S02.E09: Running To Stand Still

[ElectricBoogaloo]

The Weather Wizard returns to break Captain Cold and the Trickster out of Iron Heights, but Barry tries to stop him and prevent these rogues from taking over Central City during Christmas. Meanwhile, Joe and Iris meet Wally West.

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

Wow, way to give away a big spoiler [re: WW (Wally West, that is, not the other WW)] right in the synopsis, CW.  Wait, forgot who I was dealing with here.  Should learn to expect that way of doing things from your broadcasting company by now.

Edited December 3, 2015 by iRarelyWatchTV36

[BkWurm1]

At least we now know how Cap Cold comes to be available for LoT duties and why he'd be willing to go. Hard for a man hunt to track you back in time.

[Trini]

Extended promo:

 

https://youtu.be/cJZLPDmz8iI

 

Hee -- no prison can hold Wentworth Miller!

[zannej]

Is it too soon to be allowed to discuss the promo?

I hope not. Question: If Barry deleted all of the info on Captain Cold, how is he back in jail? Did he just get caught by the taskforce or something? I have a feeling he's not quite as interested in killing the Flash as the others are-- maybe because he has some leverage and because Barry saved his sister. That said, he can be a coldblooded killer. :P

 

I adore Mark Hamill and its always good to see him.

 

Am I the only person who wants that lightning bolt ornament?

 

I got my hopes up last night because I thought it was Tuesday and then remembered it was Monday. Boo. I'm looking forward to this one.

 

Sneak peek for the episode: http://www.accesshollywood.com/videos/liam-mcintyre-mark-hamill-cause-trouble-for-the-flash/

Edited December 8, 2015 by zannej

[SevenStars]

I got my hopes up last night because I thought it was Tuesday and then remembered it was Monday. Boo. I'm looking forward to this one.

You are not the only one, lol. I usually wait an hour after the episode air to watch it because I hate commercials. But I'm so looking forward to this episode because of the West family that at 8 last night I actually tune into CW expecting The Flash and was disappointed, confuse and kind of mad when it wasn't on my screen, lol, until I remembered it was Monday, not Tuesday.

[Trini]

Question: If Barry deleted all of the info on Captain Cold, how is he back in jail? Did he just get caught by the taskforce or something?

 

He went back to jail in episode 3 -- the one with his father.

[sjohnson]

^^^For murdering his father? Also, given the state of the US judicial system I'm sure that taking part in the robbery counts too, even if he was under duress from the threat to his sister's life.

[zannej]

Ahh! Thanks, I had forgotten he went back to jail.

 

I have to wait until after midnight to watch the episodes because none of my local stations show the CW for some odd reason and my internet has a 10Gb per month limit except between midnight and 4:59am-- right now we are over the limit so during the regular hours, its slowed to snail pace. Makes a lot of websites fail to work.

 

The sneak peek was rather interesting. I'll discuss that in the spoilers thread though. But I still really want that lightning bolt xmas ornament! LOL.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Inside the episode:

Clip (if you're too lazy to click on the link posted previously):

Edited December 8, 2015 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Trini]

Okay, this is going to be a contest about who out-hams the other, isn't it?

[prospazzinator]

Everything with the Wests and Wells/Zoom was great. Also didn't mind seeing Snart again. The other stuff? Yawn. Boring villains. Don't care about Caitlin/Jay. Patty can go away now. 

[Jediknight]

I didn't read the promo blurb till after the episode, so Wally showing up was a surprise.  I thought it was going to be Henry at the door, and Jay would respond by saying "Zoom".  Speaking of, I'm surprised we still don't know who he actually is.

 

This episode could have used more Cold being the straight man to Trickster.  Okay, the episode could have used more Cold.

[bettername2come]

Best episode this season. What is it with this show and Christmas episodes?

 

I liked the Wally reveal. Loved the family reunions. Patty was likable, although the timeline of this happening 4 years ago and her allegedly goofing off with her friends and skipping work seems off. Shouldn't she have been in college or graduated by then? Some little Westallen moments in the beginning. Tom Cavanagh and Jesse L. Martin brought their A game, and I loved Barry moving on from his hatred of Reverse Flash.

 

Okay, this is going to be a contest about who out-hams the other, isn't it?

