of sanity would Team Flash keep and store such dangerous technology inside such an unsecure location as STAR Labs? This sounds like something they should have handed over to ARGUS.
I could probably find the answers to these questions by rewatching the Mirrorverse Saga from Season 6, but there's no way in hell THAT'S ever happening!
• Caitlin finally remembers her new beau Marcus, and meets him at Jitters to fill him in on her secret life.
I was also impressed with how Marcus handled the situation. Caitlin used the classic, "I Hope We Can Still Be Friends" line when she told Marcus about Ronnie. He shut that sh*t down right quick though, telling her to have a good life as he walked out. As he should have.
Caitlin's clearly trying to be a dog with two bones here, which never, ever works out.
• Incredibly, no one says "Leveled up" in this episode. That makes two weeks in a row now. Which is odd, as it's become the show's favorite new catchphrase and has been uttered at least once in every one of the first nine episodes this year.
They did use Leveled Up's cousin "All in" though, as Caitlin tells Marcus about her past relationships. She says, "That's why I'd given up on finding a meaningful connection with someone until I met you. And you showed me that when I go all in with us..."
• Incredibly, no one says "Leveled up" in this episode. That makes two weeks in a row now. Which is odd, as it's become the show's favorite new catchphrase and has been uttered at least once in every one of the first nine episodes this year.
They did use Leveled Up's cousin "All in" though, as Caitlin tells Marcus about her past relationships. She says, "That's why I'd given up on finding a meaningful connection with someone until I met you. And you showed me that when I go all in with us..."
As I pointed out in the previous episode, I'm actually impressed that Team Flash is attempting to use this device to capture the Fire Meta for a third time. On most series, the characters will come up with a plan, try it once and if it fails they instantly discard it for all time.
So it's great to see them attempting and adjusting their plan till it works— just like real scientists would do!
• I loved the scene between Barry & Frost as they discussed Caitlin's unhealthy obsession with bringing Ronnie back:
Barry: "So what, we just let her go through with this?"
Frost: "What if it was Iris, and there was some dangerous experiment that would cure her time sickness? You'd risk everything to save her. So even if this fails, we at least owe her the chance to try."
Frost is absolutely right here to point out that Barry's not the only member of Team Flash with a loved one. Not to mention the others have risked everything to help him save Iris on numerous occasions, so it's about time he repaid the favor.
Of course Barry's ultimately right here, but still... he needed a reminder that it's TEAM Flash, not just Flash.
Was there a point to any of this? It had nothing whatsoever to do with the plot, and went absolutely nowhere. And it dragged on forever, seemingly lasting a full ten minutes.
Maybe the episode came up short and they needed to pad the runtime. Or more likely it's setup for a future episode, in which an evil meta does indeed use Chester's specs against Team Flash. If it was the latter then it was clumsy, awkward and went on wayyyy too long.
At least their "relationship" didn't sicken and anger me this week, as they acted more or less like normal adults.
Case in point, Allegra mentions how her cousin Esperanza died in her arms last season, and sure enough— half a second later we get a flashback illustrating it for us.
Apparently the writers think the audience is composed of morons, who need to have everything spoon-fed to them.
• Allegra tries warning Chester against using technology indiscriminately, saying, "Death shouldn't be some kind of science experiment. It's a part of life and it's finite. It's what my abuelita used to call "noche mas negra." The blackest night.
Houston we have a reference!
Blackest Night was a storyline that ran through Green Lantern and various other DC comics from 2009 through 2010. I could easily write 50,000 words or more explaining the plot of it, but I don't have the time, space or energy right now.
Basically it involved the demon Nekron, who reanimated numerous deceased superheroes into dark, twisted, zombiefied versions of themselves, forming the Black Lantern Corps. He then used the Black Lanterns in an effort to eliminate all life and emotion from the universe.
This is yet another Green Lantern reference that's popped in in the Arrowverse recently. A couple years ago the Arrow series finale featured John Diggle finding a Green Lantern power ring. Then a couple weeks ago in Phantoms, Iris & Sue visited Coast City (hometown of Green Lantern Hal Jordan). While there, they passed a Ferris Airlines billboard (a company owned by Jordan's gal pal Carol Ferris, who's secretly the villain Star Sapphire). And now a freakin' Blackest Night shoutout.
And yet for all these numerous references, the creators seem dead set against ever actually bringing any version of Green Lantern into the Arrowverse. C'mon, guys, what's the problem? The fans are clearly hyped for the character to appear, so why the holdup?
Is there some sort of complicated rights issue that's preventing Green Lantern from appearing? If not, then why the endless parade of shout outs and teases? At this point you're giving GL fans the world's largest case of collective blue balls!
Sometimes I feel bad for the actors on this show. Imagine having to get up early, drive to work and then be required to act a scene like THIS. Sure, they're likely getting paid well, but... at what cost? No amount of cash would be worth having to do this!
