THE FLASH’s old enemy gets his starting point in ‘The Reverse Flash Returns’!
Barry is out playing hero, but Harry wants him training to defeat Zoom. Cisco blames his crabbiness on a lack of coffee.
But then.. wait! The team discovers that Turtle is dead! Rightly, Jay accuses Harry of killing him, but Harry denies it like crazy.
At the station, Barry and Patty are still working together and it’s crazy awkward. Being forced to see your ex everyday? Ouch! Especially as Patty is finishing up cases and preparing for her big move to Midway City.
Harry and Cisco are trying to figure out the secret to Cisco’s vibes. After a trip to the “creepy ass braille room,” they discover that Cisco’s powers are brought on by adrenaline. Harry scares the bejesus out of Cisco, then he vibes THE REVERSE FLASH.
The Reverse Flash is indeed back, having just learned The Flash’s origin time period for the first time. He’s stuck in this point of the timeline, so he kidnaps Christina McGee of Mercury Labs to help him rip a hole into the fabric of time via their technology.
Back at Star Labs, Caitlin confides in Barry about Jay’s illness. She has a plan to save him, though she hasn’t told Jay about it: Find his Earth-1 doppelgänger for a cell transplant. Barry joins the tough search. Jay doesn’t seem to have a doppelgänger, which is seriously suspicious.
Meanwhile, Joe informs Iris that Francine is dying. She goes to visit her mother one last time… and it is utterly crushing. Iris forgives her mother when it’s nearly too late to do so and we tear up right long with her.
Patty starts to beg Barry to fight for her after she’s dumped him, but Barry recognizes that it just wasn’t meant to be despite his feelings and she’s better off without him. The scene is the first time we’ve been seriously frustrated with Patty. What’s with the mind games? Who is this whiny chick and where is Patty Spivot?!
Harry creates special goggles to help Cisco vibe. They use them to search for Reverse Flash and find him… killing Christina McGee after she successfully creates a device to help him travel back to his time. Fortunately, they realize Cisco is seeing a few hours into the future and McGee isn’t died quite yet. The search is on!
Aaaaaaand holy crap, PATTY FIGURED OUT THAT BARRY IS THE FLASH! (Took you long enough!) Joe and Barry’s meltdown mode is in full effect.
Iris and Wally have a tough confrontation about Francine, who Wally has been avoiding since the big revelation. She tells about him Eddie’s death and begs him to make peace with his mom before she’s gone for good. Eventually, Wally asks Iris to come to the hospital with him.
The Flash saves Christina McGee from Reverse Flash at theeee last minute. Thawne attempts to escape but Barry is pissed off and thoroughly clobbers his old nemesis, then locks him up in Star Labs.
DAMMIT CISCO! You had to go down to Reverse Flash and brag about how you defeated him in the future! Because damn it all, that absolutely will change the freaking timeline! Plus, you’re getting bloody noses, which is a sure sign that all this vibing is probably killing you. Then Barry finds the one shadowy spot in front of Reverse Flash’s cell to stand and confront him. He tells Reverse Flash about his mother’s death and gives himself away. So basically, the world goes to hell because these boys can’t keep their egos in check. Hooray!
Patty confronts Barry, but he denies he’s The Flash. Knowing all the same, she tries to reason with him because deep down, she still wants to to work out between them. Okay, in this scene we actually feel really bad for Patty. WHAT IS WITH ALL THESE FEELINGS IN THIS EPISODE?
Speaking of insane feels, Cisco is suddenly dying. It seems he’s out-vibed himself into uncontrollable seizures that will kill him unless the timeline stabilizes. The Flash has no choice but to help his most vicious enemy get back to his timeline to save Cisco’s life. It’s in the midst of all this that Eobard Thawne first discovers Barry’s identity, Harrison Wells (though not the Harrison Wells he thinks!), and Star Labs. But without revealing that, Cisco is a goner– and Cisco is probably our favorite character, so that would suck.
After Caitlin confronts Jay with the mystery surrounding his doppelgänger, he shows Caitlin the man he’s already discovered:
HUNTER. ZOLOMON. Do you know who Hunter Zolomon is in the comics?! We’re hyper-ventilating!
Cisco is aaaaaalive! And in desperate need of some Big Belly Burger! Joe and Barry are in the midst of a deep talk about accepting life’s risks when Patty calls from the train to Midway City with an emergency. Except when Barry gets there, everything is fine. Patty confirms her theory and with the knowledge in hand, seems to be able to move on. It’s kinda beautiful, actually. *sniff*
Until next week!
