On this week’s episode of The Flash, a new meta with a deadly touch shows up. Wally’s training hits a few speed bumps. And Iris is in trouble, again. If this all seems very familiar, then you read my mind.
So far, the first season of The Flash is widely viewed as the best, maybe due to how fresh it felt. Every week, it felt like we saw something new. While this week’s episode brings back that excitement in one scene, it mostly feels like a retread, with Wally instead of Barry. As established last week, Barry is trying to train Wally to get faster, with the hopes of Kid Flash saving Iris from Savitar. Although they are about equal in terms of raw speed, Barry experience and ability to phase gives him an edge. As a result, “Untouchable” goes back over the phasing training, but with a different speedster in place.
Good thing too, given this week’s villain, Clive Yorkin, has the power of decay. Anything he touches rots away, making his capture a challenge for even two superheroes. To make matters worse, he’s from the Flashpoint universe, making Barry and Julian feel responsible for his existence. Unfortunately, the cool power is attached to the dullest block of wood to appear yet on this show. There’s nothing memorable about Yorkin’s personality or motives. He’s out for revenge against the cops that caught him in the alternate reality. Of course, that includes Joe, leading to Iris’ life being put in danger.
Wally gets depressed because he wasn’t fast enough to save Iris from being touched and infected by Yorkin. Barry gives a pep talk and Wally is forced into a scenario where he needs to phase to defeat the meta. Nothing surprising or new there, but we do get to see Barry phase an entire train through a pile of rubble. That was cool.
Iris also tells Joe about her upcoming death, which goes about as well you would think. There was no reason for this delay. After his initial panic, Joe deals with the news in as level-headed a manner as anyone else. He gives a speech about everyone needing to work together and there should be no more secrets between them. Nice sentiment, but it’d be more effective if this scenario hadn’t played out dozens of times already. The Flash is best when it has forward momentum, but “Untouchable” is stuck in place.
Assorted Thoughts:
– To keep Iris alive, Caitlyn uses her ice powers to keep the decay from spreading. She has a brief flash of Killer Frost before Julian pulls her back from the edge. Now, they’re going out for drinks. So, following established trends, Julian’s likely a dead man walking.
– Fun fact about H.R.’s world: Vice President Al Capone
– Joe, Barry, Iris and Wally go out for coffee with Cecile Horton and her Kid Flash-obsessed daughter. While it’s nice to see Joe get character development outside Team Flash and he has much better chemistry with Cecile than Barry and Iris, I keep wondering if this is going anywhere.
– It looks like even Barry has caught on that S.T.A.R. Labs security is the worse.
– Next time: GORILLA CITY