The Flash: Who Is "The Man in the Yellow Suit"?

The Flash S01E09: "The Man in the Yellow Suit"

I'm just going to start with that episode tag.

I was pretty much bouncing on the couch when Harrison pulled out a Flash ring. Yes, it was a lovely bit of fanservice—the comic iteration Barry Allen kept his costumes in spring-loaded rings just like that—but it was also a way to connect Harrison to a larger Flash mythos. Was he a certain speedster from the future (aged up, though) sent back to the past to keep Barry safe? That was my first thought when I saw the ring, and it sort of made sense in that way that convoluted time travel stories can make sense. And then the costume. And then the costume turned yellow. And then Harrison plugged what I guess was the superluminal/tachyon prototype device onto that yellow suit. And then Harrison said, "Merry Christmas" with a vibrating voice. I kind of about lost it

Then my mother called me. (My mom watches The Flash. And Arrow.) I'm still working through the tag and trying pay attention to the promo for next new episode—CAPTAIN COLD WITH HIS FIERY FRIEND!—and her first words are, before I can even finish greeting her, "That's too easy!" And I'm inclined to agree with her, to an extent.

One of the pleasures/annoyances of narrative that rely on big reveals and twists is that you get that rush of "OH NO THEY DIDN'T!" and you're all psyched about what it could mean and then, a little part of your brain says, "But did they really?" It's a little cynical, I admit, but it's also something that just comes up as a result of building upon twist upon reveal. Because there's another layer to this Harrison stuff. There has to be an explanation as to how he has the yellow suit, vibrated his voice, was in multiple places at once, and why didn't harm Eddie other than that he is simply the Reverse Flash.

Or maybe they just want us to overthink it! Damn you, twisty narratives! In any case, I am glad for this reveal if only because I imagine it means that Tom Cavanagh is going to start upping the villainous delivery on innocuous-seeming lines, and it's going to be great. Total worth it even if this turns out to be bait-and-switch of some sort in the end.

Either way, the Reverse Flash was out in force, and it was pretty grand. The special effects this week were fine, though I experienced what was probably some unintentional blurriness in some sequences, but this was more an issue with my TV cables than anything else—I'm not watching in standard definition, but I can't image The Flash's looks all that good in SD. What stood out for me wasn't so much the effects in the Reverse Flash's sequences but the character's raw brutality. The Reverse Flash is vicious and violent in a way that no villain on the show has been so far. It makes a difference that he's the first one who seems to have a full understanding of his powers, but his willingness to beat the crap out of Barry and Harrison makes him feel more like an Arrow villain than a Flash one.

This is a good thing, though, a nice continuation of The Flash's development over the past two episodes as it edges into the darker bits of crime fighting. Barry, Caitlin, and Cisco got a reality check when they visited Starling City last week, Harrison's manipulations have been pushing that envelope, and now Reverse Flash is a fan of doling out beatdowns. It's not just the sci-fi-infused superhero fantasy world they've been living in. There's dangers in those dark places, and, apparently, right next everyone, sitting in a wheelchair.

In between scenes of trying to figure out what to do about the Reverse Flash, it was do-or-die time for Barry and his feelings for Iris. I'm on record as thinking that Barry's costumed flirting with Iris borders on the creepy, so I was glad when she turned against the Flash a bit last week. I'm glader still that Iris is finally in the loop about Barry's feelings, because she was apparently super out of the loop. Hell, Henry Allen knew Barry had feelings for Iris, AND HE'S IN PRISON. Both scenes about their relationship worked very well, and were nice showcases for Gustin Grant and Candice Patton, respectively.

While I think Grant still hasn't found the right level to play Barry when he's shouty-angry, he's killing everything else. Take his squirmy physicality at his desk as Iris laughs off the idea of Barry being into her. It's all awkward shoulder and neck rolls with twitchy eye contact as he buries down what he wants to say, agreeing with the laughing off. Pile on the emotional breakdown—Grant gets sad-crying Barry—when he talks to John Wesley Shipp and it was a very good night for him.

Patton hasn't been asked to do a whole lot but be chipper and oblivious for the the most part, so I was glad to see the show finally give her something more to play. Yes, she got to play a disappointed angry last week, but I really liked her silent, tearful listening to Barry confessing his feelings. It's a good scene for Grant to be sure, but it's one of those sequences where the actor opposite the person making that sort of speech needs to be listening and reacting, and Patton was really hitting that mark. I may still not entirely buy the "Barry's in love with Iris" idea, but I continue to get the "Barry and Iris are best friends" idea, and Patton's work in that scene really made that aspect come to the forefront at just the right time.