 

Delicious Christmas ham.

This episode could have used more Cold being the straight man to Trickster.  Okay, the episode could have used more Cold.

 

More Cold before the spinoff would've been nice. Like him and Iris meeting and Barry calling him out on having a code of honor. Also really enjoyed Iris calling him out on on his Freudian excuses.

Edited December 9, 2015 by bettername2come

[Rai]

Trickster all day every day, please.

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

Decent episode - Batty wasn't too forced.  Jay/Caitlin though; ugh.  It felt like Caitlin was trying out 'geekward' Batty all by herself in the J/C stuff.

 

So, even though its because of forced blackmail, Wells will turn out to be a 'bad guy' yet again.  *yawn*

 

Actually expected Barry to lower the cowl to break through to Patty so she didn't kill Mardon - despite yes, him and James being there to see it all.  Would have been funny if him taking it off after the moment in the old factory would have backfired on him.  Seriously, no reason to do that.  Had a few seconds of run time to kill, I guess.

 

I will admit that they had me for a split second in the scene where Iris admitted to Barry that she had kept the secret of Wally from Joe and him.  Just very quickly before she revealed all, I actually thought they were going for a role reversal of the "I love you" scene was last year's Christmas-themed episode, which was the 9th in the season too, TMitYS.  Glad they didn't, since we've had no clues to it before.  (aside from the little 'head on his shoulder' bit while watching the snow, after telling him her soul-wrenching secret)

Edited December 9, 2015 by iRarelyWatchTV36

[SevenStars]

The West family was everything. Also, this episode made me more sad and angry at the writing for Francine, because if they had kept her story the same as the comics it would have made everything so much better. It would've made the West family perfect.

I love everything that had to do with the West family. Jessse/Grant/Candice acting was great.

I really enjoy Cold scenes.

I liked Patty's storyline. It made her more of a real character and I thought the actress did a great job.

Wells/Zoom was boring to me.

Caitlin and Jay were boring together but good separately.

I enjoyed the tricksters.

The episode could have been better. But it entertained me and there was nothing that annoyed or anger me, so that make the episode great unlike the last few episodes.

Edited December 9, 2015 by SevenStars

[Lantern7]

Wow . . . Barry went through an entire episode without revealing his alter ego. Dude must be starting his New Year's resolutions early. Also . ..  does anybody else have a yearning to watch "Christmas With The Joker"?

 

Man, the Wally-based stuff was brutal to watch, but it's nice that Joe is able to accept things. He'll probably screw up with Wally, but that's because his instruction manual differs from Barry's.

 

Patty didn't bug too much. While I'm glad she turned a corner, I'm also happy that Barry didn't unmask for her.

[SevenStars]

Just wanted to add:

This episode shows that the writers know and are capable of writing Iris and Barry as friends, while still having him in a relationship. So why the hell didn't they do that in the past 8 episodes ? I hope they remember this foe future episodes.

Also, where was Henry? I mean this is his first Christmas out in years, shouldn't he want to spend it with his son, his only family member as far as we know ? Bad writing.

Edited December 9, 2015 by SevenStars

[benteen]

Very much enjoyed this episode.

 

I found it to be quite funny, which included...

 

-Joe reacting to the breakout "It's official, Santa hates us."

 

-Snart's reactions to the Trickster.

 

-Wells hilarious vague responses when someone asked him if everything is all right.

 

-Mark Hamill returning as the Trickster is always entertaining and he knows how to play the character just right.

 

The West family stuff worked out well and I liked that Iris decided to be honest with her father about it.  Patty got some more development here although the four-year thing doesn't work for me either.

Edited December 9, 2015 by benteen

[Marie F.]

Yay, we finally know what Zoom is up to. I’m glad he’s back and hopefully all that Legends stuff is over. The Trickster was fun, but most enjoyable scene was Cold talking to Iris/ Barry. It could have been longer. And I liked Cold mentioning Iris’s work.

 

Loved everything with the Wests. Wally was only there for a few seconds but he looked so young and vulnerable, I was hoping Iris would run up and hug him or something. I know I wanted to hug him. I think I’m going to enjoy the actor even if I wind up not liking Wally himself someday.

