This week on The Flash we get yet ANOTHER filler episode— but hey, at least Barry's actually in this one, I guess.
Overall Partners In Time isn't a terrible episode. Far from it. In tact in a normal season it would have been a fun, lighthearted little romp.
But as I'm so fond of pointing out lately, this isn't a normal season. As I said last week, this is the last ever season of the series. We should be getting one final multipart story, each episode bigger and more thrilling than the last, culminating in a mind-bogglingly epic conclusion.
Instead the writers decided it'd be a good idea to give us one half-hearted five part storyline, then three utterly pointless filler episodes. It's mystifying and baffling.
Let's just get on with it before my blood pressure rises too high.
The Plot:
In 2123, a Hooded Figure (another one!) breaks into the Flash Museum.They head straight for the Weapons Vault, expertly bypassing the electronic lock. The Figure enters the Vault and is just about to grab a high tech device, when they clumsily trip a laser sensor and activate the alarm. The Vault door locks tight, trapping the Figure inside. They then open a time portal and leap through it.
In the present, Barry finishes painting a crib for Baby Nora, who's due to arrive in seven months. He tells Iris he can't wait to be a dad, and is already stocking up on Nora's favorite ice cream (despite the fact it'll be years before she can actually eat it). Iris gifts him with a vintage copy of a magazine featuring his father on the cover— a subplot which seems like it's gonna be important but goes nowhere.
Barry tells Iris he's off to STAR Labs, as he's scheduled a mold inspection of the place to make sure it's safe for Nora when she arrives. Iris, who constantly stuffs herself all through the episode for comedic effect, tells him to bring back some of Cecile's casserole.
Barry zooms off to STAR, where Khione says Caitlin's mom Carla Tannhauser called and wants to meet her. She doesn't understand Carla's interest, as she's not her biological daughter. Barry says she probably just wants to get to know the entity who's wearing her dead daughter's face, and to go have coffee with her.
Just then Iris wanders into STAR so that the plot can happen. She and Barry are surprised when four different inspectors file in. Barry asks the leader, Inspector Howard, what's going on. He says Barry's mold inspection request triggered a Code Enforcement Alert, which revealed STAR Labs hasn't been inspected since the Particle Accelerator Explosion. This resulted in additional inspectors to search for mold, radiation and electrical violations.
As the others get to work, Electrical Inspector Tao asks Barry & Iris where the "box with all the wires" is located. Eventually they figure out she means the breaker box. Gosh, that couldn't possibly be a clue of some kind, could it?
Barry & Iris rush the inspectors out of the Speed Lab and down the hall. They're all shocked when they immediately find themselves back in the Speed Lab. They exit again, and the same thing happens. Howard isn't amused, saying he doesn't like pranks.
Just then Inspector Dupree notices there's an antique grandfather clock sitting in the middle of the Lab. Inspector Jane examines it and says it's from the 19th Century, but appears brand new.
Barry & Iris excuse themselves and try to figure out what's happening. Barry tries calling Team Flash, but can't get a phone signal and realizes they're completely cut off from the rest of the world. Iris fears they're being manipulated by an evil meta. Barry says it all feels too real to be an illusion though.
Barry gets the bright idea to run to the future to see how the episode ends so he can figure out how to escape from the room (!). He phases out of the room and begins running around the Speed Lab track in order to time travel.
Elsewhere, the episode insists on forcing more Chester & Allegra relationship drama onto us. I'm not gonna spend a lot of time on this dreck, but basically the two of them are at Cecile's place, playing Scrabble. Chester casually blurts out that he loves Allegra, which freaks her out. He panics, thinking he's ended their relationship, but they eventually reconcile at the end. That's it! That's their storyline for this entire episode!
Back at STAR, the inspectors hear Barry zooming around the track and asks what's going on. Just then a wave of blue energy sweeps through the Lab, causing everyone's clothing to inexplicably revert to period outfits. Iris is dressed like an African or Greek queen, Howard's wearing a Revolutionary War redcoats uniform, Jane a mod 1960s pantsuit, Dupree a Shakespearean getup and Tao an 1800s floor length dress.
