Positive Energy is the best fuel
Shortly after embracing himself as "The Flash," Barry soon discovers that his powers may come with a setback. While this is going on, Detective Joe West questions whether or not having Barry act as a vigilante is a good thing for the city. That thought couldn't have been settled sooner as a new metahuman makes his presence known to Central City.
The main thrust of this episode focuses on the relationship between Barry and Joe, his surrogate father. While I'm not surprised that the "you're not my father," story was going to happen, I did not expect it to be this soon. But given the situation, it makes sense. Joe has continually tried to influence Barry to be a positive role model, while at the same time keeping his actions within the restraints of the law. The thing is, since Barry has gained his powers he feels he can help people. And since he knows how the law works, he doesn't feel he is breaking the law. It really does boil down to an interesting dynamic of who is right and who is wrong. Both of them give good arguments, with Joe's being the strongest in that just because Barry is fast doesn't mean he can stay fast. 
As this episode was so generous to point out, Barry's powers are not infinite. Caitlin and Dr. Wells make it clear to Barry that all of his energy to run fast has to come from somewhere. Which is where science comes in. Now it should be no surprise that he requires a ridiculous amount of food in order to keep running, which is why he has the tendency of crashing in this episode. It was good that the showrunners and writers point out immediately that he is not invincible, because it would pretty much take the drama out of him being in tight situations. This allows for some extra character interactions with the S.T.A.R. labs team, particularly Caitlin and Dr. Wells. Caitlin is extremely against Barry doing extracurricular activities out of fear that something can go wrong, whereas Dr. Wells seems to be more about allowing him to do what he does as long as he knows his limits. Cisco on the other hand just loves the idea of Barry being a Superhero. And the city definitely needs one.
Enter Multiplex, a metahuman who has the ability to make exact copies of himself. This way he is able to rob people in an extremely efficient manner. He proves to be a formidable opponent, especially one who is capable of taking on The Flash. While his backstory is definitely a sympathetic one, he really serves as the first test to Barry's limits, as well as the limits of the police force. Because only with him are Barry and Detective Joe able to come to terms with needing each other, not just as family but as protectors of the law. If anything it helps point out the weakness of both these characters. Barry may possess a lot of optimism, but if people begin to doubt him, that doubt may cause him to lose grasp of that optimism. Joe on the other hand is over protective of Barry and is afraid of letting him get hurt, especially now that he has these powers that could bring Barry into more danger. In the end, it is the mutual trust that they have with each other that keeps Barry going. And that is really the only power source he needs. Well, that and the modified protein bars that Cisco made for Barry.
Despite all these trappings of the usual testing the limits and questioning of family, it is still a solid episode that continues to be a blast of fun. It really is akin to the feeling of the Sam Raimi Spider-Man films. And that is not a bad thing. Though it would be nice if we get a little bit more of the mystery surrounding Dr. Wells. That is, if he is really Dr. Wells. Hopefully more answers will come soon. But till then, at least we'll be entertained along the way.
SCORE: 8.5/10 - An entertaining romp that takes care of establishing Barry's weakness
STATUS: Continue to Watch - Probably the most entertaining superhero show ever
No comments:
Post a Comment