The Flash season 2 mid-season finale, “Running to Stand Still,” aired tonight. Read our recap and discuss the episode with fellow fans.
Rogues are we
Mark Mardon breaks Captain Cold and The Trickster out of prison. He’s looking for revenge. Snart, however, isn’t particularly interested in the plan. Instead, remembering that Team Flash saved Lisa’s life, he breaks into the West house and warns Barry.
The revenge plot involves The Trickster giving a hundred random kids gift-wrapped bombs. If The Flash allows the villains to kill him, they won’t set the bombs off. But if he resists, they will. So, while Team Flash tracks down the bombs and sucks them up into a breach above Central City, The Flash takes a beating. However, as soon as the bombs are no longer a threat, he quickly takes the pair of villains down.
It’s always a pleasure to see The Flash’s rogues gallery in action, and seeing them join forces echoes the comic books in which a number of The Flash’s villains have banded together in a group known as The Rogues. (Notably, the Silver Age Rogues included Captain Cold, The Trickster, and Weather Wizard.)
It’s also noteworthy that Snart gives Barry a heads up on the plan to kill him. This season has worked to play up his sense of honor, which was established with his gentleman’s agreement not to reveal Barry’s identity in exchange for being left alone. This is obviously setting up his role on DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.
Patty’s struggle
Mark Mardon murdered Patty’s father, and the fact that he gained powers was what made her want to join the anti-metahuman task force. With Mardon resurfacing, Patty isn’t thinking clearly. She is nearly killed when she tracks the Trickster down to a trap for The Flash. After he saves her, she confesses that she was supposed to be in the bank the day her father was murdered, so she’s carrying a lot of guilt.
When The Flash defeats his rogues, Patty arrives, immobilizes The Flash, and aims her gun at Mardon. The Flash manages to talk her down, and Patty arrests Mardon. Later, she arrives at the West house for a Christmas celebration, and says she wants to tell Barry about what she’s been going through. It’s a definite step forward for their relationship, which leaves Barry as the one carrying a secret that needs to come out.
This is an important arc for Patty to go through considering the baggage she’s been holding on to, and it shows there is a lot more to her behind that smile she’s always wearing. She and Barry are similar in that way, which Caitlin notes. If her character is going to stick around for a while (hopefully), she definitely needs some fleshing out.
Meet Wally West
A side plot in this episode involves Iris telling Barry and Joe about Francine’s son, Wally. It takes Joe some time to sit with the knowledge — and he goes through some intense feelings of guilt about not looking harder for Francine after she left — but he comes to the conclusion that he wants Wally in his life. Wally then arrives at the West house at the end of the episode.
We don’t know much about Wally’s character yet, other than his origin has been changed from the comics in which he is Iris’ nephew. Wally, in the comics, is Kid Flash and eventually becomes The Flash as well, so we have to imagine this character will play a large role moving forward.
Also worth noting
- Zoom demands help from Harrison Wells in exchange for his daughter’s life. He wants Wells to help Barry get faster and stronger so there is more Speed Force for Zoom to steal. Wells, for his daughter’s sake, agrees to help.
- Barry, recognizing the damage that carrying hatred around does after seeing Patty’s struggle, finally forgives his Earth’s Harrison Wells (though let’s remember that was actually Eobard Thawne).
- Jay and Caitlin finally share a kiss under mistletoe after Jay spends the episode teasing Caitlin about Earth-1’s Christmas traditions.
- Earth-2 has The Godfather, Vito.
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