The Flash: Season 1, Episode 17

The Flash

Episode Title: “Tricksters”

Channel: CW

Director: Ralph Hemecker

Writer: Andrew Kreisberg

Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

Runtime: 43 min

Rated: TV-PG

Original Air Date: March 31, 2015

I'm going to start this off by lamenting that there isn't a new episode of The Flash next week. It seems like they just started back up, taking a week off really kills the momentum for me. Can't let the disappointment of an empty week color my thinking on the episode though, so moving on.

Andrew Kreisberg jumped into the writer's chair this week and it paid immediate dividends. He brought the flashback structure from Arrow over to The Flash in order to finally give us some Harrison Wells back story and the night Barry's mother was killed. The fight scene between Barry and the Reverse Flash in Barry's childhood home was very well done. They must really be stretching that effects budget. As a result of the tussle with the Flash, the Reverse Flash manages to somehow sever his connection to the Speed Force, rendering him normal. When he unmasks the audience sees, not Harrison Wells. We were treated to a couple of scenes featuring Wells and Tess Morgan living their normal, ambitious lives before before the mystery man from Nora Allen's murder crashes their car. Tess is killed and when Harrison escapes the vehicle the man reveals that he is Eobard Thawne. He plugs a device into Wells and then into himself, somehow transferring Wells' likeness onto himself; killing the real Wells in the process. The device seemed like a cheesy way to get there story-wise, but now we know that the Wells Barry knows isn't the real Wells.

Mark Hamill guest starred this week as the Trickster. After an attack on the city by a man claiming that name Joe and Barry go to visit the real Trickster in prison. I know I criticized the villains last week for the over-the-top corniness, but for some reason with this villain the extra cheese just felt right. He was a strange mix of the Joker and Hannibal Lecter, with some really great lines. The one that stuck out was hearing Mark Hamill say the words, “I am your father.” Even though I suspected it was coming it was strangely entertaining to hear him say it. His plan, after reuniting with his son, was a little disappointing though. I would have thought the Trickster would have contingency plans on top of contingency plans. One good thing to come out of it was his plan to deal with the Flash, with a bomb that explodes once his speed drops below 600 MPH. This allowed for Barry to discover one of his abilities. Dr. Wells (I'm going to keep calling him that until the show gives up on it) talks him through phasing through solid materials. Wells recommended a wall, and Barry chose and oil tanker, which should have been more catastrophic than it was, but it put an interesting wrinkle into what Barry knows and thinks he knows about Wells. The other pleasing side effect of this particular arc was that it gave Grant Gustin and John Wesley Shipp a chance to interact. The father/son relationships that Barry shares with both Joe and Henry make for little pieces of 'real' in a show with so many fantastic things happening.

Barry no longer trusts Wells. It's not just a lack of trust, he can barely stand to be around him at this point, he's so convinced that Wells is responsible for his mother's murder. He and Joe have decided that they're going to keep things quiet for now, trying to be more patient than the man that's apparently been planning all of this for the last fifteen years. At the end of the episode Barry seems to have finally reconciled the fact that he's going to have to remain civil. In order to stop Iris from snooping into the case and potentially endangering herself, Joe and Barry made one last shocking decision. Barry revealed his identity to Eddie, enlisting his aid in protecting Iris and in the investigation into Wells. Eddie mentioned at one point that they were going to have a serious discussion regarding deceiving her, but the way it was shown made it seem a little to easy get get him to do it. There's no doubt that it's a decision that will come back to bit all of them, all that remains to be seen is how much damage can be done.

Conclusion: Hamill's performance was fun and full of memorable dialogue, but the real meat and potatoes of this episode came as we finally got some background on Wells and Nora Allen's murder. Taking into consideration the quality of the villain, the revelations regarding the past, and Joe and Barry taking a proactive approach to exposing Wells this was my favorite episode of The Flash yet.

Rating: 8.5/10