‘The Flash’ season 1, episode 9 review: Who is the Reverse Flash?
Do you like bombshells? Well, we certainly feel like the midseason finale of “The Flash” delivered a huge one on The CW tonight, as we finally learned the identity of the man in the yellow suit.
There were only a few candidates who made sense here. It wasn’t going to be Joe West, it was clearly a man, and Cisco had no motive. Basically, you were either looking at Harrison Wells or Eddie Thawne when you are thinking about genuine suspects that would have a surprising reveal, and the show decided on … Wells! We suppose that this was mostly a surprise due to the fact that Eddie is known for being Reverse Flash / Professor Zoom in the comics, and most expected him to have that identity here. Then again, it is still possible that he will in some form, given the reveal that there were two people there the night Nora Allen died, and not just Wells.
While it is not entirely clear where the show wants to go with this, remember that time-travel is a huge part of the Flash universe in the comics. Clearly, the show wants to have us thinking along those lines courtesy of what we’ve seen with the newspaper teases and other good stuff littered throughout.
Barry and Iris – Ironically, Eddie still has a reason to not like Barry, and it’s simple: He’s trying to get with his girlfriend! After a talk with dear ol’ dad in prison about how he cannot let a murder case control his life, he decided to come clean. Meanwhile, Iris said nothing in response to his feelings. That was what made this especially interesting, since there never was much in the way of a response from her. Clearly, this was intentional, and we sort-of like it.
Ultimately, it depends on how she feels. If she does have romantic hopes for Barry, this is a nice move since it doesn’t turn her into a cheater. However, if she doesn’t have feelings, it’s pretty cruel to lead him on.
Firestorm – There was no real romance in the air for Caitlin this Christmas; instead, she learned that her husband Ronnie Raymond is alive, but has no real recollection of himself other than time glimpses. Also, he can set himself on fire and fly into the sky. The show is really making this character pretty awesome, and we know that we haven’t seen the last of him just yet.
As for why Ronnie is struggling with some of his memory, we imagine that Victor Garber’s presence in an upcoming episode may allow us to have some more insight.
Now that we’ve said that … is anyone ‘shipping Caitlin and Cisco? If Ronnie never comes around, we could be on board with that.
Overall – “The Man in the Yellow Suit” was captivating, fun at times, and heartfelt at others. It was the culmination of an entire nine episodes of storytelling, and after being somewhat unsure of this show at the beginning of the season, we’re now in a position that we don’t want to see it end. Save for a few unnecessary flashbacks, this episode was probably the strongest of the season. Grade: A-.
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