Oh, yeah! The Flash is back and I am a happy boy! Alas, as the first episode of 2016 begins, that is not the case for Barry Allen. While the show was in re-runs, some time has passed and Barry and Patty Spivot (Shantel VanSanten) have become closer. But as the couple has become more intimate, Barry’s fear of her getting hurt because of the Flash has grown greater. The episode opens with Barry having a nightmare where Zoom kidnaps Patty and drops her off a building. Barry wakes up, startled because he could not save her in his dream. Patty’s a bright girl and she knows Barry is keeping something big from her. Barry begins debating whether to tell the new love of his life who he because he knows this secret is doing major damage to his blooming relationship. Everyone close to Barry appears okay with this idea except Harry who seems to know Barry’s fear that being close to him will make Patty a target for Zoom.
Things come to ahead for Barry and Patty as the Flash faces off with the Turtle (Aaron Douglas), a meta-human who has the ability to slow everyone around him down by stealing their kinetic energy. Cisco has been tracking the Turtle’s activities for a while, starting when he was looking for crimes that could have been committed by the Reverse-Flash at super speed. Cisco has become obsessed with this bad guy and the Turtle is his white whale. Now though, he proposes that the team use the Turtle’s powers to slow down Zoom. In tracking his crimes, Cisco has found that the Turtle goes for items of great value to their owners, things that the Turtle feels others take for granted. Right on cue, Caitlin sees a press conference at police headquarters regarding the recovery of some stolen diamonds. Sensing this is just the thing the Turtle would go for, the Flash heads over and sees his latest foe in action. But all the Scarlet Speedster can do is watch as the Turtle’s powers affect him too and the villain makes off with a valuable ring from the collection.
Even though the Flash was unable to stop the Turtle, Caitlin is able to ID him as Russell Glosson. Hoping to save things with Patty and also lay a trap for the Turtle, Barry invites his lady love to a special black tie event that is showcasing a recently recovered painting called “The Crystal Ball.” Barry and the team believe this prize, which has great personal meaning to the owner, will be just the bait they need to lure Glosson out into the open. What no one foresees is Barry having to leave Patty in the lurch when the Turtle strikes or Patty trying to arrest him and getting on the radar of the Slowest Man Alive after he sees how Barry tries to save her.
While Barry is facing his dilemmas, Joe is facing relationship problems of his own with a son that he has just met and who doesn’t seem too keen to get to know the detective. Joe learns that Wally (Keiynan Lonsdale) made a name for himself as a street racer in Keystone City and part of his reason for coming to Central City was to find fresh marks. The young man resents his father not being in his life and while he eventually will come around, things are strained between the West men for a good part of this episode.
Before the episode ends, we also find out a secret that Jay Garrick (Teddy Sears) has been keeping. Zoom not only stole his speed, the loss of his powers have condemned him to death. So now we know that Jay getting his speed back is literally a matter of life and death for the Crimson Comet.
Like I said, I am a happy boy now that The Flash is back with all-new episodes and downright giddy that the show hit the ground running with such a great installment. The Turtle was the first villain that the Silver Age Flash fought way back in Showcase #4 and he never was a major threat to the Scarlet Speedster in the comic books. For television, the producers have made him a major threat with his ability to slow the rest of the world down around him as he commits his crimes. Douglas plays Glosson with just the right amount of menace as he kidnaps Patty in the hopes of stealing the most precious thing to the Flash. The guy goes from being schlub to genuine threat in a heartbeat and it is all due to a really good performance. Sadly, I doubt we’ll get to see the Turtle again (more on that below).
I’ve liked VanSanten’s Patty Spivot since they introduced her and she really delivers an outstanding performance this time around as she tries to get Barry to open up to her. Honestly, when she thinks he abandoned her at the party where the Turtle almost killed her, it got me in the feels. It is gut-wrenching to watch the final scenes where it looks like she is saying good-bye to Barry when she tells him her plans to study Forensic Science in Midway City. By now, poor Patty feels like she has nothing to keep her in Central City. She has caught the man who killed her father, the Weather Wizard, aka Mark Mardon, and she feels like she has no future worth pursuing with Barry.
As I noted before, I was really starting to like Harry Wells before he threw in with Zoom to help set the Flash up for the kill. We get to see just how ruthless Harry really is as he (presumably) kills the Turtle and takes a genetic sample from him. Harry is a man whose child is in danger and that makes him desperate. Now he has a potential means to shut Zoom. I’d suggest hanging tight, kids. It’s just gonna get more interesting from here.
And speaking of interesting, the WTH!? moment for this episode goes to the tag for “Potential Energy” as we see the return of the Reverse-Flash (Matt Letscher) who appears to be making his first visit to the 21 century. That scene alone is enough to get this episode of The Flash a solid 4.5.