 

I liked Christmas at the Wests’. Glaring absence being Henry Allen. Barry could have made a comment like, “My dad is coming by later but he’s got to take care of some stuff first” or something. I don’t think we necessarily have to see him (or Patty for that matter, Barry could date her in Off-Screenland), but I wish he was there, even if it's in name only. I hope there’s a better reason for his absences coming, though I can’t imagine what it would be.

 

I thought the one scene between Caitlin/Jay at the West house was cute—even though I don’t like Caitlin or the pairing and there’s no heat whatsoever between them. And I’m glad they found something for Jay to do this episode. I just wish Barry got to be super smart like him and Harry, I think having all the people at Star Labs kind of dumbs him down.

 

And that was really impressive from Candice Patton. She’s a very graceful actress and it was nice to see more of her/Iris. I even liked the woman that plays Patyy in the scene where she told the Flash about her dad. Reminded me of her scene when she was talking about him with Joe; in fact, I wish all of her scenes were with Joe and no one else because I still can’t bring myself to care about Patty. I hope she leaves soon.

Edited December 9, 2015 by Marie F.

[ottoDbusdriver]

-Mark Hamill returning as the Trickster is always entertaining and he knows how to play the character just right.

 

Not only is he entertaining, but Hamill appears to be really enjoying himself playing the part.  Loved the dreidels made out of C-4 -- how festive was that.  Partners perfectly with the Xmas stocking full of the Flash's body parts that the Trickster wanted.

 

I did think that the magnetic bomb attracting all the other bombs was a bit much, especially since the so-called random 100 households all appeared to be located on the same block.

Edited December 9, 2015 by ottoDbusdriver

[Ruby25]

Okay, so I'm not a big fan of the Trickster (too hammy for me), so the villains in this episode were kind of a bust.

 

But I really liked the Barry/Joe/Iris family stuff. A lot. And guys, Candice is good on this show, she's so sweet and believable, once again she does the emotional stuff SO well, and I really hope they start using her more. Because she's good! And the WestAllen scene was very sweet and like someone said above, shows they can definitely write them as friends, so I don't know why they haven't been doing that.

 

Wally seems cute, from his five seconds of screentime. Actually I got a vibe of true vulnerability from him, and if he has that, he's going to be a perfect addition to their little family unit, I think.

 

I LOVED Barry and Joe's "I love you" exchange- those two get me every time, can't help it. I do think Grant seems tired this season though, like physically, in a way he didn't last year. I'm starting to think it's just the pace of the schedule or something.

 

I'm sorry, but the whole Patty thing? All I could think was "who cares" in her whole monologue about her dad. It's just hard to get invested in a character you know is on her way out sooner rather than later. But they pretty much wrapped up her personal arc story in this episode, and based on the preview, my guess is she goes the way of Linda within two episodes, for her own safety (I doubt they kill her, she'll probably just leave town, since it looks like the next one is the big Barry/Patty relationship episode).

[miracole]

I liked the West family stuff and Wally showing up. I think the actor looks like CP so good casting so far. I still hate that they made Iris' mom a junkie though.

What, Iris and Barry are friends that can actually talk to one another? Why I never...

The Barry/Iris/Snart scene was good. Loved Iris telling Snart to take his childhood trauma pity party someplace else.

Everything thing else was a bit boring.

Edited December 9, 2015 by miracole

[quarks]

That was fun. Possibly the best episode of the season so far.

 

Good things:

 

1. Mark Hamill's Trickster. Specifically, the Trickster singing Christmas carols, and then remembering to celebrate Hanukkah, and even managing to throw in a nice Feliz Navidad in there. And his final moments of appreciating Barry.  And his cheery Santa Claus.  Let's get him back on the show at least once or twice per season.

 

2. Captain Cold complaining that Barry doesn't keep mini marshmallows around.

 

3. Yay, the police captain is still around! It felt like we haven't seen him for awhile.

 

4. Wells, completely unconvincingly: "Nothing is going on!" Everyone else: "Your personality is so annoying we're going to buy this. Completely."

