The Flash: Who Is Harrison Wells?
April 23, 2015 1:07 AM - Season 1, Episode 19 - Subscribe
Joe and Cisco head to Starling City to continue their investigation of Dr. Wells. While in town, the duo enlists the help of Captain Lance, and Cisco meets the Black Canary, who asks him for a favor. Meanwhile, back in Central City, Barry races to catch a meta-human named Hannibal Bates who can transform himself into every person he touches – which includes Eddie, Iris, Caitlin and even The Flash.
The problem I had was that the police and DA are acting as if things were as they were at the beginning of the season. But they've had a guy who could call rain and lightning in the police station. And they know about The Flash. Seems to me that they'd recognize the possibility that a videotape of someone isn't irrefutable evidence, anymore.
Likewise, they get the video of Bates, proving Eddie's innocence, and the DA mentions that they don't know how to handle someone like him. And it turns out that Bates was locked up at Star Labs. Does Central City law enforcement wonder what the heck The Flash is doing with these guys?
Am happy that things are moving swiftly on Wells's unmasking. Am unhappy that they're still keeping Iris in the dark.
Wells must know that something going on. We've seen enough shots of him with Slightly Suspicious Face. But also, it's bugging the hell out of me that these guys aren't considering the possibility that Wells would a) have the outside of his home under recorded surveillance (so no whisking Caitlin away without being noticed) and b) that he wouldn't at the very least be keeping tabs on what they were doing and saying within Star Labs when he's not around to observe him. They think he's a villain -- why don't they think he'd be spying on them?
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 2:08 AM on April 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
Likewise, they get the video of Bates, proving Eddie's innocence, and the DA mentions that they don't know how to handle someone like him. And it turns out that Bates was locked up at Star Labs. Does Central City law enforcement wonder what the heck The Flash is doing with these guys?
Am happy that things are moving swiftly on Wells's unmasking. Am unhappy that they're still keeping Iris in the dark.
Wells must know that something going on. We've seen enough shots of him with Slightly Suspicious Face. But also, it's bugging the hell out of me that these guys aren't considering the possibility that Wells would a) have the outside of his home under recorded surveillance (so no whisking Caitlin away without being noticed) and b) that he wouldn't at the very least be keeping tabs on what they were doing and saying within Star Labs when he's not around to observe him. They think he's a villain -- why don't they think he'd be spying on them?
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 2:08 AM on April 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
Wells must know what's going on. If he doesn't have STAR Labs hooked up with surveillance everywhere, surely he has his cubbyhole hooked up. I assume he has a plan, or he'll say something that disarms the good guys.
You're right about the authorities not catching onto metahumans fast enough. While in the specific case of Bates, I don't think you reasonably say, "the person in that video isn't me - it's a shapeshifter, because weird shit has been going on lately, am I right?", but more broadly it's an issue that has to be resolved soon. My headcanon is that the military - who obviously do know - are deliberately hushing things up. Indeed, see how they took over the police investigation earlier in the season.
posted by adrianhon at 2:31 AM on April 23, 2015
You're right about the authorities not catching onto metahumans fast enough. While in the specific case of Bates, I don't think you reasonably say, "the person in that video isn't me - it's a shapeshifter, because weird shit has been going on lately, am I right?", but more broadly it's an issue that has to be resolved soon. My headcanon is that the military - who obviously do know - are deliberately hushing things up. Indeed, see how they took over the police investigation earlier in the season.
posted by adrianhon at 2:31 AM on April 23, 2015
Two other wtf moments for me were Barry not questioning why Eddie was out so easily, then Wells sending Iris and Caitlin to deliver the shapeshifter. That was a bad idea under any circumstances, but if I remember correctly, it was also before they were sure that he hadn't gained Barry's powers. I liked everything about the episode except for how many of these lapses in logic piled up.
posted by gimli at 4:18 AM on April 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by gimli at 4:18 AM on April 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'm hoping they find a way to bring Classic Wells back to life - Tom Cavanagh really brings a lot to the show and it would be a shame for them to lose him. Maybe Cisco can find a way to pluck a still-living Wells from an alternate timeline, Freejack-style?
posted by robocop is bleeding at 7:14 AM on April 23, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by robocop is bleeding at 7:14 AM on April 23, 2015 [3 favorites]
io9 complains that a lot of characters act stupidly by not connecting fake-Barry's (or fake-Eddie's, etc.) weird behaviour with the existence of a shapeshifter.
