The Flash Season 8, Episode 15: Into The Still Force

This week on The Flash, Iris is lost in time, Barry hunts for her, we get the start of a possible "Dark Deon" storyline and Chillblaine goes all in on Caitlin's insane plan to bring back Frost. Oh, and Barry's future daughter Nora makes an appearance too, for no good reason.

I honestly can't tell if this is another of the show's filler epi, er, I mean "interlude" episodes, or if it's the start of another new story arc. There's a lot going on, but unfortunately none of it amounts to much.

The bulk of this episode concerns the hunt for Iris, who's missing because actress Candace Patton decided she wanted to take some time off— during the middle of the season. Um... correct me if I'm wrong, but don't studios require actors sign contracts for exactly this reason— so they can't just bugger off during filming whenever they feel like it? Apparently not.

I don't know anything about Patton and what she may or may not be going through in her personal life. Maybe she has a good reason for leaving. It just seems disrespectful to the series AND her fellow cast members though to stop showing up for work just because she wanted a break. Her actions literally forced the producers to come up with an entirely new storyline in order to explain her absence.

I'm struggling to understand why Nora made a guest appearance this week. She added absolutely nothing to the plot, as she was seemingly there just to give Barry an epic Patented The CW Pep Talk®. You could remove each and every one of her scenes, and it wouldn't affect the plot one bit. So why's she here? Your guess is as good as mine.

Lastly, for some reason this week's episode was directed by current showrunner Eric Wallace. He does a decent job, but I have to wonder why he's directing instead of his regular job of producing and overseeing the series.

This isn't Wallace's first time in the director's chair. He previously helmed an episode of Teen Wolf, as well as several shows on the Food Network that I've never heard of. 

SPOILERS!

The Plot:
Barry wakes in the loft, and is puzzled when he finds Iris isn't there. He checks his phone and sees a text saying she'll be pulling an all-nighter at CCC Media. He decides to surprise her with breakfast, and zooms to her office with bagels. He's even more worried when she's not there either.

Barry then searches all of Central City at superspeed (!). When he doesn't find Iris, he goes to STAR Labs and tells Team Flash she's missing. They run various scans, which somehow determine she's nowhere on Earth. Barry realizes she's lost in time again.

Cecile suggests contacting Deon (duh!), but Barry says no one's seen him since he vanished. Cecile then suggests contacting Tinya Wazzo in Coast City, as she once made Iris disappear.

Elsewhere, Caitlin tells Chillblaine she intends to restore Frost by cloning her a new body. Chillblaine points out that Caitlin just got through trying to resurrect her late husband Ronnie (with disastrous results!) and now she's going all mad scientist by attempting the same with Frost.

Caitlin's confident her plan will work, as she won't just be recreating Frost's body, she'll use some sort of bullsh*t comic book science to restore how mind and soul as well. Unfortunately the hair sample she took from Frost last week is rapidly decaying, so she'll need to obtain a new one. Chillblaine realizes she's talking about grave robbing, says he wants nothing to do with it and storms out.

Barry zooms to the Coast City Jitters, where he just happens to run into Tinya. He tells her Iris has vanished and he needs her help finding her. Tinya flat out says she doesn't care, as Iris stalked her and completely ruined her life (she's not wrong!).

Tinya walks out, and Barry realizes everyone in Jitters is frozen in place. Suddenly a weakened Deon appears. He tells Barry he's been infected by Iris' time sickness, and he needs his help to find her in the Still force. He says they'll need an isotopic sensor to help detect the temporal particle he placed into Iris a few episodes ago, and then promptly vanishes.

Barry returns to STAR, where he finds the sensor and fixes it. Joe wonders why a virtual god like Deon needs a high tech device to locate Iris. Barry makes the excuse that Deon's not at full strength. Joe's still suspicious and suggests Barry take his time before blindly following him into the Still Force. Barry ignores him and says he's going with Deon's plan.

Barry waits in the Speed Lab, and eventually Deon appears. He then pulls Barry into the Still Force with him. Barry's surprised to see it looks just like a green-tinted Central City. Deon says it's a dangerous place, as the past, present and future all exist at the same time. He warns Barry to stick close, because if he gets lost he could be trapped there forever.

Barry's sensor detects Iris' signal, so they head off to find her. They come to a version of CCC Media, where they encounter Allegra arguing with Taylor. Deon says they're seeing future versions of them, and tells Barry to move on.

They then run into Tinya's mom Renee, who Iris banished to the Still Force a while back. Barry wants to help her, but Deon pulls him away, saying they need to focus on their mission.

Back in the real world, Kristen calls Chester into CCPD. She tells him a Central City halfway house exploded, and they found a mysterious device in the rubble. She asks him to examine the tech and see if he can identify it. Chester looks it over, saying it's some sort of EMP. He removes a microchip from the device and stares at it in shock. He hurriedly grabs the device and takes it back to STAR, leaving a puzzled Kristen behind.

Back in the Still Force, Barry and Deon track Iris' signal to the CCC Media bullpen. There they find the staff frozen in time. They enter Iris' office, where they find the temporal particle floating in midair— but no sign of Iris.

Before Barry can react, Deon rushes in, grabs the particle and jams it into his chest. He then disappears, leaving Barry without a ride home.

Barry then inexplicably finds himself in a version of the West home. He zooms out, but instantly ends up back inside. He realizes he's stuck in a time loop with no way out.

Cut to 2049, where Nora West-Allen is apparently now a reporter, dictating a story. She hears a voice in her apartment, and Deon appears as a formless mass of green temporal energy. He tells Nora that Barry's trapped in the Still Force, and only she can save him. He then vanishes. Suddenly Nora's enveloped in temporal energy and disappears.

Back in the Still Force, Barry sits moping in the West house. He hears Nora's voice, and suddenly she appears. The two embrace.

Back at STAR, Chester tells Allegra the device that blew up the halfway house was based on his specs. He says she was right, and he should have never shared his tech online. For no good reason, she does a complete 180º turn and says the incident wasn't his fault (?)

Back in the Still Force, Nora says Deon brought her to the Still Force to help. Barry's puzzled, as he says Deon trapped him there (hmmm...). The two wonder what led to Deon's sudden but inevitable betrayal. Nora then decides this is the absolute best time to tell Barry that she's decided not to be a CSI like him, but to follow in her mother's footsteps and become a reporter.

Nora then gives Barry a Patented The CW Pep Talk®, telling him he has to believe in himself to be a hero or some such hooey. Barry then points out that he and Iris "created" the Still Force, so he must have some of it inside him (?). He reasons that if he can figure out how to access it, they can escape to the real world.

Barry then sits and meditates, attempting to access his inner Still Force. When nothing happens, Nora tells him to focus on Iris' hair brush— which is apparently The Most Important Object In The Entire Universe.

Suddenly they look over and see Joe standing in the living room, and he can see them as well. As Joe watches, the two of them disappear, but the brush stays behind. Well, that was a pointless and nonsensical scene!

Barry's eyes begin glowing green with temporal energy, as he finally accesses the Still Force. He can see all time at once, including Nora and Bart's future families. He says they can only escape by combining their powers, so he takes Nora's hand and transfers temporal energy into her.

