THE FLASH Season 1 Episode 9
Episode Title: “The Man in the Yellow Suit”
Writers: Todd Helbing & Aaron Helbing
Director: Ralph Hemecker
Previously on “The Flash”:
Episode 1.08 “Flash vs. Arrow”
There are full spoilers ahead for this week’s midseason finale of “The Flash.” You’ve been warned!
A great villain is hard to find, but “The Flash” seems to have struck gold with “The Man In The Yellow Suit.” This is a bad guy who can (and does) beat The Flash… twice. And as an added bonus, he’s apparently being portrayed by one of the best actors on the show. I’d call that a win.
The Reverse-Flash
After a flashforward that shows Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) desperately pursuing his ultimate nemesis across Central City, we jump back a day to see the Reverse-Flash break into Mercury Labs and kill two of the security guards. From the lone survivor’s account, both Barry and his surrogate dad, Detective Joe West (Jesse L. Martin) realize that Reverse-Flash is the man who killed Barry’s mother.
To complicate matters, Joe confesses that Reverse-Flash stole the evidence about the murder of Nora Allen and threatened his daughter, Iris West (Candice Patton) weeks ago. Later, Iris’ boyfriend, Eddie Thawne (Rick Cosnett) finally picks up on Barry’s romantic feelings for her, but Iris dismisses the notion.
The Man With The Fire In His Hair
While shopping for a Christmas gift, Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker) is briefly stalked by Ronnie Raymond (Robbie Amell), her not so dead fiancé who denies knowing her. Caitlin flees when she witnesses Ronnie manifest his flame powers.
Caitlin confides in Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes) and together they track down Ronnie again. Ronnie once again denies that he is Caitlin’s fiancé and he calls himself Firestorm before bursting into flames. BTW, there’s a really bad edit in there when Caitlin and Cisco react to Ronnie’s flames. It’s so distracting that I’m surprised it made it to the final cut.
Death Race
At S.T.A.R. Labs, Dr. Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh) and the rest of Team Flash begin working on a way to trap Reverse-Flash. Meanwhile, Iris comes by Barry’s place and he denies having romantic feelings for her despite learning that she and Eddie are moving in with each other.
Before Barry can process the news, he sees Reverse-Flash stalking him. At superspeed, Barry chases Reverse-Flash through the city and into the football stadium. Reverse-Flash admits to killing Barry’s mom, but he’s so much faster than Barry that he leaves the Flash laid out on the grass.
Showdown At S.T.A.R. Labs
Dejected by his defeat, Barry is further stung when Joe and Wells tell him to stay out of the attempt to catch Reverse-Flash. Barry visits his father, Henry Allen (John Wesley Shipp) in jail and he apologizes for not being able to catch Reverse-Flash. Henry tells Barry to let it go and stop letting Reverse-Flash take things from him.
Inspired by his father, Barry confesses his romantic feelings to Iris, who doesn’t offer a definitive reply before he leaves. At S.T.A.R. Labs, the Reverse-Flash is caught in a forcefield as Joe, Eddie and some random cops look on. However, Reverse-Flash drags Wells inside the forcefield and begins mercilessly beating him.
Joe shuts down the forcefield, which unleashes the Reverse-Flash on the cops as well. However, Reverse-Flash stops short of killing Eddie before Barry answers Caitlin’s S.O.S. as The Flash.
Deus Ex Firestorm
For the second time in this episode, Barry gets his ass handed to him by Reverse-Flash. But just when Reverse-Flash seems ready to finish him off, Firestorm appears out of nowhere and starts burning the man in yellow. Reverse-Flash tells Barry that their race isn’t over before he runs off.
But it’s not a happy ending for Caitlin and Ronnie, as Firestorm tells her to stop looking for him before he departs. Later, Eddie wonders why Reverse-Flash didn’t kill him and Joe clues him in on the existence of metahumans.
“Merry Christmas”
In the aftermath, Joe tells Barry how much he means to him as a member of his family. And it needs to be said that Jesse L. Martin sells it with absolute conviction and emotion. Gustin and Cavanagh have been giving standout performances in every episode, but Martin is the best actor on this show.
At Joe’s behest, Barry joins him for their annual Christmas party, with Caitlin and Cisco also in attendance. Barry and Iris are awkward with each other, but neither of them bring up his confession of love.
In the last scene, Wells apparently reveals himself to be the Reverse-Flash. It’s a really good twist, even if it requires Wells to be in two places at once throughout the episode.
Wells has done some shady things in the last nine episodes, but he’s also acted to protect Barry Allen and ensure that the Flash’s future remains intact. There’s a larger agenda at play here. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s more than one Reverse-Flash, as that would neatly explain how Wells could confront Reverse-Flash in the episode.
“The Flash” closed out 2014 with its best episode to date. If this episode is an indication of where things are going with “The Flash,” then I’m very excited to see the second half of the season.
Share your thoughts on “The Flash’s” midseason finale in the comment section below!