 

5. Wells figuring out Zoom's master plan here.

 

6. The West family stuff was all pretty good. I liked the way Joe and Iris welcomed Wally in for Christmas.

 

Questionable things:

 

1. Let the ship wars continue! Let's see: Barry starts off making out with Patty and then has a big emotional scene with her as the Flash; has some lovely scenes with Iris, and has Caitlin tell him - while she's standing right next to Jay - that just having him around is cheering.  It's somewhat comforting to know that the CW never changes.

 

2. Aww, Central City doesn't just have little Flash action figures and little Flash coffees, it has little Flash Xmas ornaments. With that said, what? Are we really supposed to be forgetting that Barry put the city in danger in the first place?

 

3. Speaking of the Xmas ornaments, I get that putting down Green Arrow is kinda a thing for this show, and I'm kinda glad that someone else remembers that Oliver used to be a serial killer, but Joe, Oliver's popped over to Central City more than once and helped save your city and Barry's life. Maybe tone it down just a notch?

 

4. Barry, nice speech to Patty, and I get that since the Weather Wizard and the Trickster were listening to the entire thing, that was perhaps not the best time to reveal that the Flash is Barry Allen, but I couldn't help thinking that you took off your mask for Linda much faster just a few episodes ago, leading to --

 

Bad things: 

 

1. Barry, just freaking tell Patty already. You're at the point where Captain Cold just casually strolls into your house and makes hot chocolate. There's no reason not to tell Patty about this. Leading to -

 

2. Also awkward: Patty's whole bit of telling Barry that he doesn't know what's going on, and almost telling him that Wells is still alive. Patty, Barry's worked at the station for longer than you have, and lives with your cop partner. He's been investigating crime scenes with you.  He knows stuff.  And I could avoid having to watch this sort of awkward scene if you just tell her the truth, Barry. 

 

Hoping the promo is not misleading.

 

3. The awkwardness of the Jay/Caitlin interactions was just made more awkward when Caitlin had a nice moment with Barry while standing next to Jay, and seemed to make better eye contact with Cisco and Wells despite barely interacting with either one of them this episode. I'm hoping that we're going to have some sort of explanation for this - like Caitlin realizing she's just trying to fill up the hole left by Ronnie's death, or something, but I'm not hoping very hard.

 

4. Flash, Arrow, if I never see that double staircase again in either one of your shows it will not be too soon. 

 

5. As someone else just pointed out, talk about great luck that the Trickster just happened to give 100 random gifts to kids who just happened to live in the same neighborhood. What if one of those kids was getting driven out to Grandma's house in Star City or gotten on a plane or something?

[33kaitykaity]

Marvel mythology n00b here, so pardon me in advance for saying I cried big freaking tears when Wally showed up at the West Christmas.  That scene got to me big time.  

[blugirlami21]

This episode was so good. So many good emotional beats by the Westallen family. Iris finally gets some screen time with the extra bonus of it being with her supposed bff Barry. It was really nice to actually see her and hear her.

I'm so glad that she told Joe the truth and we got to meet Wally at the end. I wish that we could actually see how it goes. And Joe gave Barry the watch, and he called him his son, and they said I love you. Awww, I don't know why I still get the feels but Grant and Jesse really sell it.

Patty needs to go lay down somewhere. I just have nothing invested in her character so her overly emotional emoting all over the place was just annoying. Her and Barry also have zero chemistry.

As do Caitlin and Jay. Ronnie he isn't and when he going to do something useful?

I also loved Barry's speech to Harry/Wells. I'm so glad that he was able to forgive him. I'm actually fine with Wells working with Zoom because it's obviously not his choice. I have a feeling that he will side with Barry and Co in the end.

Edited December 9, 2015 by blugirlami21

[Ruby25]

I also want to add that for all the praise Grant got last season about what a great crier he was, Candice rivals him 100%. Boy can that girl weep, lol.

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

Marvel mythology n00b here, so pardon me in advance for saying I cried big freaking tears when Wally showed up at the West Christmas.  That scene got to me big time.  

 

DC, actually.  :)

[33kaitykaity]

DC, actually.  :)

Lol.  I confessed ahead of time.  ;)  

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

I know she was 'distracted' because of the Mardon stuff, but for someone who is supposedly right on the verge of being "in love" with someone else, Patty honestly hasn't figured out that Barry is the Flash yet?  He barely tried to disguise his voice with her at all in this hour; the 'ironic' comment when she said he wasn't "up to speed" on her truly personal life.  That combined with all the other little clues left in her path since she became a serious part of the show.

