The Flash recap: 'Power Outage'
With The Flash vs. Arrow crossover happening next week, The Flash could’ve gotten away with a low-key episode lacking in any serious serialization. But because The Flash is an exceptional show, it does quite the opposite. First and foremost, tonight’s episode is about Barry struggling to regain his powers after they are stolen by a metahuman, while Joe and Iris are held hostage in the police station. However, “Power Outage” goes a step further: It explores what happens when Dr. Harrison Wells’ surreptitious goals are both put in jeopardy by a metahuman and close to being revealed. Basically, all of this made for an exciting episode.
FLASHBACK — 10 months ago
METAHUMAN OF THE WEEK: Farooq, a.k.a Blackout
As I mentioned earlier, Wells’ plans for Barry come into sharper focus in “Power Outage.” Following the flashback, we return to S.T.A.R. Labs in the present to find Wells entering his secret room. Once inside, he turns on his super-future-seeing computer/diary named Gideon and starts recording another log in his journal. Among the things that make it into this week’s diary entry: Barry’s been using his extraordinary powers to accomplish ordinary tasks and problems (like a slow line at a coffee shop), Barry’s become a bit of a show-off (cut to Barry taking his time disarming a mugger who accosts him), and that he’s worried Barry’s attachment to people is slowing down his progress.
Before leaving, Wells pulls up the newspaper from the future just to make sure that the future is intact. What’s funny is that we know Dr. Wells will probably end up hurting Barry at some point, but we don’t care because Cavanagh and the writers have created such an enigmatic and compelling character.
Forever tardy, Barry shows up to the lab and is immediately scolded by Wells, who reminds him of their deal: He and the team will help Barry save people from metahumans, and Barry will let them study him to make medical and scientific progress. He’s worried Barry isn’t given the latter enough attention.
“Speed is the key to progress. You need to kick it up a notch,” Wells says.
Unfortunately, their conversation is interrupted when Barry is called away to a homicide crime scene. Somewhere in Central City, the cops have found a body that’s been burnt to a crisp and is seemingly beyond recognition. Based on physical evidence found at the crime scene, Barry deduces that the man was electrocuted. Then, he takes a picture of the guy’s face and brings it back to S.T.A.R. Labs for them to identify him. Thanks to the upgrades Felicity gave their system, they can basically do anything now and quickly identify the man as a worker at an electric substation. Coincidentally (not really), said substation is losing power right at this moment. Barry speeds into action.
When he arrives on the scene, he finds a scary-looking Farooq siphoning off energy and proclaiming that he needs to feed. At first The Flash is able to dodge Farooq’s zapping, but eventually he gets caught by one and Farooq starts draining his energy. Having never tasted energy like this before, Farooq needs more and drains Barry until he’s lost all of his speed. Don’t think Wells yelling “Run, Barry” will help much this time.
[Sidenote: Did tonight’s episode remind anyone else of the “Leech” episode from Smallville’s first season where something similar happens to Clark?]
NEXT: Blackout
Using Uber, Barry makes it back to S.T.A.R. Labs, but is still speed-less. And without his speed, he’s no better at running on the treadmill than the rest of us. Wells, who cares a lot about Barry’s utility and has a vested interest in him, assures Barry that they’ll find a way to get his powers back. However, this whole situation has Caitlin confused because when Barry was first struck by lightning, his DNA was transformed and it’s not possible to untransform DNA.
Hoping to protect Joe and the rest of the CCPD, Barry pays Joe a visit and informs him about the current sitch. As he’s leaving the precinct, Barry passes Arrow‘s William Tockman, who’s being escorted into the precinct by two cops. As they pass, Tockman compliments Barry’s timepiece and laments the loss of his many timepieces.
Back at S.T.A.R. Labs, Wells’ situation has grown more desperate: The future has changed. Gideon is unable to find any record of The Flash or Barry Allen, and there’s no longer any mention of “the Crisis.” Now, Wells has an added incentive to work with Barry to catch this metahuman.