The two then manage to speed out of the West home, and zoom to Memorial Park— the only way in or out of the Still Force. Unfortunately they run into a temporal barrier, which knocks them high into the air. They land on the street several blocks away, but are inexplicably fine. They try it a second time with the same results.

Nora says they're still caught in a temporal loop, but Barry says the Still Force is holding them there for some reason. He says they must have already escaped, and the only way out is to focus on the moment they're both out. Sure, why not.

They run at the portal again, and this time break through and find themselves in the Speed Lab.

Sometime later Barry & Nora sit in the Lounge with Joe & Cecile and rehash the plot. Barry apologizes for not listening to Joe's warning. Cecile wonders why Deon trapped him in the Still Force, and Barry says he has no idea. She asks if he can use his new Still Force powers to find Iris and bring her back, but he says those powers are already fading. Somehow he senses she's OK though.

Elsewhere, Chester discovers that wookieelover77, one of his followers, was responsible for the explosion that took out the halfway house. He claims he was just trying to provide the residents with free hot water, but things went wrong— as if that makes it all OK. Chester shuts off his computer and leaves his lab. The second he's gone, a mysterious hacker starts it up remotely and copies all his files.

Chillblaine returns to Caitlin's apartment, where he says Frost helped him become a better man, and he's changed his mind about bringing her back. He makes her Caitlin promise they won't fail, and she says it'll work.

Thoughts:
• The episode begins early in the morning, as Barry gets dressed and goes into the kitchen. He calls for Iris, asking what she wants for breakfast, and is puzzled when she doesn't answer.

Wait, what? He didn't notice his wife wasn't in bed with him till he came downstairs? Do they sleep in separate rooms or something?

I suppose it's possible he may have thought she was working late, came in after he fell asleep and then got up before he woke. I suppose that's possible, but it seems a bit sketchy.

To the writers' slight credit, Barry does see a message from Iris saying she's pulling an all-nighter at her office, which apparently explains the situation to his satisfaction. But I can't imagine any loving husband who wouldn't call or text his wife at some point during the night to make sure she's OK.

• This is some really hardcore nitpicking, and probably hitting below the belt, but here goes anyway. Check out this establishing shot of the CCC Media building. Note the two men standing under the awning (indicated by the red arrow).

Now here's another establishing shot of the building from Episode 8. Whaddya know, those same guys were hanging out in the exact same spot back then as well! In fact ALL the people in the shot are the same, along with the vehicles as well. Whoops!

OK, even I don't expect them to go out and shoot new footage of the building every week. I just thought it was kind of funny.

• For a while now, I've noted how Cecile— who's ostensibly a high profile public attorney— seems to spend the vast majority of her time hanging out at STAR Labs.

Apparently I'm not the only one who's noticed this, as this week Chester actually lampshades the situation:

Chester: "Thanks for the company, Cecile."
Ceile: "Any time."
Chester: "You know, I figured you'd be working this time of day."
Cecile: "Oh, I was. Yeah, I'm actually avoiding a new meta-client. So I figured I'd get out of the office, come over, see what Team Flash is up to."

Wow! She's apparently so disinterested in her job that she's actually ditching someone who desperately needs her legal help. Compare this to last week, when she told Iris she'd decided to donate 25% of her time to handling meta cases pro-bono as a way to honor Frost's memory.

Looks like that committment didn't last long!

• Barry alerts Team Flash that Iris is missing, and they spring into action. Wow, a lot to cover here in this brief scene.

First off, Chester says, "Satellites aren't picking Iris up anywhere in the city. I'm gonna expand the physical search radius." A few seconds later he says, "Barry, Iris isn't registering anywhere on the planet!"

Um... so just what kind of signal is Chester trying to detect here? As far as I know Iris isn't wearing any kind of tracking chip, and she's not a meta so they can't track her that way either. Heck, as we saw a few minutes ago she doesn't even have her phone on her! So again, how's he trying to track her?

Then we cut to Cecile, whose eyes are glowing blue white as she says, "I can't sense her either, and I've reached out across a five-state radius. It's like Iris's mind has just vanished."

What the hell? When did she develop this ability? For years now she's just been a lowly telepath, able to sense people's emotions and nothing more. Now suddenly she's turning into freakin' Professor X!

As for her eyes, we've actually seen them glow like this once before— it happened earlier this season in Armageddon, Part 3. Thing is though, in that episode she tethered herself to Rosa Dillon (aka The Top) to boost her powers in order to locate Barry. Apparently the writers forgot that scene took place in an alternate timeline that was erased, and as such it never actually "happened."

I think what's going on is that the producers realize Frost's death left Team Flash seriously depleted, so they're ramping up Cecile's powers to try and fill the gap— and hoping the audience doesn't notice and just goes along with it. It's a major retcon though.

• At Caitlin's apartment, Chillblaine's stunned to find out that she wants to clone Frost.

I talked about this at length last week, pointing out how Caitlin might be able to clone Frost's body, but she wouldn't be able to recreate her mind. I also said it's not possible to clone a person from their hair, as the shafts are made of dead tissue. She'd need to use the roots instead.

Apparently the writers seem to be slightly aware of these problems, as they've come up with some of the most ridiculous comic book science imaginable to handwave them away:

Caitlin: "I'm gonna repurpose Eva McCulloch's R-CEM chip to replicate Frost's cryo-gene so I can create a new body for her."
Chillblaine: "Caitlin, I know you're hurting, and so am I, but listen to yourself."
Caitlin: "It worked before. It will work again."
Chillblaine: "And what about the thing that makes Frost, Frost?"
Caitlin: "I have already identified her latent empathic genes on my DNA."
Chillblaine: "I'm talking about a soul and you give me brainwaves?"
Caitlin: "I'm also going to extract her active imprints from her own DNA. Look, I've already got the sample. Unfortunately, the keratin in the cells is decaying a little too quickly, so... I'm gonna need a better sample."

Wow. Where do I even start?

OK, Caitlin mentions using one of Eva McCulloch's R-Cem mirror chips to synthesize a new body for Frost. If you'll recall, that's exactly how she got her own body back in Season 7's Central City Strong. It doesn't make any sense, but since it's already been established on the show I'm willing to give 'em this one.

Caitlin's line about identifying Frost's latent empathic genes on her own DNA is also complete and utter nonsense, and I'm not even sure what it's supposed to mean. Plus she's got it backwards here— from what I understand, genes are MADE of DNA, not the other way around!

To his credit, Chillblaine echoes my statement that the mind and soul can't be cloned. Caitlin disagrees, saying she's going to use Frost's DNA to extract her "active imprints," whatever those are. Apparently Caitlin believes that a subject's personality stamps itself on the DNA in each individual cell, which registers about an eleven on the Bullsh*t Richter Scale.

• When Caitlin says she needs a better genetic sample of Frost's DNA, Chillblaine accuses her of grave robbing. She replies, "It's called an exhumation, and I am a doctor as well as the next of kin, so getting approval won't be a problem, we just... we need to do it quickly."

I'll say! The human brain can only survive a couple of minutes without oxygen. And the rest of Frost's body has no doubt started to decay already as well.

As for the exhumation— Caitlin's correct that she's a doctor, but the process doesn't just happen. There'd be a ton of official paperwork to fill out, and next of kin or not, she's still gonna need a valid reason for digging up her sister's corpse.

