The Flash (TV Series) Back to Normal (2016) User Reviews

Just a Regular Guy

[ThomasDrufke · 7/10 · 26 April 2016]

With no superpowers and a villain of the week, I had a feeling that this episode would have an overly filler vibe to it, and it absolutely did. Be that it is episode 19 though, I was still holding out hope that it would advance that plot a bit more. There was very little of that.

A few noteworthy things did happen however as Caitlin met her doppelganger, Killer Frost, who ended up dying in this very episode. The very fact that there is now no Killer Frost or Reverb left, makes me think that season 3 will definitely tackle both Cisco and Caitlin's potential abilities to a pulp. With that said, I don't really see the need to kill Earth-2 Killer Frost. Sure, the audience is made to feel more terrified of Zoom, but I think the affect of that has kind of worn off. It's sad, because I thought Zoom was going to be one of the best villains the Arrowverse has ever had.

Barry and the crew had to deal with the appearance of a meta-human, Griffin Grey, out to get Wells for what he did. The unfortunate curse of having super strength that comes with old age was a new one, but it never mounted to anything too interesting. I never cared about what was happening to Grey, nor did I feel any real danger for Harry in that situation.

Speaking of Harry, him and Jesse finally reconciled after a few weeks of Jesse missing. Of course, Jesse comes back just in time for next week when the particle accelerator goes off again. So can we expect Wally, Caitlin, and or Jesse to get their powers this way? It only seems fitting to have at least one other person be affected by such an event. After all, turning on the accelerator again should have some consequences so that the team doesn't abuse the ability in the future.

Wally had a big week as well as he got his one on one meet with the Flash to thank him for saving his life last episode. I can't say that this doesn't feel blatantly similar to when Roy wanted to thank Oliver on Arrow, alas, it will likely be the beginning of a long bond between the two characters. Also, it was nice hearing that Wally won't "waste this chance" and perhaps become a better person in the end.

Overall, this episode was a slight improvement on last week's average episode and it set up some possibilities for the future. It wasn't a re-watchable episode at all, and the Zoom stuff continues to just feel strange, so I really can't say my excitement is rising at all for the final 4 episodes. Also, bonus points for that Ace Chemicals easter egg.

+Jesse and Harry reconcile

+Wally becoming a better person

-Zoom material

-Why kill Killer Frost

-Weak villain

7.1/10

Flash -S02E19 Back to Normal

[j_forbesy · 8/10 · 27 April 2016]

First off, I'll start by saying that I really loved the opening scenes to this episode. I loved the direct comparison between Barry as The Flash and Barry as just normal Barry. I thought it was a really fun way to open the episode and really show what the episode is going to be based around.

I liked how we jumped into Zoom's cave really early in this episode. I liked the interaction we go with Caitlin and Hunter. This really was the first we really got to see the them interact since Zoom was revealed to be Hunter. I like how Hunter as a character grew from being just some scary force to a slightly creepy person wanting to keep Caitlin as his own, all in the space of one scene. Following on from that, I liked how we finally got to see Caitlin and Killer Frost meet. From the first time we saw her, I really wondered if we were ever going to see them meet. I really like the conversation they had. We got to see a direct comparison with Earth 1 and 2 Caitlin. I like how Killer Frost played Caitlin and give her a few fashion tips along the way. The death of Killer Frost at the end of this I thought was really smart. By using these 2 characters, we got to learn more about Hunter and how he actually has real emotions for Caitlin. Through the death of Killer Frost, we got to see that her only use was to compress his need for Caitlin, and now that he has her, there will be nothing he won't do to keep it like that.

This week again, I really like how Wally grew as a character that bit more. After starting the season a bit flat and like the writers didn't know how to use him, I think they are finally building up his character by giving him an interesting role to play with Joe. I like how their relationship is growing and we are accepting him as a character. Like I said last week, I really hope they continue to grow him as a character before they make him Kid Flash, if thats what they are planning to do with him. I thought the scene with him and Barry as the Flash was a massive step towards bring Wally closer to Team Flash.

I thought this was a little bit of a step back this episode. While there was still an overarching progression with the overall story, I though the villain of the week we a bit season 1 / early season 2 like. I'm not sure where this villain would fit in though because I like how we finally get to see some repercussions from Wells coming from Earth 2 to live on Earth 1. I thought while the power of the villain himself were quite interesting, I don't this they used him to his full potential.

I thought the end of the episode was really good. I like Zoom's speech about taking his measure of success from people he has killed to Earth's he has ruled. On the flip side of that, Wells telling Barry they are going to recreate the explosion to give Barry his speed back was great. I always thought this may have been an option but I didn't know how they would pull it off, so it going to be great to see how they do it. My main concern is that they might rush it and we have Speedster Barry back next episode.

I came into this episode being a little worried about how they are going to keep moving the story without having the actually Flash around, but I thought they did it quite well. I really loved how they had Barry as more of a side character and used the other characters to really drive this episode. I thought Jesse really got a bigger role this episode. I like how they are starting to incorporate her into Team Flash and I hope she continues to play a big part, especially if she becomes Jesse Quick like we all thought. This is always a strong sign for a show where the main character and step aside and they can still produce a great episode using the support characters.

