Note: There will be spoilers in our summary.
Recap
The episode begins "15 years ago" to the night of Barry's mom's death. Right away there's an eerie feeling because we know what's coming. What makes it worse is the added bits of seeing the two speedsters racing towards the house and the fight taking place around Barry's screaming mom. Despite knowing what must have happened, you can't help but think about the fact that there's still bits we don't know.
Cut to the present, Barry and Joe are talking about Harrison Wells and their suspicions with him. Joe points out that Barry's mom was killed by a speedster and Well's machine turned Barry into one. Barry wonders if he wanted him to turn into the Flash. The problem is, everything Wells has done has been to help and keep Barry safe. There's also the question of why Wells wants Barry to get faster. Barry is ready to go after him now for answers. Joe points out the blood at Barry's childhood home didn't match Wells' so it's hard to say if he is the Reverse Flash. Joe thinks it's scary that whatever Wells wants, he's patiently waited fifteen years.
At a park in the city, a bunch of parachutes start falling, carrying tiny little presents. As soon as they hit the ground, they explode. Barry and Joe see this from Barry's office and the Flash rushes off to the rescue. A video is released and a guy calling himself "The Trickster" claims responsibility. When Caitlin teases Cisco about being mad at not being able to name him, Joe points out that there was a terrorist twenty years ago calling himself Trickster as well. James Jesse is currently locked up at Iron Heights. Joe mentions he and Barry are going to visit him. As they leave, Wells asks Joe how come Barry seems cranky.
Another flashback to fifteen years ago. The Reverse Flash loses his speed. Gideon says the time jump has put a drain on his powers. The speedforce has been depleted within him. As he screams out in frustration, he removes his mask, revealing...someone that isn't Harrison Wells!
James Jesse is a creepy dude locked in his cell, looking like Hannibal. They tell him about the recent act by the new Trickster. James becomes outraged over someone trying to steal his act. He is insulted at an amateur trying to take his name. He won't help them but says the only way he could be doing this is if he found his lair.
Iris talkes to Eddie about Mason, the reporter that was onto Wells' secret, disappearing. He also told her something weird was going on at STAR Labs.
At Trickster's old hideout, Barry and Joe narrowly avoid a bomb booby trap going off in their face. Everything inside was removed. They return to question Jesse when the new Trickster posts a video blog about having a big bomb. They show the video to Jesse who flips out over someone else wearing his mask.
Wells talks to Barry, saying he knows what he's thinking. He tries reassuring Barry over them solving the problems. Flashback to Wells and his wife, sitting on a beach. They talk about the reactor and she suggests naming it STAR Labs. In the distance, the man who revealed himself to be Reverse Flash is watching.
Iris meets the Flash back at the coffee shop. She brings up her missing coworker to him. She's worried while Flash tries to reassure her. She senses he has a "heavy heart." Flash says, "Sometimes I'm not sure why I wear a mask with you." They're interrupted by another video from Trickster. He's mentioning having a big bomb again. The entire police force and Flash are searching for it. Wells deduces it must be a trick. There isn't a bomb to look for and he must be trying to distract them. Barry refuses to listen to Wells and keeps looking. When Barry finds the place, the crate that's supposed to have the bomb is empty. The real target was Iron Heights. Trickster broke James Jesse out. They also took a hostage--Barry's dad. They want Barry's dad since his son works for the police. It turns out the two Tricksters have been writing letters to each other. When the new Trickster asks why he chose him, James says he wanted someone to take his legacy and because it was in his blood. He tells him, "I am your father."
Barry blames himself for his dad getting taken. He says he should've listened to Wells. Another flashback to the night of the accident. The Reverse Flash causes their car to crash. When the Reverse Flash approaches the car, Wells begs him to help. The guy says, "This woman has been dead for centuries." Barry struggles with Wells possibly being bad but also having helped them so much. He's broken up over the idea of losing his dad.
The Tricksters reveal their plan. They poison several rich people at the Mayor's re-election party. They have to transfer their money to an account or they'll die in an hour. Iris is attending and calls her dad's phone. Joe's at STAR Labs. They can hear about the poison and work on an antidote while Barry rushes off. As he grabs Jesse and demands to know where Henry Allen is, a bomb is placed on his wrist. If his speed goes below 600 mph, it'll go off. Wells tells him to run into a wall. Moving at the same frequency, he'll be able to run through and leave the bomb behind. He returns with the antidote and cures everyone. Barry saves him just in time. He then reveals his identity.
Barry gets a little more time with his dad as he's brought to STAR Labs to meet everyone. Wells tells Barry he's lucky to have him. Barry replies he's lucky to have Wells as well.
Back at the accident, the Reverse Flash pulls Wells out of the car. He reveals his name to be Eobard Thawne. He says in the year 2020, Wells and his wife will build a particle accelerator that will change the course of history. He needs it to happen much sooner. Attaching a device to Wells, he manages to drain him and change his own appearance to that of Wells.
Joe and Barry let Eddie in on Flash's secret in order to help protect Iris. He makes up a story about Mason running off to Brazil with a woman.
Thoughts
Things keep heating up in this series. We keep getting curve balls thrown at us in fantastic ways. At its heart, this is a pure comic book TV show. With the appearance of Axel Walker as Trickster, we have almost a supervillain versus superhero situation straight out of a comic book. Having Mark Hamill reprise (sort of) his role as the original Trickster, James Jesse, was a brilliant move. Hamill's performance was channeling a little of his version of Joker with a dash of evil and craziness. Joe and Barry's visit to him while incarcerated gave the episode a nice feel to it and allowed for some great lines from Hamill. "I am your father"? Maybe it was forced but it was also pretty great to hear.
The big struggle has been for Barry and the thought that Wells is responsible for killing his mom. He's in a tough position because the signs are pointing to him yet there's the fact that he's pretty much essential to Barry making it and evolving further as the Flash. It's when he guides Barry into how to vibrate through a solid object that Barry realizes he has to be the Reverse Flash.
With two Tricksters trying to unleash their scheme, they come across as a mix between comic book villains and terrorists. It's a nice balance to keep the show grounded in reality while still maintaining a comic book feel.
Barry's struggle with whether or not Wells is bad along with the possibility of losing his dad is touching.
There's a lot of revealing going on. In some ways, it makes sense for him to tell his dad. He practically did before when he visited him and they talked about the Flash. You have to wonder what Henry's fate will be. Will he get out of jail sometime? Could Barry actually have the happiness of seeing his dad exonerated?
The reveal of Reverse Flash and his connection to Wells was pretty cool. We thought we had all the answers when Wells was revealed to be Reverse Flash. It turns out, yes, he was Reverse Flash, but he's also not. Then we see Eddie get let in on Flash's secret. Everyone is learning. You have to wonder how much longer Flash's identity will be kept a secret.
There may have been some comic book cliché moments, but that's what made it such a fun episode.
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