The Flash - S1E21 - Grodd Lives

Previously on The Flash, ‘The Trap’

We get our second Iris-narrated cold open of the season as she asks us to imagine what it’s like to have your best friend keep a universe of secrets from you. Yeah, girl. That’s pretty fucked up.

Even More Lies

Singh is back to his short and annoyed self as he wonders why Eddie doesn’t have his ass at work. Joe lies and says Eddie took some personal days. If that’s so, Singh’s gonna need Joe and Barry to pick it up on a case of gold store robberies.

Iris visits Barry in his lab and tells him about the man in yellow snatching up Eddie. She wants to bring in the police since The Flash hasn’t done as promised. He talks her out of it and says that he’ll do whatever he can to find Eddie. Iris just stares at him like, “Damn. You just can’t stop lying.”

Armed guards are preparing a transport of gold bars when a masked man strolls up with a rocket launcher. Cisco gets an alert that the gold storage is being attacked and Barry rushes out. When he gets to the scene and confronts the masked man, Barry’s knocked to the ground by visions in his head and a loud noise. It seems to affect the masked man as well before he gets away.

Back at S.T.AR. Labs, Caitlin gives Barry a check-up and in walks Iris because no one locks the damn doors. Also, why are they still in the evil villain’s HQ? Why are they still coming to work? Whose cutting those checks?

Caitlin and Cisco listen in as Barry and Iris have it out in the next room. Iris isn’t angry; she’s disappointed. She learns Eddie knows, but Barry assures her that’s not why Wells took Eddie. Oh, and by the way: Wells is the Man in The Yellow Suit. Not sure why Barry doesn’t tell her that Wells is really Eobard Thawne and is related to Eddie - that would certainly ease some of her fears about Eddie’s fate. She does get angry when she learns Joe knew and told Barry not to tell. She tells him she doesn’t need their protection of lies.

Family Chat

Eddie is still gripped up in Wells’ OTHER secret lair. He asks for food and pushes for proof that they’re related, but Wells doesn’t need to prove himself. When Eddie tells him he’s not going to get away with it because The Flas- Wells runs up on him Reverse Flash style with glowing red eyes.

“Stop talking.”

And Eddie shit himself.

Meanwhile, Iris is at the paper alone, making a list of all the lies she’s been told and plotting her vengeance. Kidding. She seems to be investigating all she knows about what happened to Barry’s mother, and then Joe arrives. He finally admits that lying was wrong, but he wanted to keep her safe. She’s tired of that excuse. He lays out what Wells has done, including killing Mason. Oh, by the way, Mason is dead, too. She can’t believe he’s covering that up. He says he’s not, but he kinda is.

She’s also type shitty he didn’t tell her how Barry felt about her, even though that wasn’t his secret to tell. Eddie wouldn’t be in trouble if she wasn’t dating him. Does this mean she wouldn’t have dated Eddie if she knew how Barry felt? She won’t answer that question, but she does blame Eddie’s kidnapping on Joe and his lies.

I Got Some Ice Cream, And You Can’t Have None

Singh believes an upcoming gold transport will be hit by the man in the mask so they set up a sting operation inside the ice cream truck used as a cover/transport. The man in the mask does attack and shoots at the cops inside, including Joe. The Flash arrives and knocks out the masked man. They pull off his mask to reveal it’s General Eiling.

It’s at this point that I said to my husband, “I was pretty sure Grodd didn’t kill Eiling. Oh, shit! I totally forgot Grodd is in this episode. I’ve been thinking about nothing but Barry and Iris!”

Eiling is placed in the metahuman holding cell and Cisco reveals ARGUS has him as missing for the past three months. Eiling speaks to them in short sentences: “Eiling not here. Eiling bad. Caitlin good.” They realize he’s not speaking as himself, but as someone named Grodd.

Caitlin and Cisco fill in Joe and Barry: Eiling and Wells were trying to build telepathic super soldiers, but when Wells found out about Eiling’s experiments on Grodd, he stopped them and kept Grodd at the labs. He got out after the explosion. They deduce that the dark matter enhanced Grodd with the telepathic powers. Maybe Wells is using Grodd to distract them. Find Grodd, find Wells. And then Iris walks in because they still ain’t locking those damn doors - and she wants to help.

