The Flash 'Thing You Can't Outrun' Review: Speedracer
Reading time: 3 minutes
On this week’s episode of The Flash entitled ‘Things You Can’t Outrun’ the following happened:
SPOILERS
The Flash fought some gas.
The central conflict begins with a few commonplace thieves in the middle of the city. The big theme here centers on people starting to be aware of The Flash and some of the paranoia that leads to this moment. The conflict this week is more than a little strange as a metahuman named Kyle Nimbus is wreaking havoc in the City; he kills people with poison gas. It’s something that’s hard to completely invest in. Detective West goes to Barry’s dad at the exact moment that Nimbus is headed towards Iron Heights. The episode pits Nimbus’ powers against The Flash’s speed in a battle of wits that works effectively. The metahuman conflict never seemed completely clear to me until factoring in how Star Labs is always going to put science on the side of Barry. It’s an element that is integral to the show.
Iris ended one of her annoying plot threads.
Barry and Iris spend some time together at the beginning of the episode; the love triangle is dialed up further. This is the most CW aspect of the show thus far, and something that likely makes fans groan the most. Her love triangle with the dull detective is starting to fall flat on its face. Iris finally decides to tell her father. It’s good that this was resolved within the episode.
Ronnie Raymond became a hero.
The poisonous gas issue is brought to Star Labs where Cisco and Caitlin figure out what to do next with the development. The plot ties back to the particle accelerator that kicked off the story in the first place. Ronnie Raymond is formally introduced before he was Firestorm in a flashback from nine months ago. What could this mean in regards to their alternate identities? Snow compares her relationship to Raymond like fire and ice, a silly nod to the show. Caitlin directly explores some of her post-traumatic stress issues in a conversation with Allen. Finally digging into why and how Snow is so cold makes for good television. An organic piece of sentiment is geared towards the two of them when they take a look at Raymond’s final moments together. Raymond sacrifices himself for the life of Snow and everyone else, and Cisco is forced to make the decision. This revelation could mean something drastic for the relationship between Snow and Ramone.
Big Belly Burger is revealed to still be a thing.
It’s good to know that Big Belly Burger exists in The Flash world as well; this is an extremely important thing to mention.
Wells confirmed something important.
Wells had some sort of master plan even before the particle accelerator kicked off in the first place. When the accelerator does start, time stops, and champagne freezes in the air falling on Well’s face. He makes the bold decision to throw The Mist down in their torture chamber. Why would Wells be hoarding supervillains in his downstairs basement? The intrigue knows no bounds. The last moment with Wells drinking scotch staring at the costume is another lovely moment. We get a tease at him watching Allen get his powers, and it seems even more likely that he is indeed the Reverse Flash. It’s pretty noble of him to play the long game that he is committed to.
Detective West opened up Henry Allen's’ murder case.
Barry and Detective West attempt to dig up some new revelations on the murder with Barry’s mom and Reverse Flash. The Detective is helpful in the information that he gives Barry. Allen even ponders what would happen if he just broke out of prison and the grizzled vet convinces him that is not the way to go. This is a great Peter Parker style storyline that the show is toying with, someone whom Barry Allen has a lot in common with. It’s nice to see Henry and Joe finally have a civil conversation and bury the hatchet after all these years. Watching the scene without the dramatic stakes of the central conflict within the hour would have been incredibly gratifying. John Wesley Shipp as Henry Allen delivers a strong performance and nails both his brief scenes in the hour.
We liked it, but we didn’t love it.
Overall, the episode is strong, but not great. It sort of teases the events of the show, and where things are starting to go later on in the season.
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