Barry fails to travel to the future and falls down the ramp from above. For some reason he's now dressed in a legally distinct Starfleet uniform from Star Trek (?). The inspectors ask what the hell's happening, and he's forced to reveal he's the Flash and that they're trapped in the Speed Lab for all time. Howard passes out and drops to the floor.
Jane— who sure seems to know a lot about quantum mechanics and such for a city inspector— has a theory as to what's going on. She says space and time seem to have lost their elasticity due to a localized gravitational force— which she calls a "Time Magnet" for some reason. Sure, why not.
Barry says according to his Map Book, a hundred years from now the Speed Lab will become a weapons vault in the Flash Museum. Jane says there must have been a Time Magnet in the Vault, and someone was in a hurry and stole it without pairing it with a stabilizer— which is what's trapped them in the room. Comic Book Science!
Iris realizes the thief must be among them. Gosh, I wonder who it could be? Surely not the electrical inspector who didn't know what a breaker box was? Iris then recreates the blood test scene from The Thing, as she uses a technobabble device to check each inspector for radiation. She checks out Jane, Dupree and Howard, who all test negative. They turn to look at Tao, figuring she must be the guilty party.
Just then Howard grabs his head and howls in pain as he transforms into a miniature version of the statue of David. When the others ask what's happening, Barry says it's The Law Of Conservation Of Matter, explaining that because they're in a time loop they'll eventually be replaced with objects from various eras. That might as well happen.
Elsewhere, Cecile asks Allegra what's going on with her and Chester. Allegra says she's unnerved by Chester's declaration of love, because everyone who's ever said it to her has either left her or died. Cecile gives her a Patented The CW Pep Talk® and straightens her out. Sigh...
Back at STAR, everyone's still trapped in the Speed Lab. Iris decides this is the perfect moment to tell Barry her concerns about being pregnant and becoming a mother (?). He gives her a Patented The CW Pep Talk® and straightens her out. Sigh...
Iris says she feels like she's stuck in the past while Barry's in the future. Amazingly, this gives him the answer as to who the time thief is. They approach Inspector Tao and tell her the "check valves" are causing their problem, and ask her to take a look at them. Tao looks confused and says she'll get right on it. Barry asks if she's gonna call a plumber, as a check valve regulates water flow. Gee, who could have ever guessed she'd turn out to be the time thief?
Tao realizes the jig is up, pulls out the glowing Time Magnet and uses it to turn Jane and Dupree into lawn gnomes (??). She reveals she's actually Lady Chronos, and admits she stole the Time Magnet as her "retirement score." She demands Barry free her instantly, before they're all turned into artifacts.
Barry explains he can't even get himself out of the Lab, much less anyone else. He asks how she got trapped her in the first place, prompting her to infodump an incredibly convoluted explanation. She says she broke into the weapons vault in 2123, but was sealed inside. She then jumped back to 2023, where she posed as an inspector. While no one was looking, she went back to 2123, stole the Time Magnet and came back. All she had to do then was waltz out of STAR with her prize, but because she forgot to stabilize the Magnet she found herself trapped with the rest of them. At least I think that's what happened— the whole thing's a jumbled mess.
Barry suggests she go back to 2123 and replace the Magnet, but she says her chrono belt is out of power. He says he can charge if with Speed Force Lightning, but she says if she goes back she'll be instantly arrested. He says it's either that or stay stuck in the Lab till she turns into a statue or something worse.
Eventually Lady Chronos realizes he's right, and agrees to go back. Barry charges up her belt and she opens a time portal and jumps through.
Iris wonders if it worked and they're free. Just then Howard, Jane and Dupree— plus a new inspector, Rogan— enter the Speed Lab, with no knowledge of the past few hours. They get to work and start inspecting.
Later on, Khione tells Barry that everything went OK with Carla, as she just wants to be her friend. Allegra finds Chester at Jitters, apologizes and says she loves him too. Thank the Maker that was resolved!
