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A few superhero faces have been missing on The Flash, recently. Cisco went away to research supervillains, I guess. Ralph is off chasing Sue Dearbon after she got the better of him. And this season’s Wells kind of just comes in and out. This week’s episode fixes a few of those, at least. Cisco comes back, and it looks like he definitely enjoyed his time off. What’s even more exciting though, is that Wally West is back! The episode opens with a helicopter rusting and falling apart. Caitlin and Kamilla think Barry’s already on it, but he’s still at S.T.A.R. Labs. There’s another speedster in town. Man, first Grodd comes back and now Wally West? This show gets me.
Wally isn’t here just to catch up with family, though. Like Barry, the Speed Force has been acting weird for him. For Barry, it’s been sudden loss of speed, and his accelerated healing not working like it’s supposed to. For Wally, he can feel the Speed Force fading in his head. Wally asks Iris if Barry’s told her anything, and she lets slip that Barry had an incident with the Speed Force back in December. Of course, she’s referring to the Bloodwork fight, when Barry chose to let Ramsey take control and attacked the manifestation of the Speed Force. When Wally brings Barry into the Speed Force, it tells Barry that it is dying because of something he did. Wally takes that to mean the Ramsey incident, and storms off on Barry instead of talking it out like rational humans. I guess we’re bringing back the show’s bad habits along with its good characters.
Victoria Park as Kamilla and Carlos Valdes as Cisco Ramon — Photo: Colin Bentley/The CW
Barry goes back into the Speed Force with Gideon’s help and finds out she wasn’t referring to the Ramsey fight. Barry’s actions in Crisis led to the Speed Force’s death. When he used the Specter’s energy to enter the Speed Force, the energy corrupted it. Barry saved the universe because of that choice, but now he might lose his speed. I guess we should have expected that this was next after “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” In the comics, speedsters lose their connection to the Speed Force or are otherwise forced to exist without it. It was only a matter of time before the show tried out one of these stories.
It’s a cool direction for the season to go, but my problem with it is that the episode doesn’t give it enough time. The Speed Force dying is a major event, and it doesn’t feel like the biggest thing that happens in this episode. I get that this is going to be an ongoing story for the next few weeks. The way it was handled though, it got enough time to feel like we should be getting something more, but not enough for it to have any real impact just yet.
Grant Gustin as The Flash and Keiynan Lonsdale as Kid Flash — Photo: Colin Bentley/The CW
It also takes away from what’s otherwise a really good villain of the week. See, the helicopter attack at the beginning of the episode wasn’t random. A Russian thief named Turtle (Or Turtle 2, since she’s from another pre-Crisis Earth), is tracking down her old gang. Seems like they lived lavishly, while she went away. The show doesn’t spend a ton of time on her motives or backstory, but it doesn’t need to. She can store and manipulate potential energy, creating little bubbles of frozen time. If she traps someone (or something) in a bubble, she can rapidly age them. That’s what happens to the helicopter, and that’s what happens to the socialite, who ends up mummified on the floor of CC Jitters.
We get an awesome fight in the middle of CCPD though, when Turtle 2 shows up to kill another member of her old gang. The Flash and Kid Flash team up for the first time in years, and it immediately brings a smile to my face. Yes, the episode is crowded, and the resolution is rushed, but Wally and Barry fighting together will never not bring me joy. And hey, Joe got in on the action too. After Jesse L. Martin’s break from the show for health reasons, and a whole lot of episodes where he couldn’t do much more than sit and talk, it was a welcome surprise to see him land the final blow on a supervillain.
Danielle Panabaker as Caitlin Snow — Photo: Colin Bentley/The CW
In addition to all of that, the Nash Wells story decided to show itself. After weeks of Nash seeing ghostly figures of other Wellses, he tries to go to Cisco for help. Cisco though, is too busy trying to figure out how to stop Turtle 2, and blows him off. He only agrees to help after Caitlin gives him a talking to. Because we’re back to the can-I-talk-to-you cycle. It’s too late, though. By the time Cisco finds him, Eobard Thawn has taken over Nash’s body. He attacks Cisco, but is surprised to find out he doesn’t have any powers in his new body. He still comes close to killing Cisco anyway, but Cecile senses the hate through the door, and tasers Nash/Thawne until he’s unconscious.