One final thing I want to touch on is the Man in the Iron Mask. Before this episode aired I had a thought which really made me think and now I've decided on who I'm putting my bets on. Earlier in the season we saw Earth 2 Wells interact with Earth 2 Flash (Jay Garrick) at a press conference on Earth 2. For me, that confirms to me that Earth 2 did have a Flash and Wells knew it was Jay. He also knew that there was someone named Hunter on Earth 2, as shown last episode. Therefore Wells knows that Earth 2 had both a Jay and a Hunter. So my theory is that the real Jay Garrick is in the iron mask as Hunter kidnapped him, allowing him to place a younger version of himself as the role of 'Jay' on Earth 1.

8/10 - See more at thenotsonerdynerd.wordpress.com/

Ranking/Reviewing every Flash episode: Back to Normal

[lbramson · 6/10 · 11 June 2023]

Harry gets kidnapped (Ugh!) by a terrible villain named Griffon Grey. Oh boy, where do I begin? This was one of the season's few misfires, because it does nothing interesting. At this point, a Flash episode template is: Blank character gets kidnapped by villain with blank powers. It's like they rolled the dice and got Harry and villain with strength who ages rapidly. That villain idea sucks, it's so lame! How does Barry deal with losing his powers? He struggles a little, I guess. This was the start of the Flash not really being a part of the Flash. Instead, we focus on Jesse Quick drama and Harry in peril (oh no, I care so much😐)

5.8/10-Meh.

Powerless

[cobi-80620 · 26 April 2016]

Plain simple, I liked this episode. The meta-human, Harry's character development, the cool moment with Zoom phasing through Caitlin. Compared to last week's episode which was so-so I enjoyed this episode a lot more.

So all season Barry has been getting faster, fighting meta-humans and visiting other Earths. This week however, Barry got to go back to be just a regular guy/forensic scientist. But that didn't prevent things from getting interesting as a new meta-human, Griffin Grey, showed up and kidnapped Harry. I liked how we got to see Barry do his CSI work, shows that he can still be useful at normal speed. In the end Barry still got to put on his suit to fight the meta-human although the meta lost to his own powers.

Griffin Grey was a good character despite the short character development he had. We understood his problem, his thinking and his frustration. That's all you really need to know to make someone more than just a one dimensional antagonist. Parallel to Griffin lies Zoom, he faced a similar problem and had the same if not even more frustration than Griffin had. Whether he will face a similar end remains to be seen.

Speaking of Zoom, that moment when he phased through Caitlin was incredible. Combined with the music it felt really cool to watch as he grabbed the icicle and stabbed Killer Frost with it. Now that she is dead I'm assuming Earth-1 Caitlin will become the new Killer Frost when the new PA explosion happens next week. I will miss having the possibility to see a fight between the two Caitlins though.

Finally onto Harry, who got a lot of character development. We found out that his wife died and that is why he's so protective of Jesse. He obviously doesn't have much else to live for so killing a few people to keep her alive is doable to him. Even on a different Earth he can't escape the evil he has caused to benefit his own life. Harry acknowledges that he is who he is but doesn't let that weigh down on him because he needs to be there to help those he can and unfortunately Griffin wasn't one of them. I'm really starting to like this Harrison Wells and I hope he stays.

Lastly onto some theories. Next week Barry will likely get his powers back. Who else will join the club of speedsters, Wally or Jesse? Perhaps both but one's speed doesn't manifest itself until next season? At least one has to get it, and I'd be fine with either one or whoever can help Barry the most in his fight against Zoom. All in all I really liked this episode.

Back to Normal aka The Big Blah

[imakk2001 · 5/10 · 27 April 2016]

Good:

CCPD makes an appearance and a Singh-tease!

Wally NOT demanding to know Flash's ID. Remains to be seen how this eventually resolves.

Zolomon is creepy as hell the more he tries to be normal with Caitlin.

Caitlin/KF, Joe/Wally convos.

Though it was the only one in the entire ep., Zoom phasing through Caitlin was awesome VFX as usual.

Bad:

Singh-tease. Show, don't tell.

Redux of over-protective dad/frustrated daughter dwama llama and wall-to-wall whispering Harry. Definitely getting a creepy vibe with Harry's obsessive over-protectiveness.

Last time Barry lost his speed, StarLabs had a lot of vans and Barry knew how to drive. This time, losing his speed meant StarLabs lost all their vans and he forgot how to drive.

Agree with KF: man in the mask is annoying as hell. They dragged out this mystery too long, don't care who he is.

Joe should have been the one to hold the meta gun. But Barry is still infinity and 0 when it comes to messing up. "Yay."

Grey/Harry convos are supposed to make Harry feel the guilt, but it was just too much blah blah blah.

Side-eying the whole Wally forced to look way way up at Flash while thanking him.

Speculation: Jesse joining the team will free up Caitlin to be KF without the team losing its bio-med expert.

I'm fine with filler eps, but not when they sideline Flash to the point that Back to Normal did, although it wasn't as bad as Fast Lane.

Barry/Flash sidelining + the generally low-key pace = meh. Score: 5