I know, I know, it's a comic book world. But it still needs to make a slight amount of sense.

• I loved it when Chillblaine pointed out, "Caitlin, have you forgotten that you literally just tried to resurrect your dead husband, and it was a complete disaster?"

He's right, you know. Caitlin seems to have a big problem accepting the deaths of people she loves— to the point where she actively keeps trying to bring them back from the dead. She definitely has some deep-seated abandonment issues.

How the hell did Chilblaine of all characters become the show's wise voice of reason?

• One last thing about Caitlin's plan: She tries to convince Chillblaine to help her by saying, "Frost was supposed to live a full and complete life." What a stupid thing to say. Isn't everyone until they're unexpectedly cut down?

• Barry zooms to Coast City to find Tinya Wazzo, hoping she can help rescue Iris from the Still Force. Quite rightly, Tinya says she doesn't care, as Iris completely ruined her life.

And how! Tinya wasn't exactly flourishing on her own, but she managed to get by. Then Iris came along, literally started stalking her, illegally opened her adoption records, located her birth mother and then disintegrated her.

After all that, is it any wonder Tinya's glad Iris is missing?

I'm still puzzled as to why the show's spent so much time setting up this character. I have to assume she's going to end up playing a part in recovering Iris, or that they're gonna make her a member of Team Flash. Maybe even both! There's no other reason for her existence.

• Deon appears and pulls Barry into the Still Force, where they try to find Iris.

Holy crap, check out those lens flares! If I didn't know better I'd think JJ Abrams directed this episode!

• So apparently the Still Force contains an entire population of people going about their daily business. And at one point a car even drives past in the background! Does that seem right? I don't remember ever seeing anything like that whenever Barry entered the Speed Force.

• Deon tells Barry that the past, present and future exist simultaneously inside the Still Force. To prove it, Barry picks up a discarded newspaper that glitches and changes from 2013 to 2024.

By the way, boodos (the opposite of kudos) to whoever cobbled together the trailer for this week's episode. It prominently displayed the shot of the "Zoom And Godspeed Destroy Central City" headline, which strongly implied we'd see the two villains this week. Of course that didn't happen, as it was a blatant bait & switch. Feh!

• Barry's sensor picks up Iris' signal, prompting Deon to say, "All right. Let's ease on down the road, man."

Was... was that a reference to The Wiz?

• Barry & Deon find their way to Still Force CCC Media. There they encounter a version of Allegra, who's screaming at Taylor and saying she had no right to out her as a member of Team Flash.

Clearly this is a moment in time that hasn't happened yet, but I'm betting it will soon, as it was foreshadowed in the previous episode. Like I said last week, that's what Allegra gets for fighting crime in her street clothes with no mask on!

• Back in Reckless, Iris tracked down Tinya's birth mom Renee Wazzo. Before there could be any happy reunion though, Iris inadvertently disintegrated Renee with her time sickness.

At the time I said Iris didn't actually kill Renee, as she was probably just displaced in time.

Sure enough, in this episode Barry encounters Renee, who's wandering around the offices of CCC Media inside the Still Force. Told you she wasn't dead!

• Barry and Deon enter the CCC Media bullpen, where for some reason the various reporters are all frozen in time. One of them was inexplicably tossing a book to another when time stopped, causing it to hover in midair. The book's titled Time And Motion In The New Millennium, by Francois Archambault.

I looked it up, and there's a Francois Archambault who's a playwright, and another who's a cinematographer, but as near as I can tell there's no such book. Which I guess means it's a joke about time freezing? I think?

• Inside Iris' office, Deon locates the temporal tracking particle he placed into her a couple episodes back— but she's nowhere to be found. He grabs the particle, shoves it into his chest, tells Barry he's sorry and then vanishes.

No idea what's going on here, other than maybe they're doing a Dark Deon storyline?

• After Deon vanishes, Barry inexplicably finds himself in the Still Force version of the West home. For some reason, the house comes complete with two glowing green neon tubes in the foyer (?).

I have to assume this was to help give the house its trademark green Still Force glow, but... surely to Thor there was a better place to set these tubes. Like BEHIND the camera maybe?

• For no good reason, we then cut to Barry's future daughter Nora in 2049. She's apparently decided to become a journalist like her mother, and is dictating a story electronically.

Nora dictates: "Shark Stadium erupted in cheers after XS' heroic save. Even without Impulse, her partner in crime-fighting, who was too busy partying to answer his alerts." 

We then hear Bart let loose with a mighty belch offscreen, as Nora says, "Ugh. You are so disgusting!" A couple things here:

First of all, the dictating app transcribes everything Nora says up to the line, "who was too busy..." For some reason it doesn't record her full sentence or her next line about Bart being "so disgusting." So how does the software know when to listen and when to ignore her?

Secondly, the guest star budget must have run dry this week, because even though Nora speaks to Bart, actor Jordan Fisher never actually appears onscreen.

• Nora hears a voice in her apartment, and "Deon" suddenly appears as a mass of glowing temporal energy, telling her that Barry's trapped and he can't help him. She's then pulled into the Still Force as well.

I have a crazy theory as to what's going on, that's probably way off the mark. I suspect the energy blob we see here is actually the REAL Deon. He's likely been weakened by Iris' time sickness, and can no longer form a body for himself. The Dark Deon we saw earlier, who trapped Barry in the Still Force, is most likely an imposter.

What if Iris herself is actually Dark Deon in disguise? Maybe she needed to secretly take his form for reasons, and was forced to trap Barry as part of some convoluted escape plan. 

Do I really think this is where the writers are going? Probably not. But Iris would definitely be the least likely suspect, and it'd make for an interesting twist.

All I know is Dark Deon better not turn out to be Thawne!

• Holy crap, we got a Baby Jenna sighting this week! Well, sort of. As Nora's pulled into the West home inside the Still Force, she sees a family photo of Joe, Cecile and the ever-illusive Baby Jenna— who's now Toddler Jenna!

This is the first time she's actually appeared onscreen in any form since Season 6's A Girl Named Sue. I was beginning to think she'd become an Unseen Character— one who's constantly talked about and who affects the plot, but never actually appears (like Norm's wife Vera on Cheers).

By the way, Jenna was born in the Season 4 finale We Are The Flash, which first aired May 22, 2018. Since The Flash airs more or less in real time, she just turned four!

• Not A Nitpick, But An Observation: For some reason Iris' hairbrush has become the Most Important Object In The Entire Universe, and seems to be the key to all the time shenanigans going on.

The brush was first seen at the end of Armageddon, Part 5, where Iris used it and set it on a chair before Barry whisked Team Flash off to Paris for dinner. Seconds later the brush vanished in a puff of temporal energy.

This week we see it's inside the version of the West home in the Still Force, where Barry uses it to focus his powers and try to get himself and Nora back to the real world. It shows up in Joe's actual house too before disappearing again.

There's nothing inherently wrong with this, as I get that the producers needed an easily-recognizable object they could use to represent Iris. It's just funny to me that a hairbrush of all things holds the key to the entire timeline.

• A few weeks ago in Resurrection, Allegra noticed that Chester was posting specs for his various high-tech gadgets online. She then tore him a new one, claiming an evil meta could use his info to create weapons of mass destruction. He realized she had a point, and reluctantly stopped sharing his tech.