 

Going by the promo for when the show returns on 1/19, that plot point will finally [mercifully!] be resolved - one way or another.  A few episodes too late, but 'forced suspenseful melodrama' is CW's middle name for a reason. 

Edited December 9, 2015 by iRarelyWatchTV36

[Commando Cody]

I was hoping Patty would shoot just so we could get rid of her.

 

How many chances is she going to get? She shot Wells. This week she was going to shoot the Weather Wizard. There was a cop car in the background before she showed up and nobody noticed in that public place that she was going to shoot the guy. She has had no consequences for pulling a gun on anyone. Then she walked into the party like everything was fine. No processing that she was going to shoot a guy. 

 

I thought Barry was going to be forced to take his mask off. I think Patty must be the only one who doesn't know he's The Flash. She's another useless character with mental issues.

 

Now that I think about it, Joe should have carved her a new one just for shooting an unarmed man. It should have raised some red flags for him then. 

 

I love The Trickster.  

Edited December 9, 2015 by Commando Cody

[Ruby25]

I was hoping Patty would shoot just so we could get rid of her.

 

How many chances is she going to get? She shot Wells. This week she was going to shoot the Weather Wizard. There was a cop car in the background before she showed up and nobody noticed in that public place that she was going to shoot the guy. She has had no consequences for pulling a gun on anyone. Then she walked into the party like everything was fine. No processing that she was going to shoot a guy. 

 

Yeah, she's really kind of a shitty cop, isn't she? At least her "personal story" is wrapped up now (an indicator imo, that her screentime is running out. I can't wait- she can join Linda in Coast City- actually no, she can take Linda's place and Linda can come back. I kinda like Linda in her last episodes).

 

My favorite stuff in this episode was all the family stuff, that's the heart of the show, I think. Barry and the Wests- I'm excited to see how he and Wally are going to get along. I bet Wally's going to be jealous of Barry and Joe's relationship.

[Cthulhudrew]

It was only a matter of time before Zoom used his leverage on Wells to turn him against Team Flash. I'm only surprised that he wasn't already working under cover for Zoom, as I'd thought back when he first came on the scene. Honestly, given that at least a few of the villains that have been sent against Barry have been known to be working under duress because Zoom had their loved ones under his power (like Atom Smasher), didn't anyone else wonder if/when Zoom would try and turn Wells? Hopefully they've already anticipated this and have some contingency plan in place, though I kind of suspect they don't.

 

On another note, it is looking increasingly unlikely that my theory about Patty being Earth-2 EEEEVIL Patty is correct. :(

[statsgirl]

I feel sorry for anyone who is interested in Iris because this show doesn't seem to care about Iris at all.  Finally a storyline that is organic to her and that she plays a vital part in, and they barely spend any time on her.

 

1.  Joe talks to Iris about what to buy Barry for Christmas.  Iris and Joe talk about his watch and how his father gave it to him.

 

2  Iris feels guilty (as she should) about keeping her brother's existence secret from Joe.  Barry offers to go with her to tell Joe.

 

3.  Iris tells Joe. Joe looks to Barry for confirmation and his reaction.

 

4.  Joe later talks to Barry about his feelings and that he thinks he should have sensed the existence of a son.

 

5.  Joe gives Barry his father's watch.  (Why didn't he even consider giving it to Iris, his birth daughter? )

 

We got a lot about Joe feels in his conversations with Barry, not Iris, but we have no idea how Iris feels about the existence of her brother.  In another 30 years, when Joe is dead, it's Iris who is going to be left alone with Wally but we got nothing, nada, zip on how Iris feels about any of this other than guilt in connection to  hiding the boy's existence from her father.

 

And speaking of secrets, I really expected Barry to take off his mask when Patty was talking to him about her father. It would have been the perfect time to come clean.  It was past time to come clean since he's dating her and she's on the metahuman task force.  But apparently he didn't learn anything from the Iris debacle last season, and neither did the writers because it's still a huge, unnecessary secret.

 

This show really doesn't do well by its female characters at all.

