Courtesy of The CW
Sad people make bad decisions in a personal episode of The Flash.
Let’s bitch it out…
Facing a relatively safe/bland criminal of the week, Peek-a-boo (the superbly coiffed Britne Oldford), ‘Crazy For You’ is less about a teleporting villain than the tricky personal issues affecting our team.
There’s comedy aplenty in the unfortunate misadventures of Dr. Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker) and Barry Allen (Grant Gustin). The pair of sad geniuses end up on an accidental date when they make an impromptu decision to try to get over their romantic hang-ups by hitting a local bar. The ensuing heavy drinking and 50% awful ‘Summer Lovin’ rendition is highly entertaining, even if the silliness of Caitlin’s drunken “goods” chat when Barry drops her off is a little too cutesy. As a comic exercise, however, it’s great fun, plus the sojourn into bar territory allows for the introduction of Linda Park (Malese Jow, a CW staple) as Barry’s new love interest.
Caitlin’s right, though, Barry could use a little more fun and happiness. His life consists of series of relatively hum-drum events: aside from the saving of innocents, Barry doesn’t do much more than movie nights with Joe (Jesse L. Martin) and pining for Iris (Candice Patton). The scenes with his father, Henry (John Wesley Shipp) provide a lot of solace. It’s a testament to Gustin and Wesley Shipp’s ability to play the father/son connection that they pull it off with such ease (even if Barry does ultimately break the law in order to get vengeance for his father after Henry is stabbed for asking too many questions). The final scenes when Henry talks around his awareness of Barry’s secret identity are especially well done.
The final member of the sad sack triad is Cisco’s (Carlos Valdes) unfortunate decision to take the Pied Piper, Hartley (Andy Mientus) on an outing to find Ronnie (Robbie Amell). It’s clear from the get-go that Cisco has made a tactical error by releasing Hartley, even if initially he’s seems capable of handling himself when the Piper makes a break for it. Of course we know it’s just a matter of time and Hartley’s inevitable escape promises another round between the brain-geeks later this season.
As The Flash moves past the halfway point of its first season, it has managed a deft balance of fun, emotion and serious action. ‘Crazy For You’ may not be The Flash’s most challenging hour, but it’s a good showpiece for the show’s high entertainment value.
Other Observations:
- Before sonically abusing Cisco, Hartley does offer up info on what exactly Ronnie is. Apparently he’s not Ronnie at all. During the explosion at STAR Labs, Dr. Martin Stein (Victor Garber) and Ronnie merged and now Dr. Stein is living inside Ronnie’s body. Guess Caitlin really had better move on because that sounds like the end of a relationship.
- It’s hard not to feel a moment of pleasure when Barry cuts short the small talk with Iris (Candice Patton) to go on his date with Linda. Suck it, Iris!
- Eddie (Rick Cosnett) barely appears except to deliver his trademark “Heeeeyyyy Barry” line.
- Danielle Panabaker is beautiful. Her “going out” dress…was not.
- I completely forgot that Grant Gustin could sing. That little Warbler surprised me!
The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8pm EST on The CW. Next week the shit hits the F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M. as Ronnie returns to wreak havoc. Here’s your preview.