Thoughts:
• The episode begins in 2123 at the Flash Museum, formerly STAR Labs. A couple things here:
First off, it took 'em a hundred years, but it looks like they finally repaired the goddamned roof of the place.
Second, check out the parking lot. It doesn't appear cars will change much in the next century! Maybe they left antique cars out there as part of the whole Flash experience?
First off, it took 'em a hundred years, but it looks like they finally repaired the goddamned roof of the place.
Second, check out the parking lot. It doesn't appear cars will change much in the next century! Maybe they left antique cars out there as part of the whole Flash experience?
• We then see a Hooded Figure break into the Museum's Weapons Vault. Wait, another one? We just had a mysterious Hooded Figure kick off the plot in the previous episode!
Anyway, the Figure's there to steal a "Time Magnet," and is smart enough to bypass the Vault's electronic lock, but too stupid to realize there are laser tripwires. They blunder through one, which activates and alarm and locks them inside. That's some pretty bad writing, but the episode can't happen unless the alarm goes off, so I guess I'll allow it.
By the way, note that the Weapons Vault contains displays of Chester P. Runk's Tech. It makes me sad the Flash Museum has apparently forgotten all about Cisco Ramon.
• Once trapped, the Hooded Figure— which is secretly Lady Chronos— opens a time portal and strides through it to escape. Here's where things get murky for me. Lady Chronos has a chrono belt, that's basically a tiny portable time machine. It allows her to travel to any point in time— but apparently not space. So far so good.
The problem is she goes all the way back to April 5, 2023, where she appears inside STAR Labs and poses as a city inspector for reasons. But why go back an entire century? She could have easily just gone an hour into the past, stolen the Time Magnet— making sure not to trip the laser this time— and got the hell out.
Again, if she did that the episode couldn't happen, so...
• We then get an extreme closeup of the STAR Labs inspection report, which is dated April 5, 2023. Wait, what?
So either this nuclear faciliity hasn't had an inspection in A HUNDRED YEARS, or the people who put the Flash Museum together thought this mundane civil document was of fasctinating interest to anyone patronizing the place.
Oh, and April 5, 2023 just happens to be when this episode originally aired!
So either this nuclear faciliity hasn't had an inspection in A HUNDRED YEARS, or the people who put the Flash Museum together thought this mundane civil document was of fasctinating interest to anyone patronizing the place.
Oh, and April 5, 2023 just happens to be when this episode originally aired!
• All through this episode Iris' pregnancy causes her to either constantly eat or crave food, for comedic effect. She mentions ice cream, so Barry zooms off and returns with her favorite flavor— vanilla bean, from an organic farm in Coast City. Several things here:
This is the first time we've actually seen Barry use his powers in at least two weeks— and when he does, it's to get a goddamn pint of ice cream. Jesus wept, guys.
More importantly, just how does this "speed shopping" work? He ran all the way to Coast City, picked up some ice cream and ran back— all in less than one second.
He wasn't gone long enough to actually interact with a cashier, and even a self checkout register's clock speed would be too slow for him to use in the time he was gone. Does Barry just grab some ice cream, throw a twenty on the counter and zoom out? Or is he actually stealing the food when he does this?
I get that it's a comic book show and we're not supposed to think about this sort of thing, but I believe it's a legitimate question.
• Iris gifts Barry with a vintage copy of North American Science magazine from 1994, featuring his late father on the cover.
The prop department did a pretty good job here, even using a photo of a younger John Wesley Shipp. And note the $3.99 cover price. Can't find magazines that cheap anymore!
• HEAVY DUTY NITPICKING ALERT #1: Barry's so gung-ho about being a parent that he schedules a mold inspection of STAR Labs to make sure the joint is safe for infants. Iris doesn't think it's a good idea though, as there'll be strangers traipsing around gawking at all their secrets. Barry replies, "I mean, the Starchives are sealed, and I had Chester and Khione store all the other Team Flash stuff in the Time Vault."
But... if they're gonna restrict where the inspectors can go, then why bother? Isn't the point of a mold inspection to find out if it's growing anywhere on the premises? Whoops!
