The FlashBack: ‘The Flash’ – Episode 5 ‘Monster’

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.  

Image Credit: The CW

Welcome back, Flash fans! Last night’s episode may not have fallen on Halloween, but the challenge of the week sure was a monster! Grab some leftover candy, settle in, and if you don’t mind spoilers read on past the jump.

In case you missed it, Barry moved out of the West house and is now crashing with Cisco. This is pretty much awesome, though I suspect that Cisco still isn’t quite sure what to do with this arrangement. At any rate, the two discuss the new Wells, HR, and how they just aren’t quite sure about him yet. Also not sure about things? Caitlin. She pays a visit to her estranged mother and Caitlin asks for help with a patient. When her mother tries to blow her off, Caitlin angrily reveals that she is the patient by turning mom’s desk to ice.

Caitlin being at her mother’s office means she’s not back at STAR where HR’s trying to get on everyone’s good side. He has breakfast for the team as well as their perfect coffee order. HR also has some ideas about team building, but Cisco cuts him off. It might be better for HR to see how the team works, which pretty much cues everyone to head out to their daily lives. Barry heads over to the police department just in time to have to speak with Captain Singh. Turns out Julian is complaining about Barry. Instead of getting into real trouble, though, nothing really happens to Barry which upsets Julian more. There isn’t much else to do in the moment, though, because Cisco calls Barry about a problem downtown that they can’t get visuals on since the traffic cameras are down.

Why are the cameras down? Who knows, but the problem downtown turns out to be a huge, giant, scary horror movie monster! This monster has lots of arms and legs and even the Flash isn’t sure what to do. He tries to describe things to Cisco and assist Iris in rescuing people from a bus before the monster just disappears. Poof, gone. Back at STAR the team tries to figure out how to stop the monster. HR suggests using some special ropes from his Earth to tie it up with while Barry notes that a transformer blew up near the monster without the monster ever making contact. While the team is working out monster plans, Caitlin is taken to her mother’s lab by Nigel the assistant. They want to test her powers. Caitlin and her mother do not get along. Caitlin feels like her mother largely abandoned her following her father’s death while mom feels like Caitlin ran away. It’s not pretty, but the end result is they discover Caitlin can absorb a huge amount of energy. Interesting.

Julian continues to be difficult over at the police department. To try to get things back on track, Barry swallows his pride and tries to appeal to Julian’s ego. Barry says that he wants to learn from Julian and shadow him for a day. At STAR, HR continues to be over eager and strange. Cisco needs a break from HR, during which time the visiting Wells makes a recording in his special pen about how no one knows why he’s there.

Julian takes Barry up on the shadowing offer and the two of them go to the scene where the monster was. The pair notice patterns with electrical lines and surmise that there’s some sort of boundary for the monster. They don’t get to do much with that information because the monster shows up again. Barry has to save Julian as a transformer explodes around them. Meanwhile Caitlin decides to leave her mother’s lab and is heading out when Nigel locks her in. He doesn’t want to let her leave because he wants to use her to for his own benefit. That doesn’t settle well with Caitlin and for the first time we see her powers get the better of her. Caitlin freezes Nigel’s arm, but Caitlin’s mom shows up just in time. Mom says she’ll take care of Nigel and apologies to Caitlin.

Now things start converging. Barry asks Julian why he hates metahumans with Julian ultimately revealing that he’s largely just mad he didn’t become one. When Barry tries to express empathy for metahumans, Julian ends their buddy act. At STAR HR keeps talking and talking while the team tries to figure out the monster. Pretty quickly Barry and Cisco realize that HR is only repeating what they are saying. They later find the recording pen as they try to figure out HR. Of course, HR busts them and explains that he’s a scientist and novelist. He’s just taking notes for his next work. Caitlin returns and as she returns so does the monster. The Flash shows up on the scene, as does the police. However, Flash quickly figures out that the monster is a hologram and manages to get the police to stop shooting at the monster before someone gets killed. At the lab, HR can’t use a computer prompting Cisco to call HR out for being a fake. Flash realizes that Julian is missing from the monster scene.

Julian has gone where the major electricity suck is coming from. In a darkened building, Julian finds a kid on a computer who is controlling the monster. Julian tells the kid to stop, but the kid doesn’t listen. Julian pulls his gun, but Flash shows up and saves the day. Julian didn’t initially realize the guy was a kid and thanks the Flash for his help. Joe chats with the kid about why he would put people in danger with the monster. Turns out that the kid is bullied pretty badly and just wanted to feel powerful. Joe gives the kid the solid advice that he will have to face consequences, but being young the kid can still turn things around. Say it with me, I love Joe.

At STAR, now that the monster is dealt with HR tries to explain himself. It turns out that on his own Earth, HR was the idea guy for STAR, the face of the operation. However, when people realized he doesn’t really know how to do things that all fell apart and being on this Earth is a second chance for him. HR tells the team he can help them out by giving them ideas and perspective that they can turn into action. The team agrees to let HR prove himself over the coming weeks. Also in the vein of proving oneself, Julian admits to Barry that the Flash saved him from killing a child. The two bond a bit over their own challenging childhoods before going out to get a drink together.

And as for Caitlin? She gets a message from her mother that Caitlin’s body is changing in ways that defy understanding. The only thing that is clear is that the more Caitlin uses her powers, the more unlikely they can be reversed. Of course, Caitlin’s powers suddenly erupt just then and freeze the desk. It appears that Caitlin is losing control over her powers.

Are we seeing the return of Killer Frost? Is this HR guy up to no good? Do you think Julian might be becoming likable? Let us know in comments! See you again in two weeks!