The Flash Season 1 Episode 18 Review: All Star Team Up
Carissa Pavlica
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Felicity has always fit like a glove in Central City and now we know Ray Palmer fits just as well.
Knowing they're not long for this world cut into the magic of The Flash Season 1 Episode 18, but it was still fun watching Cisco find a kindred spirit in the airborne billionaire and when the third of the DC superhero shows hits the air, I sure hope Cisco makes the trip to whatever city is hosting the fun to visit his new friend.
Assuming, of course, that Cisco will still be with us well into 2016.
It never even occurred to me that Cisco (or anyone, for that matter) might retain memories of the day Barry erased by running backward and changing time. I have no idea how that would be possible, but it was a beautiful, if heartbreaking, twist.
Cisco: I've been having these dreams. Mostly at night, but sometimes during the day. But they don't really feel like dreams. They feel real.
Barry: What happens in the dream?
Cisco: Dr. Wells is the Reverse Flash and...he kills me.
Joe was worried about Cisco and Caitlin being true to their mentor. It didn't take too much to sway Cisco in the original timeline, and it seems recalling said mentor plucking your heart out of your chest with his bare hand might make it easy to overlook former favored mentor status.
Caitlin will be more difficult to persuade, but Joe's challenge of "or is he" about Harrison's paralysis could prompt her own memory to return about him abandoning his chair when she turned to get coffee. It's hardly of the magnitude of Cisco's memory, so it's probably a stretch.
Nonetheless, we're well on our way to the team discovering exactly "Who is Harrison Wells?" That's even the name of The Flash Season 1 Episode 19, so expect the investigation to heat up rather quickly.
We've chatted in round tables about being too spoiled with all of the crossovers and whether it takes away from the enjoyment of what we're watching now. All ship obsessions aside, I have to say it does. Felicity and Ray were a lot of fun to watch here, especially without the Oliver drama to trip things up.
Caitlin and Felicity even had some girly bonding in which Felicity pointed out something rather obvious to the audience.
Caitlin: You're so lucky. Ray's so nice and smart and hot.
Felicity: Yeah, it's kind of like I'm dating Barry, but in Oliver's body. A sentence you'll never repeat to anyone!
Caitlin: Your secret's safe with me.
Earlier, Felicity and Ray were bumbling about Ray not being able to keep it up and Caitlin realized there were two of them and it was equally amusing. There is something about them as a couple that is lighthearted and fun. There isn't any drama associated with their dating, which can't be said for poor Iris and Eddie.
It's very rare these days for any couple on The CW to be enjoyable and offer smiles, so it was fun while it lasted. Back to Eddie. The guy is in a really rough spot. Kudos to Barry for making an attempt, albeit a shallow one, to smooth over the rough waters of the Eddie/Iris relationship.
Did you feel the irony that Iris went running from the arms of Eddie, who at least gives a damn and feels conflicted about lying to her back into the home of Joe and Barry who are forcing him to lie in the first place?
Honestly, we have these "let's keep 'em in the dark" themes in every superhero story, but this one has to be the worst.
Felicity: What is wrong with you? Is everyone in Central City in a bad mood? I thought Central City was supposed to be the fun one!
Eddie: It's not...
Barry: Felicity knows.
Eddie: Wow. So everyone but Iris.
Barry: Feels that way.
The way Barry nonchalantly said "feels that way" was off putting. There is just something about the way this particular lie is being kept or the way the story is being told that doesn't fit with all of the others on The Flash.
Everything else on the show feels right and is well written; this falls flat. Either bury it and move on to other things until someone discovers a way to write it well or tell her and let the consequences rain down. Surely there is a better story for Iris than to be fodder for the men in her life. Even her budding career as a journalist seems to have ended.
It was fun seeing Felicity do her Felicity thing, but Emily Kinney as Brie Larvan was a bit of a let down. She didn't have a single scene with another human being outside being spun around in a chair by The Flash. Much ado about nothing, I'd say.
Other things of note:
- Why weren't Eddie and Joe disoriented being thrust in and out of the driver's seat by Barry ad actually driving? That would be difficult for a non metahuman.
- Eddie wasn't amused by Barry's antics catching the bad guy when he asked if the hadn't heard of him.
- Eddie's opinion will outweigh Joe's when he's her husband. Ouch.
- Tina McGee's description of Harrison Wells changing almost overnight was most helpful.
- Fun bits: Barry's exclamation about the food arriving during that incredibly awkward dinner and Felicity's pleasure in finally having a nemesis.
Despite the 'tude, the hour was still amazingly entertaining. There's little doubt that every one remaining of The Flash is going to be must-see TV. With as often as Cisco's life is put in danger, it's actually worrisome; would they dare kill him off? Surely he's safe. Right??
Hit the comments with your thoughts on "All Star Team Up." What was your favorite part? Do you wish there were visitors from other cities all the time or does it distract you from the larger story?
Remember, you can watch The Flash online anytime via TV Fanatic if you need to catch up!
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.
