The Flash - S1E18 - All Star Team Up

Tweet

Previously on The Flash, ‘Tricksters’

No show is perfect so I was bound to be disappointed by The Flash at least once. This is that time. This episode was meant to do several things:

• Show that keeping Barry’s secret has taken a toll on Eddie’s relationship with Iris. It wouldn’t do to have Iris find out that Barry is The Flash and that Eddie knew about it in one go. She might forgive that. No, we needed to see that Iris is suspicious and knows Eddie is hiding something from her. We had to have an ultimatum, even if doesn’t seem to make that much sense.
• Show Barry acting super suspect to Wells… again.
• Include the highly realistic moments of doubt Barry has about Caitlin and Cisco. Why wouldn’t he think they are in league with Reverse Flash? He was certain Wells was a standup (no pun intended) guy so he could be wrong about his employees as well.

Unfortunately, they had these things happen alongside a subplot about robotic poisonous bees starring Emily Kinney (The Walking Dead), whose acting was just as robotic and poisonous.

And it was terrible.

Brie Larvan is an engineering super genius who has weaponized robotic bees and uses them to kill the former colleagues who did her wrong, and that includes Dr. McGee at Mercury Labs. Barry and Team Flash - with a little help from Felicity and Ray visiting from Starling City - ultimately defeat Brie, and in the process Ray gets the help he needed to perfect his ATOM suit.

Now, let’s talk about the stuff that really matters.

Buddy Cops

Now that Eddie is in on the secret, The Flash can openly assist him and Joe as they apprehend criminals. And one night in particular is a pretty busy one with three attempted robberies. Barry is cocky, Joe is pleased, and Eddie doesn’t look amused.

However, Barry dick-shaming this flasher was everything:

The next day the three investigate the crime scene of an engineering professor who’d been attacked - and killed - by Brie’s bees, though they don’t know that part yet. When Barry hesitates to use S.T.A.R. Labs to analyze the evidence, Joe warns him that he can’t tip off Wells they’re on to him. Barry will have to suck it up and act as if nothing is wrong.

When the toxin which killed the professor is identified as honey bee venom, the team deduces it must be a metahuman who can control bees and increase their toxicity. We also learn that Cisco is deathly afraid of bees.

ATOM

Felicity is in town and she asks Team Flash to step outside. They watch as Ray comes in a little hot wearing the ATOM suit. He cracks the concrete. Felicity looks proud. Cisco, Caitlin, and Barry look shocked. Wells looks like a hater.

Barry isn’t exactly happy to see them, but he hesitates to tell Felicity about his Wells theory. The team seems excited to help Ray figure out his suit issues so Barry’s outvoted. Wells continues to look shady.as.fuck.

Got a Secret

Iris’ journalistic instincts kick in and she grills Eddie at work on how successful they’ve been at bringing in criminals. Could they be working with The Flash? Eddie insists nothing of the sort, but Iris isn’t dumb. Despite his promises to the contrary, Iris is sure he’s keeping secrets.

Eddie tells Joe it’s killing his relationship with Iris. They haven’t had sex in two weeks! Information Joe really didn’t need or want. Either way, Joe reminds him that he’s the dad and his is the overriding opinion on how to keep Iris safe. Unless Eddie wanna put a ring on it. Striking out there, Eddie interrupts Felicity and Barry having coffee at Jitters. Barry was in the middle of side-stepping Felicity’s questions. Eddie learns that Felicity knows Barry’s secret, so that makes Iris odd man out. How can they justify lying to people they care about?

Speaking of odd man out, Felicity suggests the five of them go to dinner to help ease the friction between Eddie and Iris. Such a idea, Felicity.

‘member That?

While helping Ray with his ATOM overheating problems, Cisco has a flash (heh) memory of Wells confronting him, confessing he’s Reverse Flash, and then killing him.

WHAT?

There’s another bee attack and Barry arrives too late to save the victim, and the bees swarm to attack him. He needs Cisco’s assistance in getting out of the building, but he’s directed to a dead end. By the time Joe arrives on the scene, Barry has collapsed outside after being stung numerous times.

Barry goes into cardiac arrest, and Wells has to remotely activate the defibrillator inside Barry’s suit to bring him back. Back at the labs, Cisco apologizes for giving Barry the wrong directions. There’s no time to dwell on it after Wells assures Barry it won’t happen again, because Barry, Felicity, and Ray will be late for dinner.