[Ruby25]

I think it's obvious they want Barry's secret identity to be the reason for the B/P break-up, since it's the easiest way to end that relationship (and quickly). But yeah, it doesn't really make much sense that she'd literally be the only person on the show who doesn't know. Oh well.

[catrice2]

I'm sorry, but as a Law and Order fanatic, all I care about is the scenes with Jesse L. Martin. I thought he was great tonight.  Captain Cold seemed to be phoning it in and the Trickster is just too campy for me. 

 

I wish they would not have brought back Harrison wells. I had higher hopes for Teddy sears and Jay. I think they have too much going on this year.....Zoom, Harrison, Patty, Francine, Wally, the Legends spin off plot...the season has just seemed slow and disorganized. 

 

I don't even know where to start with the Patty and Barry relationship.  I wish they would be more invested in the action and Barry's journey to being a stronger and SMARTER Flash, but in every episode he is either revealing himself to someone, or contemplating revealing himself to someone....why not just put a sign on the door?

 

Why is it it that Barry is more effective and romantic as the Flash than he is as Barry Allen? The only time I see a spark with any of his potential love interests is when he is his alter ego.  I still think that the whole I need revenge with Patty was not well acted.   Do we know how many episodes the character was signed for? I don't  want her to die and I could care less if she was an "off screen" love interest, but I just feel like this has taken too much time away from the action and Barry just seems dull with her.  At least last year Iris was punching out the old school friend, or doing something action related in some of the episodes. 

 

Although I think the previews is a total misdirect, I will be extremely upset if the "love of his life" was kept in the dark for months, but his new girlfriend finds out quickly, or if something happens to Patty and it is written as if Iris is the "second choice" because his PERFECT for me true love was taken too soon.  We have seen very little evidence of Iris' mourning, but if something happens to Patty I am sure they will act as if Barry is just devastated.  You would also think there would be some discussion about how Iris is dealing with the holidays without Eddie just to reinforce that she is mourning.  Ironically I will also be mad if they start showing Iris mourning because if they have not shot all the episodes I will be sure it is coming directly from fan feedback. 

 

I think I will throw up if we are subjected to Iris saying how HAPPY she is for Barry too many more times. 

 

I knew Joe was going to give Barry that watch the minute he and Iris started talking about it and he said his dad gave it to him...didn't stop me from thinking it was the best moment in the show! 

[Ruby25]

I'm pretty sure the actress who plays Patty was signed for 10 episodes, and this was her eighth, so...we're getting there. I have a feeling Zoom's going to be her downfall (but I don't think she'll die, I think she'll just leave town or something). I WILL be upset if they have Barry declare he's "in love" with her though- that'd be messed up, considering all the Iris drama last season. But I wouldn't put it past them either, because they treat Barry really delicately (lol), and to me it almost seems like they don't want to let him date anyone seriously unless he's head over heels (they still haven't even slept together yet- I guess they're saving that for the big "relationship" episode next time).

[Trini]

Don't have time for more comments right now, just wanted to say the 'forgiving Wells' scene was a good surprise.

[Actionmage]

Other than being irked at how long it took Joe or Iris to ask Wally in, I greatly enjoyed the Westallen family feels.  Grant and Jesse, indeed, just do it up right and give us presents when they are given the scenes.  I was so relieved that Iris' revelation wasn't met with self-righteous anger or accusations. I hope that means that there will be no dredging up her keeping the secret going forward.  Considering she only held on to the secret for a couple of weeks and others have told her lies for years (Joe and Francine), here's hoping it doesn't get pulled up in a moment of anger. If so, I fully expect Iris to fire back and not across the bow.

 

Wally looked so lost, on the doorstep. I thought he was going to say that Francine had died. The way he could barely speak had me in that mindset. 

 

While I am glad that Barry gave himself permission to forgive and let go of his anger/hate, it wasn't to the "other" Wells- which is the implication when you are staring holes into Harry. Please be clearer about the object of your hate and maybe spare a thought for the man whose life and face was hijacked in order to eff with yours. Just sayin'.

