Amac Productions

The Stretchy Man rises.

Gets burned.

Gets scared.

Runs. Stretches to Barry for help.

Finds his courage and bravery.

SAVES THE DAY.

I will admit I was hesitant as to whether or not I liked Ralph Dibney when he was introduced. This was mostly out of his arrogant and flirtatious behavior. However, credit where credit is due Flash handles the sidekick storylines better then any other DC show I’ve seen so far.

Oliver tends to be a self-absorbed know-it-all when it comes to training others. His approach is my way or the highway. An approach which can work as a teacher as long as you’ve earned your pupils respect. His one success story is Roy Harper who is permanently hiding.

Supergirl never managed to get its one sidekick Mon-el off the ground last year to make his transition to hero feel real.

The Flash – in my opinion – does it best. From Kid Flash, to Jessie Quick, to Vibe, Killer Frost, and now The Elongated Man. None of them have felt useless to the plot, any breaks they take felt real and earned. Not to mention Barry doesn’t bother to conceal his identity from anyone he’s tried to train. He remains honest, open, and tries to communicate with them. When he realized how Wally was struggling with phasing he realized the problem was his teaching, not Wally. He amended his lesson to fit Wally.

Barry is one of the best mentors out of the shows I watch regularly. Something he proved yet again with Dibney. He pulled the best from him just by believing in him. Leading by example. Giving him a heart felt speech and a gentle nudge. He’s warm and calm in the face of whatever’s going on with his student and willing to listen. He didn’t write Dibney off or tell him not now. It was a perfect moment.

I do wish Ralph would stop talking so much sometimes but he’s rather loveable in his own way. He brings a much needed light to a bleak world right now on Flash.

Barry’s handling of prison is definitely a trait he gets from his father. His strength comes from his friends and family believing him to be innocent. As previously stated by Henry Allen his strength came from his son’s belief he would never hurt his wife. That was all he needed. Even if Barry never gets released I’m sure Iris’ faith in him would be enough.

I was honestly wondering how long it would take before Barry phased through the glass to touch Iris. I thought he was going to do it the first time but the second was better. After a long day of fighting without Barry at her side it was a bit of relief for Iris.

Barry as well I’m sure since he had been fighting for his own life and the life of a new friend. A friend whose life was saved by Henry Allen. Someone who took the opportunity to save Barry to return the favor to Henry. This friendship I believe can prove useful to Barry not only in staying alive but give him something to do in his prison storyline other then defend himself.

Even if it’s only for one episode it’ll be nice to see Barry interact with someone outside his normal group of friends. Maybe even bring some of that optimism back. Barry has been a little lacking – understandably so – for the last few episodes. He’s normally all smiles and optimism but he knew from the moment he was arrested he was going down.

For the last two episodes he’s been bidding his time waiting to free himself. He’s just not sure when that day will come. He’s probably also wondering how much damage The Thinker and his wife can do before he’s free.

If his new friend is released next week it’ll be nice to see a bit of hope return to Barry’s character. Hope he’ll be free again one day too. And back with Iris and his family.

As for the Trickster or Junior whatever he’s called he and his mother are not nearly as fun to watch as father and son. The relationship came off very weird the whole time. The Trickster is a lot more whimsical and fun to watch. He looks like he’s having the time of his life. I spent most of the episode wondering how much therapy the two of them needed, wishing she would take her medicine again, and maybe give some to her son. Seemed he could use some.

Not to mention I just really love Mark Hamill in the role of the Trickster. The actor himself always looks like he’s having a blast. He probably is too. As a man who is famous for playing an iconic hero it’s probably fun to play the bad guy every once in a while.

On another note I’m confused. In their first episode together Junior didn’t know the Trickster was his father until he said the famous line “I am your father.” In this episode it mentioned he idolized him growing up. Did the little boy idolize the Trickster not knowing it was his father? If so, that should have been a warning to – I don’t know – everyone!

Moving on, all in all, the episode felt a little like filler. Nothing moved the overall plot forward. Except for well time. With Barry in prison they’re going to leave him there for a little while to not undo everything right away. This episode bought time where nothing major happened but Barry’s still in jail, we’re working on it, and The Thinker didn’t attack. It was filler, but it was well played filler as far as I’m concerned.

Those are my thoughts for last night’s episode of the Flash! Let me know what you think!

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