The Runaway Dinosaur sees cult filmmaker and comic book man, Kevin Smith, stick his neck into our woods alongside Thor and X-Men: First Class screenplay writer Zack Stentz. What can these Flash newcomers bring to the table?

A pretty damn good episode as it turns out! While Barry finds himself undergoing an existential trial in the Speed Force, Team Flash has to contend with their grief and the reanimated corpse of Girder and while the jumps between scenes can be somewhat jarring, Smith’s directorial style actually improves the scenes themselves.

Flash Fact: There’s an iZombie reference twofer in this episode as not only does Cisco reference the show as a nickname for Girder but Greg Finley has also been a recurring character on that show too!

Both myself and others were concerned about Kevin Smith’s involvement in this episode because when was the last time he did something genuinely good? Clerks 2? That was A DECADE AGO! But, thankfully, Smith manages to deliver in both humour and gravitas, making every scene visually interesting and compelling. His comedic timing, coupled with Valdes and Cavanagh’s natural chemistry makes for some exceptionally funny scenes.

Something else that I noticed in this episode was Candice Patton‘s performance. I think this was the episode that Iris as a likable character to me. She has so much agency and sass in this episode that I actually really like her. Her friendship with Cisco, embracing her role as the self-rescuing princess and even her burgeoning relationship with Barry.

I’ve never been a fan of the WestAllen ship, mostly because it’s the expected canon so waiting for the inevitable is dull but now that we’re here, I’m looking forward to see how it builds on their friendship and the fun shenanigans Barry and Iris can get up to.

Grant Gustin absolutely kills it this episode, bursting at the seams with raw emotion and ugly crying. Again, Smith’s direction for these scenes is especially good and elevates what could have been a repeat of what we’ve seen before and makes something truly impactful. I also liked the inclusion of the “Sit, Barry. Sit.” inversion of the established line, forcing him to slow down and confront his issues.

The final scene sees Zoom give Caitlin an ultimatum before speaking with the LEGION OF JOBBERS! *dramatic stinger* But seriously, who are these clowns? The only one I could kind of guess at was Jack Knight due to the staff he’s holding but the rest look like they were caught in the crossfire of a simultaneous explosion at Hot Topic and that vintage thrift store across the street.

Overall, The Runaway Dinosaur is one of the better episodes of the season despite the potential to be one of the worst but with our boy Barry back in red and Zoom bringing his posse to conquer the city, we’re streaking toward the finale and the possible establishment of more heroes. I’ll catch you next week when we hear the Black Siren’s call in Invincible.