The Flash season 1, episode 21, “Grodd Lives,” aired tonight. Read our recap and discuss the episode with fellow fans.
Secrets revealed
Joe and Barry tell Captain Singh that Eddie’s taken some personal days instead of being kidnapped by the Reverse Flash. Iris finds Barry in his lab and gives him an opportunity to come clean about his identity, bringing up Eddie’s kidnapping, but Barry continues lying. Iris finds her trust in him — both Barry and the Flash — waning.
At S.T.A.R. Labs, Barry finds Cisco working on the cameras Wells had been using to spy on them. They’re interrupted by an alert that the city’s gold reserve is being robbed, so Barry suits up. When he arrives, he faces off against a masked man with a gun, but is suddenly beset by debilitating hallucinations of what appear to be medical experiments. As he lays prone, the thief escapes.
Back at S.T.A.R. Labs, Barry is filling Caitlin and Cisco in on what he felt — fear — when Iris walks in. Barry being unmasked confirms her suspicion, and the pair head off to talk while Caitlin and Cisco eavesdrop. Iris tells Barry about the jolt of electricity and Barry reveals that both Eddie and Joe knew about his secret. He also tells her about Wells being the Reverse Flash and the man who killed his mother. Hurt by the lies, Iris leaves.
Meanwhile, in the Reverse Flash’s lair, Eddie is tied to a chair and isn’t getting many answers out of Wells.
‘I am Grodd. Fear me.’
Joe finds Iris alone at work and apologizes for keeping the secret, saying he was trying to protect her, but Iris is having none of it. She doesn’t want to be protected; she wants to help. Their conversation is interrupted by a call from CCPD.
Joe joins the transfer of gold from the reserve to protect it, but despite being disguised as an ice cream truck, the masked thief finds them and blows the truck off the road. A fight ensues while the Flash runs to the scene and knocks the thief out. Joe unmasks him, revealing General Eiling.
They bring Eiling to S.T.A.R. Labs and place him in a metahuman cell, but while he’s awake, he’s not there. As the team questions him, he begins answering questions in halting sentences. He knows Barry is the Flash, recognizes Caitlin as good, and says Eiling hurt him. The speaker then reveals himself as Grodd.
Caitlin and security footage fill in the story about Grodd, and Cisco concludes that whatever Grodd was injected with while being experimented on was likely activated by the particle accelerator, creating a gorilla with telepathic powers. They also believe Wells unleashed Grodd, so if they find Grodd, they’ll find Wells and Eddie.
Captured
Iris helps the team narrow down a location to search, and Joe, Barry, and Cisco head down to the sewers. They come across Grodd’s writings on the walls and they begin to hear creepy noises. Barry is suddenly overwhelmed by hallucinations and falls unconscious.
The distraction allows Grodd to take Joe to his lair. Joe draws his gun, but Grodd’s telepathy forces Joe to aim his gun at himself before throwing the gun away. Grodd saysg his father hates guns. Joe tries to offer Grodd a banana, but “Grodd hate banana.”
At S.T.A.R. Labs, Cisco and Caitlin build a headset that they think will protect Barry from Grodd’s mind control. Iris, upset at the possibility of losing her father, leaves. Barry follows her and tells her not to be angry with Joe — Barry didn’t have to listen to him, after all. Iris agrees and calls Barry out on being her best friend but hiding so many important things. Barry retorts that she’s not being honest about her feelings for him and leaves.
In his lair, Wells tells Eddie that he is the least successful member of the Thawne bloodline. There are plenty of influential figures, but Eddie has largely been forgotten. To add insult to injury, Iris ends up marrying Barry.
Teamwork
The S.T.A.R. Labs team uses remote controls to set off steam and guide Grodd through the sewers to where Barry can use his supersonic punch. However, Grodd catches his hand and throws him aside. The Flash’s next attacks are also futile, and Grodd throws him through a wall onto railroad tracks.
By this point, the headset is broken and Barry is overtaken by Grodd’s mental attacks. As a train approaches, Iris inspires Barry to fight back over the radio. In the struggle, Grodd is hit by a train and disappears. The Flash uses the distraction rescue Joe.
Back in S.T.A.R. Labs, Joe is treated for broken ribs. He and Iris share a sweet moment, and Iris makes him promise to tell her the truth from now on. Meanwhile, Eiling has regained consciousness, and Barry releases him from the pipeline. Eiling reveals that he knows Barry is the Flash but won’t target him. Eiling says they have a common enemy in Wells and leaves to hunt Grodd.
Barry, Caitlin, and Cisco recognize the good work that they did without Wells — but with Iris. Later, Barry finds Iris on her roof spot and tells her she gave him the strength to face Grodd. Iris acknowledges that she may have feelings for Barry but won’t do anything while Eddie, the man she lives with and loves, is missing. Barry promises to bring him back.
Elsewhere, Grodd rises.
Stinger
Wells pulls out a colorful vial and calls it “the key” but doesn’t elaborate. He then climbs into another corridor and uses the key to open… something. Lights turn on and Wells says that it’s time to go home.
Watch a promo for the next episode