I had a problem with this a couple times, but mostly when fake-Eddie shows up at the house and Barry's all "they let you out of jail despite clear evidence you shot those cops? Cool!"
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 7:33 AM on April 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
I had a problem with this a couple times, but mostly when fake-Eddie shows up at the house and Barry's all "they let you out of jail despite clear evidence you shot those cops? Cool!"
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 7:33 AM on April 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
Barry not clocking fake-Eddie: Yep, Barry is just dumb sometimes.
Sending Iris and Caitlin to deliver the shapeshifter: I was skeptical myself until I saw that it was out cold and in handcuffs. Morphing into a little child was a really clever move though, so I don't mind the lapse there.
If Wells leaves the show... :(
posted by adrianhon at 8:10 AM on April 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
Sending Iris and Caitlin to deliver the shapeshifter: I was skeptical myself until I saw that it was out cold and in handcuffs. Morphing into a little child was a really clever move though, so I don't mind the lapse there.
If Wells leaves the show... :(
posted by adrianhon at 8:10 AM on April 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
The theory of time travel in this story is very strange. First and Second Timeline Barry see each other while they are speeding, but neither sees the other after they stop and each goes forward in his own timeline, Second Timeline Barry having traveled into a past which, for him, does not contain First Timeline Barry. There's also the leakage of Cisco's death memory into the current timeline which should have never happened. I hope there are actual rules which will be revealed.
posted by localroger at 9:50 AM on April 23, 2015
posted by localroger at 9:50 AM on April 23, 2015
I can't think of a single Flash canon in which they made and stuck to time travel rules, though to be fair, I am not a connoisseur. It might still happen with the TV show -- it's so streamlined and the creators were promising consistent bullshittery -- but I would not hold my breath.
Cavanagh is on record as saying he wasn't interested in playing Scientist Guy, he was only interested in playing Reverse Flash Pretending to be Scientist Guy, but I sort of hope he'll be around, too.
But yeah, Wells is 100% onto them. Almost every conversation he has now with any of them reads like a test to me, and that final conversation between him and Joe is mentally scored with screeching horror violins. He knows they were in Starling City!!! He mirrors their first drink conversation back at Joe and it's like this 7 layer bean dip of mockery/threat/reminder of what happened after their first drink, him threatening Iris/paralleling without either of them surface acknowledging any of it!!! He said he was there to talk to Eddie!!!
posted by automatic cabinet at 10:33 AM on April 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
Cavanagh is on record as saying he wasn't interested in playing Scientist Guy, he was only interested in playing Reverse Flash Pretending to be Scientist Guy, but I sort of hope he'll be around, too.
But yeah, Wells is 100% onto them. Almost every conversation he has now with any of them reads like a test to me, and that final conversation between him and Joe is mentally scored with screeching horror violins. He knows they were in Starling City!!! He mirrors their first drink conversation back at Joe and it's like this 7 layer bean dip of mockery/threat/reminder of what happened after their first drink, him threatening Iris/paralleling without either of them surface acknowledging any of it!!! He said he was there to talk to Eddie!!!
posted by automatic cabinet at 10:33 AM on April 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
Wells must know what's going on. If he doesn't have STAR Labs hooked up with surveillance everywhere, surely he has his cubbyhole hooked up. I assume he has a plan, or he'll say something that disarms the good guys.
Yeah, I groaned when they just strolled into the Lair. How could none of these three ostensibly intelligent people not consider that Wells would know anytime someone entered his Sanctum Santorum? It was sloppy writing, but at least it moved the plot forward.
posted by homunculus at 11:17 AM on April 23, 2015
Yeah, I groaned when they just strolled into the Lair. How could none of these three ostensibly intelligent people not consider that Wells would know anytime someone entered his Sanctum Santorum? It was sloppy writing, but at least it moved the plot forward.
posted by homunculus at 11:17 AM on April 23, 2015
Er, Sanctum Sanctorum, that is.
