Well, well, well. Did The Flash really come thru with one of its best episodes in a long time? They absolutely did! We got a genius Barry Allen, Cisco, some interesting sciency stuff -and if I'm being fair, some decent Frost content too. Let's discuss!
The Flash AKA The Genius Bartholomew Allen
Admit it. We were all pretty tired of Mr. Allen's lack luster performances as a scientist and a hero. In an unexpected side effect from the artificial Speedforce, Barry is given speed thinking. Not gonna lie, I kinda thought he had this already, but hey can't have it all. Anyway, the way his speed thinking works was hella entertaining. It was exciting to see Barry thinking fast and using his speed to write down all of those formulas and plans to rescue Iris and company from the Mirrorverse.
His speedy antics also gave us a throwback to the old STAR Labs Barry and Cisco nerd banter. It was amazing and made me realize just how much I missed Cisco and his reactions to pretty much everything. He is the heart of The Flash humor that has been missing for a while. Cisco's presence also helped highlight the often papered over fact that Barry is an extremely intelligent dude who is capable of starting and sustaining a problem-solving, scientific, super powered conversation. Boy, were those scenes a breath of fresh air.
What I am worried about though is whether or not Barry will be forced to choose between regaining his enhanced brain power or keeping his humanity. Barry's speed thinking made his mind comparable (if not superior) to the intelligence of Gideon, so I can't help but think that Barry could find a way to salvage his new power and keep his heart of gold. But, this is the same creative team that hasn't found any time for flashtime since that kick ass power manifested. A girl can hope though.
Iris West-Allen
Shattered mind and all, she is still Barry's number one priority. Barry with or without a heart still seemed to know just how important Iris is. She is selfless so it was no surprise that she didn't want to leave the Mirrorverse without Kamilla and Singh. What's interesting is that Barry couldn't predict that Iris would have that reaction. I guess that was the little flaw in his speedy scenarios. (I don't buy it though. He knows her better than anyone, but I'll let it slide.)
What was apparent very quickly was how the threat of losing Iris snaps Barry out of ANY altered state. From Barry's scrambled mind after the Speedforce to his robot like state in this episode, Iris's wellbeing triggers the full fledged hero complex in him. As soon as she showed a hint of being unwell, he found himself. Then, when she hit the ground, speed thinking be damned. Damn the artificial Speedforce too!
I love that Iris is being showcased as Barry's anchor to this world and to his humanity. It is her love or fear of her loss that always brings him home. That being said, I hate that Iris has been in the Mirrorverse for so long and that she is suffering, but let's hope she gets to keep some meta abilities out of it in the end. Iris with some lasting powers would be interesting. Much more interesting than the powers of some other folks.
Team Flash
Poor Team Flash. They never had a chance, but it was cute that they thought so. Frost was given some not too cringey fight scenes to work with so I can't complain. The velocity injection was a nice surprise too; it was cool to see her try to defeat Barry. Allegra and Cisco, nice try.
In all, I wasn't mad at Team Flash. After all, they were following their rightful leader for a while, which is the way it should be.
Other Things I Was Thinking
-I laughed more in this episode than I laughed in all of season six. Five too.
-Light hearted Cisco is such a treat. The funny quips, the t-shirts, the HAIR- love him! The brooding, "I don't wanna be a meta" Cisco isn't for me, and he doesn't serve the team. I know he needed some story, but the old ones about his family issues and his relationship with Wells seem much more in line with who his character is IMHO.
-Barry as an unfeeling, singularly focused genius was top tier. I probably enjoyed it too much. That's what the show gets for depriving us of Barry's smarts for so long. We are all willing to indulge in a psycho Barry to get some real action.
-Can't lie. I laughed out loud when Iris tried to resist coming through the portal and Barry cranked that thing up as if to say, "Girl, you better get in here."
-Barry predicting that the team would not choose to save Iris had my blood simmering. I'm so glad they made it a flaw in his processing cuz this fan was about to go wild!
-Eva still sucks as a villain, but it's the end of the line for her so oh well....
-What in the Harrison Wells hell was that scene at the end??
"The Speed of Thought" was an awesome return to The Flash we have all missed. It reminds us that there are still so many problems to solve and abilities to unleash for the great Barry Allen. The question is, was this a one and done or just the beginning of something great this year? What are your predictions for the season? Share then with me in the comments or on Twitter @_NaomiAnna.
Catch The Flash on Tuesday nights on the CW. As always, thanks for reading!
