The Flash: Season 1, Episode 18: All Star Team Up
I love Felicity Smoak. She may be my favorite character in both of these shows, it’s always a treat to see her at her silliest and it never works as well as it does when she’s in Central City. She meshes so well with the Central City gang since everyone in Starling is so grim and melodramatic. She’s a light in the dark on that show, but here she’s a supernova among stars. It only adds to her brilliance when you bring Ray Palmer into the mix. The second I saw him and Cisco in the same room, I knew magic was about to happen. They became instant bros.
Barry’s lightheartedness is still there, but it’s being severely damaged by the knowledge he possesses but can’t act on. It’s the same knowledge that Eddie is now dealing with as well. Knowing the Flash’s identity is a blessing as we saw from the opening montage of the criminals being caught so easily, but it’s also a curse because he can’t tell Iris.
As a reporter, Iris is always looking for the truth and she can sense the dishonesty in her boyfriend. Definitely not a good thing. I’m sure this will lead to Eddie taking issue with Barry and may even be the catalyst for the contempt his descendant Eobard has for the Flash in the future.
I wish they had waited for the Trickster episode, because it was just so damned good. I’m pretty sure every villain since will pale in comparison. This was evidenced pretty powerfully with the Bug-Eyed Bandit this week. Emily Kinney played one of my least favorite “The Walking Dead” characters to date (and if you’ve been paying attention you know how I feel about that show), and now as Brie Larvan, she’s much better, but she’s in a very unenviable position. She’s the villain after the Trickster. That’s a spot that has to be filled, but no villain before or after her has to deal with.
Her schtick with the robot bees was pretty cool though. Maybe now Ray Palmer will become the Atom instead of Iron Man. She was also a pretty good opponent for Felicity. Hackers, working hard at their computers at the opposite ends of Barry’s life. It was fun, especially with the “I’ve never had a nemesis before… I like it” line.
The revelations about Dr. Wells rounded it up pretty well. Somehow cisco can see the alternate timeline he died in so he’s hopefully on board for whatever happens next. What I’m most curious about is Star Labs. That place is a pretty major part of the DCU, so I want to know what’s going to happen to it. Is there a chance we might meet Emil Hamilton? Only time will tell.
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.
