Wally’s dreaming big, Caitlin’s worse fears may be coming closer to a reality, and an ending more in line with a mid-season finale than the sixth episode of the season are all a part of this week’s The Flash.
We knew it was coming the moment Edward Clariss had his visions of his Flashpoint life: Wally’s getting vision and hearing the voice of Alchemy. He’s understandably excited, wanting nothing more than to tap into his inner speedster but Joe’s not so enthused at Wally’s news. In fact, everyone else shares Joe’s fears, primarily the previous Flashpoint peeps to get their powers—the Rival and Magenta—didn’t have the warm and fuzzies toward the good guys. Well, you can make that number three as the Shade makes his appearance. Possessed with the ability to vibrate at a frequency so high he appears as shadows, Shade is, let’s be honest here, the weakest part of the episode. That’s pretty tough when said episode bears your name.
As Wally continues to have visions and deal with the fact that no one’s in his corner to gain his Flashpoint powers (see above for their good reasons), Caitlin has her own meta-crisis. We know about her powers but it’s not until now that she comes clean. This time it’s to Cisco whom she wants to vibe her, as her biggest fear is transforming into the cold and calculating Killer Frost. Cisco’s vibe shows a future where the two of them are going toe-to-toe, in full hero/villain regalia and the end doesn’t look too good for Cisco. He initially keeps the truth from her but, when push comes to shove not only does he tell her the truth but Cisco even pushes Caitlin to come clean before Team Flash, something she was not yet ready to do.
But the star of the show is Wally and his growing connection with Alchemy. Early on, when Joe and the others stamp down Wally’s excitement about his potential in becoming a speedster, he plays the role of stubborn and resentful young man quite well. Not only does the sliver of resentment towards Barry poke through but he accuses Joe of trusting Barry in a way he refuses to trust Wally. It’s not entirely fair how Wally tosses the accusations around but, at the same time, he’s not wrong. Joe even admits this to him but makes sure his son knows that it’s not Wally but Alchemy he doesn’t trust. And it’s the reason they need to keep Wally away from the mysterious Flashpoint gifter.
At HR’s suggestion, they initially toss Wally in the Pipeline but that doesn’t stop the harsh visions which have now become seizures. Knowing he can’t take much more and also that he may be the only way to track down Alchemy, Wally volunteers as bait. It’s a risky proposition, one that Alchemy doesn’t see coming. With the help of Wally, Joe, and CCPD SWAT, Barry’s able to take down Alchemy and his followers. But their victory is short-lived when, the ground trembles, and a brilliant flash the color of lightning speeds through the underground lair, freeing Alchemy and his followers, and taking down the SWAT members one-by-one. Barry tries to stop the blur of lightning but isn’t fast enough. The newcomer easily takes Barry down and, as he watches Wally cocooned after picking up Alchemy’s stone, the Flash is introduced to the newest player in town…
Savitar, the God of Speed.
Flash Facts
- Wow, was there some good stuff going on in this episode. Not only do we get our first glimpse of Savitar, but Wally’s now in the midst of his own metamorphosis to become his Flashpoint alter ego. Two speedsters should theoretically make for less crime but we all know things won’t be that easy.
- Savitar is here. At first glance, the God of Speed’s appearance reminded me more of a being with ice powers than the fastest deity alive but it’s a good bet that what we saw won’t be Savitar’s final form. The speed cult is alive and well, it seems and now we know Alchemy is nothing more than a cog in the machine.
- Speaking of Alchemy, it was quite the coincidence that Julian just so happened to be MIA as they went into the proverbial lion’s den to face off against the mysterious Doctor. Several theories have (SPOILER WARNING!!!) Alchemy being a split personality of Julian, a shade if you will. It seems about right though some of that loses its luster considering we’ve already had that type of metahuman a few weeks back when the gang dealt with Magenta. Whether the theories are on the mark or not, I’m not going out on a limb when I say that Julian’s got a few skeletons in his closet.
- “Ignoring the problem does not get rid of it. We have to face it.” Cisco’s words to Caitlin as he puts her on blast in front of the entire crew. In truth, I think that quote needs to be brandished all over STAR Labs. If it was then maybe our Central City gang wouldn’t put themselves in such binds keeping things from one another. Will they learn from this moment? Of course not because, if they did, it’d wipe away a good portion of the drama.
- Though we had a lot of serious, HR was again the levity in an angst-heavy hour. He was joined by the easy back-and-forth between Joe and Cecile. The two Central City public servants have some darn good chemistry and maybe Cecile’s the light Joe’s been missing in his life. Of course, with the season’s big bad ID’d, the odds are good that Cecile’s life will be in danger at least once or thrice before the season comes to a close.
The Flash: “Shade” –> 4/5 lightning bolts
