What I’m Watching: The Flash

The Flash: Season 1, Episode 9 “The Man in the Yellow Suit” (B)

To say this was my least favorite episode so far isn’t all that bad, but I just didn’t feel that it was as finessed as the other hours that came before it, and it tried to cram too much into just one episode that left things feeling very unresolved going into a six-week hiatus. It introduced Reverse-Flash, who killed Barry’s mom and who seems set on being his nemesis, it brought Caitlin face-to-face with her dead fiancé, who has now become Firestorm, and it had Barry confess his feelings to Iris. Reverse-Flash isn’t all that cool of a villain, mainly because he has the same powers as Barry but with a whole lot extra, and he has some sinister relationship with Dr. Wells, though they likely had a falling out given the thrashing Dr. Wells got in the force field. The ending scene is perplexing at best, but I’m not sure we’re meant to understand exactly what’s going on, since Dr. Wells being Reverse-Flash doesn’t exactly track. It would have been far more dramatic if Firestorm had popped up a few times before revealing himself to Caitlin, and then he showed up to save the day in the lab, which was cool but felt a bit odd. Hopefully he’ll serve a better and clearer purpose in the future. I’m really not up to date with my Flash mythology, but that just means that I never know if a character or concept is original to the show or dates back decades. Iris and Eddie moving in together does seem a bit fast, and I don’t think there’s any part of Barry’s confession of love for Iris that was well-timed or well-received. That’s sure to be awkward now when the show returns for what’s sure to be an exciting back half or so of its first season in January.