The Flash – Shade

By: Stacy Miller

Wally (Keiynan Lonsdale) is obsessed with having superhero powers and as the episode opens, he has been having dreams that he is Kid Flash. Wally shares these dreams with Joe (Jesse L. Martin) and Barry (Grant Gustin). Barry is forced to tell Wally that in the Flashpoint timeline he did have powers of a speedster. When Barry tries to discourage Wally from any attempt at gaining Meta Human abilities and Joe expresses concern for his son, Wally lashes out. He says he doesn’t have to listen to Barry and doesn’t care if his father doesn’t trust him. Joe tries to assure Wally that it’s not that he doesn’t trust him over Barry. It’s that he is worried that he’ll get hurt trying to get powers in a wrong way. Joe sees a lot of his younger self in his son. Worrying about Wally isn’t the only thing occupying Joe’s thoughts. He has a date with Cecile.

HR reasons that in order to cover STAR Labs’ connection to The Flash it should be opened as STAR Labs Museum. And he should be the face of it as Harrison Wells. But as Harrison Wells is viewed as a murderer on this Earth, HR creates a device that allows him to appear to be his old business partner Randolph. Cisco (Carlos Valdes) accuses HR (Tom Cavanagh) of taking his special handcuffs that prevent Meta Human abilities. He learns that Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) was the one who took them. She says she needed them and tells Cisco that she has abilities. Caitlin wants Cisco to vibe her to see if she is becoming Killer Frost as she needs to know what kind of danger she poses to her friends. Caitlin intends to leave for good if that is the case. Cisco vibes Caitlin and sees a deadly battle between himself and Killer Frost, but lies to Caitlin that he didn’t see anything.

Wally’s connection to Doctor Alchemy continues to grow. Fearful that Alchemy will use him like he has all the Meta Humans he has helped come into their powers, it is decided that Wally will be locked in the pipeline to keep him from Dr. Alchemy’s grasp and mind control.

There is a new shadow-like Meta Human attacking Central City that is dubbed Shade (Mike McLeod) by Team Flash. The entire Team Flash is present at Joe’s movie date in the park with Cecile (Danielle Nicolet) as they have gone to see the movie too. HR develops an immediate rapport with Cecile and they start talking. I’m really liking HR, the more laid back version of Wells. Shade makes his presence known during Joe and Cecile’s date by coming through the screen of the movie. Talk about interactive entertainment! The Flash tries to stop this latest menace, but it is hard to do so when you have difficulty seeing what you are fighting. But once a light is shined on Shade, Barry gains the upper hand and he slaps the power inhabiting cuffs on the Meta Human so Shadeloses his smoky form and becomes human.

Despite being in the pipeline, Doctor Alchemy can still get in Wally’s head. Wally suffers from severe pain as he tries to fight it. Iris, who has been tasked to watch over Wally, has to knock out her brother to keep him from going to Doctor Alchemy. But as he still yearns for superhero powers, Wally wants to be let out of the pipeline so he can help fight Shadow. Wally and Caitlin are both struggling over figuring out who these growing powers are making them become. Wally just wants to be a hero like Barry, probably because he feels that Joe sees him more of a son. Caitlin wants to be good, but is terrified of turning bad if she fully emerges as the evil Killer Frost. When Cisco admits that he lied to her about what he saw when he vibed, Caitlin is convinced that she must leave town.

Team Flash comes back to STAR Labs. Iris (Candice Patton) tells them how Doctor Alchemy’s call was too strong making it difficult for Wally to endure. The team realize that Shade was just distraction and that Doctor Alchemy’s real focus is getting Wally on his team. So, Team Flash decide that they will give Alchemy what he wants. They will use Wally as bait in order to stop Doctor Alchemy. While this decision is being made, Cisco also forces Caitlin to tell the team that she has powers. Joe wants to guarantee his son’s safety so in addition to The Flash, a SWAT team is on hand as extra manpower can’t hurt.

The Flash, Joe and the SWAT team hang back letting Wally face Doctor Alchemy on his own first. Doctor Alchemy welcomes Wally and even offers to restore his Flashpoint speedster abilities. Suddenly, The Flash, Joe and the SWAT team burst in the room and shots are fired at Doctor Alchemy. The Flash and Doctor Alchemy engage in battle and although Alchemy’s magical stone proves too powerful for The Flash at first, Barry is able to overpower it. However, a blue streak suddenly appears in the room. When Wally picks up the stone, he becomes trapped in a cocoon-like material. The Flash doesn’t know how to break his friend free so he rushes off after the blue streak. The Flash faces Savitar, The God of Speed who grabs Barry in a tough choke hold.