Tonight’s episode of The Flash is a bit of a landmark episode for the series as the warm-hearted Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker) turns cold and finally accepts her fate as the villainous Killer Frost. A moment fans have been waiting to see since the character was introduced on Arrow back in 2014. “Killer Frost” is the second episode directed by Kevin Smith and will introduce actor Greg Grunberg as Detective Tom Patterson, a gruff, stalwart figure at the Central City police department, who is unwavering in his commitment to protecting Central City from the dangerous metahumans that threaten it.
Executive producer Todd Helbing previews the episode that will see Caitlin go on a rampage and kidnap forensic scientist Julian Albert(Tom Felton).
The Flash airs tonight at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.
KEVIN SMITH DIRECTS; KILLER FROST EMERGES — Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) uses her powers to save Barry (Grant Gustin) but as her mother predicted, the effort unleashes her inner Killer Frost. Killer Frost goes on a rampage looking for Dr. Alchemy, kidnapping Julian (Tom Felton) and battling both The Flash and Vibe (Carlos Valdes). Meanwhile, Joe (Jesse L. Martin) and H.R. (Tom Cavanagh) have a heart to heart talk.
Greg Grunberg is known to many nerds around the world, most notably as the mind-reading Detective Matt Parker on NBC’s Heroes. He grew up best friends with JJ Abrams and starred in all of the films Abrams made as a child. Grunberg came to be known as Abrams’ luck charm — making appearances in almost everything Abrams has produced and directed including Alias, Lost, Super 8, and most recently Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens.
Mashable reports Grunberg has landed a recurring role in the current season airing of The Flash as Detective Tom Patterson. Mashable describes the character as a gruff, stalwart figure at the Central City Police Department, who is unwavering in his commitment to protecting Central City from the dangerous metahumans that threaten it.
Grunberg will make his debut next week on The Flash in the episode titled “Killer Frost” which will feature Dr. Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker) taking forensic scientist Julian Albert (Tom Felton) hostage as she accepts her fate and embarks down the evil path towards becoming the villainous Killer Frost. The episode is directed by Grunberg’s pal and co-host of AMC’s Geeking Out, Kevin Smith.
The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.
KEVIN SMITH DIRECTS; KILLER FROST EMERGES — Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) uses her powers to save Barry (Grant Gustin) but as her mother predicted, the effort unleashes her inner Killer Frost. Killer Frost goes on a rampage looking for Dr. Alchemy, kidnapping Julian (Tom Felton) and battling both The Flash and Vibe (Carlos Valdes). Meanwhile, Joe (Jesse L. Martin) and H.R. (Tom Cavanagh) have a heart to heart talk.
Next week on The Flash, Dr. Caitlin Snow is going to go dark side as she embraces her destiny as the villainous Killer Frost. This will be the second episode Kevin Smith has directed of the series.
The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/ PT on The CW.
KEVIN SMITH DIRECTS; KILLER FROST EMERGES — Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) uses her powers to save Barry (Grant Gustin) but as her mother predicted, the effort unleashes her inner Killer Frost. Killer Frost goes on a rampage looking for Dr. Alchemy, kidnapping Julian (Tom Felton) and battling both The Flash and Vibe (Carlos Valdes). Meanwhile, Joe (Jesse L. Martin) and H.R. (Tom Cavanagh) have a heart to heart talk.
“Shade” opens with Wally having dreams of his life in Flashpoint as Kid Flash thanks to Dr. Alchemy. Since The Rival made his debut on Earth One, we knew it would only be a matter of time before Wally’s alternate life caught up with him and the rest of Team Flash. It’s a good introduction to the episode but the narrative quickly starts to bounce all over the place.
The problem with this episode was that the writers tried to pack too much into it. While it was great to when Caitlin revealed her powers to Cisco—giving us the treat of Cisco vibing Caitlin in the future to see the two of them having a full on Vibe vs. Killer Frost battle—only for Cisco to out Caitlin’s powers to the rest of the team, too many other, weaker storylines took away from the importance and the impact of this major turning point for Caitlin Snow.
