The Flash 1x12 Crazy for You Review

The Flash continues to be the most enjoyable outlet of superhero entertainment this side of the MCU. Barry and Team Flash go after a modern Bonnie and Clyde – if Bonnie was the equivalent of Nightcrawler from the X-Men. There's not much to say. It just fires on all cylinders. It's fun and exciting and pretty emotional. But I'll try to be moderately professional here and get into this super stuffed episode of The Flash.

SPOILERS BELOW

The addition of Peek-A-Boo is now stuff of definitive Flash TV lore. They're willing to throw any character into the mix and somehow make them work (more on the rest of that monkey business later). This is the world of The Flash. Bright and sunny Central City is going to be home to these metahumans for years to come. The villains this week were fine with Peek-A-Boo getting some fun villainous interplay with the characters as Barry had to stop someone who could move faster than he could (more practice for his next showdown with Reverse Flash?). The real star of this episode was the everyday interactions between the characters.

From big moments like Barry and his father's talks in prison to Barry and Caitlin going out to karaoke, this episode left me grinning like a freaking idiot and I couldn't care less.

Also, Cisco let Rathaway out of the holding cell to find the truth about Firestorm. That didn't work out so well since Rathaway eventually escaped but Cisco played it smart for the most part, only letting his guard down once the eventual revelation that Ronnie Raymond and Dr. Stein were conjoined during the particle accelerator explosion. Is Ronnie Raymond still in there? Before we get answers to that question, Rathaway gets the upper hand on Cisco and vanishes. He's a fun trickster type character. The continuous foils for Team Flash are growing everyday. It's pure comic book storytelling on the small screen. Don't ever change, Flash.

John Wesley Shipp as Henry Allen hasn't been given much to do (he's in prison so I don't expect much). I think the episode missed a big opportunity with the character tonight. Joe, Henry, and Barry all discuss the forefront and the aftermath of Henry's foray into detective work inside the prison to help them track down Peek-A-Boo. Sadly, Henry ends up beaten and stabbed. Even more sad is that this all happens off-screen. All of it. It helps us get into the mindset of Barry's inability to see his dad but still wouldn't it have been nice to see this stuff happening? It's not like this was a bad point in the episode or heavy criticism. Just worth noting.

Henry admitting to Barry and Joe that he just wanted to help with the investigation because he wants to feel useful was heartbreaking. His revelation that he's aware of Barry's identity as The Flash? Tears. Tears everywhere. These guys just need to get Henry's name cleared because they deserve to go out and have drinks with Caitlin and the rest of Team Flash. Not Harrison Wells though. Stay the fuck away from him.

The highlight of the episode for those Barry/Caitlin shippers out there must have been the drunken karaoke singing and eventual vomiting. Watching heroes have fun with their powers and go out for drinks? This is the shit comic book dreams are made of. Scratch that. Just let your characters BE their characters. We need to see these guys have fun before you tear their whole world apart.

Caitlin was really wound tight through the series thus far and it's gratifying to watch her cut loose. Girl needs a break from the stress of saving the city on a weekly basis. Now I rarely dabble in character shipping but it's fun to indulge once in a while in "wouldn't these two make a nice romantic pairing?" and now that the opportunity has presented itself, I can admit to seeing the potential of a blossoming Barry/Caitlin romance. The actors have believable chemistry and the characters compliment each other well. They constantly push each other to get outside their own comfort zones and encourage each other to be better people. That's pretty much the best way to approach a healthy relationship so I say VERY YES.

In case you needed more of an idea that Barry is a decent person, he helped take Caitlin home when she was vomiting all over the place. Kids, don't run and drink. Don't drink and do anything. Just drink with Caitlin Snow and Barry Allen while they sing karaoke.

Oh no. Barry and Caitlin... It's happening... I'm... *grips chest* I'm shipping it...

But for now, Barry won't be dealing with Iris or Caitlin as a romantic interest. He'll be exploring the romance angle with Linda Park. Fans of the comic know the character is eventually the wife of the Scarlet Speedster's sidekick, Wally West (my personal favorite Flash and one of my favorite characters in the DC mythos). It's too early in the show to put serious thought into how they'd handle Wally West, or if they ever will, but the addition of Linda can't help but stir the pot. Not quite enough to go on to determine whether or not she will be a good romantic fit for Barry but their interaction at the bar when she gave him her number was cute. This whole show is cute. It's the equivalent of a teddy bear giving you a box of chocolates every Tuesday night. If you don't like that, you're probably a dick.

POST-CREDITS SCENE:

GRODD GRODD GRODD GRODD GRODD GRODD GRODD. HOLY SHIT. Grodd looks pretty good for being on a CW budget. His murder of the construction workers gave him a scary presence. Now what about his intellect? Will the character speak? Does he have an over-arching plan? Will the character become as big a threat as his comic counterpart? Is there a Gorilla City? So many excited questions! This is my favorite Flash villain and I never thought I'd see the character portrayed in live-action. I can almost die in peace after this but now I need to see what the plan is for this socially advanced primate (I say that after seeing him go full savage on two men).