This week Chester finds out that Allegra was right, as someone actually used his tech to make a device that leveled a Central City halfway house! 

When Chester tells Allegra what happened, she sticks her finger in his face and screeches, "I TOLD YOU SO!" Nah, I'm just kidding. Instead she inexplicably shrugs and says, "Eh, whatever." In fact she even goes so far as to tell him he's overreacting about the whole situation!

What. The. Hell?

How did Allegra go from literally spending ten minutes of screen time ragging on Chester for being irresponsible with his tech to not giving a flying f*ck? This isn't just a case of her being polite or supportive here, she's acting like her earlier diatribe never happened at all. 

Jaysis, do the writers even watch their own show? At this point her character motivation is nonexistent, as it clearly fluctuates depending on the needs of the script.

• Just a reminder that Jessica Parker Kennedy, who plays Nora/XS, is currently 37 years old (!). Which means she's FIVE years older than Grant Gustin, who's 32! Jesus Christ! She's older than her TV dad!

So let's see if I've got this straight— she's 37, playing a 25 year old who acts like she's 16. Got it!

• After Nora gives Barry an absolutely epic Patented The CW Pep Talk®, we see an exterior shot of the West home— complete with a sabertooth tiger slinking around outside! Wait, what?

I assume this prehistoric feline is here to illustrate Deon's claim that the past, present and future all exist simultaneously in the Still Force. The problem though is this is the ONLY time we see anything remotely like this in the entire episode, which makes it all the more jarring. 

Would it have killed them to throw in the occasional background Viking, Model T or flying saucer? Apparently there was only enough money in the budget for one temporal anomaly.

• As Barry concentrates on accessing the Still Force so they can escape, Nora suits up in her XS costume. Um... where the hell did she get THAT? Does she store it in a little ring like Barry does with his? Or does this temporal realm allow her to conjure up a new costume at will?

And there's that hairbrush again, still acting as The Most Important Object In The Entire Universe. Nora even suggests Barry focus on it to help free them from the Still Force.

• Barry focuses on the Still Force and narrates what he sees:

Barry: "Nora, the temporal stream... I can feel the pure Still Force energy moving through me. I can see the past, present, and future all at once. I can see Jesse and Harry. Cisco and Frost too. I can see Bart's children... your wife. Nora, you're all so happy. I see... Max?"

Lots to unpack here. The Jesse and Harry he mentions would be Jesse Quick and her father Harry Wells of Earth-2. Are they still from Earth-2 after the Crisis? I honestly don't know anymore.

Apparently Bart will start a family of his own at some point, and Nora will marry a woman. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but... has there ever been ANY indication up to now that this version of Nora's gay? No. No there has not. I'm calling this a major retcon.

And the Max that Barry mentions is most likely Max Mercury— a speedster who first appeared in National Comics #5, published in 1940 by Quality Comics. The character was sold to DC Comics sometime in the 1950s. I could write another 50,000 words on his complicated origin and backstory, so I'll attempt to be brief.

Max was a US Calvary scout in 1830, when he was given speedster powers by a dying Native American shaman. Over the years he tried accessing the Speed Force on numerous occasions, but each attempt caused him to jump forward in time.

In the 1890s he adopted a new identity as Whip Whirlwind. Sometime later he jumped to the 1930s, where he called himself Quicksilver. He then became a mentor to the Golden Age Flash and Johnny Quick. Eventually he jumped to the present day, where he became a mentor again, this time to both Kid Flash and Impulse.

There's a LOT more to his backstory, but that'll do for now.

So does Barry's shoutout mean we'll be seeing Max on the show soon? By all accounts Season 9's gonna be the last, so if they plan on brining him in, they'd better hurry!

• Once he accesses the Still Force, Barry fills Nora with temporal energy as well. They then attempt to speed their way out of the Still Force. Unfortunately they hit some sort of barrier that knocks them back into last Wednesday.

So Barry and Nora are both dead now, right? Jesus Christ, they both just fell from five hundred feet and landed on a pile of trash and a dumpster! Being speedsters doesn't mean they're invulnerable! They should have both died on impact.

• Each time Barry & Nora try to escape, they're violently repelled by the energy barrier. Nora says it's hopeless, but Barry figures out what's going on:

Barry: "This isn't a time loop. It's the Still Force pulling us back into the past every time we're about to escape."

Nora: "Why would it do that?"

Barry: "Deon said the past, present, and future all coexist here, so if we've already escaped, the only way to stop us... "

Nora: "Is to keep us stuck in the past."

Barry: "Nora, use the spark I gave you to focus on the moment that's already on the other side of that barrier. The moment you and I get back home. Focus on the moment you and I get back home."

So the answer was they already escaped, and to focus on that. In essence, they got out of the Still Force by fast-forwarding to the end of the episode. Sure, why not. It's no less nonsensical than anything else in this episode.

• Writing Time Travel Stories Is Hard! After their escape from the Still Force, Barry & Nora chat with Joe & Cecile. Nora then says, "I'd better get back to 2049, make sure Mom's still there and that she's okay."

With one simple little statement, Nora just completely negated everything that happened in this episode. As well as the whole Time Sickness Saga. If Iris is alive and well in Nora's future, then everything must come out OK, right?

By that same logic, when Barry was filled with Still Force energy a few minutes earlier, he said he could see EVERYTHING— the past, present and future all at once. Which means he should know exactly when, where and how to rescue Iris and bring her back home!

Whether it was intentional or not, the writers just opened up a HUGE and ill-advised can of worms. Since Barry's seen the future, then from this point on he should know when and where every meta villain's going to strike, as well as when every natural disaster and major Arrowverse crisis will occur. 

They literally just torpedoed their own show, as there's no excuse for anything to take Barry by surprise ever again.

• Chester ultimately discovers his tech wasn't used by a meta criminal, but by his online fan "wookieelover77." Apparently he worked at the halfway house, and was trying to use Chester's device to provide free unlimited hot water to the residents.

Amazingly, that's the end of the matter as far as Chester's concerned! Once again, a major crime goes unpunished in the Arrowverse because the perpetrator had good intentions or felt bad about it later. 

Keep in mind that even though it was an accident, wookieelover77 still destroyed an entire building, causing millions in property damage and nearly killing the residents.

In reality he'd be guilty of willful destruction of property, reckless endangerment, attempted murder (or involuntary manslaughter at the very least) and probably more charges I can't think of right now. The owners of the building would likely sue him for millions in damages as well. The fact that it was an accident doesn't matter— in the eyes of the law he's still guilty!

• As Chester exits his lab, he claps twice and the lights go out. Wow, I haven't seen a Clapper™ in decades!

• Of course the second Chester leaves, someone hacks into his computer and downloads all his files. Is it wookieelover77 again? Or someone more insidious? Once again, given how much the writers love him, it's probably Thawne.

Whoever it is, it's probably no one good. Allegra was right all along, even though she's apparently forgotten she ever chastised Chester for his naïveté.

• In the tag scene, we see Caitlin in her dark & gloomy apartment, furiously trying to come up with a way to clone Frost.

Remember last week when I pointed out that actress Danielle Panabaker was pregnant again, and the producers were doing their best to hide that fact by shooting her from the chest up or having her hold boxes and such in front of her stomach? 