And what's up with all the mold storylines in the Arrowverse lately? A couple weeks ago on Superman & Lois there was a storyline involving black mold at Smallville High, and now Barry's worried about it at STAR. Odd.
• At STAR, Khione's nervous because Caitlin's mother Carla Tannhauser wants to meet her for some reason. I assumed this was gonna be the B plot of this week's episode, but instead it goes absolutely nowhere. In fact we don't even see her meeting with Carla, as it happens entirely offscreen! What the hell?
The prop department did a pretty good job here, even using a photo of a younger John Wesley Shipp. And note the $3.99 cover price. Can't find magazines that cheap anymore!
• HEAVY DUTY NITPICKING ALERT #1: Barry's so gung-ho about being a parent that he schedules a mold inspection of STAR Labs to make sure the joint is safe for infants. Iris doesn't think it's a good idea though, as there'll be strangers traipsing around gawking at all their secrets. Barry replies, "I mean, the Starchives are sealed, and I had Chester and Khione store all the other Team Flash stuff in the Time Vault."
But... if they're gonna restrict where the inspectors can go, then why bother? Isn't the point of a mold inspection to find out if it's growing anywhere on the premises? Whoops!
And what's up with all the mold storylines in the Arrowverse lately? A couple weeks ago on Superman & Lois there was a storyline involving black mold at Smallville High, and now Barry's worried about it at STAR. Odd.
• At STAR, Khione's nervous because Caitlin's mother Carla Tannhauser wants to meet her for some reason. I assumed this was gonna be the B plot of this week's episode, but instead it goes absolutely nowhere. In fact we don't even see her meeting with Carla, as it happens entirely offscreen! What the hell?
Was actress Susan Walters (who plays Carla) unavailable? Or was the show's tight budget unable to afford one more guest star this week? Whatever the reason, I'm puzzled as to why they bothered to include this subplot at all— other than, of course, to fill up a couple minutes of screentime.
• Chester informs Barry that the inspectors just checked in with security. HAW!
For years now it's been a running joke among fans that STAR Labs has ZERO security measures of any kind, as heroes & villains alike are constantly sashaying into the place.
According to this episode, they apparently DO have some sort of security though. If it's an actual person guarding the door, then he's doing a piss-poor job and needs fired, stat!
• Barry's surprised when FOUR city inspectors show up instead of just one. Inspector Howard informs him, "This lab's operating permits haven't been renewed since your infamous particle accelerator exploded. That's why we'll be conducting a full DOE inspection today."
Wait... so if Barry hadn't ordered an inspection, then there never would have been one? Does that sound right? STAR Labs is a freakin' NUCLEAR FACILITY, located in the heart of one of the biggest cities in the country! Seems like official inspections would be a mandatory and annual requirement!
Also, check out the sign to Barry's right, which reads "Level 500." EVERY other time we've ever seen this bank of elevators, the display has read Level 600. So why the difference? Why the hell would they change the display for this one episode?
By the way, I've been harping on this for years now, asking if STAR Labs really contains 600 underground levels or floors. That would be extremely unlikely, as it'd make the place over a mile deep. I'm starting to think their numbering system goes by hundreds, so Level 600 is really just six floors underground. That makes a bit more sense.
By the way, I've been harping on this for years now, asking if STAR Labs really contains 600 underground levels or floors. That would be extremely unlikely, as it'd make the place over a mile deep. I'm starting to think their numbering system goes by hundreds, so Level 600 is really just six floors underground. That makes a bit more sense.
• Normally I'm terrible at figuring out mysteries and whodunits. That said, the guilty party in this episode was so startlingly and blatantly obvious a blind man could have spotted them!
Inspector Tao approaches Barry & Iris and asks where to find "the thing with all the electrical stuff in it." Hmm... she's an electrical inspector and she doesn't know the term 'breaker box." Gosh, do you think it's possible she might be the villain in this episode?
• After their exchange with Inspector Tao, Barry tells Iris, "Electrician's unusual." She replies, "Yeah, if you ask me, they all seem like characters from a sitcom."
Wakka wakka! I guess that was some lampshading on the part of the writers? I honestly don't know.