As is to be expected, Barry’s not handling losing his powers well. “I’m not the best version of me. I love being The Flash. I love everything about it: the feeling of running hundreds of miles per hour; wind and power just rushing past my face; being able to help people. I’m not sure I can live without it,” he tells Caitlin. While we know he’ll definitely regain his powers, the moment still feels real—it presents another moment where what Barry wants to do with his powers conflicts with what Wells wants to do with them.
No sooner has Cisco identified Farooq than crazy eyes himself shows up at S.T.A.R. Labs demanding to see Dr. Wells. When Wells doesn’t show his face, Farooq drains all the power from not just the lab, but the entire city, including the police station. See, Farooq blames Wells for the deaths of his two friends Jake and Darya, who died after being electrocuted when they tried to revive Farooq on the night of the explosion. (The Wests’ lives are also put in danger by the city-wide power outage, but more on that later.)
With the threat well past their door and inside the building, it becomes imperative that Barry regain his powers. Wells comes up with a theory: Barry’s genes are still primed for speed, so all they need to do is zap Barry with enough energy to recharge him. Using the treadmill, a.k.a. Cisco’s baby, they plan to transfer energy from the building’s generator to Barry. Before they do this, however, Barry, ever the nice-guy, tries to reason with Farooq. Things don’t go nearly as well as they did with Plastique, and Farooq just ends up zapping Barry again, which is the last thing Wells wanted to happen because Barry’s safety is the upmost priority.
“My most important creation is The Flash. Barry Allen must have a future,” Wells says. This is probably the closest he’s come to revealing just how much he knows and cares about Barry’s future.
While Cisco goes to prepare the generator for Wells’ plan and Cisco and Barry hide from Farooq in the treadmill room, Wells makes his way down to their makeshift prison. After condescendingly explaining what a quid pro quo is to idiot jock Tony Woodward, last week’s metahuman, Wells releases him with the understanding that if Woodward kills Farooq, he’ll be allowed to go free. This marks the second time he’s manipulated a metahuman into doing his dirty work for him.
NOW LET’S PAUSE TO ENJOY THAT AWESOME TRAILER FOR THE FLASH/ARROW CROSSOVER THAT AIRED IN THE COMMERCIAL BREAK RIGHT AFTER THAT SCENE:
NEXT: Iris get your gun
As we’re coming down off of the adrenaline rush from that promo, Farooq is still menacingly skulking about the halls of S.T.A.R. Labs looking for Wells and Barry. Unfortunately, he finds more than he was expecting when Girder comes out of nowhere and is able to withstand all of Farooq’s zapping… or so it appeared. Eventually, Girder falls to Farooq’s awesome power, which sucks for Team Flash because Wells’ plan to recharge Barry’s powers didn’t work.
Unlike with Plastique, Wells’ involvement in Girder’s death comes out. When Barry and Caitlin reunite with Cisco, they tell him about Woodward fighting Farooq, and Cisco explains to them that someone must have let Woodward out because the doors to the prison shouldn’t have lost power. Barry’s disgusted by Wells’ actions; not only was Woodward used as a pawn, but this also reveals just how little Wells cares about people. This doesn’t faze Wells because he believes that all of their lives, especially Barry’s, were worth Woodward’s sacrifice. It’s a rather intense exchange that works, even though there’s been little indication that Barry’s had a problem with some of Wells’ questionable moral calculations in recent weeks. Luckily for Wells, this still counts as a win because while they learned how cold he is, they didn’t learn that he’s been lying about his handicap. Woodward, who saw him walk, is dead.
But, there’s no time to discuss Wells’ actions because Farooq is quickly approaching and they need to find a way out of the building. Looking at Barry’s blood, Caitlin can’t figure out why Barry still hasn’t gotten his powers back even though his cells are rapidly regenerating. This leads Wells to figure out that Barry’s problems aren’t physical, they’re mental. Barry’s case of the yips literally couldn’t come at a worse time.