At first I thought this story would be an unnecessary addition to an already overstuffed episode. But Thawne’s return and imprisonment becomes important to the death of the Speed Force. As Thawne taunts Barry and promises to kill his friends and family, he also gloats about building his own Speed Force. That gives Barry an idea. If Thawne did it, why can’t he? That’s how he’ll get his powers back. That’s a real interesting direction for the show to go. If it follows the comics at all, Barry probably won’t reach quite the speeds he was able to before. He’ll be slightly more vulnerable, and there’s a lot of story potential there. As rushed as some of these storylines were this week, they set up a lot of cool stuff for the weeks to come.
Candice Patton as Iris West – Allen — Photo: Colin Bentley/The CW
That’s what makes the episode work despite the flaws. There was too much going on at once, but all of it was exciting. I can’t complain much about too many stories if they’re all still pretty good. And hey, by consolidating Nash, Thawne and the Speed Force’s death into one single story by the end, future episodes could be slightly more focused. Even Mirror Iris finally got something going by the end. Until now, she’s just acted vaguely suspicious with no discernible goal. By the end of the episode, Kamila discovers that photos of her look like reflective glass. Unfortunately, she can’t tell anyone about that. Mirror Iris finds her and shoots her with a mirror gun. I hope she’s OK. Hopefully it just sent her inside the Mirror with Iris and Eva. Iris needs someone on her side in there.
This will be the last time I write about The Flash. My final post for Geek will be next week, but this is it for this series. I’ve been covering this show for three and a half years, and it’s hard to say goodbye. Especially in the middle of the season. Of all the shows I’ve recapped over the years, The Flash has meant the most to me. He’s my favorite superhero, and through all its ups and downs, I’ve loved this incarnation of him. My Flash fandom is part of what got me this gig in the first place. If you’re one of the people who read these recaps regularly, I just wanted to say thanks. And hey, next week, I’ll get to enjoy the new episode as a fan. So it’d better be good.
The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on The CW.
Previously on The Flash:
A few superhero faces have been missing on The Flash, recently. Cisco went away to research supervillains, I guess. Ralph is off chasing Sue Dearbon after she got the better of him. And this season’s Wells kind of just comes in and out. This week’s episode fixes a few of those, at least. Cisco comes back, and it looks like he definitely enjoyed his time off. What’s even more exciting though, is that Wally West is back! The episode opens with a helicopter rusting and falling apart. Caitlin and Kamilla think Barry’s already on it, but he’s still at S.T.A.R. Labs. There’s another speedster in town. Man, first Grodd comes back and now Wally West? This show gets me.
Wally isn’t here just to catch up with family, though. Like Barry, the Speed Force has been acting weird for him. For Barry, it’s been sudden loss of speed, and his accelerated healing not working like it’s supposed to. For Wally, he can feel the Speed Force fading in his head. Wally asks Iris if Barry’s told her anything, and she lets slip that Barry had an incident with the Speed Force back in December. Of course, she’s referring to the Bloodwork fight, when Barry chose to let Ramsey take control and attacked the manifestation of the Speed Force. When Wally brings Barry into the Speed Force, it tells Barry that it is dying because of something he did. Wally takes that to mean the Ramsey incident, and storms off on Barry instead of talking it out like rational humans. I guess we’re bringing back the show’s bad habits along with its good characters.
Victoria Park as Kamilla and Carlos Valdes as Cisco Ramon — Photo: Colin Bentley/The CW
Barry goes back into the Speed Force with Gideon’s help and finds out she wasn’t referring to the Ramsey fight. Barry’s actions in Crisis led to the Speed Force’s death. When he used the Specter’s energy to enter the Speed Force, the energy corrupted it. Barry saved the universe because of that choice, but now he might lose his speed. I guess we should have expected that this was next after “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” In the comics, speedsters lose their connection to the Speed Force or are otherwise forced to exist without it. It was only a matter of time before the show tried out one of these stories.
It’s a cool direction for the season to go, but my problem with it is that the episode doesn’t give it enough time. The Speed Force dying is a major event, and it doesn’t feel like the biggest thing that happens in this episode. I get that this is going to be an ongoing story for the next few weeks. The way it was handled though, it got enough time to feel like we should be getting something more, but not enough for it to have any real impact just yet.
