The CW's The Flash - Episode 1.09 "The Man in the Yellow Suit"
Barry comes face-to-face with his nemesis, the man in the yellow suit aka Reverse Flash. Dr. Wells and Cisco come up with a trap, and use Dr. Tina McGee from Mercury Labs to help. Eddie gives Iris a surprising gift but leaves her with a question that could change her life. Joe ends up in the crossfire. Caitlin finds Ronnie.
"The Man in the Yellow Suit" is an impressive episode not only for the major plot revelations but also for the show's special effects work and emotional character development. There is a lot of great stuff in this episode. And then, there is Iris and Eddie who are both playing catch-up in learning that Barry has romantic feelings towards Iris and that there are meta-humans out there in the world. The rest of it is wonderfully exciting.Barry has finally found the man who killed his mother. Once again, he lets his personal emotions get in the way. He chases after the Reverse Flash only to once again lose the fight because he is going at it alone. It's an amazing sequence. Reverse Flash is Barry's equal in every possible way and he beats him at his own game. This man is going to be a very important piece of Barry Allen's story. Both Barry and Joe want answers. Why did the Reverse Flash kill Nora Allen? We're not going to get that answer any time soon. And yet, it is very satisfying for our heroes to get their first interactions with this villain who has been tormenting their lives for such a long time.
This episode works as an introduction to this villain while still teasing that he cannot be captured by the STAR Labs team as easily as the rest of the meta-humans out there. The Reverse Flash does fall into the trap and it allows Joe to face the man who changed his life. But it also proves that there is logic in this universe that Dr. Wells, Caitlin and Cisco don't understand yet. A rival research facility, Mercury Labs, is developing technology for the future and they have something the Reverse Flash really needs. The unknown is very much on display throughout this episode. Barry has no clue who the Reverse Flash is. Cisco is certain that the force field they created would be able to hold the Reverse Flash but he is able to escape and assault Dr. Wells at the same time.
And then, there is Caitlin who discovers that Ronnie is still alive but the particle accelerator accident has severely changed him. He is now Firestorm. I love that both new meta-humans this week name themselves and we don't have to have Cisco do it for us. But Ronnie doesn't want Caitlin to be near him. He is always lurking around the corner. And yet, he is not the same person he once was. Caitlin is afraid of what he has become: A man who can set himself on fire. That can be very dangerous. She is scared of what this means. She still loves him and has been praying for just one more minute with him. Now, it has come true but the reality of it is very scary. Yes, he saves Barry at the end of the episode and then flies away in a very epic fashion. But the team still has no clue how they can help Ronnie.
Things in the fall finale are slightly darker than the usual tone on The Flash. That speaks to the importance of a fall finale as well as the official introduction of the Reverse Flash. It can also be attributed to lingering emotional developments from the big Flash-Arrow crossover last week. Barry has been given this tragic backstory and the darkness of it all is fueling the majority of his actions. That has never proven to be successful for him. But it comes from an honest place of being afraid of the unknown. Barry has gotten so much more confidence after becoming the Flash. And yet, he is in more danger than ever before now. He hurt Iris when he was enraged in the last episode. And now, he has to deal with the fact that his work as the Flash is severely effecting the lives of the people around him - some of it for the better and some not. I'm glad that he has finally gotten the courage to tell Iris that he is in love with her. And yet, she still seems completely clueless about it until he spells it out for her. Then, she's not even allowed to have a real reaction.
But the two best scenes of the episode come from Barry having a talk with two of his father figures - his real one in prison and his adoptive one in Joe. They both see what the Reverse Flash is doing to Barry and they both need to make sure that this fight doesn't change Barry from who he really is. The death of his mother is tragic. And yet, he has always been a more upbeat person. He can't lose that quality if he is going to take on the person responsible for that murder. Barry has had a profound impact on the people around him. Without him in their lives, they wouldn't be the same people. They need Barry and he needs to always remember what makes him unique.
Some more thoughts:
- "The Man in the Yellow Suit" was written by Todd Helbing & Aaron Helbing and directed by Ralph Hemecker.
- Dr. Wells has the Reverse Flash suit in his secret room. Start speculating! That makes his interaction with the man earlier in the episode even more interesting. So many questions!
- It was so great that even Barry's father in prison knew he had a crush on Iris and she still didn't have a clue. After that, he just had to tell her the truth otherwise it would lose the tiny amount of credibility it had in the first place.
- The fact that both the Flash and the Reverse Flash were in the living room when Nora Allen was killed is very ominous. Time travel is obviously going to play a part of the series moving forward. I'm just really excited to see how the series gets there.
