What I’m Watching: The Flash

The Flash: Season 1, Episode 13 “The Nuclear Man” (B)

The knowledge that Martin Stein and Ronnie were merged during the explosion seems to have made whatever they have become together a much more relatable personality, going from a brute who couldn’t talk and would only burst into flames to a fully coherent entity controlled almost entirely by Stein’s consciousness and Ronnie’s voice. Ronnie gently speaking to Stein’s wife when she appealed to him and then kissing Caitlin before telling her “That was from him” certainly confused things, but I think anything related to the metahumans here is meant to be a bit unexplained and chaotic by nature. The explosion at the end of the episode doesn’t bode well for the future of either of the inhabitants of the merged body, but you never know, and General Eiling’s command to bring in Firestorm suggests that he’s still out there in some form, unless he’s referring only to the device that created the metahuman. Joe enlisting Cisco’s help in trying to deduce who killed Barry’s parents was going well until he let it slip that he was going after Dr. Wells as the perpetrator. The news that the blood on the wall appears to belong to an adult Barry is puzzling at best, but I think that’s all about the mythology of this show which will unfurl gradually as it progresses. Barry was all about the romantic dates with Linda, and it’s a shame that he sabotaged his own chances by running off, not realizing that she would call the station to catch him in a lie about going to work. Iris did her part, conveying how Barry felt about her enough to make Linda think that it wasn’t worth getting close to someone getting over an excessive attachment to someone else.