Grant Gustin as The Flash and Keiynan Lonsdale as Kid Flash — Photo: Colin Bentley/The CW
It also takes away from what’s otherwise a really good villain of the week. See, the helicopter attack at the beginning of the episode wasn’t random. A Russian thief named Turtle (Or Turtle 2, since she’s from another pre-Crisis Earth), is tracking down her old gang. Seems like they lived lavishly, while she went away. The show doesn’t spend a ton of time on her motives or backstory, but it doesn’t need to. She can store and manipulate potential energy, creating little bubbles of frozen time. If she traps someone (or something) in a bubble, she can rapidly age them. That’s what happens to the helicopter, and that’s what happens to the socialite, who ends up mummified on the floor of CC Jitters.
We get an awesome fight in the middle of CCPD though, when Turtle 2 shows up to kill another member of her old gang. The Flash and Kid Flash team up for the first time in years, and it immediately brings a smile to my face. Yes, the episode is crowded, and the resolution is rushed, but Wally and Barry fighting together will never not bring me joy. And hey, Joe got in on the action too. After Jesse L. Martin’s break from the show for health reasons, and a whole lot of episodes where he couldn’t do much more than sit and talk, it was a welcome surprise to see him land the final blow on a supervillain.
Danielle Panabaker as Caitlin Snow — Photo: Colin Bentley/The CW
In addition to all of that, the Nash Wells story decided to show itself. After weeks of Nash seeing ghostly figures of other Wellses, he tries to go to Cisco for help. Cisco though, is too busy trying to figure out how to stop Turtle 2, and blows him off. He only agrees to help after Caitlin gives him a talking to. Because we’re back to the can-I-talk-to-you cycle. It’s too late, though. By the time Cisco finds him, Eobard Thawn has taken over Nash’s body. He attacks Cisco, but is surprised to find out he doesn’t have any powers in his new body. He still comes close to killing Cisco anyway, but Cecile senses the hate through the door, and tasers Nash/Thawne until he’s unconscious.
At first I thought this story would be an unnecessary addition to an already overstuffed episode. But Thawne’s return and imprisonment becomes important to the death of the Speed Force. As Thawne taunts Barry and promises to kill his friends and family, he also gloats about building his own Speed Force. That gives Barry an idea. If Thawne did it, why can’t he? That’s how he’ll get his powers back. That’s a real interesting direction for the show to go. If it follows the comics at all, Barry probably won’t reach quite the speeds he was able to before. He’ll be slightly more vulnerable, and there’s a lot of story potential there. As rushed as some of these storylines were this week, they set up a lot of cool stuff for the weeks to come.
Candice Patton as Iris West – Allen — Photo: Colin Bentley/The CW
That’s what makes the episode work despite the flaws. There was too much going on at once, but all of it was exciting. I can’t complain much about too many stories if they’re all still pretty good. And hey, by consolidating Nash, Thawne and the Speed Force’s death into one single story by the end, future episodes could be slightly more focused. Even Mirror Iris finally got something going by the end. Until now, she’s just acted vaguely suspicious with no discernible goal. By the end of the episode, Kamila discovers that photos of her look like reflective glass. Unfortunately, she can’t tell anyone about that. Mirror Iris finds her and shoots her with a mirror gun. I hope she’s OK. Hopefully it just sent her inside the Mirror with Iris and Eva. Iris needs someone on her side in there.
This will be the last time I write about The Flash. My final post for Geek will be next week, but this is it for this series. I’ve been covering this show for three and a half years, and it’s hard to say goodbye. Especially in the middle of the season. Of all the shows I’ve recapped over the years, The Flash has meant the most to me. He’s my favorite superhero, and through all its ups and downs, I’ve loved this incarnation of him. My Flash fandom is part of what got me this gig in the first place. If you’re one of the people who read these recaps regularly, I just wanted to say thanks. And hey, next week, I’ll get to enjoy the new episode as a fan. So it’d better be good.
The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on The CW.