Welp, it happens again this week, as she spends the entire episode sitting at a table behind her laptop screen, so we can't see her rapidly expanding baby bump.

• Chillblaine returns to Caitlin's apartment and knocks on her door. She tells him to get lost, so he freezes her lock and busts in.

Um... did the producers forget that Chillblaine doesn't have any inherent powers, and gets his icy abilities from his high-tech gauntlets? I think they did, because unless the gauntlets are invisible or too small to be seen, he's not wearing them here!

• Chillblaine then says he's had a change of heart and wants to help Caitlin bring back Frost.

As I mentioned last week, Danielle Panabaker said she only agreed to the whole Frost's Death storyline if her demise stuck. So I don't think they're gonna succeed in actually bringing her back. I think Team Flash will figure out what Caitlin's doing and Pep Talk her out of it— which will end up pushing Chillblaine over the edge and become a villain again.

• More Predictions! If you'll recall, at the end of Armageddon, Part 5, Damien Darhk ended up being erased from Thawne's twisted timeline. Before he disappeared though, he gave his Time Stone to Joe. When he asked why, Damien said, "It's a gift. Father to father. And I think you're gonna need that some day."

What if that day's rapidly approaching? I'm calling it right now— either in the season finale or in next year's premiere, Joe will remember he has the Time Stone and use it to bring Iris home and cure her of her time sickness. 

You read it here first!

The Flash Season 7, Episode 15: Enemy At The Gates

This week on The Flash, we FINALLY, at long, long last get the official start to the long-awaited Godspeed Saga. 

It's about freakin' time!

I tapped out of comics years ago, when the cover price broke the four dollar barrier, so I'm not as well-versed on newer Flash characters as I am with the old ones. From what I understand, Godspeed seems to be a VERY popular character with current comic fans, so they've been eagerly awaiting his live action appearance for years now. 

Unfortunately his introduction has been... muddled, to say the least.

Godspeed first appeared way back in Season 5, in an episode appropriately titled— what else— Godspeed. In that story we flashed forward to the year 2049, where Barry & Iris' daughter Nora encountered Godspeed and was attacked by him. 

We didn't see him again until Season 6's Into The Void, when Barry captured a white-clad speedster that he assumed was Godspeed. Turns out this particular version was a clone— the fourth one he'd encountered that year. Oddly enough, we didn't actually get to see these previous Godspeeds, we were just told about them. Hey writers, what happened to show, don't tell? Isn't that Screenplays 101?

Anyway, this week we get more Godspeeds than you can swing a dead speedster at, as their storyline finally kicks off. I'm just hoping that after two full years of setup and hype, the writers do the story justice and don't fumble the ball. Here's hoping!

Elsewhere, the show teases the inevitable return of Nora West-Allen, even though she was erased from the timeline and shouldn't possibly be able to exist. I'm sure they'll come up with some nonsensical reason to explain her presence, and why this new version looks impossibly identical to the old one.

There's also an attempt at light comedy this week— something the show used to feature regularly, but which we haven't seen in a lonnnng time. It's a welcome return to form, but sadly it's in service of a truly baffling and off-putting storyline involving Iris and her urine sample. No, really! 

Speaking of Iris, she sits out again this week! What's up with her sudden absence? Did actress Candice Patton test positive for the 'Rona? Staging a walkout for more money? Get lost on the way to the studio?

According to internet rumor (which is never, ever wrong), Patton allegedly decided she wanted to "spend some time with her family" back in the States and took off for a couple weeks. Wow. Must be nice to have a job where you can just up and leave vacation even when you're contractually obligated to work.

I dunno... there's something fishy about that "spending time with family" statement. That's what Chinese restaurants always say when they get shut down by the Board Of Health. There's definitely something suspicious going on here. 

The writers also double down on the Joe/Kristen subplot this week, to thunderous audience indifference. It's like they're seemingly oblivious to the fact that this arc is dull, sluggish and uninteresting, and that viewers couldn't possibly care less about it. 

This episode also does its best to push the Frost/Chillblaine relationship arc. Sorry producers, but Chillblaine sucks, and he's always gonna suck. He's creepy, unsettling and cringeworthy, as the character feels like he should be on a sex offender list. He needs written off the show with gusto!

SPOILERS!

The Plot:
Barry's working in his CSI lab, when suddenly he sees Nora standing before him. No, not his late mother Nora, or the Speed Force that took on her form, but his speedster daughter from the future. She tells him she loves him as they embrace. Barry then wakes and realizes he was dreaming. He calls Iris and says he thinks his vision means "they're" finally pregnant.

The next day, Barry gets a urine sample from a curiously unseen Iris and says he's taking it to his lab to do a pregnancy test. Just as he's going out the door he runs into Cecile, who's there to see Iris. For no good reason, Barry lies & says she's not home (?). Cecile uses her powers to sense he's lying, and he shuts the door in her face.

At STAR Labs, Chester tells Frost he saw the news about Mark Blaine (aka Chillblaine) being released from prison after turning state's evidence. He says it sounds like Mark's attempting to change. Frost doesn't believe it, and says she's keeping a watchful eye on him.
 
Over in the filler subplot, Joe meets with Kristen Kramer, who's impressed by how much info he dug up on her missing "brother" Creyke. Joe has video evidence of Creyke stealing the weapons he used to wipe out Kristen's military unit, and wonders how she was the only one who managed to survive. She claims she doesn't know (which obviously means she's secretly a meta as well). Joe figures out that Creyke's hiding in a schooner in Midway City. She vows not to let Creyke get away from her again, and Joe warns her that this has to be about justice, not vengeance.

Elsewhere, Godspeed zooms into downtown Central City. A second later another one appears, and the two engage in their modem-speak.

Barry drives his car (?) to STAR Labs, because his superspeed will taint Iris' urine sample or something. Unfortunately Caitlin's busy in the Medlab, preventing him from running the test in secret. Iris calls & reminds him he could do it in his CSI Lab. Why is this simple urine test suddenly the most important thing in the episode?

Caitlin examines Allegra's cousin Esperanza, aka Ultraviolet, who's apparently become "good" now. She says she thinks she can fix the damage that Black Hole did to Esperanza's throat and restore her voice. For no good reason though, Esperanza refuses to allow it. Allegra argues with her & says she's the only family she has left and doesn't want to lose her.

Meanwhile, Mark goes back to the bar where he used to work. To no one's surprise, he's attacked by the other thugs there for being a snitch. Just as they're about to kill him, Frost arrives & scares them off. She sees Mark's been stabbed, and stupidly says she'll take him to STAR to be patched up.

Cecile goes to Barry's lab (is she stalking him?), where he's trying to run the pregnancy test. Just then the windows shatter, presumably due to Godspeed activity. Barry & Cecile dive for cover.

They go back to STAR, where it's determined that Godspeed was responsible for the attack. Chester detects multiple incidents, and they realize there are TWO Godspeeds menacing the city (which the audience already knew). Unfortunately they disappear before Team Flash can react. Chester says he'll work on a way to decode their modem-speak.

Meanwhile, Caitlin treats Mark's wounds. He asks her what Frost is into, but she says he can't handle her. Just then Frost enters and tells Caitlin to forget about Mark and focus on curing Ultraviolet. Mark wants to help Frost fight Godspeed, but she says she doesn't trust him. He tells her she can't decide "who someone is going to be based on who they are," and reminds her she used to be "Killer" Frost. She still says no and locks him inside the Lounge.

