The Flash is DC’s television adaptation of the comic book of the same name. It airs Tuesday nights at 8/7 Central on The CW. Our writer, Nicole Drum recaps the series each week updating you on the latest episode here in The FlashBack.
Welcome back! Last week we got acquainted with our hero Barry Allen and this week we continue with his adventure. Episode two, entitled “Fastest Man Alive,” opens with Barry running around Central City in his awesome Flash costume. He’s doing heroic things, like rescuing people from a burning apartment building, with Cisco as support back at STAR Labs. It’s pretty great until Caitlin busts them. Caitlin is not happy about Barry heroing. At all. Dr. Wells isn’t keen on it either, but reminds Barry to know his limits, which is timely because we see Barry having some issues. Then his day job calls: a robbery and shooting at the gun shop. Barry is off again at top speed to get to the scene, but there is one complication: Barry forgot his clothes. Easily fixed with a clothing shop nearby! Barry makes it to the crime scene, albeit late and embarrassing, but he gets his Sherlock Holmes on as he did in the pilot and determines that while the security camera indicates one perp the footprints on scene indicate six. And all six have oddly identical size and tread prints. Uh-oh.
Image Credit: CW
Of course with all this running around Barry hasn’t been the most reliable person. Iris calls him out on this as he was supposed to go with her to some event at Stagg Industries to translate the science stuff for her so she could do her article for her journalism class. He’s also still keeping her secret about Thawne so Barry is less than excited. Iris is pretty bummed, too, when she can’t get a quote from Stagg (and then decides she’ll just make one up…NO. BAD IRIS. NOT HOW JOURNALISM WORKS. Ahem.) But the whole event gets a lot less fun for everyone when masked gunmen show up to, seemingly, rob everyone. Oh and they start shooting so Barry finds himself jumping into action, whisking a security guard out of the way an instant before getting shot. He delivers the security guard safely outside, gets himself clear, and then passes out.
Iris finds our out-cold hero. Whew. He tells her that he simply passed out, no big, but the guard he saved? Yeah, that guy is telling the cops that he was rescued by a blur. Detective West knows that’s Barry and promptly pulls him aside to tell him that he’s not a cop and he needs to stay out of cop business. And about that “passing out” spell… Barry ends up at STAR where he admits he’s been having dizzy spells. Cailin freaks out about this, which is significant because she hasn’t been this worked up since her boyfriend died in the accident that gave Barry his speed. The crew decides to run some tests on Barry while he runs on a souped up treadmill that Cisco has set up and discover that Barry is getting dizzy because he isn’t eating enough. His blood sugar is dropping because of all the energy he uses so they determine they will have to work out new dietary guidelines for him. Cisco helpfully calculates this in tacos. Heh.
Detective West shows up at STAR to check on Barry and in doing so discovers that Barry is, in fact, still suiting up and doing his Flash thing. The combination of putting himself in harm’s way and the passing out has Detective West pretty worried about him so he appeals to Barry as his (surrogate) father. Barry has none of it and tells Detective West that he’s not his dad and shuts the man down.
Cut to creepy alley. You know there’s going to be something unsavory going down in a creepy alley and this one does not disappoint. Turns out that Stagg’s head of security is working with the dude that shot up the party. And we now why the six guys from the gun store crime appeared to be identical: the guy in the alley multiples himself right then and there. Bye bye security dude. Barry figures this out the next day in his crime lab when his test results come back and reveal that the person who killed the security guard (they’ve found his body by now) had stem cells like the ones found in babies. Detective West is still salty about his confrontation with Barry, Iris is irritated that Barry keeps forgetting things, and Barry is frustrated about all his secrets now there’s a weird metahuman killing people. It’s a great day.
At Stagg’s, Detectives West and Thawne are questioning Stagg when the alley killer guy shows up. Turns out this guy is Danton Black, a former employee, and he starts to shooting. The officers take cover, but Detective West sees the man multiply. Before he can do anything, though, Barry speeds in as the Flash and rescues West before getting the crap kicked out of him by the multiples. It’s only his speed that gets him out alive. The team at STAR tend to Barry’s already-healing wounds and discover that Danton Black was a cloning specialist who worked for Stagg, but Stagg stole his work and then fired him. Cisco helpfully dubs Black Captain Clone for the time being, but Barry decides he can’t do this. The metahumans are too dangerous and Detective West is right: he can’t handle this. He’s out.
