What? If the episode can overuse that pun, so can I! As the (rather suggestive) title suggests, this episode is primarily focused on Ralph Dibny’s graduation from zero to hero and, I have to say, it’s really enjoyable!

I have to give props, again, to Hartley Sawyer’s performance because his Jim Carrey-esque mannerisms really suit Ralph’s personality as an elastic-faced goober. He’s so expressive and gets a fair amount of sensible chuckles out of me any time he’s on-screen.

Not so much a fan of his new costume though. It’s too dark and looks more akin to the Firestorm suit than the white and lilac one Ralph is known for. Hell, I’d even take the Plastic Man rip-off suit! I’m surprised Ol’ Plas wasn’t name-checked as a potential title for Ralph.

Another surprise came in the form of Bill Goldberg, the WWE/WCW icon! He plays a prison hard man called Big Sir who knew Henry Allen and subsequently protects Barry. It’s a neat little role for someone who is both old and hench, and Bill does the job admirably.

Yet another surprise was both the return of Axel Walker, aka The Trickster, but also a The Flash ‘93 alumni, Corinne Bohrer! She plays Axel’s mother and the ex-partner in crime of the original Jesse James Trickster, again referencing the ‘93 series’ continuity while adapting it to the new one. Together, Axel and Zoey are quite a delightful, boisterous duo and really inject some energy and fun into their roles, something other villains on this show fail to do.

You and me both, sister! We get a little more time with Barry and Iris, in scenes that are VERY reminiscent of the first seasons Barry/Henry discussions and it feels played out already. We know Barry isn’t going to be in jail for long because god knows they’re not going to let Wally take over…

Finally, we come to the return of Jessica Parker-Kennedy’s Mystery Girl, who offers some slightly odd but very friendly words with Ralph and Cisco after paying for their coffee. Her bubbly personality seems to throw the pair off-guard but I think I would be the same — then again I’m British and we subsist on a diet of quiet indignance and distrust of the blissful.

Since I didn’t get the chance to talk about her more in Crisis on Earth-X, I guess I’ll give my theory on who she could be given she reveals to be writing in the same odd language that Barry did when he returned from the Speed Force. I’m putting a fiver on this and saying that Mystery Girl is… Jenni Ognats aka XS!

Naw, I’m playing with you! It’s most likely Dawn Allen, one of Barry’s twin kids but having XS show up could link to the Legion of Super Heroes which would also mean we could get a “Legion of Three Worlds” style crossover going. Nah, it’ll be Dawn. Good choice though since she looks an awful lot like a mix between Barry and Iris.

Overall, a damn good episode with some good laughs, neat cameos and fun overall plot. Next week seems to be walking back this episode’s good will by taking one of the DC’s most deranged murderers and playing his abilities for laughs in Honey, I Shrunk Team Flash.

PS, y’all should be watching Black Lightning because no other CW show has had a stronger beginning than this show. It’s got such a unique feel, between the cinematography and utilising Atlanta as a filming location, it’s well worth your time.

At the outset of Girls Night Out, I was reticent as the whole premise could lead to really cringey humour, and it did, but what I wasn’t prepared for was some genuine character moments and a great performance from the guest stars.

All of Team Flash are attending the bachelor/bachelorette parties of Barry and Iris but both groups meet adversity but in different ways. While the guys have to contend with a comedy of errors, the girls have to deal with the reemergence of Killer Frost and the new villain Amunet Black.

I’m glad that Ralph is sticking around, he brings a unique, Carey-esque, performance to the show. Ralph drags the gang to a strip club where Cisco gets Barry drunk and Joe has to confront a parent’s worst nightmare; catching his soon-to-be step-daughter on the pole. Joe being Joe, he takes an even-handed approach to talking to Joanie Horton and offers some sincere advice but this has an adverse effect where Joe has to confront that he’s going to be a father at 50 and the notion terrifies him. It’s a nice, genuine human moment for TV’s Best Dad.

Meanwhile, with the Guest-Star Squadron, Caitlin comes face-to-face with Norvack (the goon she threatened in the season premiere) at Iris’s bachelorette party, the secrets of her six-month absence laid bare, we are introduced to the person she was working for; Amunet Black.

Amunet Black aka Blacksmith is played by the gorgeous Katie Sackhoff and I find her performance and British accent utterly delightful. I’m glad that she wasn’t taken down (despite how inherently stupid that is) because we get a brilliant recurring female villain for a change! We’ll probably also see The Weeper (Black’s meta drug source) again since The Thinker recaptured him.

Meanwhile, Iris helps Caitlin reconcile her two sides, speaking with both Caitlin and Killer Frost and trying to amalgamate the disparate personalities into one whole and it seemingly works… Though we thought the cure would work but the idea of Caitlin having better control and becoming more akin to the Frost in the current comics is a good thing.

One thing I didn’t like was drunk Barry. It wasn’t funny nor endearing but hungover Barry was better so it kind balances out?

Girls Night Out was an okay episode, nothing really outstanding but entertaining enough that it didn’t annoy me which is more than I can say about most of the episodes so far this season. Next week we’ll be training Ralph and summoning the Council of Wells’ to figure out how The Thinker’s identity in When Harry met Harry…

HAAAAA! Puns, I’ve got them! I’ve not felt this good about an episode of The Flash since last season so excuse me if I gush a little. Elongated Journey Into Night introduces two new characters and is the second episode directed by our boy Tom Cavanaugh (the other being The Once and Future Flash), which probably explains why it was really fun!

We’ll get the boring stuff out of the way first: after the shocking revelation of Cecile’s pregnancy, Joe spends a lot of the episode being defensive, flinching at the word baby and insisting that he isn’t ‘glowing’ but after being held at gunpoint by Mayor Bellows, he just blurts it out and is actually fine with it? Did we miss a scene where he actually worked through his feelings? Hm, odd but breaking out the cigars is a nice little celebration’ one shared by Legends of Tomorrow with the birth of Professor Stein’s grandchild!

In the B-plot, Cisco gets a shocking visit from Gypsy’s father, Breacher, and spends the rest of the episode trying to either win his favour or survive his wrath. Danny Trejo is a delight but his no-nonsense character doesn’t really use him to his fullest potential though there are some hilarious line deliveries. This brilliant little sub-plot Cisco finally wins Breacher’s respect (but not his affection) by standing up to him in defence of an innocent meta which brings us to…

Ralph Dibny! Waheeeeeey! An endearing character in the Justice league mythos and Hartley Sawyer is just the goofy-looking weirdo to bring the character to life. His history with Barry is a good conflict and while he is known to break rules, we know he does it for the right reasons, something Barry cops to later since they frequently lock up metas without trial (not to mention those couple guys Barry merced in season 2).

Ralph’s elasticated body is suitably disgusting and gross-looking to emphasise the silly-putty analogy and isn’t too bad considering the TV budget.

Flash Fact: The bottle of Gingold in Ralph’s office is a nod to his comic book origin where that drink is the reason for his elastic abilities.

Overall, a really enjoyable episode, especially after the last couple and hopefully the good times will continue to roll when the ladies of Team Flash and Team Arrow have a Girls Night Out!