 

Mark Hamil is fun and seems to enjoy this job. Liam McIntyre sure is nice to watch.  If he said anything important, I was busy looking at his lovely face and didn't notice.  James Jesse's multi-cultural approach to holiday mayhem was sweetly nutty and demented, like his reaction to Barry talking down Patty.  Wentworth/Leonard and the reindeer mug- as we went to ads- will be the save screen for several folks, I am quite sure. It was adorable!

 

Was I alone in hoping that Harry would whisper "Run, Jessie, run!"? If he was going to do so, he took too long. I hope that Harry, knowing he's just said he'd work with a murderer, will promptly tell Team Flash- or at least Cisco or Jay- about The Deal. TF know about Jessie's hostage status. They'd do almost anything to help stop Zoom and save an innocent. Please let Harry be as smart as he's supposed to be!

 

Cisco spoke for a large portion of the audience tonight, re: Jay/Caitlin. Especially since PhD Caitlin honestly bought Jay's "What is 'Christmas'?" and "What is that[ mistletoe]?"  *sigh*  Funny and not-so-much so.

 

Zoom remains super creeptastic.

 

I am cautiously optimistic for Spring.

[Delphi]

I highly enjoyed Snart. I can't wait for him in Legends. He's a dick, but does not care and he's just so snarky it kills me.

I liked trickster as well but kept having flashbacks from Christmas with the Joker. It's clear to me that Hamill is doing Joker light with his acting here.

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

I personally get a little kick out of how in the last non x-over Flash episode before this one (2.7 - GW), Patty practically begged with Barry that they needed trust between each other to make 'them' work in the long term....... but here she is having never told him the reason she became a cop in the first place - but opens up to the Flash with no problem.

 

Hypocritical, meet Patty Spivot.  Patty Spivot, meet Hypocritical. 

Edited December 9, 2015 by iRarelyWatchTV36

[phoenics]

I think they are setting it up for Barry and Wally to be at odds because Barry got Joe as his dad and Wally had a drug addicted mom. He might be jealous of both Iris and Barry.

I really hope they don't kill off Patty - we just saw Barry "forgive" Eobard/Wells, so I really don't want to go back to the dark. The Flash is supposed to be light. Plus I don't want to see a bunch of man pain. I do wonder if they are going to address Patty's trigger happy-ness and vengeful side - or if they are just going to consider it handled. The subplot of her shooting Wells now seems pointless except to introduce Velocity 6 - which I think is how Zoom got to be how he is. Meaning - he started off human and now he's not.

Also - I think they've switched body doubles for Zoom - he looked smaller in the legs in this episode. Speaking of Zoom - so he's trying to steal powers of other speedsters. He stole Jay's... now he want's Barry's. I thought Harrison's leap to understanding that Zoom sent all those folks to kill him to "fatten him up" to be a huge leap though.

Candice Patton is under appreciated as an actress - she's extremely good and the best actress on this show. The emotion she manages to pack into just a look is amazing. Her scenes with Barry and Joe were great and she even had a spark with Cold - I found myself wishing that Barry wasn't even there when she and Cold were bantering. I'm irritated that the writer's MO is going to be "tell not show" with Iris' reporting - because that's just wrong. Showing Iris actually investigating stuff and using that to drive story would be excellent. Either way - she's clearly the strongest actress they have on this show and she really should be used a LOT more. I still cannot get over how awesome her scene with Cold was - in addition to her other scenes with Barry, etc.. Even her face of awkwardness when she walked in on Batty was really well done. She deserves to be featured prominently.

Nice to see Iris unfazed by Batty, but that she and Barry could still have warm moments as friends and BFFs - this is the FIRST time all season that I've felt like Barry has really been there for her.

[KirkB]

Am I correct in thinking that not only does no one at STAR Labs ever lock the doors, so pretty much anyone can walk in whenever they want, but they also don't have anything set up to monitor the portal in their freaking basement? So Zoom, you know, the big bad they're all so scared of, can hop over to their world to jog around and have private chats with Wells.

 

Mark Hamill was so enjoying himself, and I had fun watching him.

 

If Marston really wanted to mess with the Flash he should have let everyone in Iron Heights out.

 

I did like Cold warning Barry and just skipping town. 

 

Patty came prepared. That gun seemed to specially designed to stop the Flash. I wonder where it came from. 

 

Does Wells actually believe that helping Zoom will get Jessie back?