Cisco visits Joe at the precinct and gets what the police have on the latest bee attack victim, but it’s not why Cisco is there. He wants to know if there’s anything going on with Barry they should know. He’s been acting weird. Joe makes excuses and when he mentions the Reverse Flash, Cisco has another flash memory of evil-ass Wells. Shaken, he leaves without telling Joe what’s going on.

Double Date Dinner +1

Ray has bought out an entire fancy restaurant so they can eat in peace. Overkill? Maybe. But also kind of adorable. Talk about Ray and Felicity’s relationship inspires Iris to be super petty and bring up secrets between couples. Ray changes the subject to his respect for Wells, which only makes Barry remember Wells is a lying liar who lies. He excuses himself and Felicity follows.

He finally tells her what he suspects about Wells, and she realizes he’s also doubting Cisco and Caitlin. Felicity tries to assure him that he can trust them. They’re interrupted by Ray who needs an adult because mommy and daddy are fighting at the dinner table.

Why must Iris be so… Iris?

She storms out, saying she’ll be sleeping at her dad’s until Eddie catches a case of Act Right.

Attack of the Drones

Unbeknownst to the team, one of Brie’s bees has hitched a ride on Barry’s suit and is now terrorizing Cisco, Caitlin, and Wells. Wells is thisclose to standing up (He moves his foot!) in order to use his speed to grab the bee, but The Flash rushes in and snatches up the bee before he can.

Too soon, Barry! Too soon!

The bee is a camera and Brie is watching them right now. After putting the bee under a microscope, the team discovers it’s a robot. They make the connection between the two murder victims: Mercury Labs.

Joe, Barry, and Wells head over to speak with Dr. Christina McGee at Mercury Labs. She’s still a little shitty that they lost her tachyon device, but does tell them Brie’s name. She also refuses their police protection.

The Feels

Felicity uses the faith she had in Oliver - back when he was asking her to do all kinds of weird things before she knew he was the Arrow - as encouragement for Barry to trust Caitlin and Cisco.

At home, Iris asks Barry flat out if Eddie is cheating on her. Barry assures her that he isn’t. He says Eddie’s work is so emotionally draining, he doesn’t want to share with her the horrible things he sees each day. When Barry tells Iris that he only wants her to be happy, she looks at him much the same way she did when she was trying to super cockblock Linda.

Brie activates her robot bug that’s in the Labs and the group scrambles to track it, hoping it will lead them to Brie - and it does.  With an assist from Ray, Cisco, and Caitlin, The Flash is able to stop and arrest Brie and save Dr. McGee.

Cisco’s worst fear comes true when he’s stung by one of the bees (Who was controlling it?) tucked into Ray’s suit. He jumped in front of Ray to take the sting, but now he’s going into cardiac arrest. Barry arrives and creates a charge with his hands and shocks Cisco back to life.

All on the Same Page

Dr. McGee visits Barry in his lab and thanks him for saving her life. He takes this opportunity to ask why she hates Dr. Wells so much. Fifteen years ago, they were close friends and then he changed after Tess died. He became a completely different person.

Speaking with Joe, Barry realizes what a brave and selfless thing Cisco did in saving Ray.

Ray and Felicity are headed back to Starling City, and Ray is happy because he has one of Brie’s bees which helped him figure out his power source problem: go smaller, not bigger.

Iris confronts Eddie at his desk, and she’s not sitting on it! Despite Barry’s defense of Eddie, she tells him that if he loves her, he’ll tell her everything or else.

Cisco and Caitlin show up at Barry’s lab, thinking they’re going out for karaoke with Barry and Joe. Nope. Barry hits them with that hard truth that Wells is Reverse Flash. Caitlin thinks it’s ridiculous, but Cisco looks concerned, if not convinced. He admits to the others he’s been having dreams about Wells being Reverse Flash and Wells killing him.

Overall Thoughts & Questions:

• How the hell is Cisco having memories of what happened in the day that never was? Will this happen to everyone? Is this what deja vu is? (I’m kidding about that last one.)
• Am I the only one who thought Iris was going to have a flashback to kissing Barry when they were talking about Eddie?
• Brilliant having Dr. McGee provide some insight into Wells, letting Barry know that he changed 15 years ago. Depending on how soon after Barry’s mother death the car accident happened, shouldn’t Joe have already made that connection?