The Flash season 2, episode 10, “Potential Energy,” aired tonight. Read our recap and discuss the episode with fellow fans!
The Turtle
The metahuman of the week is one Cisco’s been tracking. The Turtle, as Cisco has dubbed him, can slow down the people around him. He moves at regular speed, but since everyone in his bubble is moving slowly, he appears to be moving incredibly fast. The team goes after him because they believe his powers might be the key to slowing down Zoom.
The Turtle takes trophies that have personal value to their owners, and Team Flash finds a couple of likely targets. But at each one, he slows down The Flash and is able to escape. And when he threatens Patty and sees that she is important to The Flash, he targets her.
Team Flash eventually tracks The Turtle down to his hideout. At first, The Turtle gets the better of The Flash. However, The Flash winds up and pushes through The Turtle’s slow field and knock him out, rescuing Patty. The story is pretty generic, hitting all the expected beats of a metahuman of the week episode.
The twist comes after The Turtle is locked up in S.T.A.R. Labs, when Harrison Wells kills him by taking a sample through his nose. Undoubtedly, Wells is looking for any clues to The Turtle’s power that he can use on Zoom, who is still holding his daughter hostage. He’s willing to go to any lengths to stop Zoom, which is starting to put him on the same level as his enemy.
Barry and Patty
In this episode, Patty worries about Barry being guarded. He’s been having nightmares of Zoom killing her, and he continually has to hide his secret life from her. And when Barry disappears to become The Flash at the art gallery, she’s furious that Barry seems to have ditched her. However, it’s this incident that puts her on The Turtle’s radar — though she never finds out exactly why she is the bait for The Flash.
Meanwhile, Barry is debating whether or not to tell Patty he’s The Flash. Cisco is in favor of it, but Wells warns him against it. He uses the antiquated “logic” that her learning the truth will put her in danger. Because it’s her knowledge of The Flash’s identity that will put her in danger.
Oh wait. No, it’s her relationship with Barry that puts her in danger, and her knowing that actually makes her safer because she can keep her guard up. Didn’t we learn this with Iris last season? But hey, logic.
In the end, Patty tells Barry she’s leaving Central City to follow her dream of becoming a CSI. She was accepted into a program and deferred her enrollment to apprehend Mardon; now that she’s done that, she’s enrolling.
This is a rather abrupt end to the relationship between Barry and Patty. It makes sense that Patty wouldn’t put up with everything without explanation — her sense of self-worth is better than that — but story-wise it feels awkward. We’ve had a lot of buildup for this relationship (and they were incredibly charming together) so it seems improbable that this would just be it. We have to hope this isn’t the last we see of Patty, because she was a great addition this season.
Caitlin and Jay
Caitlin and Jay have continued growing closer. Caitlin wants to help Jay regain his speed, but Jay says he’s run every test there is. Caitlin, though, steals a sample of his DNA. She discovers that he’s sick — though we don’t know with what, exactly. Jay says the only cure is to regain his speed, and the only way to do that is to stop Zoom.
Jay has felt underused lately; he began as a mentor for Barry, but we haven’t seen much of that relationship since the first couple of episodes of the season. While his developing relationship with Caitlin has been sweet, it is a bit disappointing to see Jay relegated to the background. Hopefully this development will bring him — and his relationship with Barry — back to the forefront a bit.
Also worth noting
- This episode also features Joe and Iris trying to get to know Wally. Wally blows them off, chafing against Joe’s efforts to be his father. Joe eventually discovers Wally is an accomplished drag racer; however, he uses his winnings to pay for his mother’s medical bills. He doesn’t want Joe’s money. Joe eventually apologizes to Wally for pushing things, and Wally accepts the olive branch.
- At the end of the episode, Eobard Thawne returns. Um, what?! Shouldn’t he have been erased from existence?
Watch a promo for the next episode
