Fastest Man Alive is the second episode of the brand-new The Flash TV show on the CW network (and coming to Sky One in the UK) and to say this series hit the ground running would be both punny and an understatement.

This episode is pretty paint by numbers but the strong performances of the cast carry it through. Hero is doing well, has issues with powers, overcomes them, has issues with villain/personal life and quits, hero returns with new confidence, status quo restored. It’s your typical “Spiderman No More” but played in fast forward. The main plot focuses on the murderous intentions of bitter scientist Danton Black who developed the metahuman powers of cloning through the collider incident. He’s after Simon Stagg for stealing his research into cloning (irony~) and thanks to his doppelgangers, has all the muscle he needs to do it.

Flash Fact: Stagg Industries (and its CEO) is responsible for the origin of elemental hero, Metamorpho!

Michael Christopher Smith is playing Black AKA Multiplex and it’s cool to see them go for a D-lister after using a notable Rogue in the season premiere. Other than that, I found Smith’s performance to be lacking. He looked stiff at all times and for the love of the maker can he ever do an action scene with his mouth closed. His jaw hanging open all the time makes him look simple.

Barry’s fainting spells are caused by a glucose deficiency, and adverse side effect to his abilities but is soon fixed after some tests on THE COSMIC TREADMILL! It’s a nice little nod that I smirked at. Speaking of sly references, Caitlin’s ex-fiancé is revealed as “Ronnie”. In this kind of show (and because I’ve seen the casting) it’s safe to assume that this is Ronnie Raymond, one half of the hero Firestorm!

The real meat of the episode, in my opinion, comes from the relationship between Barry and his adoptive father Joe West. The dynamic between Grant Gustin and Jesse Martin is fantastic and you really feel invested in their relationship as you get a look into their shared past and the trials they both faced. Barry, dealing with the death of his mother and the loss of his father and Joe dealing with this boy who is seemingly delusional and hates him. There’s a fantastic scene towards the end that is pretty tear-jerking, both for the audience and for Jesse Martin.

Tom Cavanagh’s role as benefactor Harrison Wells continues to add mysteries to the long run of the show. As we saw last episode, he’s clearly a time traveller and in this episode he’ll clearly take any step to keep the Scarlet Speedster on his path, killing Simon Stagg while saying that he needs to be kept safe. Now, it should be pretty obvious that his name is assumed, given the time travel and Harrison Wells being really close to H. G. Wells. I’ll be interested to see his true identity revealed but early bets are him being Bart Allen, Barry’s speedster grandson from the future.

Another fantastic episode for The Flash and it’s showing a lot of promise. I’ll see you all next week because there are just some Things You Can’t Outrun.