The gang makes their way to a garage, but Farooq stops them from leaving. He’s about to kill Barry, Cisco, and Caitlin when Wells offers himself to Farooq. As Farooq approaches with hands sparking all over the place, Wells admits that he realizes how many people he hurt that night. Not only does he know the names of Farooq’s dead friends, but he also knows those of Ralph Dibney (YAY), Bea de Costa, Grant Emmerson, Al Rothsein, Will Everett, and Ronnie Raymond. His actions deprived the world of their potential, and he has to live with that. For Barry and the rest of the team, this shows them that Wells does in fact care about others at least somewhat. For us, however, this easter-egg filled list (check our Wall of Weird below) further reveals that Wells was well aware of his actions.
Wells’ heartfelt admission does not soften Farooq’s heart and he still tries to kill. Because this is Barry Allen, a man who cares deeply for his fellow man, someone threatening someone he’s closed to is all he needs to get over his mental block and kick some ass. In the ensuing confrontation with Farooq, Barry allows himself to be zapped again, but this time he pushes back and overloads Farooq will all of his power. (ASIDE: The special effects in this scene were kind of amazing. It’s a joy to see the visually stunning things the show can pull off on a CW budget. END ASIDE)
Later, Barry tries to apologize to Wells, but Wells says Barry was right, he doesn’t care about people. He finds them misinformed and shortsighted (get it?). What he does care about is the future and Barry’s place in it. Following their talk, Wells retires to his secret room to journal again. This week’s metahuman taught him that Barry’s attachment to those he loves are not a weakness, but may very well be the key to getting up to speed. More good news: The future is intact. Will this realization lead to some sinister deeds?
The answer is definitely maybe. Tonight’s episode ends with Wells visiting Farooq’s body in the pipeline and extracting some of his blood to find out how he stole Barry’s powers.
VILLAIN OF THE WEEK: William Tockman, a.k.a. The Clock King
While all of this was going down at S.T.A.R. Labs, The Clock King was holding the CCPD station hostage. Iris is convinced The Flash will show up, but he doesn’t because of everything that happened above. Eddie, who was hiding when Tockman took over the station, tries to take Tockman out, but Tockman is wearing kevlar and Eddie is the one who’s wounded instead. Eventually, the police deliver the helicopter he requested, and while he enjoyed finding someone who appreciates American literature (Joe), he decides to take Iris with him to ensure his escape. Before they take their leave, Tockman lets Iris kiss Eddie goodbye and Eddie whispers something in her ear. As they’re making their way to the helicopter, Iris uses Eddie’s spare gun to shoot Tockman in the knee.
Keeping Iris and The Flash apart for this episode was good because both storylines were rather strong and it allowed the show to make up for last week’s damsel-in-distress storyline.
Later, at the hospital, The Flash shows up and apologizes to Iris for not being there to help them. He promises to never be late again, to which she says her best friend always says that. “You’re worth being on time for,” says The Flash. Iris’ encounter with The Flash put her in such a state that upon her return to Eddie’s hospital room, Joe points out that she forgot to get the coffee she went out to get.
Wall of Weird:
— The visit Reverse Flash paid Joe last week made Barry losing his powers all the more problematic. Not only is the city at risk, but so are he and Iris.
— Wells’ easter-egg filled list: Ralph Dibny, a.k.a. Elongated Man; Bea de Costa, a.k.a. Fire; Grant Emerson, a.k.a. Damage; Al Rothstein, a.k.a. Atom Smasher; Will Everett, a.k.a. Amazing Man; and Ronnie Raymond, who we already know will become Firestorm. Although I’m not too sure how I feel about all of these people eventually becoming superheroes as a result of the particle accelerator explosion, I understand it’s the easiest way to incorporate these characters into the show should the writers ever choose to do so.
— Did you see Natalie Abrams’ article on when we’ll see Reverse Flash?
— Does the introduction of Gideon the super-computer mean anything to you guys? I can’t remember ever coming across that name in the comics.
