The Flash - S2E12 - Fast Lane

Previously on The Flash, ‘The Reverse-Flash Returns’

THIS is the show I fell in love with.

It had action (Barry rescuing Wally West), heart (every scene between Iris and Wally, Cisco and Barry, Wells and Barry, and Joe and everyone), and advanced the Zoom storyline, which had been lagging for no good reason.

Meta-Human of the Week

Joe Monteleone met a gruesome end in a vat of tar just as the particle accelerator exploded. Two years later, construction done on the location unearths him and his new ability to transform into tar. He immediately goes about the business of getting revenge on the men who killed him.

Need For Speed

Joe is so busy trying to be Wally’s friend, he’s neglecting to call his son on the fact that he’s still drag racing. Iris has no such qualms, and confronts her brother at dinner. When that goes nowhere, she decides to show up at the scene of one of his races under the guise of learning what Wally finds so appealing about it, but she’s really gathering info so she can shut the down the races.

Despite telling Joe she’d give him time to reach Wally, Iris confronts the man responsible for the races and threatens to publish an article about his many shady dealings if he doesn’t close his operation.

As luck would have it, Wally’s next opponent is on Tar Pit’s shit list and he shows up to do damage to the asphalt just as Wally takes off in a race, and… well, hold that thought.

Greed For Speed

Wells has used Turtle’s brain juice to create something that will allow him to siphon Barry’s speed via a device hidden in The Flash suit. Wells is already feeling remorse for what he’s about to do, and it doesn’t help that Barry is doing that thing where he’s totally adorable and refuses to take no for an answer when he asks to help Wells research.

Even though Wells is being a complete dick (Seriously. He was like Eastwood in Gran Torino, minus the old white man racism), Barry does assist long enough to figure out a way to close the breaches. The two test Barry’s invention and it works. Hooray! Bro hugs for everyone; whether you want one or not, Wells. At this point, Wells is feeling like shit on a stick for stealing some of Barry’s power earlier and delivering it to Zoom.

Their breakthrough celebration is cut short when Barry receives a call from Iris. The Flash arrives at the drag race and saves both Wally and his opponent from certain death, but thanks to Wells’ device, he’s not fast enough to stop a shard of glass from piercing Iris’s shoulder. (This whole scene was wonderfully shot.)

Earlier, Barry was willing to brush off the fact that he ran slower, but now that Iris is in the hospital because he wasn’t fast enough…

Wells listens to Barry agonize over this before admitting his betrayal. Then he puts his hands behind his head like he’s going to be arrested - like anyone on Team Flash cares about civil liberties. Nope. He gets a Black Fatherhood punch in the face and thrown in Meta-Human Gitmo.

After Tar Pit is neutralized, Wells drops an “I told you so” here and a “I told you I wasn’t shit” there, and then asks to be sent back to Earth-2 to deal with Zoom on his own. Barry can close the other breaches and be done with Zoom (and him) for good.

But that’s not what a true hero would do and Lord knows everyone on Team Flash has fucked up royally at least once - side-eye’ing you, Cisco. Barry officially welcomes Wells to the team and says they’re going to Earth-2 to save his daughter.