The Flash: Killer Frost
November 23, 2016 2:03 PM - Season 3, Episode 7 - Subscribe
Caitlin uses her powers to save Barry but, as her mother predicted, the effort unleashes her inner Killer Frost, who then goes on a rampage looking for Dr. Alchemy, kidnapping Julian and battling the Flash and Vibe.
I still love this show and it's a highlight of my TV week, but has anyone else taken to riffing the opening narration each episode?
Mine goes more like, "My name is Barry Allen, and I am barry - I mean very - fast, but the bad guys are faster at least once a season. Pretty much everything that happens on this show is my fault either directly or indirectly, but with the help of my poor friends at STAR Labs, I might be able to fix some of the damage I've caused to both the world and them personally. I am... the Flash!"
Hm. Stuff to like and dislike.
* I liked Caitlin's turn as Killer Frost. She's more resourceful than her Earth-2 doppelganger. I enjoyed her running circles around the team, as it were: crippling Barry, driving wedges between teammates, eluding the police, knowing exactly what technobabble to demand from Julian. She was totally on fire as a villainess, so to speak. I also thought Barry's last ditch attempt to reach out to her was in character and well-executed. It was a dumb thing to do, but it was the right kind of dumb, for the right reasons.
A+ subplot, particularly since she's not cured, and I want to see more done with that before they fix her for good.
* Cisco was great here. The circle is complete, and the student has become the master: he is now totally the bossy dick to HR's well meaning outsider goofball. I like it. I also like him easing slowly into being Vibe properly, and hope he eventually becomes a superhero in his own right, instead of just mission control.
I was also glad to see Cisco not immediately hug it out with Barry. Flashpoint hit him hard, and it's good for that to take some real time to fix.
* HR's gotten pretty great. It's now much easier to see how a huckster like him could parley his way into wealth, given some luck. I loved his stakeout with Joe.
* Julian being Alchemy was obvious, but I'm going to let it pass because the bargain Julian struck with Barry was fantastic. He's not wrong: Barry has some clear conflicts of interest and issues working for the police in this timeline.
* I'm glad they didn't put off Kid Flash any longer than this, although the chainsaw-ing him out of the cocoon was clearly dumb.
* I do not like Savitar. Cool SFX, but this makes the *third* season where the bad guy is a mysterious speedster who outclasses Barry, each one faster and more over the top than the last. At this rate, it feels like they're going to need the Black Racer next season just to keep the pattern going. I really wish they'd mix it up and do something new. Rogue's gallery out to get him, something. I realize comics-Flash has a lot of speedster enemies, but this feels ridiculous.
posted by mordax at 6:21 PM on November 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
Mine goes more like, "My name is Barry Allen, and I am barry - I mean very - fast, but the bad guys are faster at least once a season. Pretty much everything that happens on this show is my fault either directly or indirectly, but with the help of my poor friends at STAR Labs, I might be able to fix some of the damage I've caused to both the world and them personally. I am... the Flash!"
Hm. Stuff to like and dislike.
* I liked Caitlin's turn as Killer Frost. She's more resourceful than her Earth-2 doppelganger. I enjoyed her running circles around the team, as it were: crippling Barry, driving wedges between teammates, eluding the police, knowing exactly what technobabble to demand from Julian. She was totally on fire as a villainess, so to speak. I also thought Barry's last ditch attempt to reach out to her was in character and well-executed. It was a dumb thing to do, but it was the right kind of dumb, for the right reasons.
A+ subplot, particularly since she's not cured, and I want to see more done with that before they fix her for good.
* Cisco was great here. The circle is complete, and the student has become the master: he is now totally the bossy dick to HR's well meaning outsider goofball. I like it. I also like him easing slowly into being Vibe properly, and hope he eventually becomes a superhero in his own right, instead of just mission control.
I was also glad to see Cisco not immediately hug it out with Barry. Flashpoint hit him hard, and it's good for that to take some real time to fix.
* HR's gotten pretty great. It's now much easier to see how a huckster like him could parley his way into wealth, given some luck. I loved his stakeout with Joe.
* Julian being Alchemy was obvious, but I'm going to let it pass because the bargain Julian struck with Barry was fantastic. He's not wrong: Barry has some clear conflicts of interest and issues working for the police in this timeline.
* I'm glad they didn't put off Kid Flash any longer than this, although the chainsaw-ing him out of the cocoon was clearly dumb.