Inspector Tao approaches Barry & Iris and asks where to find "the thing with all the electrical stuff in it." Hmm... she's an electrical inspector and she doesn't know the term 'breaker box." Gosh, do you think it's possible she might be the villain in this episode?
• After their exchange with Inspector Tao, Barry tells Iris, "Electrician's unusual." She replies, "Yeah, if you ask me, they all seem like characters from a sitcom."
Wakka wakka! I guess that was some lampshading on the part of the writers? I honestly don't know.
• Barry, Iris and the others then discover they're trapped in the Speed Lab, as every time they exit they end up right back in it. As they find themselves back in the Lab for a third time, they notice there's an antique grandfather clock sitting in the middle of the room. Inspector Jane says, "I have excellent spatial retention. I can say with near certainty that grandfather clock was not here before!"
First off, that's totally a normal sentence a human would say, right? And second, would one really need "excellent spacial retention" to spot a big ass clock that wasn't there before?
It was at this point I started to suspect this episode was actually written by Chat GPT or some other AI.
First off, that's totally a normal sentence a human would say, right? And second, would one really need "excellent spacial retention" to spot a big ass clock that wasn't there before?
It was at this point I started to suspect this episode was actually written by Chat GPT or some other AI.
• We're then treated to— no, wait— make that subjected to more Chester & Allegra relationship nonsense. As always, it's just downright bizarre to watch these two thirtysomethings flailing about like awkward teens who've never dated before.
Even worse, their drama this week is just a rehash of what we've already seen twenty times before on the show. Chester blurts out that he loves Allegra, which weirds her out and makes her feel uncomfortable. Yeah, the audience knows the feeling!
But don't worry— their scenes have absolutely nothing to do with the plot, and you can safely fast forward through all of them!
One last thing about Chester & Allegra before I ignore them for the rest of the review— as we join them we see they're playing Scrabble, and Chester tells Allegra that "za" isn't a word. She insists it is, as it's short for "pizza."
But don't worry— their scenes have absolutely nothing to do with the plot, and you can safely fast forward through all of them!
One last thing about Chester & Allegra before I ignore them for the rest of the review— as we join them we see they're playing Scrabble, and Chester tells Allegra that "za" isn't a word. She insists it is, as it's short for "pizza."
She's absolutely right— it's a stupid word, but a word it most definitely is. Plus I refuse to believe that Chester— a nerdy hacker who probably lives on pizza— wouldn't have ever heard call it that before.
• Barry decides to run to the future to see how they get out of the jam they're in, which sounds like a wonderful idea, considering how often he's screwed up the timeline in the past.
Anyway, note that he time travels by running circles around the top of the Speed Lab in order to open a portal. Yet somehow NONE of the four inspectors— whose job is literally to observe and report— sees this take place just a few feet above their heads! Great job, guys!
• A wave of temporal energy (caused by Barry?) then passes through the Speed Lab, which somehow causes Iris' outfit to change into that of a Greek or maybe Egyptian queen.
So... does that mean there's an equivalent of Starfleet and the United Federation Of Planets in the Arrowverse's future? If so, that sounds wayyyy more interesting than anything that's happened all season on this show.
By the way, when Iris sees Barry's uniform, she says, "Star Wars?" It's been a long-running joke on the show that she doesn't know anything about the nerd culture her husband's into and doesn't care enough to learn.
Oh, and the rest of the inspectors get temporal fashion updates as well.
Note that not only does Inspector Jane's clothing change to a groovy 1960s outfit, but her glasses get altered to match as well! Luckily for her the lenses still seem to work though!
Credit Where It's Due: Kudos to the actor or stuntman who fainted here. He fell straight backwards right onto a tile floor, which had to hurt!
• There's one genuinely funny moment in the episode, as Inspector Jane finds out Barry's the Flash. She says, "I know that we're in a situation here, but if we get out of this, I would love to study some of your quantum biochemistry sometime."
Iris then gives her some major side-eye, as she apparently thinks Jane's hittin' on her man.
