I’d heard that an upcoming episode of The Flash was to be directed by Kevin Smith. To be honest, he didn’t disappoint. If anything, he did the best he could with a bad hand thanks to whoever cuts the previews for the next week.
So we know that Barry’s not dead, thanks to last week’s scenes. What’s not necessarily apparent is that he’s actually in the Speed Force. Pretty much the only thing that keeps Henry from opening Wells a new one is the fact that Cisco vibes Barry while picking up the last remaining scrap of the suit. Even then, he’s pissed off at Wells for the episode.
As far as Jessie and Wally are concerned, Jessie was left in a coma by the dark matter, but Wally seems to be just fine. Henry begrudgingly helps Jessie, since even though he’s still mad at Wells, he is a doctor. Wally, on the other hand seems to suffer no ill effects. Even when Joe tests his reaction by dropping a mug of coffee, Wally displays no signs of metahuman abilities. While that’s probably explained by a later scene, Iris is still pissed off at Joe for breaking the mug, since she’d given it to him as a gift.
The other major plot point of the episode regards the reanimated corpse of Girder. The wave of dark matter managed to reach the morgue. Not that it was readily apparent that STAR Labs had a morgue, which Cisco even mentions to be odd, but that’s not important. The fact that he goes on an almost brainless rampage.through Central City after smashing his way out of the labs is. There’s even this excellent scene where a really douchey guy (played by Jason Mewes) watches in horror as Girder smashes his car, actually his Mother’s car. It’s a scene that had Smith’s prints all over it, but it did wind up working. Senseless destruction is always appreciated.
They quickly realize that Girder is following a specific path in his destruction after he gives CC Jitters its millionth trashing. He’s looking for Iris, which makes his next obvious stop Joe’s house. Their plan to have Iris lead him back to STAR Labs where Cisco has parts salvaged from an MRI set up to drop him. The plan works, up until the electromagnets can’t sustain a burst long enough to wipe him. They then fall back to the room they used to scatter bits of Barry throughout the Labs.
As far as Barry is concerned, Smith really wrung as much emotion out of Grant Gustin as possible in this one. It doesn’t hurt that the Speed Force seems to go out of its way to screw with Barry is some sort of attempt to make him more comfortable with the situation. It starts with pretending to be Joe, moves to Iris and Henry, finally ending with his mother. Barry can leave whenever he wants, but to get his powers back he’s told he needs to catch a shadow running around.
The Speed Force speaks through the images of the important people in Barry’s life. At points the criticize him for squandering his gift, but it’s made clear soon enough they’re not talking about his speed. It’s really getting at the fact that he hasn’t actually gotten over his mother’s death. The book which the episode is titled after, The Runaway Dinosaur, is actually central to that. It was important, since his mother read it to him as a child. Also, Nora’s technically one with the Speed Force now, so I guess everyone else got the whole Heaven thing wrong.
Via Cisco, they try getting Barry to come back twice. And it’s a good thing he’s gotten his speed back by the time Iris gets involved the second time, otherwise it would’ve been awkward. Also, Girder is beating down the door to the room, so they needed him. It’s a trivial matter for Barry to charge the electromagnets with his lightning, and Girder returns to his rest. Moreover, Barry is able to wake Jessie with a touch. And a jolt of lightning. Which probably woke up her connection to the speed force as well.
Also, Zoom has come to an impasse with Caitlin. he gives her an ultimatum; if she’s still there when he comes back from addressing his army, he knows she chose him. If she leaves and chooses her friends, he’ll treat her just like he’ll treat them. In the killing way.
That wraps up Kevin Smith’s episode of The Flash. I’d say it turned out pretty damn well. It should have, considering his love of comics in general.
Final Thoughts:
- I’m guessing Wally’s going to get his jolt from Barry at some time in the near future.
- I was surprised to find that Mewes was also one of the metas in Zoom’s army.
- Cisco’s iZombie reference raises more questions than it answers.
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