The light at the end of what was a weak and predictable episode is the fact that the show finally acknowledged how much of an annoying character Barry Allen/The Flash truly is.


That said, Killer Frost picks off where we left off – with The Flash getting throttled by Savitar (who claims to be a speed god) and is much more faster than Barry Allen – so much so that Cisco thinks Barry is appearing all over the city at once. But let’s face it – every other speedster who has graced the show has been faster than The Flash. Their “fastest man alive” intro might be due for a change.

H.R. suggests that Barry might have a chance of survival if he has help. And because we badly need that Killer Frost story arch, Caitlyn is the one who ends up saving him and risks losing herself to Killer Frost.

Joe who is feeling particularly useless as his son lies in a cocoon goes to the station to question one of Doctor Alchemy’s acolytes and is getting rather aggressive when Caitlyn shows up and lies that Wally is out of the cocoon. Predictably, she gets very agro with the acolyte when he doesn’t know where Alchemy is but has to run when his screams are heard down the hallway and two unknowing detectives try to help out. She ends up locking all three in the cold room and is making an escape when Julian spots her.

Change of plan, Killer Frost decides to kidnap Julian. She takes him to an abandoned warehouse and forces him to find the address of anyone who had recently googled Savitar – who we know is the boss of Alchemy. Julian – who considered himself a sly one used the opportunity to send a message to the CCPD telling them his whereabouts. His host finds out and shows her displeasure by freezing his computer. Meanwhile, Team Flash have figured out that Caitlyn has gone rogue and are able to track her the same way they tracked Captain Cold. The Flash gets there just as Killer Frost is about to make Julian into a very cute snowman.

Barry tries to talk her out of her newly acquired murderous tendencies but Julian keeps saying “knock her out” and Barry ends up knocking Julian out. For some reason, Barry chose not to disguise his voice and Julian didn’t seem to recognize it. Either he’s not as smart as he claims to be or it was an oversight by the show.

While Barry is giving his pep talk, Caitlyn chooses to take another approach. Knowing that Cisco is listening, she decides to announce that Cisco’s brother was alive in the previous timeline and Barry messing with things is what killed him. The police interrupt that little expose and Barry saves Killer Frost by getting her out of shooting range. She repays him by stabbing him in the leg with an icicle and telling him that even with his healing powers, it would take a while to heal. Its bad luck when a doctor chooses to be a villain.

At STAR Lab, Cisco seems pretty upset with Barry but is keen on finding Caitlyn so they focus on that. They narrow her likely positions to two places and they split up – H.R. and Joe take one, Cisco takes the other while Barry and Iris stay to watch Wally. While on their stakeout, H.R. and Joe have what was supposed to be a “deep conversation” but just sounded forced and completely flat.

Barry (per usual) is convinced that everything is his fault and Iris who seems to always be playing the role of Guidance Counselor tells him that it isn’t. She says that the particle accelerator may have affected Caitlyn pre-flashpoint and Cisco’s brother may still have died in a car accident. Key word here being “may” – Barry’s meddlesome nature made it a given not a possibility so Iris’ pep talk is completely biased at this point but it works on Barry.

Caitlyn is able to get a few words with the acolyte she tracked down but he says he’s only ever seen Alchemy with the mask and that he is just a lackey. He says that Savitar has showed him the future and Caitlyn – rather Killer Frost is in it and she is “powerful and glorious”. Cisco interrupts and the two take their fight to the street. Caitlyn thinks that Alchemy can help her but Cisco thinks its unwise. She also tells Cisco that her name isn't Caitlyn but Killer Frost which is kind of weird because she answered when he called her Caitlyn and she seems rattled every time she is addressed as Killer Frost. Is Killer Frost in absolute control or is she not?

Barry shows up and tries to save the day but he’s still injured and ends up falling at Killer Frost’s feet. She gives him a very cold kiss on the lips (probably the best 4/5 seconds of the episode) but Cisco stops her from freezing the prized superhero to death by using his powers on her. They take Killer Frost back to STAR Labs and put her in the pipe. Barry promises to save her but Caitlyn is having none of that – not from Barry at least. “Like you promised Eddie and like you promised Ronnie? You know for a hero Flash, you sure let a lot of people around you die”. She goes on to say that Barry doesn’t care about anything else, he got his happy ending after all; he got the girl.


Meanwhile, Joe has the completely ludicrous and utterly foolish idea to cut his son out of the cocoon (after Caitlyn warned him of the consequences of that very act). H.R. assists him and when Wally’s out of the cocoon, he speeds off. Barry decides that they need a biochemist’s assistance to help Wally as he didn’t seem himself. He has the idea to release Killer Frost and he goads her to kill him but says he knows she can’t because the real Caitlyn is in there. His plan works and Caitlyn starts sobbing in his arms. Together, they find Wally and get him out of the “fugue state”. They run a few test on him and realize he’s much faster than Barry was at first. Shocker!

Barry has to go the hospital to convince Julian not to turn Caitlyn. Julian agrees but his cooperation has a catch – he wants Barry to quit the CSI because Barry’s “moral compass” is compromised. “You are unfit to be CSI” Julian says “Barry Allen has no place in law enforcement”. Because Barry’s heart is full of love for his friends, he agrees to the deal. This scene was supposed to portray the “great sacrifice” Barry made because he really loved his job as CSI. But lets be honest, when was the last time Barry solved a case without using The Flash?

In the final scene that shocked no one, we see that Julian is Doctor Alchemy when he gets a visit from Savitar telling him to serve him one more time.

This show has gone down such a dark path that its hard to recognize any of the characters. Where is the awkward and tardy CSI we fell in love with in Arrow? Where is the ever quirky and funny Cisco? And how is it that Caitlyn became an entirely different person when she came into her powers?

Plus there are now so many heroes on the show that its like watching a different version of Justice League. Should we expect an Arrow approach where everyone has a mask and a name?

What did you think of the episode?