Previously on The Flash:
- The Flash Season 6 Episode 13 recap
- The Flash Season 6 Episode 12 recap
- The Flash Season 6 Episode 11 recap
(Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Donald Trump met with Senate Republicans Tuesday to discuss an economic relief package to help Americans in the face of the coronavirus epidemic. He did not include any Democrats in that discussion, and the reason appears to be that his feelings are still too hurt after the congressional impeachment proceedings.
Because what we really want is a president who will put his own personal grudges over our national health and safety.
Reporter Eamon Javers tells @MSNBC that Trump is still too personally wounded by impeachment to get in a room with @SpeakerPelosi & negotiate a coronavirus response.
“It doesn’t seem like that would end well,” Javers says of WH thinking on trying to get Trump & Pelosi together
— Kerry Eleveld (@kerryeleveld) March 10, 2020
Instead, Trump sent his Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin (sure) to meet with Pelosi while his own meeting ended without a resolution.
Following their meeting, Trump and GOP lawmakers talked about the hit being felt by various industries but refused to comment on specific steps being taken or the cost of a potential stimulus package.
what about people donald https://t.co/EsSwjOqJDZ
— darth™ (@darth) March 10, 2020
Meanwhile, Nancy Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer (both of whom Trump has accused of blowing coronavirus concerns out of proportion specifically to hurt him politically) released a joint statement calling on Trump to institute a number of health measures. Pelosi and House Democrats are also working on their own economic plan. Paid sick leave is a top priority in both plans.
In the meantime, Pelosi can probably be glad that Trump didn’t want to be in a room with her, given how many times he’s come into contact with GOP lawmakers who have themselves been exposed to the virus recently.
Pelosi’s response to whether Trump should be tested for coronavirus was savage pic.twitter.com/70qBP2i2W5
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 10, 2020
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—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—
(Warner Bros.)
Imagine you’re just scrolling Twitter and suddenly see that the first celebrity with coronavirus just happens to be our childhood best friend and crush, Harry Pot—er, Daniel Radcliffe. Imagine the fear that consumes you—the concern, the anger. We all suddenly want to protect the Boy Who Lived.
And then we see that’s it’s from a random Twitter account that is called BBC News but is not verified and has 125 followers …
Why Daniel Radcliffe, in the year of our lord 2020, I may never know, but it seemed as if he was the first to be fake-infected. The account, which is now suspended, just tweeted it out with a link to a real but unrelated BBC page to, I guess, make it seem official, but that brief moment had me yelling. I guess I’ll never be over my love for Daniel Radcliffe. Good to know.
Fake BBC account with 125 followers fake-infected Daniel Radcliffe with covid-19.
Link resolves to a genuine BBC news alert page that hasn’t been updated since 2017. pic.twitter.com/vJk3gBEtQj
— Jane Lytvynenko 🤦🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️ (@JaneLytv) March 10, 2020
Don’t worry, though. Our favorite wizard is fine.
Daniel Radcliffe’s publicist tells me: “Not true.”
— Jane Lytvynenko 🤦🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️ (@JaneLytv) March 10, 2020
What this does though is suddenly strike fear in the hearts of all of us who live online and care about the wellbeing of public figures and the unnecessary, opportunistic spread of panic. There’s been a few joke tweets circulating around the world saying who they thought the first to get infected with coronavirus would be, and while it’s a “hilarious” look at how Twitter culture exists, it does make me suddenly fear for the fake-out tweets like this coming.
Ever wonder why someone is suddenly trending, only to find out someone thought they were dead but they’re actually fine? It’s basically going to be that every day with no way of knowing what’s the truth until a publicist has to tell a reporter that their client is fine. So, you know, a bunch of unnecessary drama for no reason. So really, something that Harry Potter would love.
The thing is though, I’m now afraid of how many tweets are going to surface of random celebrities being sick because there are people who just truly want to see the world burn. There’s absolutely no reason to fake people out, unless you want retweets or to suddenly be “Twitter famous” because you claimed someone has Coronavirus with absolutely no backing to your claims.
Now though, as everyone lives in fear of each other, at least we can take this Harry vibe into our quarantine states.
image: Warner Bros.
So rest easy, my fellow Gryffindors. Harry Potter is alive and well and healthy, doing a play with Alan Cummings. Let’s not tweet out fake Coronavirus cases. We don’t need even more stress in our lives and worrying about a celebrity being sick on top of, you know, taking care of ourselves.
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—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—