For comparison, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai has 163 floors, and is 2,717 feet tall. STAR Labs would have almost FOUR times that many floors or levels, and be around 10,800 feet deep.
I'll let you decide how likely/feasible/believable any of that is.
• Much like Frost did earlier, Caitlin tears Barry a new one for not believing in her and helping to save Ronnie:
Barry: "We can't resurrect the past. It's too dangerous."
Caitlin: "This is not another Flashpoint. We are not creating another timeline. We are saving my husband from a nightmare."
Barry: "Then maybe it's time to help him let go."
Caitlin: "I thought family was supposed to have your back, no matter what. Even when they think you're making the wrong choice. God knows, we've all fallen in line for you and Iris on more than one occasion!"
Ouch! That last line hit home! Similarly to the Frost/Barry exchange, Caitlin is absolutely right here, as Team Flash has selflessly helped Barry & Iris too many times to count. I'm not sure we needed to hear this exact speech twice in the same episode from both Frost AND Caitlin, but whatever.
On a different note, I'm having trouble with Caitlin's statement that "family's supposed to have your back, even when they think you're making the wrong choice." Yeah, that's not a thing. Your family's the ones who're supposed to STOP you from doing something dangerous and destructive. If your family can't tell you you're making the wrong decision, who can?
• Caitlin flashes back to another memory of Ronnie, in which she plans a trip to Mapleville for the two of them.
There's a Mapleville in DC Comics (Superman visited the place in Action Comics #179), but this appears to be the first mention of it in the Arrowverse.
• Cute Moment: During Caitlin's flashback, Ronnie tells her, "We're like two atoms sharing a strong covalent bond." She replies with, "I love it when you talk science to me."
A few years ago I used to put exchanges like this in a "This Week's Best Lines" section at the end of each review. I haven't done that in a lonnnnnng time now. It seems like all the fun lines dried up around the time Cisco left the show.
I love how Sue tries to stop her with her cat burglar moves, but Tinya just phases right through her. Ha!
So what exactly did Tinya do to Iris here? Obviously she didn't just kill one of the main characters, so I'm guessing she must have some secondary power— such as the ability to shunt her to another dimension or something.
• Ever since this Fire Meta appeared, its true nature has been muddled and grossly inconsistent. Originally it was described as a form of cold fusion, and burned its victims with a "freezing fire." In other episodes it seemed to be a conventional flame that burned hot.
This week was no exception, as we get this exchange:
Barry: "We'd use the Cold Fusion Sphere, just like before, only this time without putting anyone in danger."
Chester: "And then once it's trapped inside, you just need to remove the oxidizing agents, and it's bye-bye flames for good."
An "oxidizing agent" is a substance present in a chemical reaction. So now the black flames have gone from cold fusion to normal flame to chemical process. Jaysis, writers, make up your damn minds! At this point I have no idea what the hell it's supposed to be.
In the past, a scene like this would have required them to lock the camera down tight in order to film a clunky split screen with the two characters rooted to the spot. Here the camera never stops moving, and at one point Frost even walks behind Caitlin! All this really goes a long way in selling the idea that they're "twins." Well done, guys!
• At one point Frost tells Caitlin that even back when she was buried in her subconscious, she still felt her anguish over Ronnie's death.
Hmm... Since they were both part of the same mind & body when Caitlin was married to Ronnie, shouldn't Frost have feelings for him as well? Or was she a completely different psyche living in Caitlin's head?
• This week's episode pulls out the old "Someone Says A Random Word That Gives Another Character An Idea" trope, that's been around for a hundred years or more:
Frost: Let's go find Ronnie.
Caitlin: Okay, great. How do we do that?"
Frost: "We'll search this whole damn city to find him, day or night, rain or snow, or whatever. We're gonna find him."
Caitlin: That's it. Rain or snow. 'Memories in the snow.' That's what he was trying to tell me!"
Frost: "What are you talking about?"
Caitlin: "I know where to find Ronnie."
And of course the place to find him is Piedmont State Park, where Caitlin and Ronnie proposed to one another— in the snow.
• We're then treated to this scene of campers at Piedmont Park, sitting around a fire while one of them tells ghost stories to the others.
Typically it's kids that tend to do this when they're camping. Or an adult will tell a spooky story to a group of cub scouts. Note that the people seen here are all well into their thirties.
Typically it's kids that tend to do this when they're camping. Or an adult will tell a spooky story to a group of cub scouts. Note that the people seen here are all well into their thirties.
Seconds later at STAR, Chester tells Barry the Fusion Sphere's ready, saying, "Okay, the sphere is ready. Once the fire's trapped, this deoxygenator node will activate and the flames will be snuffed out."
So now it's reverted back to a plain old fire thats fueled by oxygen, as all talk of it being cold fusion are completely forgotten.
Once again, I gotta ask— just what happens when he does this? Is he shoving them along in front of him a superspeed? Pulling them behind him? Carrying them? Or does he somehow grant them a bit of his Speed Force energy so they temporarily can run fast as well?