Edited December 9, 2015 by KirkB

[Trini]

Okay 1 more comment: I was a little upset at Cisco being all rude about Caitlyn/Jay, but then I remembered that his last girlfriend flew off with her literal soulmate. Poor Cisco. (He also got some clunkier than usual lines this episode.)

Edited December 9, 2015 by Trini

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

Patty came prepared. That gun seemed to specially designed to stop the Flash. I wonder where it came from.

 

Seriously.  Um, Cisco, do we need to have another locker-slamming disapproving talk about creating weapons or deterrents that affect only Barry?!

 

Also, if this works on Barry, why has not it not been submitted as an option to (possibly) use against Zoom??

[phoenics]

Was that gun Patty used the same thing they tried against Atom Smasher?

[Ceylon5]

The bad guy plan was really dumb.  They hand out gifts to 100 kids and expect the audience to believe that NOT ONE child immediately opened their present?  What are the chances of that?  50 trillion to one?

[VCRTracking]

Yay Wally and J'onn J'onnz in the same week!

 

Jesse L. Martin always manages to make me an emotional wreck and it's not fair.

 

The solution to the bomb thing was an ass-pull but I liked Harrison demanding the kid's toy.

 

Was kind of hoping Patty would go dark but I guess they can't do that on a Christmas episode.

 

I wonder if the Godfather Part III on Earth-2 is better than Earth-1?.

Edited December 9, 2015 by VCRTracking

[BkWurm1]

Mark Hamil is fun and seems to enjoy this job. Liam McIntyre sure is nice to watch.  If he said anything important, I was busy looking at his lovely face and didn't notice.  James Jesse's multi-cultural approach to holiday mayhem was sweetly nutty and demented, like his reaction to Barry talking down Patty.

 

This precisely.  Hamil was ridiculously fun to have on the show.  Loved that they mentioned they don't have anyone like him on Earth 2. 

 

 

I highly enjoyed Snart. I can't wait for him in Legends. He's a dick, but does not care and he's just so snarky it kills me.

I liked trickster as well but kept having flashbacks from Christmas with the Joker. It's clear to me that Hamill is doing Joker light with his acting here.

Snart was fun.  Barry is an idiot around him.  Snart still threatened to kill Iris.  The least you could do is take a second after Snart backed off about blowing them up and whish Iris somewhere safe, you know, just in case. 

 

I am soo good with Hamil doing Joker light any time he wants. 

 

 

I personally get a little kick out of how in the last non x-over Flash episode before this one (2.7 - GW), Patty practically begged with Barry that they needed trust between each other to make 'them' work in the long term....... but here she is having never told him the reason she became a cop in the first place - but opens up to the Flash with no problem.

 

Hypocritical, meet Patty Spivot.  Patty Spivot, meet Hypocritical. 

 

Until Barry sits her down and shares his the deep dark secrets that motivate and shape his life, I'm not going to hold it against her for not wanting to talk about how she feels responsible for getting her father killed.  She spent part of a day going off on her own and then at the end decided she wanted to tell Barry all about it.  Not seeing the hypocrisy, at least not on her side. 

 

The actress did great with her emotional scenes.  I also liked that it really didn't take too much to convince her not to shoot the guy.  That's not who she is.  Of course by the next episode Barry will probably decide to break up with her "for her own good"  Honestly, how Patty is only at risk I don't understand.  I mean, Zoom should have no trouble spending a day following The Flash around and figuring out everything about him.  Joe, Iris, Patty, Caitlin and all the rest should pack up and go hide. 

 

Speaking of Iris.  Poor Iris.  I'm sure I'll like Wally but can't help but feel like she's about to get bumped even lower on Joe's favorite kid list.   

 

Flash is interesting to me.  When Iris told her father about the fact that she had hid the existence of his son from him, being an Arrow viewer I was actually expecting someone to be upset.  I mean, she's known a lot longer than a couple weeks.  I get it, her dad doesn't have a leg to stand on but I was expecting at least a flash of emotion or anger before forgiveness.  Honestly, I'm kind of pissed Flash fans don't have to deal with the same crap as Arrow.  (Misery loves company)  That said, I am getting sick of the Green Arrow bashing.  It's getting weird.