Pros:
Cisco’s Hilarious Lines: And did he have some doozys this week. “It’s like this time I stepped on a sea urchin—only much worse” and referring to Mist being trapped in the basement of Star Labs and Ronnie not knowing, he says, “Dude, that was like week three!” (And it was episode three! Yay for being consistent!)
Gorilla Grodd: Harrison did some pretty nasty things this episode. I am not sure if want to hate him or like him, but he gets a tick in the good column for unleashing Grodd on General Eiling as payback. In addition, when General Eiling pleads to God and the ape says “No, Grodd!” I felt like that was coolest way to execute a cheesy line.
Professor Stein and Ronnie Raymond’s relationship: I couldn’t think of The Odd Couple when these two were arguing. The jabs were cute, and while it is comical the way they don’t get along, these two have the same values and a lot of brains when combined. Together as Firestorm, they are pretty freakin’ awesome.
Professor Stein and Ronnie Raymond need each other: They can’t live without each other now that they are both Firestorm. The way this was presented was really well done, with Professor Stein living in Ronnie’s head, and the moments they choose to fuse together and separate again. I was pretty impressed with how science-y and smart the whole thing was.
Graphics: The slow-motion effects of Barry taking down people, taking on a rocket filled with chemicals, and the scene of The Flash and Firestorm leaving the Army base were really striking. Good job effects team!
Time-Travel: There was a lot of talk about time-travel, especially concerning Barry as The Flash being at his mother’s murder. It was a good way to begin to explain why Barry was there while including the characters we currently have, like Professor Stein.
Cons:
Lying to Iris: While lying to Iris about who Ronnie is will drive a major plot point for Iris for a bit, it was all executed poorly. The music that played as Caitlin and Barry claimed Ronnie was Caitlin’s cousin was silly and the whole thing was treated like a joke. If they had told something resembling the truth, Iris may not have decided to snoop around more.
Pizza, Pizza!: It’s very millennial and cutesy, but the tip off that Ronnie and Professor Stein are still linked is because the prof is crazing pizza? It’s kind of silly.
Harrison’s motives: So Harrison poisoned Professor Stein, let General Eiling kidnap Professor Stein, lied to the group that Eiling barged in and took Professor Stein, put Professor Stein in mortal danger, and put Ronnie in mortal danger ALL so he could find the location of General Eiling and release Grodd on him? Seems a little over-the-top.
Easter Eggs:
Ronnie is from Coast City: As the group was trying to convince Iris that Ronnie was Caitlin’s cousin, they mentioned he was from Coast City. This is yet another reference to Hal Jordan’s hometown.
Ronnie is from Midway City: The second time that Caitlin talks about her cousin to Iris, she mistakenly says he is from Midway City. This is home to Hawkman.
Destiny to fail: Barry admits that his destiny in the future is to fail at saving his mom. If you are familiar with Flashpoint, you know this is true.
Predictions:
Harrison isn’t all bad: You know how they were talking about going back in time, and that if you change something in the past, you cause the event a la Back to the Future? Harrison goes back with Barry when he learns that he will try to save his mother because Harrison knows that if Nora Allen lives, Barry never becomes The Flash. Or something. I dunno.
Hush Comics gives “Fallout” a A- for propelling the “Flashpoint” story forward, delving more into Firestorm, and using Gorilla Grodd for the good kind of evil.
All images belong to The CW and DC Entertainment. They are credited to Cate Cameron.
Hush Comics 