The Flash: Season 1, Episode 17: Tricksters

Yes. Yes. HELL YES! And just in time for April Fool’s Day too! This is easily one of the, if not the best episode of this season so far. I feel sorry for the entire cast and crew for having to continue making episodes after this. Geeks everywhere squealed in excitement at the sight of Mark Hamill in his third incarnation of the same character. He played the trickster in the 90’s series, he played his voice in the “Justice League Unlimited” episode “Flash and Substance” and here he is again. I’m not just gushing as a Star Wars/Batman the Animated Series fanboy (I definitely am), I legitimately enjoyed his performance.

He was the true star of the show this week, chewing scenery like nobody’s business. First he gave off a fantastic Hannibal Lector vibe when Barry and Joe came to him for help. He even reminded me of the old Joker/Riddler rivalry from the comics (Joker feels the Riddler stole his schtick). His voice is priceless and his laugh is unparalleled and he had some of the best one-liners in the business (you all should know how I feel about Breaking Bad by now and the Trickster confirmed season 5 to be a masterpiece). There was a perfect mix of camp and seriousness in his performance, showing why there’s no reason for him to have stayed out of show business for so long.

It’s hard to put in Star Wars references without causing immediate rolling of the eyes is a task. The best time up until now was seeing Carrie Fisher say “Help me Liz Lemon! You’re my only hope!” on 30 Rock. That instances pales in comparison to Hamill’s “I am your father” in this episode. How could anyone have not loved this episode? It was pure magic.

Having so many easter eggs in a single show is fantastic. John Wesley Shipp, who was the 90’s Flash and now plays his father was a perfect choice for a hostage. It put the two old school nemeses at odds with each other once again in a fantastic nod to the old show. The new Trickster, even though seeing both costumes was endearing, was more or less just a means to an end, but that’s not exactly a bad thing. It led to where we needed to go.

On the other side of the show we had a ton of backstory on Reverse-Flash. We saw why Dr. Wells’ blood didn’t match and we saw the truth of Eobard Thawne. This was a massive step toward the progress of the season. It was just enough to sate our curiosity and keep things mysterious. The central story is going well and it was great to finally hear the name of the Speed Force.

Suddenly inducting Eddie into Team Flash was a questionable decision, but I suppose they’re all into this whole Tree of Trust thing now. I honestly think it would’ve’ made sense to bring Iris in first, but I suppose this will be explained a bit better next week. At least it keeps her from digging where she doesn’t belong for now. Her finding out is inevitable though. I’m just worried about the whole romance thing getting too “Smallville” for comfort.

Jonathan Jones

Jonathan Thomas Jones is a speculative fiction author and founder of geekhavenreviews.com. He has been passionate about all things geek for his entire life. See more about him at jonathanthomasjones.com and follow him on twitter @jtgloryjones.