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‘The Flash’ Recap ‘The Flash Reborn’

The Flash Recap ‘The Flash Reborn’

It’s been six months since Barry went into the Speed Force in order to stop it from collapsing and destroying everything. Iris is trying to uphold Barry’s wish to keep running and moving forward, but it’s incredibly hard. She’s throwing herself into work as the leader of Team Flash, not allowing herself any time to grieve. Kid Flash and Vibe have taken to the streets and are doing an okay job without Barry, but they still have a long way to go. Things get much more complicated when a flying samurai appears in downtown Central demanding that the Flash turn himself over to him. If not, he’ll level the city. They have 24 hours.

Cisco tells Iris that he has been working on a way to get Barry out of the Speed Force, but Iris doesn’t want to do that. Barry told them not to come after him, and she wants to uphold his wishes. But mostly, Iris is afraid of what they’ll find if they start looking. They don’t even know that Barry is still alive. Cisco goes behind Iris’ back, recruiting Caitlin, who no longer has the white hair and works as a bartender, and modifies the Speed Bazooka. They use the bazooka, locking onto Barry’s genes, but the system suddenly shuts down. Iris is incredibly angry at them for trying to get Barry back. They think that they have failed, but that’s not so. About 300 miles away, Barry suddenly appears.

'The Flash' Recap 'The Flash Reborn'
Image: The CW

Cecile calls Team Flash to the station, saying that officers in Keystone recognized Barry and brought him back to Central. She warns them before showing them into the room where Barry is being kept. And he is definitely not the same Barry. He has drawn strange symbols all over the walls, mumbling incoherent sentences to himself. Each person tries to talk to him, but nothing he says makes any sense. They decide that they need to get him to S.T.A.R. Labs and run some tests.

Caitlin determines that there is absolutely nothing wrong with him physically, so something must have happened within the Speed Force to cause his brain to be scrambling his thoughts. What Barry is saying might make sense to him, but there is a misfire in how it’s getting communicated. Iris goes to him and tries to remind him of who he is, but this only triggers his speed. Barry runs around S.T.A.R. Labs, knocking everything and everyone away. Caitlin comes to their rescue with a cold gun. They lock him in the pipeline.

Meanwhile, the samurai is still out and about. They decide to have Wally face him in Barry’s suit, hoping that will be enough to get the samurai to back down. Unfortunately, he recognizes that this isn’t the real Flash, and puts a sword through Wally’s calf. He demands the Flash show up.

They are just about out of options. Iris decides to turn herself over to the samurai, saying that if he wants Flash, he’ll come save her. The samurai takes her away. Joe goes to Barry, pleading with him to save Iris. Suddenly, Barry speeds away, taking with him the new suit Cisco designed. Barry saves Iris and it looks like he is himself again. When they go to unmask the samurai, they find out that he is just a robot. His final words are “Welcome back, Flash.”

Barry is back and it looks like Team Flash is at full strength once again. Caitlin is even going to stick around. She goes to the bar to put in her notice of resignation but one of the men there isn’t going to take that. She tells him to tell their boss that she’s out, but he says that’s not the way that works, grabbing her arm. Caitlin goes full Killer Frost and leaves. Killer Frost is about to “have some fun” when Caitlin manages to take back control. She says, “Not again.”

The final scene of the episode gives us a first look at the season’s main antagonist, the Thinker, and his apprentice/sidekick Mechanic. She says that their plan was a complete success and the Flash is back. She asks Thinker what their next move will be, and he says that he is thinking.

The Flash is back! I’m glad that Barry is back to his old self by the end of the episode, but there are a couple of things that could become important later on. Why did the Speed Force just let him go? It was a major deal last season that someone inhabit the Speed Force jail. I don’t think anyone took Barry’s place when he came out, so what’s going on with that? Or is the Thinker that big of a foe that the Speed Force is allowing Barry to go free. What was with all the symbols he was writing? I don’t think “This house is bitchin'” is really what he was trying to say. Maybe Barry’s Speed Force dementia offers some clues as how to stop Thinker. It’s definitely going to be a different type of fight this season as Team Flash isn’t going up against a speedster.

'The Flash' Recap 'The Flash Reborn'
Image: The CW

I’m also really intrigued by Caitlin this episode. She went full Killer Frost, but was able to reign it back in after causing not a lot of damage. But she seemed really surprised that Killer Frost came out. But what is this organization she was working for? The barfly really didn’t want her to leave and it looks like me might have some sort of crime boss situation. But why did Caitlin even go there in the first place? Or was she there because Killer Frost of Frosty Caitlin was in charge? Either way, I think she’s really happy to be a part of Team Flash again and I hope she tells someone the truth behind the bar. Secrets only lead to more trouble.

A strong season premier and I am interested to see where this all goes. Next week’s episode is entitled ‘Mixed Signals.’

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