• I don't often comment on the quality of the acting in The Flash, as the leads are generally all pretty good. The guest stars though are often a mixed bag.
Like the guy who plays Inspector Dupree here. In this scene he displayed some of the worst acting I've seen since Mark Wahlberg in The Happening! His "No. Are we gonna die? Oh man. No!" has to be seen to be believed!
• OK, I lied about not mentioning Chester & Allegra again. In order to avoid talking about their relationship, Allegra insists on playing Settlers Of Cataan with Chester & Cecile. Apropos of nothing, Klaus Teuber, the inventor of the game, died on April 1, 2023— just four days before this episode originally aired. R.I.P.!
By the way, during this scene the sound effects guy was either drunk or just didn't give a shit, because there's no consistency whatsoever in the radiation detector. Iris scans Tao with the detector, and it emits a handful of halfhearted clicks. But when when she scans Jane we hear two or three times as many clicks, and Iris says she's clear. Dupree's reading is even more intense, but again, Iris clears him.
So what the hell is she measuring? How do such wildly different readings all indicate clear? And why does Tao, who's the actual thief, have the fewest amount of temporal radiation particles?
• For reasons, the Time Magnet shenanigans causes Inspector Howard to turn into a small replica of Michelangelo's David (the real one's seventeen feet tall!).
I had to laugh when I saw this, as the statue was in the news just a week or two before the episode aired. Seems some wingnuts in Florida (of course) decided the statue was "pornographic" and shouldn't be shown in schools. Jaysis. Fortunately, the replica seen here has its naughty bits strategically covered by a large fig leaf, to spare us all undue embarrassment.
You may be asking just why Inspector Howard was replaced with a replica of the statue from antiquity. Good question! As near as I can tell, the Time Magnet is replacing the occupants of the Speed Lab with various objects from the past. Why's it doing this though? Because the script said so, and to give the episode a ticking clock.
• HEAVY DUTY NITPICKING ALERT #2: When Howard's replaced with the statue, we get the following exchange from the others:
Dupree: "Oh god! He's a statue! We're all gonna be statues!"
Jane: "He's not a statue. He's dead."
Iris: "Dea..."
Jane: "Scattered through time and space in a collection of free-floating subatomic particles."
Iris: "So he was erased and replaced with a statue?"
Barry: "It's the law of conservation of matter. If we don't all get out of here soon, we're next.
OK, the Law Of Conservation of Matter (more commonly known as the Law Of Conservation Of Mass) states that matter cannot be created or destroyed. That means when an object goes through any physical or chemical change, it MUST have the same number of atoms that were present before the transformation.
Which means Inspector Howard apparently had the exact same mass as a granite statue of David! Which seems pretty unlikely.
Hey, don't look at me! I'm not the one who brought up an ironclad physical law here!
• OK, one last thing about Chester & Allegra, and then I'm done for real. Cecile asks Allegra why she's so put off by Chester saying he loves her. Allegra says it's because everyone in her life who's ever told her they loved her has either abandoned her or died. Cecile then responds with this howler:
Cecile: "Allegra, I can't even imagine how tough that was for you to go through."
Bitch, you're a f*cking psychic meta who can sense people's emotions and even read their thoughts! And you "can't imagine" how she's feeling right now?
They literally are not even trying at this point.
• So Barry, Iris and the remaining three inspectors are trapped in a time/space loop, unable to ever leave the Speed Lab. Even worse, if they don't find a way out soon, they'll all be replaced by historical objects. So naturally Iris decides that's the opportune moment to bring up her worries about becoming a mother.
Are you frakin' kidding me right now? I get that having a kid is a life changing event, but Jesus Jetskiing Christ! Priorities, woman!
• Barry figures out who the time thief is by asking Inspector Tao to examine the electrical check valves. When she looks around in confusion, Barry tells her check valves are used in plumbing, not electrical systems. Again, this was probably the most obvious "reveal" I've ever seen outside a Scooby-Doo episode.
Also, when Barry accuses Tao, she demands he prove it. The episode then gives us a helpful flashback of her askingwhat a breaker box is— something that literally just happened about fifteen minutes earlier. The producers really do think the viewers are idiots, don't they?
