The Flash 1x19 Who Is Harrison Wells?

 

You might think that I would be angry at this episode because last week I clearly said that the only reason I was excited for this one is because judging by the title, we’re probably right to expect some answers to the biggest overarching mystery of the season, and yet the episode completely failed to deliver on that front... but the truth is, as baffled as I am by the incredibly deceptive title, this was still one of the most fun episodes of The Flash to date, so this time I’m willing to forgive its shortcomings and hope that maybe next week we’ll get some of those answers. There aren’t that many episodes left of the season so it’s about time, I would say.

So what is it exactly that made the episode so enjoyable? For one thing, the guest starring Arrow characters, but also the fact that for probably the very first time on the show, the Villain of the Week was actually interesting. But really, it was mainly the Arrow characters. God bless the Lance family, is all I can say.

Meanwhile, Joe and Cisco went to Starling City to investigate Wells’ car accident, and do to that they needed the permission as well as the help of Captain Lance. This was already fun enough, but then Laurel walked in and took Cisco to another room where she casually revealed herself to be Black Canary, and also to ask for his help in modifying Sara’s sonic device. This was definitely the highlight of the episode and probably the sweetest scene to happen on the show so far. Laurel’s face when Cisco became all speechless after her revelation and then professed his love to her was incredibly adorable. Poor Laurel, no one ever complimented her on her crime fighting habits before, in fact I’m pretty sure this was the first time ever when someone responded positively to it, instead of „are your out of your mind?” or „I forbid you to do that”. This tiny bit of encouragement was badly needed, and her radiant smile was honestly the most beautiful thing. At the end of the episode there was another lovely bit when she handed Cisco a photo of the two of them in exchange for the Canary Cry device (Cisco’s annoying nicknaming habit finally paid off, and this time it actually made a ton of sense), and I think it’s safe to say that the Arrowverse would be a better place if Laurel and Cisco got to hang out more often with each other.

Laurel’s presence also made it possible for my second favourite part of the episode to happen, where Joe and Quentin had a wonderful bonding moment over their daughters. Awwwwww. I didn’t immediately realized that they were actually going to be able to help each other with the respective daughter-related problems, but the moment Lance told Joe about Laurel having lied to her for months and that it’s „hard to come back from something like that”, I had to pause for a moment because this was such a great idea on the writers’ part. And of course Quentin is right, Joe – and Barry – need to tell Iris the truth as soon as possible because things can get pretty ugly if she finds out the wrong way. In return Joe also got to talk a little sense into Lance regarding his treatment of Laurel, so hopefully we’re gonna see the consequences of this in one of the upcoming Arrow episodes.

As for their little investigation into Wells’ accident, well, it revealed a lot of new info for the characters, but zero for the audience. Now they know for sure that time travel was involved somehow and that the real Harrison Wells is actually long dead, as they found his buried remains not far from the road, but we’re still not any closer to the whys and hows.

Back in Central City, everyone was busy trying to catch the newest metahuman on the loose, this time a shapeshifter named Hannibal Bates, who could turn into anyone after a single touch, so naturally Barry needed to stay as far from him as possible so as to not risk him getting exposed. This made their efforts to catch Hannibal (also known as Everyman, as named by Caitlin) a bit tricky, especially because everyone kept getting fooled by him even when it was blindingly obvious that something was wrong. First he turned into his own grandma so he could escape, then into Eddie and even sent him to jail for a little while after he shot two cops, then into Barry so he could act all creepy with Caitlin, and even kiss her, btu at least these scenes were very funny. Especially when Caitlin sa Iris approaching on the monitor and was all like "Oh my God. Look who's here!", and Fake Barry just went "Yes... her." It’s kinda hard to convey the hilarity of that line in writing, but the way Grant Gustin said it was absolutely hysterical. Anyway, after already having seen gifs of the „Barry”/Caitlin kiss on Tumblr without zero context and being completely baffled by it, especially the „something I should have done a long time ago” line, I was really glad to find out that it wasn’t actually Barry. But the shapeshifting shenanigans weren’t over yet, as in his final fight with Barry he tried to make him hesitate by turning into first Caitlin, and then Iris, right in front of Barry’s eyes, and it actually worked??? Come on Barry, don’t do this to me, man. You’re way better than that.

Obviously they caught the guy in the end, and the episode wasn’t even over yet! After coming to the conclusion that the person they know as Harrison Wells is clearly an impostor, Barry, Caitlin and Cisco set out to find his secret lair inside Star Labs, so that they could learn something about his real identity. And find it they did, complete with the Reverse Flash costume and a holographic projection of an article about the Flash’s disappearence, dated 2024. „What the frack?”, as Cisco so eloquently put it. What a fantastic cliffhanger to end an episode on!

Episode MVP: Katie Cassidy as Laurel Lance

Quotes of the episode:

"I love you. I mean, I love the way that you beat up criminals..." – Cisco Ramon

"Hey, you show this to anyone, I'll kill you."

"That's just an expression, right?"

"Nope." – Laurel Lance

"What the frack?" – Cisco Ramon

Random tidbits:

 - Hannibal Bates. What a wonderful name to give to your newborn baby. Even Barry remarked on the Hannibal part, but come on, Hannibal AND Bates? That’s just cruel.

 - Eddie and Iris were still fighting at the beginning of the episode, but thanks to Eddie’s imprisonment they eventually made up, and Eddie even confessed to Iris that he’s been working with the Flash, and that’s why he was keeping secrets from her. Good for you, Eddie! I’m honestly rooting for these two, even though I know that they’re destined to fail so that Barry/Iris can happen eventually.

 - Barry and Eddie working together was truly fantastic, especially that scene after Barry whisked him away from prison, and Eddie was all like I’m grateful to you dude but please take me back, you’re the Flash, you’ll figure this out and then you can rescue me the proper way... it was honestly awesome.

 - Initially Caitlin was hesitant to believe the truth about Wells and I was VERY worried that she might do something stupid like maybe betray all of them, and it honestly looked that way when she tried to visit him at his house in the middle of the night, but fortunately Barry got there in time to talk some sense into her. After the revelations in this episode, it is now safe to say that the full team is on board with plan Bring Down Wells.