If you thought Flash villains were forgettable before, just wait until you meet whoever this guy is supposed to be. He has a cool guy haircut and wears a trench coat. And no, I’m not describing Weather Wizard. This is a new guy with the power to make things…melt? Or dissolve. At one point someone called him Degenerate, which is about all of the description he merits. He had a generic look, a forgettable power set, and a really stupid plan.
Degenerate only existed so that Barry would be forced to teach Wally how to “phase”. Now both Flashes have the power to run through walls, which they will almost certainly forget about for the next few weeks until one instance where it is their only option. There will be plenty of situations where Barry and Wally are trapped behind a wall or something like that and they will get on their headset and ask Cisco “How am I supposed to get out of here? I’m trapped” completely oblivious to the fact that they mastered this technique earlier that week.
The weirdest part of this episode, however, was this debate everyone seems to be having over whether Flash or Kid Flash are better heroes. I find it hard to believe that anyone would be more popular than Flash. He has been at this for the last three years. He had his own day where the city threw him a big party. On the other hand, Kid Flash saved a couple of cheerleaders and beat up a guy with a gun. Sure, he may be lighting up the Gram but is that something people really care about? If anything, you would assume they find it kind of annoying.
Speaking of Instagram, what is Wally thinking? He knows cameras take pictures, right? He know those pictures can be shared with other people? And that bad people are interested in figuring out who he is. And he must know that his mask shows even more of his face than Barry’s. So he is basically saying “I know there are a lot of villains that would love to know my identity so they could kill me and my family members…but let’s get you some double taps. Smile!” Idiot.
Also this episode we learned that the team is 100% willing to let Caitlin turn into a super villain to save Iris. I get it, but that kind of scene is usually written the other way.
- Iris is brought to STAR Labs.
- The gang evaluates her condition.
- Caitlin realizes that she can save Iris.
- She volunteers to freeze the arm but everyone, including Iris, objects.
- Caitlin does it anyway.
That way, everyone’s intentions are noble instead of selfish.
And finally, the budding Caitlin/Julian relationship is terrible. Besides the obvious death sentence that comes with it, the idea that Caitlin will fall for whichever newcomer she spends a little bit of time with is boring. Why can’t anyone but Barry manage to date people who aren’t part of the superhero or super villain squad? Do they not leave the lab? Are there not other suitable people on any of the Earths? The show always manages to justify the relationship with the old “they are the only people that understand each other” but that explanation, like other parts of The Flash, is getting kind of stale.
But, hey. Next week is first part of the Gorilla City double feature, so that’s something.
