The latest episode of The Flash, “Back To Normal,†deals with one of the things I generally don’t enjoy that every superhero show seems to do. The hero is forced to lose his/her powers and have to live normally. Usually it is done a bit haphazardly, and is a low point in the season. Having said that, I actually didn’t mind it too much here.
Seeing Barry doing things such as using public transportation, or simply having to actually do work at a normal pace was quite hilarious. After relying so much on his speed, his helplessness is easily seen through scenes such as those described. But as amusing as the few scenes are, things get quite dire throughout.
Not even including Zoom just yet, the crew has to deal with a new villain to Central City, Griffin Grey. As you could imagine, he received his powers from the particle accelerator explosion. He gained super strength, with a very real downside. Every time he exerts himself, he ages. While this would be a walk in the park if Barry actually had his powers, since he doesn’t, things get a bit hairy. It was almost a little too easy for an interesting villain that could have easily spanned an episode or two.
The crew develops a suit that should be able to take one punch from Grey before Barry would be in some serious trouble. The scene is pretty fun but ends rather quickly as Grey overexerts himself and literally ages himself to death. Again, I feel like things could have been a bit more interesting than they were. The end-result was a bit too obvious. It was nice having the help of Jesse which also lead her and her father to become closer again.
Far more interesting, however, was everything that went on at Earth-2. The change in locale comes with a fantastic array of questions that must be answered. Chief of them being, how long will Caitlin be able to last on Earth-2? The main scenario that quickly develops is when Caitlin meets her Doppelganger, Killer Frost.
Danielle Panabaker may ham it up a tad as Killer Frost, but the juxtaposition is just too great here. And, as much as they are different, they had somewhat similar upbringings. Again, it just goes to show how different things are between the parallel earths. But, as you know, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. They decide to work together to break each other out, and Killer Frost agrees to help her get back to Earth-1. At first, it does work. But, being a villain means you don’t necessarily keep your word. Killer Frost first refuses to help the man in the iron mask, and then she makes an even worse decision. She turns her back on Caitlin and attempts to throw an icicle at her.
As the icicle is in the air, time slows and Zoom is running so fast that he phase shifts through Caitlin, catches it and impales Killer Frost….WHOA! The scene was absolutely awesome and brutal. Zoom has proven that he is a ruthless killer, but this further solidifies that idea. It’s crazy the twisted love that he has for Caitlin that he would kill anyone and everyone that tried to so much as look at her the wrong way.
The episode concludes as Wells decides that he will do absolutely anything and everything in his power to get Barry his speed back. What’s the one way he figures that will certainly work? Create another particle accelerator explosion! Of course, the side effects could be catastrophic. Might this be when we see Wally West and Jesse Quick get their powers? Only time will tell.