Danielle Panabaker as Dr. Catilin Snow in The Flash (The CW)
From HR and his silly light refracting device to Joe and Cecil’s cute but ultimately flat romance smashed underneath the main plot of Dr. Alchemy putting the visions of Flashpoint into Wally’s head, along with the arrival Savitar in the closing moments. Shade made for an uneven and overstuffed episode that didn’t manage to serve up the weight of the events that were transpiring.
The monster of the week, Shade, was overall a pointless distraction. Wally and Caitlin’s conflicts were enough to keep this episode chugging along just fine but unfortunately we were forced to endure a metahuman whose powers were realized with very poor visual effects. From his serviceable, Supernatural-esque introduction, to his underwhelming defeat, his inclusion to the storyline was nothing more than a pointless distraction from the real issues at hand. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, if the visual effects for a character are going to be so poor, don’t even bother doing it at all.
Unfortunately, Caitlin nor Wally can fight what is coming. They are both destined for powers whether that results in them doing good or evil. It’s heartbreaking to watch Caitlin who is such a caring and tender person begin her demise into the villainous Killer Frost. Wally is a little more frustrating to watch. His lack of respect for the power of speed along with his immaturity and over eagerness to become a superhero makes him seem undeserving of the ability. Sometimes adult characters on The CW behave like teenagers and that’s exactly what is happening when they say Wally is jealous because he doesn’t have powers but he wants nothing more than to help people. If Wally truly wanted to help the people of Central City, he would find a way to do so. Or at least make his contribution to Team Flash more valuable.
Keiynan Lonsdale as Wally West and Dr. Alchemy in The Flash. (The CW)
HR is growing more and more ridiculous every week. I’m wondering if Tom Cavanaugh signed a deal to return to the series as long as he could act and dress like himself in real life. But his sense of humor is becoming a bit over saturated. Much like most of what was happening in this episode, HR’s eccentric personality feels like a distraction to keep our minds off of the possibility that he is up to something nefarious. I still don’t buy that he is studying the team to write his novel and now that we were introduced to his light refracting device and his ability to make retinal adjustments to those around him, it has me wondering just what else he could make Team Flash see, or not see? The audio sync on the alternate face he was using was also a bit weird.
The end of the episode finally shifted Dr. Alchemy into the spotlight just after it was mentioned rather quickly that Julian Albert’s character was nowhere to be found. If they are going for a Julian Albert is the Albert Desmond version of Dr. Alchemy, I’ll be disappointed because it will be a lazy, on the nose writing move. Once in Dr. Alchemy’s lair, we saw him surrounded by several of his followers. Just who are those followers exactly and why do they follow him? Dr. Alchemy isn’t as bad as Prometheus on Arrow, but it still feels like the writers want us to care about or be interested in things without actually giving us a reason to invest. The final battle was fine, and it was awesome when Wally was crystalized, seemingly beginning his metamorphosis into Kid Flash, but the impact was quickly botched by the arrival of Savitar, a major villain from the comics who deserved an introduction that should have been longer and more focused.
Dr. Alchemy in The Flash. (The CW)
Overall this episode was okay but if the writers had focused on Caitlin and Wally’s struggle with the inevitable evolution into their alter-egos it could have been great. Ultimately there were just too many flavors in this dish that caused the story of the episode to get lost in itself, becoming the weakest entry of the season yet.
A monster is on the loose in Central City this week as season three continues with another solid episode full of humor and heroics. Last week we were introduced to a hilarious new version of Harrison Wells from Earth 19 dubbed “HR”. As great as he is, something seemed off about him and this episode wasted no time digging right into it.
A monster is on the loose in Central City this week as season three continues with another solid episode full of humor and heroics. Last week we were introduced to a hilarious new version of Harrison Wells from Earth 19 dubbed “HR”. As great as he is, something seemed off about him and this episode wasted no time digging right into it.
HR comes off as a bit desperate at first as he tries too hard to fit in with Team Flash. The man has done his research on each member of the team, making it seem as if he is trying to get to know them but I don’t think any of us as the audience are meant to buy it. Cisco immediately picks up on HR’s peculiar behavior as HR tries to pass off scientific and technical ignorance as a lack of understanding for being from another Earth.