* I do not like Savitar. Cool SFX, but this makes the *third* season where the bad guy is a mysterious speedster who outclasses Barry, each one faster and more over the top than the last. At this rate, it feels like they're going to need the Black Racer next season just to keep the pattern going. I really wish they'd mix it up and do something new. Rogue's gallery out to get him, something. I realize comics-Flash has a lot of speedster enemies, but this feels ridiculous.
posted by mordax at 6:21 PM on November 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
Actually the special effects for Savitar bug me to no end as does the character design. Why would you make the god of the speedforce some kind of metallic transformer/knight-in-armour combination? Neither of those images suggests speed. Heck, the character doesn't even seem to be able to bend his foot! I realize he isn't running the way Barry is, but it still feels like a series of poor design choices to me.
Speaking of Savitar, if he's all about the speed, why does he need Alchemy to create non-speedy metas? There is nothing in that relationship that makes sense:
--why are the the acolytes worshiping Savitar as there seems to be nothing in it for them?
--why can Julian see Savitar when nobody else besides speedster Barry who can?
--how did Savitar grant Julian the power to restore metas (or did Julian pick that trick up somewhere else)?
I'd be really satisfied if the writers place a moratorium on evil speedsters for the next two or three seasons (at least).
I was happy that Caitlin called Barry out and dumped this whole mess directly at his feet. Of course everything is his fault. He never learned his lesson about messing with the timeline and this current reality and all its problems is the direct result. He should darned well fell guilty about everything.
posted by sardonyx at 8:49 PM on November 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
Speaking of Savitar, if he's all about the speed, why does he need Alchemy to create non-speedy metas? There is nothing in that relationship that makes sense:
--why are the the acolytes worshiping Savitar as there seems to be nothing in it for them?
--why can Julian see Savitar when nobody else besides speedster Barry who can?
--how did Savitar grant Julian the power to restore metas (or did Julian pick that trick up somewhere else)?
I'd be really satisfied if the writers place a moratorium on evil speedsters for the next two or three seasons (at least).
I was happy that Caitlin called Barry out and dumped this whole mess directly at his feet. Of course everything is his fault. He never learned his lesson about messing with the timeline and this current reality and all its problems is the direct result. He should darned well fell guilty about everything.
posted by sardonyx at 8:49 PM on November 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
I thought Barry had told Cisco about Dante's death being a Flashpoint-timeline-change back in the beginning of the season, or at least that Cisco had inferred it from when he gave the big "sorry for screwing up the timeline again, guys" confession, so I was a little confused at it being a shocker in this episode.
posted by oh yeah! at 7:05 AM on November 24, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by oh yeah! at 7:05 AM on November 24, 2016 [1 favorite]
Actually the special effects for Savitar bug me to no end as does the character design. Why would you make the god of the speedforce some kind of metallic transformer/knight-in-armour combination? Neither of those images suggests speed. Heck, the character doesn't even seem to be able to bend his foot! I realize he isn't running the way Barry is, but it still feels like a series of poor design choices to me.
I assume he's lying. Another recurring pattern with the show: every speedster who is faster than Barry is cheating: Reverse Flash used a tachyon harness, Hunter Zolomon used Velocity drugs. I'm convinced Savitar is in speed enhancing power armor.
posted by mordax at 11:15 AM on November 24, 2016 [3 favorites]
I assume he's lying. Another recurring pattern with the show: every speedster who is faster than Barry is cheating: Reverse Flash used a tachyon harness, Hunter Zolomon used Velocity drugs. I'm convinced Savitar is in speed enhancing power armor.
posted by mordax at 11:15 AM on November 24, 2016 [3 favorites]
That's a very real possibility, and some great speculation, but I still don't like the design.
posted by sardonyx at 12:20 PM on November 24, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by sardonyx at 12:20 PM on November 24, 2016 [1 favorite]
That's a very real possibility, and some great speculation, but I still don't like the design.
Also totally fair.
posted by mordax at 1:31 AM on November 25, 2016
Also totally fair.
posted by mordax at 1:31 AM on November 25, 2016
Hmmm, I was thinking the armor was restricting it.
Like at the end of the episode when he was saying he needed Dr. A to fully bring him back, I assumed a bunch of episodes where the team gets a handle on stopping it, then the armor comes off to raise stakes near season end.
posted by humans are superior! at 1:14 PM on November 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
Like at the end of the episode when he was saying he needed Dr. A to fully bring him back, I assumed a bunch of episodes where the team gets a handle on stopping it, then the armor comes off to raise stakes near season end.
posted by humans are superior! at 1:14 PM on November 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
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posted by Servo5678 at 3:00 PM on November 23, 2016 [6 favorites]