Caitlin then decides since a couple Godspeeds are currently menacing the city, this would be the perfect time to perform a delicate operation on Ultrviolet. Allegra nervously watches, as does Cecile for some reason.

Just then an alarm sounds, and Chester says one of the Godspeeds is attacking the city's power plant. He says if it blows, the blast radius cover 40 square miles! Jesus Christ! Barry tells Frost to stay at STAR as a last line of defense, and zooms off.

Barry arrives at the power plant and confronts Godspeed. Suddenly several more appear, and he realizes it's a trap. He tells Chester to initiate the Babel Protocol, which will seal STAR Labs inside an impenetrable forcefield. Chester pulls the switch, as Barry heads back to STAR. He manages to slip back inside a split second before the field fully activates.

The Godspeed gang starts pounding on the forcefield, slowly weakening it. Chester says at this rate it'll hold maybe an hour. Barry goes out in the hall to talk with Iris and tell her he's doing everything in his power to keep her and the "baby" safe. Jumping the gun a bit, aren't we? Chester overhears and congratulates him. Barry says he wants to keep the fact that he's having a daughter secret, prompting Chester to ask how he knows the gender already. Barry explains about Nora, and Chester warns that even casual knowledge of the future could alter it.

Suddenly the power flickers, as Caitlin hopes she'll be able to finish Ultraviolet's surgery before it goes out altogether. STAR Labs doesn't have its own power source?

Frost makes a decision and visits Mark. She tells him she needs his help to fight off the Godspeeds, and makes him promise not to stab her in the back if she gives him his power gauntlets. He says he's no hero, and she reminds him that if the Godspeeds break in, he'll die along with everyone else. He eventually agrees, and she lets him out and hands him his gauntlets. She hisses that if he breaks her trust, he won't get it back.

Chester figures out a way to jam the Godspeed's modem-speak, preventing them from communicating with one another and slowing them down a bit.

In the Medlab, Ultraviolet's hand starts trembling as Caitlin operates. Caitlin says removing the Black Hole chip from Ultraviolet's throat is causing neural trauma (?). Allegra tells her to do something quick, and Cecile uses her powers to calm Ultraviolet's unconscious mind.

Just then the Godspeeds figure out a way to drain energy from the forcefield. It goes down in seconds and they all zoom into STAR. They surround Barry, who tells Chester to get to the Time Vault, which also acts as a panic room. Chester runs to the room and tells Gideon to lock it down.

Gideon says she could broadcast the modem-speak over the intercoms, which will confuse the Godspeeds. Chester tells her to go for it, and the signal staggers and confuses the Godspeeds. For some reason it also causes them to lose their super speed. Barry begins fighting several of them, while Frost and Mark take on a couple more.

One of the Godspeeds breaks into the supposedly impervious Time Vault, smashes the console and stops the transmission. Instantly the others return to full power. They blast Frost & Mark unconscious, and then surround Barry. He speeds off and they all chase after him.

Barry runs through the streets of Central City, with the Godspeeds following close behind. They eventually catch up to him and bring him to his knees, as they begin blasting him and stealing his speed.

Suddenly ANOTHER group of Godspeeds appear out of nowhere and attack the others. They battle one another for a bit before all zooming off.

Back at STAR, Caitlin finishes the operation and reports that Ultraviolet's recovering. Chester wonders why the Godspeeds began fighting one another, and Barry says they're in the middle of a civil war.

In the Lounge, Mark (who used to be a bartender) pours drinks for himself and Frost. He feeds her a line of crap, saying he didn't fear dying when fighting the Godspeeds because they were together. She leans in to kiss him, but stops as she notices smoke coming from the sink. She walks over and sees the shaker he used is smoking & fizzing, and realizes he placed a small explosive in as a distraction. Sure enough, she turns and sees he's gone.

Back at Barry's CSI lab, he finally finishes the pregnancy test, as Cecile looks on (?). Unfortunately it comes out negative. Barry wonders what his dreams were about then, and Cecile tells him thinks will work out eventually.

Meanwhile, back in the subplot that no one cares about, Joe & Kristen investigate the schooner, but find no sign of Creyke. Kristen worries that what could have happened to change her "brother" so much that he'd try to kill her.

Just then someone fires a missile at their car. Kristen somehow senses it and yells for Joe to get out, a second before the car explodes in a huge ball of fire.

Thoughts: 
• Iris sits out this episode, making her AWOL for two weeks in a row now. Ordinarily this wouldn't be a big deal, but instead of simply acknowledging her absence, the producers went to ridiculous lengths to try and convince us that she's actually in the episode.

Barry's constantly yelling to her from another room, or having one sided phone conversations with her. It's clumsy, awkward and not the least bit convincing.

It's also strange to write a pregnancy storyline in an episode in which Iris doesn't bother to show up. I suppose it's possible they already had the script finalized by the time she bailed, and by then it was too late to write her out.

So why's she absent anyway? Was it a Covid thing, and they needed to quarantine her?

• It was fun to see Nora on the show again, even if only in dream form. I'd bet just about anything that she's NOT a dream though, and will somehow return in physical form. I'm struggling to understand how that would be possible though. Especially since she was erased from existence at the end of Season 5's Legacy. I guess she must have got better?

• Note the prominent look at Barry's nameplate in this shot. I gotta wonder if the producers included it here to remind viewers that technically he's still a CSI, even though we rarely see him perform that function any more.

• This episode spends a HUGE amount of time on Barry trying to sneak Iris' urine sample into STAR so he can determine if she's pregnant. 

The producers clearly set up this situation so they could milk it for maximum yuks. Barry wants to keep the test a secret, so he keeps getting interrupted at the worst times and has to awkwardly make up cover stories for what he's doing. Com-O-Dee!

But why'd Barry have to go to STAR in the first place? Why couldn't he just walk down to the corner drugstore & bring home a normal everyday over-the-counter test that Iris could use in the privacy of her own bathroom?

The writers try to cover this plot hole with a weak excuse, claiming that Iris' meta-DNA signatures could "misrepresent HCG levels." He also says that speeding the sample to the lab could compromise its chemical integrity, so he needs to drive it to STAR Labs instead.

So there you go. Because Barry & Iris (who was once briefly a speedster) both have meta-DNA, an over the counter pregnancy test might not work. Sure, why not.

Also, based on his dialogue, this episode establishes that Barry apparently owns a car for some reason. Has this ever been mentioned or seen before on the show?

• For no good reason, Chester approaches Frost and alerts her that Mark Blaine, aka Chillblaine, has turned state's evidence and is now a free man.

Um... yeah, we know! We were told that at the end of the previous episode. Mark even showed Frost the exact same newspaper headline that Chester holds up here. So why are we getting this info a second time? For people who came in late? Did the producers seriously forget what they just wrote last week?

• When Chester stops by to see Frost, she's busily creating some more of her avant-garde "art." Credit Where It's Due: This piece is a definite improvement over her previous work that we saw in The One With The Nineties.

In that episode she was working on a composition that literally looked like she pulled chunks of garbage out of the trash and glued it to a canvas. 

