I was having flashbacks of the first few seasons of Smallville as this episode began. Introduce the meta-human's origins right at the moment of his creation. Blackout's ability is to harness electricity because the particle accelerator explosion caused him to acquire a need for electrical power. When Blackout meets up with Barry, we see how he affects Barry. In this case, when Blackout siphons the electrical power in Barry's blood, it causes him to lose his speed ability. It's a simple enough story, yet the writers feel that it can't carry enough of the episode's running time.





So around its midpoint, the Clock King makes an appearance. Initially, I thought this was a brand-new, never before seen villain. Then I realized that the show was going full-bore towards another crossover/cross-breeding event with sister show Arrow. The Clock King is involved in one subplot while Barry and his team take on Blackout at the same time. What started out feeling like another formula changed into something more complex.


The episode does feel overstuffed at times as a result of the insertion of two villains. Barry losing his powers causes a temporary crisis of confidence, not only with Barry but with the rest of the team. For the first time since he got his super speed, doubt overcomes him. It would not have happened in the first place if Barry exercised some restraint or even humility. Plainly rushing into a situation without a plan of attack reeks of overconfidence in his abilities and he paid the price for it. He's faced enough meta-humans now to know what his limits should be. Dr. Wells' assessment of Barry in the beginning of the episode hit it right on the head.


What really improves on this formula here is the fact that Blackout turns into this unstoppable threat. Without Barry's speed or any discernible defense for STAR Labs, Blackout is able to get close to Dr. Wells to attempt to kill him. This forces Wells to enact a drastic solution: Releasing Tony Woodward from the Pipeline and unleashing him on Blackout. It works exactly as Wells thought it would, with the faceoff buying time to allow Cisco and Caitlin to restore Barry's powers. When Tony is killed as a result of the battle, an ethical conundrum pops up. Barry rightly addresses it without hesitation. If Wells is willing to sacrifice Tony, then there may yet come a time when he sacrifices Cisco or Caitlin to further his own purposes.





What those purposes really are is another question that the writers leave unanswered here. The scenes where Wells is inside his "future space" (I don't know what else to call it) indicate that the future depicted in the virtual newspapers is not set. Future events are influenced by particular actions in the present time. Barry could cease to be The Flash at any time. This makes Wells appear even more ambiguous than previously depicted.


I can't definitively say whether Wells is good or evil. Is he acting as both good and evil, depending on the situation at hand? That speech he gives to Barry near the end about looking out for his best intentions and making sure that Barry reaches his full potential sounds like something a mentor would say. His action of taking Blackout's blood in the tag calls the benevolent mentor designation into question, however. Taking Barry's powers is not necessarily a good thing, as this episode proved in spades.





Meanwhile, the Clock King taking hostages inside the police station allows for Joe, Eddie, and Iris to operate in a crisis situation without the benefit of aid from the Flash. The subplot doesn't quite have the meat of the main plot with Blackout, but at least Iris is capable of something besides fawning over and blogging about the Flash. The fact that she is still in the dark about Barry's secret remains infuriating, but her self-sufficiency in dealing with the Clock King bodes well for anything that comes down the line.


I really thought Eddie might die here. He's a lightweight character who isn't all that crucial to the narrative. His death could have made the impression that no one in this world is particularly safe. But he remains alive, and was able to assist Iris in bringing the Clock King down. These are small steps towards finding a storytelling rhythm that the writers can stick with in the future. It still needs work, but the fact that the strengths and weaknesses of the show are being acknowledged and developed earns more goodwill than not.