Although this week’s episode would be considered as a filler, I did find it thoroughly enjoyable.
Caitlin decides to seek the help of her mother, Dr. Tannhauser (Susan Walters), as she tries to figure out and control her newly developed powers. The relationship between Caitlin and her mother already seem to be cold, as the two don’t seem to be happy to see each other. Caitlin’s mother acts distant and doesn’t seem to regret how she treated Caitlin when they both lost a loved one, claiming her work was the only thing that kept her sane. With the help of Tannhauser’s colleague, they run tests on Caitlin, only to find out that when she uses her Killer Frost powers, she absorbs energy – similarly to the character’s comic book origins. The plot thickens for Caitlin, as she struggles to keep her powers under wraps and fights the evil within her.
Meanwhile, Barry and Julian still don’t get along. Once again, the two bicker like an old married couple after Julian rats out Barry to Captain Singh for being tardy, and rants on about what he doesn’t like about Barry. It’s amusing to see how irked Barry is that someone doesn’t actually like him, and the two have their back-and-forth throughout the episode. Julian reveals that he doesn’t like any meta-human, including The Flash, and decides to take it upon himself to take down the new monster that’s terrorizing Central City.
We all know that eventually Julian and Barry will become buds, and we might even (probably) have another identity reveal, but I will admit, the whole bickering aspect is getting a tad old. Barry does offer to go out for drinks with Julian at the end of the episode, so maybe that’s a sign of their relationship blossoming?
Then again, the writers of the series do love to surprise us with good characters turning out to be evil.
Speaking of, the new Harrison Wells is revealed to be a fraud. Cisco, or San Francisco, finds a pen that H.R uses to record audio notes and gets a clue to his actual personality. Eventually, it’s revealed that H.R isn’t actually a scientist, but just comes up with ideas. I will admit that when the idea of H.R being a fraud in the beginning of the episode bothered me (because of how repetitive that arc is becoming), I was relieved when it was something as small as him wanting to feel wanted. The team decides to keep him on the team, as they all believe in second chances and redemption. Tom Cavanaugh once again proves he’s one of the best parts of the entire DC TV universe. I like the idea of multiple Harrison Wells on screen – and it would be hilarious if we had a whole episode of Harry and H.R interacting with each other.
As for the villain of this week, the monster terrorizing Central City turned out to be a hologram, sent around by an angsty kid who wanted to feel powerful. Julian appears to be the first to figure this out, as he goes in by himself with a gun, ready to fire at will. Barry stops Julian just in time, saving him from the regret of killing a kid.
This takes a minor toll on Julian. He realizes that not all meta-humans are terrible, giving him a new perspective on things and he even starts being relatively nicer to Barry. Tom Felton is a great addition to the series – I’ve said it before and I probably will say it every time he’s in an episode. I’m excited to see where the writers take the character, and I do hope he does evolve into a more important role in the series.
As for Caitlin, her mother reveals that the more she uses her powers, the harder it will be for her to snap out of the cold nature. Seeing how close Cisco and Caitlin have become throughout the series, I really do hope Killer Frost doesn’t come in the way of that. Seeing Team Flash having to go up against one of their very own (again) would be heartbreaking, especially since it’s sweet Caitlin Snow.
But knowing the type of person Barry is, he’d probably give her a pep talk and try to talk Killer Frost out of being a villain.
Who knows what the writers have in store for us. Let’s just hope H.R doesn’t turn out to be evil, because I am 100% done with that storyline.