We get a lot of flashbacks in this episode, all of lil’ Barry who really just wants to see his dad and with Detective West seemingly keeping him from it. Barry finally runs away to see his father, but when he gets there his dad explains that it was he who told West not to let him come and that all Barry can do for his dad is to go back home and bee good. John Wesley Shipp is amazing in this scene. He’s really the soul of the show.
There’s also a lot of Iris-Thawne in this episode that we have to stomach along with Barry, now with Thawne being a hero of the day at the Stagg warehouse. This is not the soul of the show.
At any rate, West has gone back to warn Stagg and Dr. Wells rolls up (literally) and calls Stagg out on being a jerk rather than a real philanthropist humanitarian. Stagg makes a hasty exit and Dr. Wells talks to Detective West about Barry. West wants to know if Wells knew about Barry back in the coma days and Wells admits that he suspected, but that he didn’t plan on being involved in heroics. When West says he just wants Barry to be safe Wells points out that all Barry needs to be safe is confidence and since West keeps doubting him, Barry doubts himself. West it seems is the key to Barry’s safety.
Barry has gone with Iris to Jitters. He’s eating a lot and trying to patch up with Iris. He pledges to help her with science things for her journalism article, but Iris informs him that she’s found a new topic. Iris, it seems, is going to investigate and research and write about the mysterious hero in red who has been speeding about saving people. This is clearly not good for Barry and he starts to talk her out if it when he gets a call from the STAR crew and…Black has shown up at the lab! Except not really. Barry rushes there and Cisco and Caitlin explain that this Black is actually a copy that Caitlin grew from the blood sample she got off Barry’s suit (can we just say that Cailin is creepy but awesome?) What they have discovered is that the copies aren’t sentient. They are simply receivers for the actions of the real, primary Black. Of course the clone starts to move then and they surmise that it’s because the primary Black is on the move, something confirmed by Detective West who shows up, shoots the clone, and tells Barry that only he can save the day so he needs to go be a hero. (I’m thinking maybe someone should talk to Dr. Wells about lab security, too, but that’s a thought for another day.)
Black is definitely on the move. He’s at Stagg and is about to kill Stagg himself when the Flash show sup and moves Stagg to safety. Flash tells Black that he doesn’t have to kill over a lot job, but it’s more than that. Black reveals that his wife was dying and he was working on a heart for her when Stagg stole the research, resulting in the death of his wife. Black is heartbroken and blames Stagg. He cues up an army of clones and promptly begins to attack Barry. Barry gets a pep talk from West and Wells when things start to seem the bleakest for Barry and Wells tells Barry that to defeat the masses he has to find the prime (the real Black) and stop him. Barry’s forensics skills serve him well her and in short order he is battling down the primary Danton Black. Unfortunately Black has a death wish and leaps out a window. Barry tries to save him but fails. It rattles Barry.
Cisco posthumously renames Black “Multiplex” and Wells explains that some people when they break don’t mend. Barry points out that others break and mend stronger. He acknowledges that the three of them, Cisco, Caitlin, and Wells, are out there with him and that they, too, were struck by that lightning, just in a different way. Barry goes back to his lab and finds Detective West waiting with for him with pizza. West says that he is committed to helping Barry free his father and that they will do it together. Barry also mends fences with West, saying that even though West isn’t his father he’s still his dad for all he did raising him. Oh yes, Barry is our happy hero again.
But Wells is not happy. The episode closes out with Wells paying Stagg a visit. Stagg it seems is now very interested in this Flash character and wants to find him and exploit his powers. Wells explains that he can’t have that, that the Flash has to be kept safe…so Dr. Wells gets up, walks over to a very stunned Stagg and stabs him to death in the name of keeping Barry safe.
Next week we will get to see Barry face off with a gas-transmuting metahuman. Not going to lie, that promo looks scary! Be careful, Barry!
What do you think the deal is with Dr. Wells? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
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