Getting Grodd

Going through reports of animal-like noises in the sewers and two sewer workers going missing, Iris gives the gang a place to start looking. Cisco, Barry, and Joe take off into the sewers.

While they’re gone, Caitlin and Iris discuss Caitlin’s part in keeping secrets: she lied about Ronnie to Iris. Iris is just happy that Caitlin stuck up for her when she insisted on helping and that Ronnie is okay.

In the sewers, there’s evidence of Grodd evolving and getting smarter. And from the sounds of nearby growls and footsteps, he’s gotten bigger, too. Barry shoots Grodd with a tranquilizer, but is then knocked out by a telepathic attack and Joe is grabbed by Grodd.

Joes wakes up alone in another part of the sewers, but he’s not alone for long. Grodd makes Joe point his own gun at his head and Joe screams for help, for Cisco to save him. But Grodd tells him “father” doesn’t like guns so he makes Joe toss the gun away. Joe then offers Grodd the banana Cisco bought and Grodd is so offended. Joe should know, as a black man, not to offer anyone stereotypical food.

Real Talk

At the Labs, Cisco says they need to wait until the tracker in the tranquilizer is activated to find them. In the meantime, they’ll work on some kind of tech to keep Grodd from getting into Barry’s head. Iris is annoyed. She basically wonders how the team can be so not-shit when it comes to rescuing Eddie and her dad.

Once again, Iris and Barry have it out over secrets. Barry begs her not to blame Joe for any of this, but to blame him. So, she does. She feels betrayed, and he apologizes (again), but also points out that she’s not been honest with him about her feelings. That shut her ass up right quick and he leaves to check on Cisco and Caitlin.

Meanwhile, Eddie is like, “Can a brother get a sandwich? Shit.” Wells would rather talk shit about the Thawnes who came before him, including Eddie. Then he drops the bombshell that Iris marries Barry. Welp. Eddie sits there looking all butthurt.

Getting Grodd Part 2

Grodd’s tracker turns on and Barry suits up to rescue Joe. Cisco releases steam from pipes in the sewers to lure Grodd where they want him: 5.3 miles from Barry’s location. Barry goes in for the super sonic punch, but Grodd is ready for him and charges. He catches Barry by the fist and tosses him. Thankfully, the headset created to block Grodd’s telepathy works. Unfortunately, fast punching doesn’t. Grodd grips Barry up by the neck and throws him through a wall and onto train tracks. The headset flies off and Grodd telepathically paralyzes Barry on the tracks of an oncoming train.

Iris gets on the mic and talks Barry through it, begging him to move for her. He moves just in time. Barry and Grodd stare each other down as the train passes. When it’s gone, Grodd charges and jumps to Barry, who’s back in the middle of the tracks. Barry moves at the last second and Grodd is taken out by a train.

Barry finds Joe, who is all up in his damn feelings, and tells the gang he’s bringing Joe home.

Bygones?

Barry lets Eiling go since he’s no longer under Grodd’s control. Eiling isn’t going after Barry, but he is going to hunt Grodd. And also, he’s totally here for getting some Wells payback.

Joe is recovering in the Labs, and has a come to Jesus moment with Iris. He acknowledges that he’s made mistakes in trying to protect her and gets him to agree to love her enough to never lie to her again.

Barry realizes that Joe was right: Grodd was a distraction sent by Wells. What is he up to? Cisco is all sad face because his headset wasn’t strong enough. Dude, all it needed was a chin strap! Cheer up, Cisco! 

West-Allen

Barry finds Iris on a rooftop. Apparently, she loves rooftops. Also, Barry is looking fine-as-fuck in all black. Sweet Lord. She feels disconnected from him and his life, but he tells her she’s always with him. Always. Without her, there is no Flash. *swoon* She finally admits she thinks about him and them, but Eddie is her boo. She loves him and he’s missing. Barry vows to bring him home and then asks, “What then?” Iris doesn’t know.

Girl, you better figure it out! Shit. I didn’t watch for 21 episodes to see her end up with Eddie!

Meanwhile, Grodd still out in dem streets, climbing buildings, looking for his daddy. Speaking of, whatever Wells had been tinkering with all episode is finally done. It’s a tube with a blue light inside. He leaves his other underground secret lair to enter a long tunnel which lights up when he inserts the tube in a panel.

“It’s time to go home.”

Bye, then! 

P.S. Did Eddie ever get fed?