The race to save Iris is on – in more ways than one – in the latest episode of season three of The Flash…
This week on The Flash: a perfunctory villain-of-the-week puts one of the STAR Labs gang in danger which leads to our heroes having a crisis of confidence. Thankfully, after a round of inspirational speeches, everyone feels better and the day is saved.
Does that synopsis sound familiar at all?
I jest, of course, but ‘Untouchables’ really was Flash 101, as felt like every one of the recognisable tropes of this show were being ticked off on a checklist. That’s not to say that it was unenjoyable, just that it lacked a certain amount of excitement and unpredictability.
What this episode did well was to explore the teacher/student relationship between Barry and Wally, as Kid Flash struggled to deal with the handy speedster skill of phasing through solid matter. Similarly, the climax was a terrific example of Flash’s powers as he impressively phases a whole train to safety. Wally’s own victory as he phases his blood into Mr Decomposing Guy (why didn’t Cisco give this one a name?) was smaller, then, but no less important.
Meanwhile, Caitlin once again struggles to control her inner Killer Frost when she has to use her ice powers to save Iris after an attack from Mr Deco… the villain. The Killer Frost arc has the capacity to be the most interesting part of this season so it’s nice to revisit it here, even this briefly. Julian also had his own struggle this week, as the villain was created by him in his Alchemy identity – which suggests that we haven’t seen the end of the Flashpoint repercussions after all.
Paradoxically the best and worst aspect of this episode, though, was the subplot about Joe finally finding out that Barry saw Iris killed by Savitar in the future. On the one hand, this was near yawn-inducing as we have gone through the ‘gang keeps secret/secret gets out/gang promises never to have secrets again’ plotline so many times now it is getting silly. However, Jesse L Martin was truly exceptional in that scene where he finds out so I can just about forgive it.
I usually dislike the term ‘filler episode’ as I tend to enjoy episodes that break away from the main plot to focus on the characters. However, that description sums up ‘Untouchable.’ It’s far from awful, but it’s not essential either.
Speed Thoughts:
- Julian and Caitlin are an interesting couple. I’m not sure they have much chemistry but at least their romance is getting some form of build-up, unlike Caitlin’s previous relationships with Ronnie and Fake Jay.
- Jesse Quick’s surprise reappearance at the end of the episode would have been a lot better if Violett Beane’s name hadn’t been in the opening credits.
- Speaking of which, the exciting-sounding ‘Attack on Gorilla City’ will air in two weeks ago, as the show is taking a break next week.
Rating:
Fandom Factory 