The Flash "The Flash Is Born" Review/Thoughts

This week on The Flash, Barry takes on his most relatable nemesis to date: THAT douchebag from high school. You know the one I'm talking about.

Episode Description: Barry faces off against his grade school bully, Tony Woodward (a.k.a Girder) who has acquired the power to turn his body into steel at will. Meanwhile, Detective West and Dr. Wells compare notes on the murder of Nora Allen.

High Points:

• "Hmm..A Man of Steel..." - Dr. Harrison Wells
• Joe West actively trying to get to the bottom of Nora's murder (asking all the tough questions)
• Barry and Eddie starting to form a friendly relationship (Will it turn sour when Eddie turns out to be Eobard?)
• Joe West and Dr. Harrison starting to form a friendly relationship (Will it turn sour when Dr. Wells turns out to be Eobard??)
• Some people peak in high school. Tony Woodward peaked in elementary
• Barry starting to learn a thing or two about fighting
• Barry is getting a bit faster with each episode (a new PR of 837 mph)
• Iris is writing about a man who lights on fire but doesn't burn? (Firestorm perhaps?)
• R.I.P. "The Streak" (Oct. 2014-Nov. 2014) Hello "The Flash"
• Professor Zoom's message to Joe at the end of the episode

 Our Usual Eobard Thawne Suspects                           

Low Points:

• How does a punch from Iris knock Girder out cold when a Mach 1 punch from Barry does not?
• There is no way that Barry revealing his identity to Tony is not going to come back to bite him in the ass at some point...
• Barry spent a lot of time on the sidelines recovering from previous Girder encounters (made for a bit of a slower episode than past weeks)

Verdict: After a couple weeks of high-intensity name dropping on this show, The Flash returned to the villain-of-the-week scenario in this episode. Girder wasn't terrible but he isn't necessarily what I would hope for in a reoccurring nemesis for Barry, and unfortunately I get the feeling he is going to be. There is a scene in this episode where The Flash reveals himself as Barry Allen to Girder in a moment of pure stubborn pride and I just cannot see how that will not come back to haunt him later on in the show. Despite that rookie mistake, we continue to see Barry grow as a character both in his personal relationships and how he handles situations as The Flash. Joe West and Dr. Well's interactions this week made me distrust the good doctor all the more, especially when we see Eobard Thawne appear for the first time since Nora's murder to tell Joe to back off before Iris gets hurt. Of course, we do not get a clear glimpse of Professor Zoom's face, but it is quite suspicious that this would happen after Joe was grilling Dr. Wells so hard about his particle accelerator. This show is either slapping us in the face with the obvious or it is trying its hardest to get us to believe that Dr. Wells is evil when he isn't and I for one have no idea which one to believe. I know which one I want to believe though, and my reasoning for is this: If Harrison Wells is in fact Eobard Thawne, then that means Professor Zoom and Gorilla Grodd are directly connected. Think of the fun this show could have if those two teamed up to take on The Flash. Back to old tricks means back to old scores as The Flash is Born pulls out a respectable 7.0 out of 10.

Thanks for reading! What did you think of this week's episode? Who do you think Eobard Thawne really is? Give us your best theories, comments, and concerns in the comments section or on our twitter @Caped_Informers. Check back regularly for weekly updates on your favorite comic book shows. Next week The Flash returns with "Power Outage".