"Pay The Piper"
This week's episode of The Flash was an unexpected follow up to what appeared to be a pretty huge cliffhanger reveal for the Mirror Master (Mistress?) arc. Instead of us immediately following up on confronting Eva, we jumped into two villain returns adding their own interesting component to our new Post-Crisis world and Team Flash all needing a major confidence boost in their own individually unique way. To be honest, although definitely not my favorite entry of the season, this may actually be the episode that positively surprised me the most. So with that said, let's dive into some of the major highlights this week while tossing in a few cool Easter eggs towards the end.
Godspeed Is Back And He Looks...Better (?)
Bizarrely enough, prior to watching this episode I had a random internal conversation about how much I felt the Godspeed suit needed to tweak with the show’s execution of it. One of my nitpicks was how bulky it looked (whether that was an actor physique situation or the suit itself) as well as the eyes and head piece. Wouldn’t you know that Godspeed makes his return very early on in the episode with what appeared to be a slightly sleaker and slimmer look. He also came across as much more threatening this time around than the previous appearances giving me hope that we're gearing up to see a new speedster villain worthy of following the likes of Zoom and Thawne.
The way that he’s able to just conjure up lightning without running was awesome as well as the new speedster ability being the sonic boom-like attack from his chest using velocity. So no, I didn’t get my golden eyes, and no, I still don't like the front section of the mask. However, the suit overall looked improved physique-wise. Again, this could literally be just a case of different casting in the costume, but it definitely stood out enough for me to give a thumbs up. Later on the in the episode, we're treated to this epic imagery of Godspeed charging up creating a lightning storm making it the first genuinely awesome moment of the character for me. Though he has sadly come across as a recurring villain who constantly gets thrown down and around (no relation to the other meta villain) by our heroes, this moment was visually spectacular.
I could’ve done without the cliched TV threat prior to him and Flash running around the city, but the confrontation following was well executed. The concept of Barry being dangerously limited with his speed to fight someone who’s constantly absorbing more made for a legitimately tension driven conflict. So to have the twist towards the end be that whoever Barry fought was yet just another decoy adds more pressure to this particular subplot. My hope is that when the “real Godspeed” finally comes into the picture, we won’t get another anticlimactic end for him and instead a legitimately epic battle between the two speedsters. Also, since I’ve been liking what appears to be a much sleeker looking physique in the suit, I hope they don’t change it back to how he looked before (the bulkier version). As a bonus wish, it would be cool if they give him the gold eyes to fully flesh out the color scheme of the suit leaning closer to the source material.
Pied Piper's Return
I think it’s awesome that we get too see villains return with rewritten history due to the new Post-Crisis and Hartley (Pide Piper) is one of the best examples of this new concept realized. For one thing, the characters (Cisco in this case being the one who’s done the post Crisis alterations research) aren’t just telling the audience the changes that happened. Instead, here we actually get to see through flashback sequences the new timeline events that took place and why Hartley is even more angry with the Flash than the original Season 1 version. Introducing this random henchman (later revealed to be his boyfriend) to Pied Piper that Flash accidentally damaged on a molecular level was intriguing. Superhero properties normally don’t dive into henchmen characters in any significant way so this was actually refreshing for a storytelling device to explore.
The idea of Team Flash then making a deal to help Hartley’s henchman in return for assistance against Godspeed displayed this universal sense that Piper will always be tied to the Star Labs team in some form. If this is the case, I actually rather enjoy the possibility of seeing him show up every now and then to help our heroes while still being a criminal on the side. It sort of brings back the golden days of the series with Captain Cold and Flash's shifty relationship during the earlier seasons. Hartley's snarky, boastful, and judgmental commentary on some of the more science related stuff in the episode added a new dynamic to the team's circle of brilliant minds. The way that the writers also managed to connect Hartley’s story with his boyfriend to Barry’s loss of Iris was well done as it laid the breadcrumbs for a cool superhero-villain team up later on.
I didn’t realize just how much I miss the moments where Flash would have to team up with one of his rogues gallery members to fight off a bigger conflict until now. So with that I say “thank you writers for giving us this brief little team up, but I truly hope this wasn't just a one off”. The way that Flash and Pied Piper merged their powers to take out a now suped up Godspeed was entertaining perhaps opening up the doors for later villains that may need that particular combination of energy sources used against them. Who's to say?
Bonus Thoughts/Easter Eggs
1. Godspeed Is Learning?
The first action scene of the entire season was Flash taking down what was revealed to be another Godspeed decoy by ringing around a building wall and clothes lining (wrestling term) Godspeed to the ground. It would appear that this new Godspeed decoy actually does the same maneuver on Barry. Is this our first tease that the real Godspeed is learning Flash's moves and finding ways to throw it back at him or is this just the production team being slightly lazy? If it's the former, I think this is one of the more interesting Speedster villains that we've had considering how they're building him up. A speedster that's lurking in the background gaining knowledge through decoys and gaining speed to eventually deliver one massive epic blow. This can be a game changer for the show's track record of sometimes repetitive speedster villain action scenes and storylines.
2. Hartley Sees Harrison...Nash Wells
It was interesting seeing Hartley react to Nash walking into his lair thinking that it was Harrison Wells. I loved that it prompted Barry to call Nash and Harrison twins instead of explaining Crisis and the multiverse giving us a reminder that not everyone is "in the know" about the crossover event and its massive ripple affect.
3. Another Atlantis Reference!
Alright that's it! That's it writers! You better stop getting me amped up her with these Atlantis name drops possibly opening the doors for the iconic setting to finally be revealed on the show. Dating back to Season 2, Atlantis has always been stated to be a part of the Arrowverse multiverse (first with Harry talking about it relating to Earth-2 then later on with what I believe to have been tech that Cisco and/or Gypsy was using). With Earth-Prime linking various settings and characters together in the same space, we actually have Atlantis as an accessible place for our heroes. The implications for what this can bring for future stories is jaw dropping to say the least. Let's not forget that we have a Hall of Justice now just around the corner so a certain Atlantean king may just be on the table for guest appearances. Just saying.
4. Uncaged Desire: Legends of Tomorrow Reference
Killer Frost is shown reading a novel which, at a closer glance reads "Uncaged Desire" by Rebecca Silver" which is of course Mick Rory from Legends of Tomorrow. It's awesome seeing Arrowverse Easter eggs like these show up as hardcore fans of the linked series can immediately pick out something and geek out a little. This one's more for the comedy side of things considering that Frost is reading a book from Heatwave. Perhaps this a subtle follow up to their team up during Crisis on Earth-X's wedding fight scene.
5. Barney Sands Easter Egg
During his battle with Godspeed, Flash gets knocked into a van that advertises Central City's Crossover Comics and Collectables" by Bernie Sands. The name Bernie Sands references a character in Flash comics who was Barry Allen's neighbor and an artist who delighted in comic books. It's an awesome blink and you'll miss it Easter Egg referencing such an obscure character for casual viewers, but the name "Crossover" showing an image of a superhero can also be seen as a fun nod in of itself to the Crisis event.
Episode Rating: 8/10
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