The Flash decided to go with a bunch of changes with Flashpoint. Julian Albert being one that I really haven’t talked about all that much until now. As a matter of fact, he’s far more central in this episode than H.R., much less the “threat” of the episode.
But, starting with Caitlin seems like the way to go. She’s so desperate to figure out and possibly cure her powers, she goes to see her mother. Aside from the fact that her mother is so detached in general, she’s willing to at least try to help her daughter. The scientist helping her do so, however, is a bit more interested in the applications of Caitlin’s powers. Specifically, in regard to something they’ve been working on in the labs. He’s not willing to just let her leave when she gets fed up dealing with her mother, either. He nearly loses his hand to frostbite for that, though.
The tests did confirm one thing, though: the more she uses her powers, the more it changes her. On a cellular level. Nailed that one, but I’m not going to let it go to my head; they showed that last week.
As for H.R., Cisco never warms up to him, really. He knows H.R.’s up to something, but he can’t figure out what. To their credit, they do portray him in a similar vein to the fake Wells from season 1 when he’s alone. That said, it’s obvious that they weren’t going to play that trick again. The real secret he’s hiding from them gets brought to the fore when Cisco has had enough with just suspicion. H.R. catches them going through his stuff, and admits that he’s actually a novelist, not a scientist. On his Earth, he was more of a muse, the public face of the company. He was found out, and as a shot at redemption, his colleague intercepted the message and sent H.R. to collect material for a novel.
They agree to give him a shot, for a few weeks at least. He agrees to cool it on the things that were grating on Cisco. And hopefully, learn how to use a computer; the Scotty stuff wasn’t helping them much.
The body of the episode really concerns Julian, though. After failing to tattle on Barry, he’s upset that nothing seems to touch Barry despite his seemingly spotty performance. Barry spins some bull about wanting to learn from Julian. This kicks off their investigation into the monster that was stomping around downtown.
It just happens to attack while they’re observing the area it initially appeared in. Julian immediately draws a gun; he reveals that he’s ex military, which is part of why he carries it. The other is that he doesn’t trust metahumans in the least; not even The Flash. After the monster disappears again, they return to the lab, and Julian lays it all out. He can’t stand the fact that most of them resort to crime, despite their incredible gifts.
Julian reveals that he comes from an aristocratic family, and was the heir apparent. He on the other hand, wanted nothing more than to be a scientist. He alienated his family in the pursuit of his dream, slowly climbing to the top of his profession. Then the sudden onslaught of metahumans forced him back to the bottom; he knows nothing about them. He’s left groping for answers in the face of strange powers that defy common logic.
I haven’t talked about the titular monster all that much yet. That’s because there really isn’t much to say. It’s a mystery to the characters in general, but it wrecks transformers and sets off car alarms all over. Julian and Barry figure out that it always appears within line of sight of one building. Julian figures out the right one the third time it attacks, and Barry (as The Flash) realizes that it’s a hologram. He arrives just in time to stop Julian from shooting the controller, who turns out to be a kid. He just wanted all the kids in his school to stop bullying him.
No explanation where a kid gets that kind of equipment, much less the technical expertise. Julian’s actually thankful for the save, though. Still hasn’t learned not to go off half-cocked when he discovers things, though.
This episode of The Flash mostly served the purpose of character development. It softened Julian a bit, and moved Caitlin’s transformation forward. I just wish they explained how the kid managed all of that with a couple of laptops and equipment he couldn’t possibly have.
Final Thoughts:
- Seriously, it’s just one of those things that makes no sense to me.
- I’m happy I’m not the only one that thought of H.R. as hiptser Wells.
- So many scientists on the show, not one of them realized the thing had no discernible mass. Height of a small building, no damage to the roads.
3.5/5
“Good”
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