*Yes, this review contains full spoilers. Go watch the episode and then come back here!*
"I'm only 25 and my drinking days are over."
Do you know what I really like about CW's The Flash? It's not the special effects or the world building -- although both are awesome -- it's how charming these characters can be and how enjoyable the tone is. This week's episode, "Plastique," had death, emotional drama, and introduced a man who will cast aside morals for "the greater good." Despite all of these heavier subjects, the episode still kept a smile on my face and had me completely absorbed in this fictional world.
The show's more uplifting atmosphere is put front and center right in the intro. It shows just how likable Grant Gustin is as the lead and his supporting cast -- Danielle Panabaker as Caitlin Snow and Carlos Valdes as Cisco Ramon -- is quickly growing on me. We always see Flash racing around the city, so zooming in on a red dart as it flies through the air before striking a dart board was a clever change of pace. Cisco's especially lovable in this one as he's excited to conduct new tests and beyond awkward when he meets an attractive character. "I'm sorry, that was inappropriate. Please don't leave..." I'm pretty anxious to see how the guy will react if he ever gets powers. Seeing how enthusiastic and happy he is about this stuff means it would be so entertaining to watch him test his own abilities. And Caitlin's comment and then her follow-up remark about it making her sound like Felicity? Funny stuff and an organic way to remind us this also takes place in Arrow's universe. It's great to see the character opening up more and showing more personality instead of remaining guarded and *ahem* cold. Sorry, couldn't resist that one.
Barry doesn't get a chance to use his super speed to knock around goons or anything like that in this episode, but just because he isn't punching evil fools doesn't mean he's not putting his awesome powers to use! This episode pushes him harder than ever before and watching him overcome these challenges is some seriously thrilling and exciting stuff. The way it's shot works so well, giving us just a sample of the special effects without ever holding onto a close up for too long and they used slow motion at just the right time. Plus, it was cool to see him use his ability in a new way to change his voice. Sure, Iris West (Candice Patton) should have been able to recognize the voice -- and not to mention his face -- after such a long conversation, but it's a minor gripe. This stuff happens all the time in comics and over in Arrow, after all. Anyway, the point is this episode had a bunch of fun pushing Barry's speed and it was a very amusing and well-shot experience. Predictable, sure, but still a good time and will make you want to cheer.
West family drama, you're relentless, aren't you? I'm glad Iris was wise enough to call Barry out on his absurdity and I understand why Joe (Jesse L. Martin) wants his daughter away from all of this craziness, but man, that was getting a little forced at times, wasn't it? I have other critiques about the drama -- we'll get to that in a bit -- but it also worked very well in a few spots. Having Joe reveal he knows Barry loves his daughter was an amazing moment. Both actors pulled off the awkwardness of that scene perfectly and I loved every second of it. It was refreshing to see that after Joe was so aggressive about wanting to make Barry disprove the Flash's existence to Iris. You know, even though she saw him in person. Talk about a tough assignment.
As you can tell by the episode's title, this one introduces Bette Sans Souci, a.k.a. Plastique (Kelly Frye). They put forward a really strong effort to make us care about the character, but our time with her is limited and many of us were confident we wouldn't be seeing more of her past this episode anyway (one of the officially released pictures showed Flash holding her body...), so it's a little tough to feel really emotionally invested when her arc is moving so quickly. None of the scenes were bad and they got the message across just fine, but it just wasn't as gripping or as emotional as the other drama going on. That said, her powers did look quite cool when they were put to use and they obviously forced Barry to push himself, so that's a win. However, her introduction did bring in another character -- one who will more than likely be a reoccurring role. General Wade Eiling (Clancy Brown) is a great addition to the show. The villain-of-the-week approach was one of the show's few weak points (the villains lacked depth and felt like they were just there for some spectacle), so it's terrific to see they're switching up the formula and focusing on really building this world while also throwing in a new face. Now we have Captain Cold (Wentworth Miller) seemingly forming the Rogues, Eiling apparently putting S.T.A.R. Labs on his radar, and Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh) is still killing it as the big bad. Oh, and that cliffhanger? Pure fan service. I really hope that's not just a tease and they have firm plans to use this character in the not-so-distant future. Speaking of future, I couldn't help but smirk when Wells said, "That technology hasn't been invented yet."
Eiling's introduction allowed Cavanagh to really step up his devious performance. Usually we only get a sample or two of his true nature, but this story had him bluntly threatening a powerful general and coldly turning an emotionally injured person into a weapon. I'm beginning to really love disliking this guy. Several of this show's arcs are interesting and have me wondering how they'll play out, but this one is really capturing my attention. Cavanagh's doing an excellent job with the role.
The entire point of "the Streaker" meeting Iris was to warn her about the dangers; to let her know he isn't the only metahuman in the city and many others aren't exactly good people. Somehow, he avoided telling her this, so it kind of defeats the purpose of the entire conversation. Yes, her talking about Barry was a curve ball and maybe he thought he needed to solve this problem as Barry, but he certainly dodged telling her the critical thing for quite some time, didn't he? Also, I really don't know how I feel about Barry telling Iris they can't see one another because of her blog. My immediate reaction was negative and it felt like he overreacted big time. You can't put this aside as you remain friends -- friends who agree not to talk about "the Streak" with one another -- and wait to see what the future holds? But, on the other hand, I kind of understand where he's coming from. Being with her is hard enough as is -- to be so close to someone you love but feeling like it'll never go beyond a friendship -- and now he's bearing the emotional weight of Plastique's death as well. Maybe he thinks removing the "will we ever be together?" dilemma from his daily routine will ease the journey just a little bit? And perhaps he thinks distancing himself will protect her even more. But, given the teaser for next week's episode, I wouldn't be surprised if this subject comes up sooner rather than later. I was so happy to see Barry say Iris should know the truth, so it was disappointing when he didn't follow through with that. I couldn't have been the only one wanting to scream, "TELL HER, DUDE," right? It was so great to think the show would avoid dragging this out, but then it held back the big reveal and I can't help but feel like it was a bit disappointing the way that turned out. Part of me was really hoping they'd avoid taking this very familiar path. Oh well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see how long they keep this going until the truth is finally revealed.
Minor gripes: We've seen Barry react to bullets before in this show, so it was surprising he didn't do anything the first time Plastique was shot. You'd think he'd be able to respond since he was facing the window when it was struck, but instead he just kind of stood there. Also, why'd he remove his mask the second time she was shot?
"Plastique" is yet another very enjoyable episode of CW's The Flash. The leads all do a more than adequate job with their performances (Gustin and Cavanagh really stood out here) and it's just so much fun watching Flash push his limits. The drama was a bit of a mixed bag in this episode, but the good definitely outweighs the bad and they leave us on a note that's such an enormous teaser for comic fans. The Flash has sped away from its villain-of-the-week formula and the future looks very, very bright for this show. It's full of potential and such a good time.