• Barry figures out who the time thief is by asking Inspector Tao to examine the electrical check valves. When she looks around in confusion, Barry tells her check valves are used in plumbing, not electrical systems. Again, this was probably the most obvious "reveal" I've ever seen outside a Scooby-Doo episode.
Also, when Barry accuses Tao, she demands he prove it. The episode then gives us a helpful flashback of her askingwhat a breaker box is— something that literally just happened about fifteen minutes earlier. The producers really do think the viewers are idiots, don't they?
• Realizing she's been found out, Tao transforms into Lady Chronos. Several things here:
First off, I naturally assumed the show did its standard gender flipping of a character, turning comic book villain Chronos into a woman. Nope! For once that's not the case, as there really is a Lady Chronos in the comics! Color me officially shocked!
It would take about 50,000 words to adequately outline her comic origin, so I'll be brief. In the comics, a woman named Jia started a relationship with Ryan Choi, aka the new Atom. Unfortunately they broke up, and Jia ended up marrying an abusive man named Alvin. She eventually killed Alvin to escape his wrath, but for reasons he turned into a zombie and began stalking her (!). She then became involved with David Clinton, aka Chronos— nemesis of the original Atom. Jia adopted Clinton's supervillain identity and trappings and became Lady Chronos. She then attempted to destroy the Atom's home of Ivy Town to ruin his reputation or something.
There's LOTS more, but it gets really weird and dark and that's enough for now.
Once Lady Chronos doffs her hood & robes (which I'm convinced they reused from the Original Dreamer character who appeared in last week's episode), she's wearing the usual black leather catsuit of course. But I was impressed that her face looks exactly like her comic counterpart though— right down to the white greasepaint, angled lines and clock hands on her forehead!
I thought it would have been fun if each time the camera cut back to her, the clock hands would be in a different position!
• Lady Chronos uses the Time Magnet to fire a blast of temporal energy at Jane & Depree, which transforms them into lawn gnomes. Why? Because it's funny, I guess?
Once again, that pesky Law Of Conservation Of Mass rears its ugly head, as this means these two yard decorations somehow contain the same amount of matter as two grown-ass adults.
• Barry accuses Lady Chronos of killing the inspectors, but she insists it's not her fault. She says, "You see, the Time Magnet is attracting temporal displacement particles, causing everything to transmogrify."
For some reason this time-themed supervillain pronounces temporal as "tem-PORE-al" instead of "TEMP-oral."
Eh, no big deal. The actress just flubbed her line— no need for a retake. I dunno why, but this kind of mistake has happened in literally every episode this season. Are the actors using Canadian pronunciations? Or did they all just forget how to speak English?
• I watched Lady Chronos explain her master plan several times now, and I'm still not sure I fully understand it.
I think she entered the Flash Museum in 2123 and broke into the Weapons Vault intending to steal the Time Magnet. Before she could grab it though, she accidentally tripped a laser sensor, which trapped her inside. She then used her chrono-belt to open a time portal to escape. She noticed the last time STAR Labs was inspected was April 5, 2023, so she jumped to that date to pose as an inspector. She found the real electrical inspector, knocked him out and took his place. Once inside STAR, she sneaked off by herself and went back to 2123 to steal the Time Magnet. For gods only know what reason, she then returned to 2023, even though she could have gone to any other time. Unfortunately once she came back to the present, the Time Magnet disrupted space and trapped her and everyone else inside the Speed Lab.
Is that it? Did I get it right? I'm still honestly not sure. I kind of understand it all up to the point where she steals the Magnet and then comes back to April 5, 2023. Why this particular day? And why not take her time to steal the Time Magnet's stabilizer while she was at it? Did she not know about that?
As always, I feel like I'm putting way more thought into this than the writers did.
• Quick question: Is Lady Chronos from 2023 or 2123? I'm leaning toward her being from the future, due to her intimate knowledge of the Flash Museum and its contents.
