After a short break, The Flash came back stronger than ever. I can’t believe how many things they have decided to go forward with instead of making fans wait seasons for each little reveal. As for this episode, I think Martin Lawrence said it best. “Shit just got real” So many major things happened in what could possibly lead to one of the biggest events from comic books history.
Pros
The Flash has unknowingly realized the full extent of his speed: Barry Allen may not yet know it but when he gets overly emotional and runs really fast, he can travel through time accidentally. His ability to travel through time is actually only related to the speed but, in the comics, it was prefaced by his anger and sadness over not being able to save his mother. The show is a different situation, but tensions were understandably high and you could argue that it was the TV show way of representing that. This is what he has been training for all these episodes. I don’t think he can get much faster than time traveling speed, unless you consider running so fast he turns into a lightning bolt. The greatest thing about this episode is that it has left the future open for all sorts of possibilities.
Iris learns the truth, and it is only Season 1: They used a similar setup in Arrow of revealing Oliver’s identity in order to include more people on the team, but this show is much more similar to Smallville in many respects. It took 6 or so seasons for Lana to find out about Clark’s powers and in the very same episode Clark goes back in time and changes it all. I feel like the same thing will happen with the time-travel but it would be nice if they didn’t ret-con it. Barry deserves this, and it would add an interesting dynamic to the show.
We discover the true identity of Dr. Wells: Eobard Thawne (what a terrible name) also known as Professor Zoom or the Reverse Flash is second of the Reverse Flashes but is largely considered one of the greatest adversaries from the Flash rogue gallery. If the comics are any indication, his inclusion does not bode well for Iris in the future. It is nice that the fans get to know what is happening, but with the inclusion of time travel at the last minute, everything that happened this episode is suspect aside from the identity of Dr. Wells.
Things are progressing nicely: Usually shows drag on forever with slow reveals and plot advancements, but the lessons learned from Smallville have showed up in both The Flash and Arrow. This pleases me greatly and makes me very excited for the future of both series.
Gay Rights!!: It was very subtle, but I thought was an interesting inclusion. I wasn’t sure if they were going to broach the subject during the scene but I’m pleased with the way they handled it. With the Captain’s fiancé being shown this episode, The CW or creators of the show, made a subtle statement about where they stand on the rights to allow gay couples in this country.
Cons
Possibly no more Linda Park- We all know that she came to break it off when she showed up at the police station; Barry leaving her there while running off with Iris probably did nothing to help that. I like her character and it doesn’t hurt that she is smoking hot, but she is not destined to be with this Flash. Again, time travel makes this one of many possibilities, but I think it is safe to say she is on the way out.
Also possibly no more Cisco: While he got the Temple of Doom treatment, I can’t help but feel that we haven’t seen the last of Cisco Ramon. He hasn’t even been able to live up to the terrible persona of Vibe yet. He was killed and resurrected many times in the comic books and even was a Black Lantern for a spell. He is a popular character so his death may just be for the shock factor; however, it would be a shame to lose such a great character so early in the series.
The possibility of the episode not ever “existing “ in time: Once time travel enters the equation, all bets are off. Anything that happened in this episode is susceptible to getting ret-conned. That means the advancements along with the bad stuff.
Easter Eggs
This episode was a little light on the easter eggs, which is probably a result of so many revelations in the story.
Speed Mirage: The idea of using speed to approximate being in two places at once is referenced early in the episode as a potential explanation for Barry seeing himself…and then actually used by Zoom.
Wizards Wand: This is used by the Weather Wizard in the comics to control the weather, but it is used against him in this episode. Seems to me that a certain Hush writer did his research and called this all the way back in week one! It’s also pretty awesome that this particular Weather Wizard was portrayed by Spartacus‘ lead actor, Liam McIntyre.
The Walking Dead: “I will watch every episode of The Walking Dead with you.”
Hush Comics gives “Out of Time” an A for progressing the story, making huge reveals, and in general, shit got cray.
All images belong to The CW and DC Entertainment. They are credited to Diyah Pera.
Hush Comics 