Once Barry and Cisco catch on to HR not contributing to the investigation of the mysterious monster, Cisco looks through HR’s belongings in order to use his powers to uncover the truth about HR. Unfortunately, Cisco plays back the wrong recording on the device found in HR’s bag. It was obvious that was only half of the message HR had recorded. He is definitely up to something nefarious but it remains unclear just exactly what his motivations are. One thing is for sure, Tom Cavanaugh can play a hell of a villain so it would be wise not to waste those talents again this season. Although I do miss good guy Harry.
Tom Cavanaugh as HR Wells in The Flash. (The CW)
Julian Albert is out to get Barry and his hatred for his co-worker finally culminates in this episode as we get to learn just exactly what his issues with meta-humans are and he finally realizes not every single of them is bad, including The Flash. Barry starts to slowly break down the wall Julian has built around him first with some compliments on Julian’s talents but then Barry strikes a deal with Julian that will give him what he really wants: if Julian offers to teach some of his wisdom to Barry, he’ll make a new lab for himself out of a storage room leaving the current lab all to Julian.
Julian and Barry find that they can actually work quite well together as they investigate the mysterious monster terrorizing Central City. Julian opens up expresses to Barry his frustration over the fact that he himself does not have powers. He is maddened by the amount of criminal meta-humans who have appeared in the past three years, using their powers for personal gain instead of helping others – which is exactly what Julian says he would do if he would have been lucky enough to be effected by the particle accelerator explosion. But as we would find out later, there was a much deeper reason for his anger towards meta-humans.
Grant Gustin as Barry Allen and Tom Felton as Julian Albert in The Flash. (The CW)
Caitlin Snow’s newfound powers have begun to manifest in unexpected and uncontrollable ways leading Caitlin to reach out to her estranged mother, Dr. Tannhauser, for help to better understand just what exactly is happening to her. We discover not only does Caitlin have some demons she’s been hiding for all these years, but she also has a darker, colder side to her personality under that warm and caring persona that she clearly gets from her frigid and emotionless Mother.
Danielle Panaber as Dr. Caitlin Snow and Susan Walters as Dr. Carla Tannhauser in The Flash. (The CW)
Nigel going dark side on Caitlin as he attempted to lock her down in her Mothers lab was a bit out of left field. You can understand how a woman like Dr. Tannhauser could drive a subordinate mad and the writers made it clear Caitlin’s abilities could help advance her Mother’s work. Nigel saw an opportunity for himself to get out from under Dr. Tannhauser but there was too little character development for it to fit into the episode organically, however. The scene served its purpose bringing out a colder Caitlin as she quickly let him know he was literally powerless against her. What was most interesting was how her Mother’s love was enough to cool her down – or in this case – warm her up. Maybe her love for her friends will be enough to keep her from doing anything unforgivable in the future.
Danielle Panabaker as Dr. Catilin Snow and Thomas Cadrot as Nigel in The Flash. (The CW)
Unfortunately, the villain of the week was a major let down as the monster turned out not to be a monster at all but rather a hologram operated by a teenage computer hacker. To put it simply, it was just kind of lame. The hacker was so pitiful as he explained his motivations like a sad little cry baby. Bullying sucks but it’s no excuse to become a terrorist. The only good that came out of it was that it provided the opportunity for Julian Albert to see the positive difference that The Flash makes in Central City which led Julian to his first major turning point.
Grant Gustin as The Flash in The Flash. (The CW)
Julian saw a bit of himself in the frightened teenager who wanted to terrify those around him in order to make himself feel stronger than he really was. Julian wanted nothing more than to be a great forensic scientist and as soon as he became one, the entire world changed with the evolution of meta-humans – pulling Julian’s sense of security out from underneath him. Tom Felton’s performance was impressive as he revealed the truth behind Julian’s frustration and anger.