Once again, that pesky Law Of Conservation Of Mass rears its ugly head, as this means these two yard decorations somehow contain the same amount of matter as two grown-ass adults.
• Barry accuses Lady Chronos of killing the inspectors, but she insists it's not her fault. She says, "You see, the Time Magnet is attracting temporal displacement particles, causing everything to transmogrify."
For some reason this time-themed supervillain pronounces temporal as "tem-PORE-al" instead of "TEMP-oral."
Eh, no big deal. The actress just flubbed her line— no need for a retake. I dunno why, but this kind of mistake has happened in literally every episode this season. Are the actors using Canadian pronunciations? Or did they all just forget how to speak English?
• I watched Lady Chronos explain her master plan several times now, and I'm still not sure I fully understand it.
I think she entered the Flash Museum in 2123 and broke into the Weapons Vault intending to steal the Time Magnet. Before she could grab it though, she accidentally tripped a laser sensor, which trapped her inside. She then used her chrono-belt to open a time portal to escape. She noticed the last time STAR Labs was inspected was April 5, 2023, so she jumped to that date to pose as an inspector. She found the real electrical inspector, knocked him out and took his place. Once inside STAR, she sneaked off by herself and went back to 2123 to steal the Time Magnet. For gods only know what reason, she then returned to 2023, even though she could have gone to any other time. Unfortunately once she came back to the present, the Time Magnet disrupted space and trapped her and everyone else inside the Speed Lab.
Is that it? Did I get it right? I'm still honestly not sure. I kind of understand it all up to the point where she steals the Magnet and then comes back to April 5, 2023. Why this particular day? And why not take her time to steal the Time Magnet's stabilizer while she was at it? Did she not know about that?
As always, I feel like I'm putting way more thought into this than the writers did.
• Quick question: Is Lady Chronos from 2023 or 2123? I'm leaning toward her being from the future, due to her intimate knowledge of the Flash Museum and its contents.
The only partial clue we get is at the end of the episode when Khione asks what happened to Lady Chronos, and Barry says they'll find out in a hundred years. But that's still not conclusive, as just because she was arrested in the future doesn't means she originated there.
• Writing time travel stories is hard! Barry tells Lady Chronos the only way to save them all is for her to return the Time Magnet to the Weapons Vault. She says if she does that though, she'll be arrested the second she appears. Eventually she realizes it's the only way and goes back to the moment she stole the magnet.
Again, why? She has a freakin' time machine on her belt! She could go anywhere in time! Why not appear the day after she first stole the Magnet, once the cops have gone? None of this makes any sense.
• Writing time travel stories is hard! Barry tells Lady Chronos the only way to save them all is for her to return the Time Magnet to the Weapons Vault. She says if she does that though, she'll be arrested the second she appears. Eventually she realizes it's the only way and goes back to the moment she stole the magnet.
Again, why? She has a freakin' time machine on her belt! She could go anywhere in time! Why not appear the day after she first stole the Magnet, once the cops have gone? None of this makes any sense.
They're also joined by Inspector Rogen, the real electrical inspector, who's wearing a large eyepatch for some reason. At first I figured this was part of The Flash's draconian inclusivity and representation policy, and they hired someone with monocular vision. But I looked upHarrison MacDonald and he has two normal eyes. So... I guess his appearance was supposed to be a joke? Like it's hilarious that there's an inspector who only has one eye? Ha, I guess?
We're then treated to a brief montage of all the stuff that happened there the past nine years, including Marlize DeVoe (The Thinker's wife) battling Iris, Bloodwork and several of his blood zombies, Godspeed and zombified arms dealer Mitch Romero exploding in a fountain of gore all over Barry & Frost.
Why that handful out of the hundreds of villains they've faced? Could it be those characters are returning in the handful of episodes that are left? They pretty much have to be, right? Especially the TWO instances of Bloodwork's zombies. Otherwise why remind us of them?
Why that handful out of the hundreds of villains they've faced? Could it be those characters are returning in the handful of episodes that are left? They pretty much have to be, right? Especially the TWO instances of Bloodwork's zombies. Otherwise why remind us of them?
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