• Joe & Kristen get together to try and figure out how to track down her "brother" Adam Creyke. For some reason though, they meet in Ralph Dibny's old private detective office, located just across the hall from The Citizen! What the hell?

Why is Ralph's office set still standing? Especially after the producers summarily fired actor Hartley Sawyer and awkwardly wrote out his character?

• Barry tries to sneak the pregnancy test into the STAR Labs Medlab, and of course runs into an overly curious Chester. He sees Barry holding car keys and says, "So, why is the Flash driving a car? Oh, wait. Do you have a Flashmobile?"

Believe it or not, that's a reference to the Justice League animated series from the early 2000s, which featured Wally West— not Barry Allen— as the Flash. In the Season 1 episode Eclipsed, Wally did indeed have a Flashmobile, customized from a van he bought. 

• Technobabble Alert! Caitlin examines Ultraviolet in the Medlab and offers her prognosis. 

Ultraviolet: "What did they do to me?"
Caitlin: "Black Hole introduced a deliberate irregularity into your vascular system, one that creates a 40% decrease in your body’s ability to maintain oxygen intake."
Allegra: "He made it so the mask keeps her alive to ensure her loyalty."
Caitlin: "Actually, the mask is hiding the real damage— implantation circuitry grafted to your vocal cords."
Allegra: "Okay, how do we help my cousin?"
Caitlin: "So the software in the chip requires regular software updates just like your smartphone. But no Black Hole means no more software updates. So pretty soon, it’ll stop working and I won’t be able to repair it."

So Ultraviolet's mask has software in it that needs regular updates. Whatever.

Thing is, most people go months, sometimes even YEARS without updating their phone apps or computer operating systems and they get along just fine. The only way this would make sense is of Black Hole put some kind of "kill switch" code in her mask's software, that'll activate if it's not updated at regular intervals.

• Speaking of Ultraviolet's condition— last week she said that Black Hole "ripped her voice from her throat." Based on that statement and the fact that she sounds like a robot, I took it to mean they surgically removed her voice box. 

As such I was skeptical of Caitlin's claim that she could reverse the damage that Black Hole did. I pointed out that transplanting larynxes seemed a bit advanced for a research physician like Caitlin. It reminded me of the typical comic book trope in which all doctors are automatically capable of any kind of operation.

But then this week we find out that Ultraviolet's voice box is still intact. In fact Caitlin mentions Black Hole simply grafted circuitry to her vocal chords, and says she can remove it. 

OK, now THAT sounds more doable! I have no trouble believing Caitlin could perform a relatively simple operation like that. So why didn't they clarify that last week then?

• When Chillblaine returns to his old stomping grounds, he seems genuinely shocked that his fellow thugs give him a royal beat-down and even stab him. What the hell did he think was gonna happen? He just turned state's evidence and squealed on them! Such things are frowned on in the criminal world.

Heck, usually when someone makes a deal like Chillblaine did they have to go into Witness Protection to avoid retaliation.

I'm also puzzled as to why the writers are suddenly trying to paint him as a good guy who's trying to turn his life around. Clearly he didn't turn state's evidence out of some sense of civic duty— he did it to save his own neck and get out of prison! Feh.

• When Frost sees Mark's bleeding from a stab wound, she stupidly takes him to STAR to be patched up. So why didn't she just create an "ice bandage" to plug up the hole, like she's done several times before? Did she forget that's a thing she can do?

• Is Jon Cor (who plays Chillblaine) contractually obligated to appear shirtless at least once per episode? Granted he has an impressive physique, but his constant display of it is extremely obvious and awkward.

I've said it before, but this puzzles me. The CW is almost militant in its "wokeness," so it seems odd that they'd be OK with this blatant and over the top beefcake nonsense. Imagine the outcry from the SJW Twitter Posse if the situation was reversed and they featured a female character parading around in a thong.

• Heavy Duty Nitpicking Time: At one point Chester says:

"One of the Godspeed clones is attacking the Central City power plant, and if he takes it out like he did with the gas station, the blast radius will be over 40 square miles."

Wait, so will the blast be measured in a radius or over square miles? Those are two different things.

• More Credit Where It's Due: I love this scene in which Barry's surrounded by a group of unbeatable Godspeeds, and escapes from them by phasing himself through the floor. What an awesome and creative use of his power! Have we ever seen him do that before? If so, it's been so long ago that I've forgotten about it. I wish he'd remember he could do this and use this move more often!

• Barry orders Chester to initiate the Babel Protocol, and then "slides into home" just as the forcefield around STAR Labs slams down.

This is the second time we've seen the Babel Protocol, and is was first used back in The Last Temptation Of Barry Allen, Part 2.

• Once the Babel forcefield is activated, the Godspeeds begin hammering away at it as they try to get through. Obviously the field was added after the fact, so the stuntmen had to mime banging on it. Looks like a few of them got a little carried away, as you can see them seemingly punching right through the impenetrable field. Whoops! 

The FX Team tries to cover this by making the field bend a bit, but there was only so much they could do.

• Part of the drama this week involves Caitlin trying to finish Ultraviolet's surgery before the Godspeeds invade STAR Labs and knock out the power. This whole scene is a goldmine of illogic and outright stupidity.

First of all, why in the name of sanity did Caitlin start an operation at the beginning of the Godspeeds' attack? This isn't an emergency situation, it's elective surgery. As such it could have been done any time. There was no reason to start slicin' up Ultraviolet right NOW.

As for the Godspeeds knocking out the power— is that really an issue? Surely a massive complex like STAR Labs would have its own power supply, or some sort of backup generator.

But all that pales next to the actual medical procedure itself. To begin with, Caitlin awkwardly bends over Ultraviolet as she performs invasive surgery on her— while not wearing a face mask! 

Even worse, instead of a hospital gown, Ultraviolet's wearing her skintight black catsuit— the same one she's had on every time she's ever appeared on the show! I guess Caitlin must have missed the med school lecture "Sterile Operating Fields And You."

Ah, but we're not finished yet! For some reason, Cecile and Allegra are present for the entire operation, observing from just ten feet away. And of course they're both unmasked as well.

Oh, and lastly, Caitlin's performing an operation without an anesthesiologist to monitor Ultraviolet's condition.

The most amazing thing about all this is that due to the pandemic, the actors probably all have face masks in their pockets that they could have whipped out and put on!

OK, I know what you're all thinking— it's a comic book show, not a true life medical documentary. I get that, but Jesus Christ! Even a child would realize this is NOT how operations work!

I suppose we could say that STAR Labs' Medbay is so advanced it contains some sort of sterile forcefield or high tech air filters that eliminate the need for masks. I suppose we could say that, but I don't see why we should.

• Just last week Allegra demonstrated she now has the ability to charge herself up and go full Super Saiyan/Captain Marvel, unleashing powerful and destructive energies onto her enemies. 

So why the hell doesn't she do that here? Why does she spend the entire episode standing around and whining for Caitlin to hurry up and finish the operation already? She could have easily stepped out of the Medlab for a few seconds and fried several of the Godspeeds and then rushed back in to fret and wring her hands over her cousin. Of course no one ever thinks to suggest that to her.

• Speaking of Cecile and Allegra...