Overall it was a solid episode that providing a great emotional turning point for Julian Albert. The only real problem this week was that this episode was sold as a monster of the week, rather than a villain of the week so our expectations were improperly set which set us up for a let down when the reveal came that the monster was no monster at all but instead a teenager hacker seeking revenge for being bullied in high school. Fortunately, the writers were still able to pull a deep emotional turning point out of the episode for Julian Albert. Continuing the hostile relationship between Julian and Barry could have become exhausting had it gone on for much longer and it was good to see the two put their differences behind each other and move forward.
Executive producer Todd Helbing discusses how Team Flash will begin to grow suspicious of the Harrison Wells known as “HR” as the team takes on a monster who is on the loose, rampaging through Central City in tonight’s episode of The Flash.
Executive producer Todd Helbing discusses how Team Flash will begin to grow suspicious of the Harrison Wells known as “HR” as the team takes on a monster who is on the loose, rampaging through Central City in tonight’s episode of The Flash.
The episode will also introduce us to the mother Caitlin Snow, Dr. Tannhauser (Susan Walters) as Caitlin seeks out help to understand the manifestation of her newfound abilities.
Desperate to understand what is happening to her, Caitlin visits her mother, Dr. Tannhauser (guest star Susan Walters), a renowned biomedical researcher, in the hopes that her mother can provide some answers about Caitlin’s growing meta-human powers. However, when Dr. Tannhauser treats her daughter like a test subject, Caitlin grows cold and brings up past wounds causing the two to have a major blowout. Meanwhile, after a mysterious new meta-human attacks Central City, Barry (Grant Gustin) tries to convince Julian (Tom Felton) to let him assist on the case.
Last nights episode of The Flash introduced us to an Earth 19 Harrison Wells dubbed “HR”, or as I called him in my review, Tom Cavanaugh. HR seemed equally as humourous as Harry but with without the snarky attitude. While Cisco and Caitlin instantly took a liking to him, Harry was immediately distrusting in what seemed like jealousy but was all too obvious of a misdirect.
Last nights episode of The Flash introduced us to an Earth 19 Harrison Wells dubbed “HR”, or as I called him in my review, Tom Cavanaugh. HR seemed equally as humourous as Harry but with without the snarky attitude. While Cisco and Caitlin instantly took a liking to him, Harry was immediately distrusting in what seemed like jealousy but was all too obvious of a misdirect.
In a promo released by The CW, Cisco has begun to grow suspicious of HR just as a mysterious meta-human monster goes on a rampage in Central City.
The synopsis for the episode also reveals that Dr. Caitlin Snow will reach out to her mother for help after her newfound powers have begun to manifest in unexpected and uncontrollabe ways.
The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.
CAITLIN CALLS ON HER MOTHER FOR HELP WITH HER GROWING META POWERS — Desperate to understand what is happening to her, Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) visits her mother, Dr. Tannhauser (guest star Susan Walters), a renowned biomedical researcher, in the hopes that her mother can provide some answers about Caitlin’s growing meta-human powers.
However, when Dr. Tannhauser treats her daughter like a test subject, Caitlin grows cold and brings up past wounds causing the two to have a major blowout. Meanwhile, after a mysterious new meta-human attacks Central City, Barry (Grant Gustin) tries to convince Julian (Tom Felton) to let him assist on the case.
Barry has to deal with the consequences of Flashpoint.
The second episode of season three opens with a little crossover action as Barry travels to Star City and confesses to Felicity that he has changed the timeline. Immediately we find out what all the differences are over on The Flash side of things as well as what the major effect Flashpoint has had on Arrow. It’s actually quite interesting. Baby Sara is no longer. Instead we have Baby John who we all know will later take the name of Connor Hawke before he picks up the mantle of Green Arrow.
Unfortunately for The Flash everything has gone to shit. Iris still hates Joe for lying to her about her mother still being alive and Cisco resents Barry for not going back in time to save his brother from dying in a drunk driving accident which is totally understandable. At first it seemed like these threads were going to be dragged out which wouldn’t have been interesting at all. But instead the writers made a smart choice and resolved both of these conflicts by the end of the episode. Well, mostly… Cisco still has some healing to do but things are definitely moving in the right direction.