posted by homunculus at 11:24 AM on April 23, 2015 [8 favorites]
posted by homunculus at 11:24 AM on April 23, 2015 [8 favorites]
seriously dude what fresh mental image hell did you conjure there
posted by robocop is bleeding at 2:17 PM on April 23, 2015 [11 favorites]
posted by robocop is bleeding at 2:17 PM on April 23, 2015 [11 favorites]
That was totally just ugly-mental-image stumping for a 10 minute edit window, tell the truth.
posted by phearlez at 2:40 PM on April 23, 2015
posted by phearlez at 2:40 PM on April 23, 2015
Wells has many secrets but I'm voting that that is not one of them
posted by automatic cabinet at 2:43 PM on April 23, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by automatic cabinet at 2:43 PM on April 23, 2015 [5 favorites]
Hey, I just had an idea for Cisco's next weapon.
posted by homunculus at 3:19 PM on April 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by homunculus at 3:19 PM on April 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
Does it incorporate sonic technology
posted by automatic cabinet at 3:28 PM on April 23, 2015
posted by automatic cabinet at 3:28 PM on April 23, 2015
Hey, I just had an idea for Cisco's next weapon.
"I don't care if you are my brother," sighed Leonard Snart. "The gang is full. Also, I will not bust you out of prison when the Foaming Frother gets arrested. Yes, I said when - you are wildly over estimating the abilities of that... thing."
posted by robocop is bleeding at 3:42 PM on April 23, 2015 [4 favorites]
"I don't care if you are my brother," sighed Leonard Snart. "The gang is full. Also, I will not bust you out of prison when the Foaming Frother gets arrested. Yes, I said when - you are wildly over estimating the abilities of that... thing."
posted by robocop is bleeding at 3:42 PM on April 23, 2015 [4 favorites]
Silly imgur episode recap, via Reddit.
posted by adrianhon at 3:46 PM on April 23, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by adrianhon at 3:46 PM on April 23, 2015 [4 favorites]
Oh for gods' sake, Laurel Lance, the first rule of superhero club is you don't talk about superhero club.
posted by ktkt at 2:31 PM on April 24, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by ktkt at 2:31 PM on April 24, 2015 [2 favorites]
Re, Ivan Fyodorovich.
Hell, they weren't smart enough to count the bullets in Eddie's gun and go, "huh, they're still all there. Almost like it wasn't fired at all." The things you describe would literally be like Isaac Newton inventing calculus to these people.
posted by Naberius at 6:43 AM on May 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
Hell, they weren't smart enough to count the bullets in Eddie's gun and go, "huh, they're still all there. Almost like it wasn't fired at all." The things you describe would literally be like Isaac Newton inventing calculus to these people.
posted by Naberius at 6:43 AM on May 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
I am way behind the main viewing of this show (seeing it on Netflix), but I'm just going to plant a flag here in this episode and say that this is the one where my wife and I started to actively heckle the show while watching.
For the love of god, writers, please:
- Stop having Barry apparently forget powers he has just so your bad writing can make sense.
- Stop treating the cops like they're unarmed. How many villains are there going to be whose whole backstory only works because the police in this universe won't fire a gun even to stop an otherwise unstoppable metahuman? We can lock them up indefinitely without trial, but if they run too fast for Eddie we'll just let it slide?
- Have someone tell Iris about the Flash, because holy shit is this the stupidest part of this show, and the main thing that is leading to me consider stopping watching.
- Cut the shit with the Barry/Iris plot line, as it is the second stupidest part of this show.
posted by tocts at 8:25 AM on January 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
For the love of god, writers, please:
- Stop having Barry apparently forget powers he has just so your bad writing can make sense.
- Stop treating the cops like they're unarmed. How many villains are there going to be whose whole backstory only works because the police in this universe won't fire a gun even to stop an otherwise unstoppable metahuman? We can lock them up indefinitely without trial, but if they run too fast for Eddie we'll just let it slide?
- Have someone tell Iris about the Flash, because holy shit is this the stupidest part of this show, and the main thing that is leading to me consider stopping watching.
- Cut the shit with the Barry/Iris plot line, as it is the second stupidest part of this show.
posted by tocts at 8:25 AM on January 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
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Loved Wells and Joe's conversation at the end. Any one-on-one scene those guys are in is guaranteed quality.
posted by adrianhon at 1:30 AM on April 23, 2015