Flash Facts – “The Man in the Yellow Suit”
I can’t think of a better way to end the Mid-Season than this.
The Flash finally runs head long at the mystery that’s run parallel to the week-to-week shenanigans; who is The Man in the Yellow Suit? The titular character makes his presence felt in a big way as even before the title card we see Barry in hot pursuit of his lemon-flavoured doppelganger. Will Barry catch him and will he get the answers he’s searched for his entire life? Let’s find out!
It’s Christmas time in Central City and Barry and Iris exchange gifts, Barry’s being a replica of Iris’s mother’s ring that she lost as a child. Eddie highlights the point that this isn’t the kind of gift friends get each other and I agree with him but siblings? Considering that Barry and Iris were raised together, I could totally see this played off as a nice brotherly gesture on Barry’s part if it wasn’t so bloody obvious that Barry is in love with her. Hell, even Barry’s dad, who is in PRISON, knows he is and Barry finally confesses and it’s awkward as all hell. Grant Gustin and Candice Patton are both fine actors but their characters have no chemistry. There’s a reason I’d rather see Caitlin become the love interest…
Speaking of Caitlin, her fiancé Ronnie makes himself known to her but tells her to keep away and that he’s “not Ronnie” but Firestorm, the first time we‘ve heard the name. He keeps repeating he’s not Ronnie and I twigged as to why. Firestorm is traditionally made of two individuals so if he’s not Ronnie, that must mean there is another person inside the Firestorm matrix. Most likely candidate is Dr. Martin Stein, a nuclear physicist he provides the brains to Ronnie’s brawn. A last minute save from Firestorm hints at a heroic path and hopefully we’ll see Firestorm flying over Central City again soon.
The Reverse-Flash is the main plot of the episode and he is a beast. He’s stronger, faster and is intimidating as hell. He breaks into Mercury Labs (hint at Max Mercury, maybe?) looking for a device that emits tachyons and Team Flash hypothesise why. Wells indicates that it could enable him to move faster than light and Barry is visibly shaken, as RF already has an edge. They ask Dr Tina McGee for a loan of the device to act as a lure and when she’s initially dismissive, Barry manages to convince her with some very sly tactics.
Flash Fact: Amanda Pays reprises her role as Tina McGee from the 90’s Flash show, where she acted alongside John Wesley Shipp, who played Barry Allen.
Team Flash build a force field trap, Eddie and his taskforce strongarm their way into the opertation, despite Joe’s reluctance and the stage is set and the trap is sprung by the Reverse-Flash. In a surprising move, both Eddie Thawne and Harrison Wells are present in the room where RF is trapped. THIS THROWS EVERYONE’S THEORIES OUT THE WINDOW!
It’s a fantastic swerve to have both suspects in the room as the primary villain. Hell, Wells gets the shit kicked out of him and Eddie pisses his pants when RF gets in his face. RF bodies Barry at every opportunity, highlighting the experience of the former and the power he has over the latter. Barry admits that he’s been terrified of The Man in Yellow since he was a child, so he’s got the psychological edge on him too. If it wasn’t for the timely intervention of Firestorm, Barry would be toast.
Everyone licks their wounds in the aftermath. Joe reveals the existence of met humans to Eddie, but not much else. Wells is being patched up but still takes the time to reassure Caitlin that they will find a way to bring Ronnie home. The West family plus Eddie and Team Flash, minus Wells enjoy some eggnog around the West house. Cisco takes Joe aside and confides in him that there may have been TWO speedsters the night Barry’s mother was murdered. This could be leading to a Flashpoint-style confrontation at the end of the season and I can’t wait to see it play out.
Stinger for this week broke me as… well, just look.
WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK! HOW!? How the hell did he pull that trick off because I just GAH! I don’t even. Wells is revealed to be the Reverse-Flash? Nah, not buying it. It’s too easy. Wells has spent all his time in the past making sure the Flash has a legacy, the M.O. of the Reverse-Flash is to typically steal that legacy from him, right? The easy explanation is that he’s Eobard Thawne, Eddie’s descendant but again, not buying that for a second. For all of his sneaky actions, Wells has been helping The Flash and appears to have a great respect for his legacy so between drawing Blackout’s blood and this device he fits to the RF costume, I think he’s actually trying to find a way to neutralise the Reverse-Flash’s speed force. Is that just wishful thinking? Maybe, but I can’t believe Wells is the bad guy, especially since it’s obviously not Tom Cavanagh in the suit.
What did you guys think of the mid-season finale? Let me know and I’ll see you guys in January for the Revenge of the Rogues.