Apparently it's none of our goddamned business, as it's never addressed or explained.
• The Flash arrives at Piedmont State Park, where he sees the campers being threatened by the Fire Meta. He tells the terrified civilians to get the hell out of there, and head for the brightest light they see.
He's talking about Allegra here, who's presumably using her EMP powers to create a beacon for the citizens. This all happens off camera of course, as apparently it must be prohibitively expensive to depict Allegra's powers, since we haven't actually seen her use them in... weeks? Months? A year?
How in the name of Zeus' Mighty Taint did the two of them get to the park just a few seconds after Barry? Technically they did have a bit of a head start, as we saw them leave a few minutes before Barry. But still— he's a goddamned speedster for corn's sake, yet they somehow arrived in almost the same amount of time as him.
• Once the Fire Meta's free of the destroyed Fusion Sphere, Caitlin strides forward and confronts it. Barry warns that she's gonna get herself killed, but Frost stops him, saying, "Let her."
Wait, what? Just last week Caitlin tore Frost a new one, saying she was being reckless and needlessly endangering herself. Now suddenly this week their positions have reversed, and Caitlin's being the reckless one. Except this time Frost doesn't seem to care!
That was easy! Too bad she didn't try that three weeks ago when the Fire Meta first appeared!
I just realized THIS is why Caitlin was AWOL for the first two episodes of the Fire Meta storyline. I assumed she didn't appear because Danielle Panabaker was tired of constantly having to change her makeup back & forth, and said she just wanted to be Frost for a while.
But in reality they kept Caitlin off the show for a couple episodes because the Fire Meta/Ronnie would have recognized her and she would have "saved" him right off the bat. By keeping her out of the loop, they were able to stretch the arc out for another two episodes!
• By the way, when Ronnie's reconstituted from the energy of the Fire Meta, he's fully clothed. It was awfully thoughtful of whatever agency or process that restored him to conjure up an outfit for him along with his body, so he didn't reappear buck naked.
Of course anyone who's ever seen a TV show before will know this is all just the calm before the storm, and this isn't really Ronnie or there's something seriously wrong with him.
• Caitlin then finds "Ronnie" in the Lounge. She says he's scaring her, and he tells her he's not Ronnie. According to him, Ronnie died while stopping the singularity back at the end of Season 1. Several things here:
This is now the second time Ronnie's returned from the dead— well, sort of. He came back in Season 1, after being disintegrated in the Particle Accelerator Explosion. And now he's seemingly been resurrected again— except it's not really him this time.
Earlier in the episode, Cecile was psychically overwhelmed by Ronnie, who told her he was in agony and just wanted to be put out of his misery and die already.
If Ronnie really did die seven years ago, then who the hell was Cecile sensing? It seems unlikely that a demonic entity like Deathstorm could convincingly impersonate Ronnie and his human emotions.
I'm pretty sure what's happening here is that Deathstorm is an "unreliable narrator," and Ronnie— in one form or another— is actually still alive. That's clearly who Cecile was sensing during her psychic assault.
I'm betting that at some point in the next episode, Ronnie's spirit or whatever will rise to the surface and take control of Deathstorm just long enough for Team Flash to defeat him. He'll then stick around for a few seconds to share a tearful goodbye with Caitlin before dissipating forever. It's just the way things work on this show.
Once again, it would take another 50,000 words to adequately explain Deathstorm and his complicated backstory. For now, let's just say that his origin's tied to Nekron— the demon mentioned above who resurrected dead superheroes and turned them in the Black Lantern Corps.
One of these resurrectees was Ronnie Raymond, who became Deathstorm— an evil version of the superhero Firestorm. When the Black Lanterns' Power Rings were destroyed, many of them perished. Deathstorm managed to merge with the Firestorm Matrix, allowing him to become an independent entity.
Since there's no Nekron or Blackest Night story arc in the Arrowverse (yet!), obviously this version of Deathstorm has to have a completely different origin. And he does, as he tells Caitlin:
Deathstorm: "Ronnie Raymond sacrificed himself to the storm in the Singularity, gave his life to its power, his future to ensure its demise. But in that uncontrollable, irreversible chaos, his death gave me life. Now I'm something greater, something beyond death."
It's unclear from that exactly who he's supposed to be here. Maybe a new version of Nekron? Or just a mass of evil energy given form by Ronnie's death? Stay tuned to find out.
• I'm impressed by how closely the Deathstorm seen here on the show matches the comic version. Based on the quick glimpse we got, he looks just like him!
Compare this to the early seasons of the series, when most of the villains wore black leather outfits and looked nothing like their comic counterparts. I'm glad to see the show's FINALLY embracing its comic book roots and giving us characters that look like they should. Well done!
• One last thing about Deathstorm— I love how his mouth lights up when he talks, and is synched with his speech. Pretty cool!
