Season three of The Flash continues with a step up from last week but it’s not without its plot holes so let’s dive right in.
Sam Scudder A.K.A. Mirror Master has been stuck in a mirror since the night of the particle accelerator explosion until now. Somehow after being trapped in the mirror for three years he discovered how to finally harness his power and made his way out of the mirror when a clean up crew was readying the building for demolition. If only we had a quick scene of him trapped and learning how to use his power, then his escape could have made sense but it didn’t. Unfortunately, his sidekick Rosalind Dillon A.K.A. Top wasn’t given the necessary exposition to make her incarceration inside a metahuman cell at iron heights make sense either considering Barry, nor anyone on Team Flash from this timeline knew who Top was.
It also made zero sense why Mirror Master went to interrogate one of Snart’s former lackey if he already knew that Top would know how to find him. I don’t buy that the lackey would instantly rat out Scudder the moment he woke up because that’s not how things work in the criminal underworld, even if he did get thrown through a wormhole and out of a window. But this is a superhero television show and the heroes need a lead in order to get on the trail of the crooks.
I did, however, appreciate how the writers tied in the mention of the second Mirror Master, Evan McCulloch who used a Mirror Gun on Earth 2 rather than the metahuman version of Sam Scudder we are getting on Earth One. Making Mirror Master a metahuman was fine, but the visual effect for his ability to jump in and out of mirrors was a bit underwhelming. I actually liked Tops spinning power much more. Her outfit — which was clearly inspired by the costume worn by Roscoe Dillon in the comics — was a nice touch as well.
We see just how far Barry has come when he realizes he’s quoting his not so admirable mentor, The Green Arrow, at the end of Jesse’s training exercise in the particle accelerator. It’s was a great call back to the first crossover with Arrow. Too bad Oliver is still a self-absorbed guilt tripping murderer. The line itself highlighted for me just how much the show has gotten right compared to its predecessor, Arrow.
Harry’s inter-dimensional fishing expedition to search for a replacement Wells for Team Flash was a lot of fun and provided some hilarious alternate versions of Wells (especially Hells Wells) but I don’t understand what the signal looked like on the other side of the breach or how they would have received the cryptogram in the first place. If Harry used a satellite to transmit the riddle then wouldn’t they need some sort of dish to receive it in their respective dimension? But I guess there are infinite alternate universes so it’s not like there was a zero percent chance of hearing back from the multiverse. Team Flash ends up settling on the hilarious Earth 19 Wells, or as I like to call him, Tom Cavanaugh.
While Harry seemed jealous of his replacement, I’m interested to see if his intuition to not trust this new guy pays off. I wish Harry would stay, though, the chemistry between this version of Wells and the rest of Team Flash is outstanding.
Wally and Jesse also have good, genuine chemistry, however. These subplots seem to only serve as a reminder that this is The CW. Chances are that ten episodes down the line the relationship between Jesse and Wally will be long forgotten (think Barry and Patty Spivot). Hopefully, that won’t be the case as the two shared a great scene that resonated with me when Wally taught Jesse to not let her mistakes question her confidence as a superheroine. It was the kind of encouragement that we all need to hear when struggling through the growing pains of our education or careers.
Jesse did make a big mistake not listening to Barry in the field but I place most of the blame on Barry as the more responsible figure. He should have known better than to stand next to that conveniently placed mirror when battling Mirror Master.
Barry being trapped in the mirror provided another meaningful scene when he spoke to Iris about how it can be easier to fail than it is to succeed. Sometimes the closer you get to something you’ve wanted for a long time, you start to realize how scary it could be, or that it isn’t something you truly want even if it’s something you thought you desired your entire life.
Finally, Caitlin is starting to turn into Killer Frost. Seeing her begin to accept her powers in order to do some good is just the beginning of her downfall to becoming the iconic villain. I only wish Barry would have seen it her freeze the mirror. His entrance back into the normal world and the main lab was awkward. Almost as if there was a scene left on the cutting-room floor there.
The circle of mirrors was a clever way to trap Mirror Master but I was a little disappointed when Captain Cold was revealed to be a hologram. I think my favorite part of the showdown and possibly the entire episode was when Jesse went up against Top for the second time and lapped circles around her turning her into a spinning Top just before Jesse gave her one last slug.
Overall, what could have been a great episode was bogged down by plot holes. The new rogues were okay. Top overshadowed Mirror Master a bit with her performance for me but hopefully this won’t be the last we see of them. It would be a shame for the iconic rogue Mirror Master be left as nothing more but a disposable villain of the week. Fortunately, Barry and the rest of Team Flash were able to provide meaningful scenes that developed their characters along with Harry and Cisco providing just the right amount of levity. Great to see Cisco acting more like himself as well.
8.0 – GOOD
Alternate World 