The Flash: Enter Flashtime
March 6, 2018 9:08 PM - Season 4, Episode 15 - Subscribe
When a nuclear bomb detonates in downtown Central City, Barry, Jesse Quick, and Jay Garrick slow down time by entering Flashtime. As everyone in the city is frozen, the three speedsters push themselves to the breaking point to save the city and everyone in it.
Forget it, Jake... it's Speed Force.
posted by Naberius at 7:22 AM on March 7, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Naberius at 7:22 AM on March 7, 2018 [3 favorites]
The bit about Harry's wife and Jesse wanting him to confront his grief really seemed to come out of the blue, and I don't understand the reason for it. They can't be setting the stage for a Caitlin-Harry pairing, can they? (It seems they've tried her with every other available male character in the show, so I guess it's time for Wells.)
I still don't really understand what happened with the lightning and the DNA sphere. Did the lightning destroy the sphere when it fused the reaction? If so, what is taking Barry's place in the Speed Force? Didn't this show swear up and down that there needed to be a speedster trapped in the Speed Force? So should it have somehow attempted to reclaim fried Barry? And if it didn't destroy the sphere why would the Speed Force reclaimed the sphere with just the tiny bit of DNA instead of taking the whole, singed speedster?
posted by sardonyx at 8:11 PM on March 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
I still don't really understand what happened with the lightning and the DNA sphere. Did the lightning destroy the sphere when it fused the reaction? If so, what is taking Barry's place in the Speed Force? Didn't this show swear up and down that there needed to be a speedster trapped in the Speed Force? So should it have somehow attempted to reclaim fried Barry? And if it didn't destroy the sphere why would the Speed Force reclaimed the sphere with just the tiny bit of DNA instead of taking the whole, singed speedster?
posted by sardonyx at 8:11 PM on March 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
so... this was actually a mostly coherent episode. the couple of things that were off were what you all have said, Harry dealing with his wife was never discussed before, and they didn't explain what happened with the speed force after the quark sphere was used.
The first I guess you can attribute to why Harry has bouts of anger issues? I mean, he's never been one for calm though so who knows.
The second I'm going to say it's handwavy in that the speedforce struck the explosion and then pull the quark sphere back into itself. As for why it didn't take Barry who's a bigger version of the same DNA, I'm going to say that they designed the sphere to be more attractive to the force than Barry would be, like maybe there's more DNA material packed in that sphere than Barry's whole body?
posted by numaner at 8:34 PM on March 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
The first I guess you can attribute to why Harry has bouts of anger issues? I mean, he's never been one for calm though so who knows.
The second I'm going to say it's handwavy in that the speedforce struck the explosion and then pull the quark sphere back into itself. As for why it didn't take Barry who's a bigger version of the same DNA, I'm going to say that they designed the sphere to be more attractive to the force than Barry would be, like maybe there's more DNA material packed in that sphere than Barry's whole body?
posted by numaner at 8:34 PM on March 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
oh yeah, to echo what the AV Club review said, I know Barry's had issues with time travel, but going back to right before the terrorist hit that detonator wouldn't be that big of a deal would it?
and also, this episode really shows that there's no limit to speedsters' speed. they can even go into ultra-hyper-speed and run even faster while inside Flashtime. again, i don't see how anyone can ever fight against these speedsters and expect to win, across all the Arrowverse shows.
posted by numaner at 8:36 PM on March 7, 2018
and also, this episode really shows that there's no limit to speedsters' speed. they can even go into ultra-hyper-speed and run even faster while inside Flashtime. again, i don't see how anyone can ever fight against these speedsters and expect to win, across all the Arrowverse shows.
posted by numaner at 8:36 PM on March 7, 2018
Maybe Barry admitting he's fast enough will finally put an end to all of those terrible episodes that focused on Barry beating himself up telling himself he has to get faster. That would be a refreshing change going forward!
posted by sardonyx at 7:25 AM on March 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by sardonyx at 7:25 AM on March 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
they can even go into ultra-hyper-speed and run even faster while inside Flashtime.
I am okay accepting that as a visual shorthand, or perhaps an indicator that they're altering their own personal perceptions. There has to be something happening there to explain why the speedsters aren't completely bored out of their mind when they use their speed. They must have sped-up perception when they speed or else they'd paste themselves against the first vertical surface they ran into because they didn't turn fast enough. So even if they see the world while speeding the way the rest of us perceive things when at a full-out sprint but without the accompanying exhaustion, that's a LOT of boring-ass running time when you're crossing the city. So there must be some way they let this time pass while still retaining their reaction times.
posted by phearlez at 8:59 AM on March 8, 2018
I am okay accepting that as a visual shorthand, or perhaps an indicator that they're altering their own personal perceptions. There has to be something happening there to explain why the speedsters aren't completely bored out of their mind when they use their speed. They must have sped-up perception when they speed or else they'd paste themselves against the first vertical surface they ran into because they didn't turn fast enough. So even if they see the world while speeding the way the rest of us perceive things when at a full-out sprint but without the accompanying exhaustion, that's a LOT of boring-ass running time when you're crossing the city. So there must be some way they let this time pass while still retaining their reaction times.
posted by phearlez at 8:59 AM on March 8, 2018
so it's almost like their speed gives them a range of perception filtering where they can speed up or slow down the perception while in enough amount of superspeed? I'm fine with that, it actually makes some sense.
posted by numaner at 9:11 AM on March 8, 2018
posted by numaner at 9:11 AM on March 8, 2018
I am mostly not in favor of fanwanking away stupid corners the writers paint themselves into, but this at least is a long-time problem/question with the whole idea of speedsters.
Obligatory Ballad of Barry Allen link
posted by phearlez at 2:07 PM on March 8, 2018
Obligatory Ballad of Barry Allen link
posted by phearlez at 2:07 PM on March 8, 2018
Um....what went on here? As the reviews said, it broke the show.
I am still amused every time Barry and Iris's Obvious Time Traveling Daughter shows up to fangirl at people. I always think of that storyline in Narbonic.
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:10 PM on March 10, 2018
I am still amused every time Barry and Iris's Obvious Time Traveling Daughter shows up to fangirl at people. I always think of that storyline in Narbonic.
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:10 PM on March 10, 2018
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Tom Cavanagh continues to be the best.
posted by dayintoday at 6:05 AM on March 7, 2018