In what was probably the weakest part of the episode was Caitlin and Cisco heading out looking for Ronnie after Caitlin spotted him in a mall parking deck. I say it's the weakest part because it was obvious place-setting to get the Firestorm—he got to name himself, that's nice!—story that will be a part of the back half of the season, so it felt a little outside the bigger storylines elsewhere in the episode. Obviously Ronnie's coming back into the fold, and I'm interested to see how they get to that point, and how they're going to dramatize the entire notion of Firestorm as well.

I liked all the stuff around it, however. I like Caitlin and Cisco being out of the lab, in the world, and doing stuff. I like Caitlin and Cisco talking to one another without Harrison or Barry around. I want more of each of these things, particularly the last bit. The effects of the S.T.A.R. Labs shutdown are clear enough in regards to Caitlin, but I want more in regards to Cisco, and I want more in regards to them as a team. They stuck around because Harrison knew Barry would be struck by lightning and went into action immediately, but why did that stay to even do that? They appear to be one another's primary support systems, so show more of that, how they rely on each other. The scene in the lab as Caitlin explained that she saw Ronnie was a great first step in that regard, and showcased the different dynamics that they have when they're not tossing out theories about how to stop a cold gun or deliver a sonic punch to a guy who can turn his skin into steel.

These are good, exciting dynamics for the characters and the actors, and considering how often Caitlin and Cisco are just stuck in the lab, I'm always happy when they're out and interacting with others. Heck, Iris and Caitlin's scene in Jitters was just delightfully awkward because, really, how could it not be awkward? And Cisco talking to Joe at the holiday party, suggesting the idea that there was a second speedster on the night of Nora's murder? Both adorable—Cisco is so eager to be liked—and a new character pairing we hadn't seen before.

So The Flash's mid-season finale didn't deliver a lot of answers. If anything, we only got apparent confirmation of something many folks had been suspecting from the start—which, of course, only led to more questions—and the abovementioned notion that there was another speedster in that swirling vortex of speed and color that Barry saw 14 years ago. All fun, interesting bits of information, but nothing truly earth-shattering. And that's okay. These are big, season-long mysteries, and we're only nine episodes into a 22-episode season. Reveals like Harrison having a Reverse Flash costume in his...Bumpy...Future Room (I need a better name for that) are enough to make us get excited for more, which is what the show wants, and what we should want, too.

Over these nine episodes, The Flash has proven itself a very confident, steady freshman series, one that I have more faith in than I did Arrow at this time in its first season. It has a really cast, a fact that was evident in the pilot and that the show continued to take excellent advantage of as it progressed. The Freaks of the Week could stand some improving, still, when it comes to their personalities and motivations, and the writers could find a way to settle on things for Iris, though I'm hoping that the events in this episode will put us on that path.

It is an admittedly low bar to clear, but with all these things factored in, The Flash turned out to be one of the strongest new shows of this season, so I'm very eager to see what it has planned for its second half.

LEFT IN THE DUST

– Cisco was wearing a rock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock tee. Between that and a character named Cooper Seldon on Arrow a few weeks back, I think it's pretty clear that The Flash and Arrow are really into The Big Bang Theory. That, and/or it's a bit of corporate synergy, as all three shows are produced by Warner Bros. Television and air on the CBS/CW family of networks.

– Another good acting choice: Rick Cosnett adding trace amounts of threatening condescension to his voice whenever he said "Bar" to Barry was just great.

– I'm glad Eddie's in the loop on the metahuman thing. I can't help but feel that Joe is being a touch irresponsible not telling Singh after all this time, though.

– Playing Dr. Tina McGee of Mercury Labs was Amanda Pays, reprising her role from the earlier Flash series of the 1990s. This iteration is obviously a little different, but I appreciate how the show has worked in—and will continue to work in—actors from the previous show.

– Have a good winter hiatus, everyone! We'll meet back here on January 20 for The Flash's mini-Prison Break reunion when Wenworth Miller and Dominic Purcell join forces as Captain Cold (yay!) and he who will be known as Heatwave.

What'd you think of "The Man in the Yellow Suit"? How are you liking The Flash's first season so far?