There were a few frustrating bits about the episode though. First off, The Rival sucks. The character is poorly written which doesn’t allow for Todd Lasance to bring any depth to his performance. His motives didn’t work for me so I wasn’t able to buy into the character. But even if I could, I don’t know if I could get past his costume. The suit is just plain awful and it doesn’t even fit him. I understand they aren’t going to spend a whole lot of money to put together a costume for a character who is going to only be in a few episodes but lord, why even try if he’s going to look that silly? Poor decisions like this on the producer’s behalf can easily slip us into Smallville territory.
While on the subject of bad costumes I need to mention Dr. Alchemy. Lord, oh lord. What the fuck was that mask? Cisco’s quip about mask wearing monk metas was the only thing that made up for it. While Dr. Alchemy was present in the episode, he was pretty much pointless as he just pulled the string of The Rival from the shadows which ultimately proved to be ineffective.
Oh and, if they said the word ‘Rival’ one more time I think my head might have exploded. His name is “The Rival.” We get it!
Other than that it’s all positive.
Tom Felton as Central City’s newest forensic scientist is a breath of fresh air. Watching Barry try to navigate around his arrogant attitude was hilarious. I can’t wait to see more of him. The guy is smart and he is already figuring out there is something strange about Barry. If anyone can figure out Barry is The Flash, it’s this guy. He seems like he would be a perfect addition to the team as well.
I’m just going to call it now and say by the end of the season Julian and Barry will be friends.
Tom Felton as Julian Albert on The Flash (The CW)
What I loved most about this episode is that Barry is learning and starting to grow. Evident in the restraint he is now showing. Only five months ago Barry would have run back in time and changed the timeline in a heart beat but now he sees first hand not only how his actions can change his life, but also the lives of those around him. The scene featuring Jay Garrick (John Wesley Shipp) was fantastic and the Dawson’s Creek easter egg (which also starred Shipp) was hilarious.
Grant Gustin continues to just crush it as Barry. Every once in a while you get an actor in a role they were born to play and that is Barry Allen for Gustin. The scene in which he explained the multiple timelines he created both traveling to and from Flashpoint could have been your standard science fiction exposition but instead Gustin brought a range of emotions to the moment. He realizes how bad he screwed up and there is nothing he can do about it. Gustin packed so much guilt and pain into the moment along with his desperate need to repair his relationship with Cisco and fix Joe and Iris’ estrangement.
I was really happy when Barry and Iris kissed by the end. You knew it was coming because that light was shining in between them (typical CW). It was a cheap move to erase their first kiss from the timeline a second time so I was glad to see them get it over with so we can move forward. The whole will they won’t they dynamic is not interesting. Neither is relationship drama (cough cough, Arrow). My hope is that the writers give Barry and Iris something to go through together as a couple. Something challenging that can test their love for one another but result in them growing stronger together and coming out the other side better for it.
Watching Cisco deal with his tragedy was painful but worth it. Carlos Valdes is also an incredible actor. Seeing him deal with something so emotionally challenging added a new depth to his character going forward. It made it all the more satisfying when he showed up in the fight against The Rival donning his Vibe gear. No doubt a moment long time Flash fans have been waiting to see since day one. I can’t wait for the day he is out there fighting crime alongside his best friend Barry.
But that wasn’t it. Killer Frost is here. Danielle Panabaker plays Caitlin Snow with so much honesty and purity. She brings more heart to her character than anyone else in the show. Watching her begin her transformation as she breaks down and becomes the villain she is destined to be is going to be tragic.
Overall, it was a good episode that gets things moving forward. There is no going back to change the past anymore. Team Flash has to accept their reality for what it is and make the best of it. While Cisco donning the Vibe gear and the reveal of Killer Frost were moments we have been waiting to see for a long time, what makes this episode an exceptional one were the performances by Grant Gustin and Carlos Valdes. We already know how talented they are but the conflict they began to overcome together tonight raised the bar for the show. Good job guys. I can’t wait for the next episode!
Alternate World 