Team Flash goes up against a metahuman that is literally bad luck! The show not only returns to a more light-hearted, funny good time, but this “Hazard” also amps up stakes and brings moments that sway the foundation of the team. Harry also returns!
Writer: Sam Chalsen & Jadalina Neira
Director: Armen V. Kevorkian
What You Need to Know:
The flash has been back for 3 weeks since running out from the speed force. The gang has been mostly open arms about Barry’s return (Iris out of all people seems to be the only one really giving attitude in each episode). Jesse Quick had been doing her crime-fighting on Earth 2 with Harry and their team, while Wally West had been filling in for Barry until his return. In the previous episode, “Killgore” revealed that he was not exposed to the particle accelerator explosion 4 years ago, leaving Team Flash speculating as to what could have given birth to the new metas. The Thinker also thinks up ways (pun intended) to one-up The Flash.
What you’ll find Out:
The show starts out 3 weeks ago at The Thinker’s lair where we find him observing Rebecca Sharpe. On his monitors, we see Becky having the worst of luck. Sips Bad coffee, her boyfriend kissing another girl, and she gets fired and loses a car. While getting on a bus, a blinding light appears. *note that we see Killgore also sitting down in the bus.
Now in the present, Barry, Cisco, and Caitlyn are playing a fun game of laser tag against children. They and the rest of the gang meet outside for lunch and we hear Iris talk about wedding stuff with Barry before she gets a notification that there is a breach at Star Labs.
We cut to Wally standing with gifts waiting for Jesse to come out of the portal and out comes Harry! Harry gives Wally a break-up cube, which is pretty self-explanatory, leaving Wally frustrated. Iris gets a notification that the Central City Bank is getting robbed by Becky, who walks in the bank and takes a couple of bags full of money with no problems. However, all of the problems are happening to everyone else around her, including The Flash, who trips on a bunch of marbles arriving on the scene.
Back at HQ, Harry calls Becky’s, Hazard at this point; strange Meta powers “quantum entanglement”, meaning Hazard can affect particles in a positive way while affecting other connected particles that start to spin negatively. Harry, Barry, and Cisco decide to scan the city for dark matter since she wasn’t around for the particle accelerator mishap.
Cut to Joe’s house where we see a house inspector, hand Cecile a letter pretty much stating the house is in need of major repairs. She and Joe ponder on whether to move or not.
Searching on foot, Harry, Barry, and Cisco finally find the spot where dark matter was located. Barry remembers this area as being the spot where he came back from the speed force, giving birth to a busload of people that were present that day.
Later, we see Barry finally meet Hazard at Jitters Café consulting on the fact that she has been exposed to dark matter and using her ability to rob a bank. Beck starts to make bad thing happen around them, as Becky mentions it’s time for people to feel bad and not her. As the situation looks to get horrifying, with a nail gun being accidentally pointed at a baby and an explosion about to happen, Barry has no choice but to let Becky go.
All of Team Flash starts to feel the bad luck flowing, as Barry and Iris have problems (again) figuring out where and when to get married, Wally and his break-up, Harry and his break-up with his daughter and her team, and Joe’s collapsing house. Caitlyn notifies the team that Hazard’s Quantum field has expanded over the city, as we see she is having the best of luck in a casino. To make matters worse, Joe and Cecile get trapped inside his house, an airplane catches fire, and the particle accelerator turns back on. While Harry and Cisco go to deal with the particle accelerator, The Flash goes to the casino and slips again but this time on a bunch of coins, and gets cuffed by the handcuffs he brought for Becky. Harry and Cisco fail to turn off the particle accelerator, but then decide to let it turn on as its hydrogen electron collision can release a charge that can temporarily negate Hazard’s quantum field. The plan works and Flash takes Hazard to iron heights.
Cisco mentions to Harry that he should stay on Earth 1 with the team, as it could help him build a life. Harry agrees. Caitlyn discovers the bus that Barry ran into had 12 people on board. 2 down, 10 to go. Recognizing the fact that he was not needed, Wally tells the team that he is leaving to Blue Valley. Apparently, Wally went to Earth 2 to talk over things with Jesse while Team Flash was dealing with Hazard.
Harry believes there is more to the matter of Barry returning, making new metas, and Wally leaving, making the team suspicious of who is thinking (pun intended) of such a plot. The Samuroid helmet in HQ transmits video to The Thinker.
In the last scene, we are back at Joe’s house where we see Cecile helping to fix everything broken. She tells Joe that they should stay at the house before delivering to him the bombshell that she is pregnant.
What Just Happened?
So Cecile is having a baby with Joe! Joe was left stunned and speechless, leaving us to wonder what exactly he thinks about the situation. Having Cecile pregnant creates challenges for the team, as being a district attorney and a member of Team Flash means she will be exposed to danger from time to time. One of my first thoughts about the pregnancy was that Daniel West will be coming to the show. Daniel West was the first New 52 Reverse-flash. Of course it would make a new twist and the showrunners have stated that there will be no more speedsters this season, but maybe in the future?
Anyways, The Thinker has proven so far to be another foe that is a bunch of steps ahead of Team Flash. Obviously he is planning something big considering he wants to gather the 12 new metas. It will be very interesting to see this plan unfold down the line and see what obstacles it provides for The Flash. Hazard proved to be very dangerous and was enough to get you to the edge of your seat, which was really surprising for me. The costume designers also managed to put in her original comic book costume in the show!
Harry coming back really helped the show feel more like “The Flash” should. Tom Cavanaugh is an expert at what he does, and I do feel he is an underrated actor. I am looking forward to more hilarious banter between him Harry and Cisco.
Finally, Wally leaving is a bummer but when you stop to think about it, have the writers been giving Kid Flash the treatment he deserves lately? I feel the show is leaving Jesse Quick to her own business on Earth 2 and putting Wally away for a little bit just to give The Flash back his own show, which is not bad at all. It’s a misfortune that we still have not had a speedster team up with all 4 heroes, including Jay Garrick, but hopefully when they get the show “Barry-centric” again, they could have space for all speedsters and still have a great story to tell.
Rating: 7.9/10
Final Thought: “The Flash” is back on track with the good, light-hearted humor, surprising twists and great action that made it so special in the first place. Season 4 is so far proving a season without a speedster-villain can definitely work. The writers need to continue to play their moves right, just like The Thinker as he plans his next move on The Flash. The writers also need to find a way to make Iris an unfavorable character. The less Iris the better, in my case. She is way too annoying at the moment, but so were Lana, Laurel, Felicity, and more on other comic book shows. Regardless, I cannot wait for more and will be glued to my television on Tuesday nights.