I've been a life-long comic book fan, as I started picking 'em up as soon as I learned to read. I never much read The Flash though until after the Crisis On Infinite Earths, when Wally West took over the book. And I stopped reading comics altogether once they hit $4 bucks each, as I got a mortgage to pay! So I'm really not all that versed in the comic book version of the Flash and his supporting cast.

Because of this, when Cecile Horton & Allegra Garcia were added to the show I naturally assumed the writers made them up out of whole cloth.

Imagine my surprise this week when I found out they're BOTH from the comics!

Cecile first appeared wayyyy back in 1984's The Flash #332. She was Barry's defense attorney during the Trial Of The Flash story arc, in which he was accused of the murder of the Reverse Flash. She looked a bit different in the comics, as she was a white woman with red hair. Naturally that had to change, as part of the Ginger Apocalypse that's currently raging through live action superhero properties.

I can't believe I'd never heard of a supporting character who's been around for nearly forty years!

Allegra's a much newer character, with quite a different background than her Arrowverse counterpart. She first appeared in 2010's Titans #28. She was born in Rio de Janeiro, and was the daughter of the supervillain Wavelength— from whom she inherited her electromagnetic powers. She ended up in Gotham, where she joined a gang and was eventually arrested. 

Wavelength hired Deathstroke to break Allegra out of prison, and she eventually reunited with him back in Rio. She lashed out at him for abandoning her and fried him to death with her powers. She then asked to join Deathstroke's team of Titans, but he refused, telling her to grow up first.

You may be wondering why such a minor character like Allegra's suddenly received so much attention and screen time this season. Welp, that would be because she was co-created in the comics by Eric Wallace, who wrote Titans #28. The very same Eric Wallace who's now the showrunner on The Flash. She's suddenly taking front and center because she's his "baby!"

• This is hitting below the belt, but... keep in mind that the Godspeeds are supposed to all be clones, and as such look identical to one another. Um, about that...

• All season long now I've been giving this show a ton of well-deserved sh*t for abandoning action and replacing it with scene after scene of Barry defeating his enemies with the Power Of Love. 

So it was a welcome— and frankly, shocking— change to actually see a good old fashioned fight scene in this episode! Incredibly, when the Godspeeds breach the perimeter and infiltrate STAR Labs, Barry actually attacks and starts throwing some honest to goodness punches! Amazing!

I can't adequately describe how awesome it was to finally see some genuine superhero action in this superhero show. See, producers? It's not that hard! I knew you had it in you.

• As the Godspeeds breach the field, Chillblaine begs Frost to let him help battle them. She refuses, basically saying he's a scumbag and she doesn't trust him. He then tears her down a few pegs by saying:

Chillblaine: "You, Caitlin, and whoever else is part of your STAR Labs posse think you get to just sit up here in your ivory tower judging who’s good and who’s bad. Well, guess what? Life. Isn’t. Binary. It’s everything in between. Now, you don’t trust me? That’s fine. But you cannot decide who someone’s gonna be today based on what they did yesterday. And you should know that better than anybody else… Killer Frost!"

I can't stand Chillblaine, but I have to admit he has a point here. Since it began, The Flash's central message has been one of redemption and second chances.

That's why it seems a bit smug and sanctimonious of the producers to include this scene about being unfairly judgmental, considering the way they summarily fired actor Hartley Sawyer without giving him a chance to redeem himself. Yeah, he did something stupid, but who hasn't? I guess only fictional characters deserve a chance to do better?

Hypocrisy, thy name is The Flash!

• As the Godspeeds begin trying to break through the forcefield, Frost realizes Team Flash needs all the help it can get. She reluctantly gives Chillblaine his gauntlets and asks for his help.

Wait, so how does she have his gauntlets again? He had 'em on when he was arrested several episodes back, so wouldn't they be in the custody of CCPD? Or locked up in a vault inside ARGUS to prevent this known criminal from getting his hands on them again? I don't understand why SHE'S in possession of them, and is able to produce them at a moment's notice as she does.

• Eventually the Godspeeds break into STAR. Frost & Chillblaine battle a group of them in the Lounge. Oddly enough, they do so by repeatedly punching and kicking the clones. 

Gosh, it's really too bad these two don't have some sort of power they could use to immobilize the Godspeeds. Something that all speedsters are vulnerable to. But no, punching and kicking them is fine too.

By the way, the most amazing thing about this scene is that Frost and Chillblaine's blows all connected with these beings who can move at superspeed. 

While that seems like a serious mistake at first glance, it actually makes sense. Chester figures out a way to blast a sonic signal throughout Central City, which "scrambles the Godspeeds' brains like eggs." This explains why their speed is affected, and how Frost & Chillblaine are able to punch & kick 'em.

• In the comics, Chester P. Runk invented a teleporter that imploded and was absorbed into his body. This accident granted him the power to teleport anywhere, as well as to absorb huge quantities of matter— much like a black hole.

For some reason Arrowverse Chester doesn't have any meta abilities. This week I honestly thought he might develop some though!

At one point Chester hides out in the Time Vault, which doubles as a panic room. Unfortunately one of the Godspeeds breaks in and threatens to kill Chester with his vibrating hand. 

I was sure that this traumatic moment would finally cause some latent meta-power to manifest itself, and he'd triumphantly use it against the Godspeed— surprising it as well as himself. Alas, that didn't happen. I guess Arrowverse Chester just isn't destined to be a meta.

And by the way, how about that Time Vault? Some panic room it turned out to be. The Godspeed clone waltzed through the door like it was made of paper!

• I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that the show could only afford to make six Godspeed costumes. There are a few scenes where they augment their numbers with CGI to make it look there's a crowd of 'em, but generally speaking we never see more than six at a time.

• In order to save his friends, Barry lures the Godspeeds out of STAR and into the street. He's then surrounded by six of the clones (heh) as they begin blasting him and draining his speed. Fortunately he's saved when ANOTHER group of six Godspeeds appear, which distracts the first.

A cool fight scene then erupts between the two groups, and once again it was great to finally see some genuine superhero action. That said, I wish they'd have somehow differentiated the Godspeed factions. I'm not sure how they could have done it, since they're all supposed to be clones, but as is, it's impossible to tell who's beating up who.

• At the end of Family Matters, Part 2 (well, in one of that episode's MANY endings, that is), the Speed Force told Barry that as a result of the Four Forces combining their powers, he'd now be faster than he could ever imagine.

When that episode first aired I knew that statement would end up biting the writers in their collective asses, and I was right. One would think that if he's received a power boost from the Forces, he'd be faster than the Godspeeds and able to defeat them easily. 

Of course that did not happen here, as the only reason he survived his battle with the Godspeeds was due to the timely intervention of their opposing faction. I guess maybe the Four Forces were asleep at the wheel this week?

• Welp, this happens in the tag scene.

So I guess Joe & Kristen are now dead, right? As shown, there's no way they could have possibly survived, as the explosion happened literally one second after Kristen yelled for Joe to get out of the car. We don't see them run off or leap to safety, which means they're both dead.

The only way they could still be alive is if Kristen is secretly a meta, and used teleportation or superspeed to whisk them both out of harm's way.

I'm betting this is actually what happened, as the writers are probably shooting for irony here. Kristen hates metas with the white hot passion of a thousand exploding suns, and will discover that she's actually one of them! She'll then be faced with the unpleasant reality of becoming the very thing she hates. Stay tuned to see if I'm right!