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The Flash: Luck Be a Lady

"How much worse can it get?"

What is the nature of luck? Is there such a thing as a winning streak? Can you be jinxed or cursed? Or do we attribute good or bad luck to coincidences based on whether they help or harm us? Well, if you are looking for an in-depth exploration of this you've come to the wrong show. What we had in this episode was pure fun. Until it wasn't.

We are introduced to Becky Sharpe, a.k.a Hazard, the victim of cheap shoes, incompetent baristas, a cheating boyfriend, an unsympathetic employer, and the parking ticket gods. It's those last two that led to her fateful trip on what I have dubbed the Meta-bus. Dark matter and a little OMG Science has brought about Becky's complete transformation. Gone is the person who wrote on her MySpace page that she was jinxed and in her place is a woman thoroughly confident that the world is her oyster. Becky's bank robbery was right out of a Fringe episode, although with a much funnier ending.

Becky's luck may be looking up but for the team – not so much. Jesse sends Wally a break-up cube, which I found to be a wonderfully horrible invention. Barry and Iris lose both their first choice and back up wedding locations. And the West house has either acquired a poltergeist or is in serious need of thousands of dollar's worth of TLC. Each of these storylines brought their own brand of amusement.

Iris puts on a strong front but the events of the last three years have taken a toll. In her desperation, she takes Barry up on his promise that he will marry her anytime and anywhere by calling him to a church during a funeral. Unfortunately, her plans are thwarted by a vindictive alter boy and a healthy (unhealthy?) dose of cinnamon.

The C plot has Cisco and Harry doing their best Odd Couple imitation. Harry rightfully calls Cisco to task for rushing to bring Barry back before understanding the potential risks. Unfortunately, he does so with his usual lack of tact which does nothing to help his argument. There is no description I could write that can do justice to their bickering or the love behind it. You can only fight like that with someone you care for. Cisco's admission that Harry is part of the family and should stay was one of my favorite moments of the episode. I guess we found our Harrison Wells of the season.

It was all fun and games until Becky went to the casino. Her exponential good fortune turns Team Flash's streak of bad luck into a city-wide threat. The West family home becomes a death trap. Planes are falling out of the sky. And the particle accelerator threatens to explode once more which turns out to be the one good thing in this escalating nightmare. Harry's lucky guess, Cisco's trust, and the particle accelerator save the day while The Flash remains cuffed and trapped under a sign.

Then there's Wally. The writers could have explored how Barry's return affected Wally who had stepped up in his absence. But in keeping with their "nice guys being nice" take on these characters, Wally is as thrilled as everyone else with Barry's return. Unfortunately, that makes him superfluous to both the team and any potential storyline. When Wally claimed that no one noticed his absence, he was right. I hadn't. I like Wally, and I hope his leave of absence isn't permanent, but I also hope they find some way to make him a productive member of the team.

And that ending! This is certainly a game-changer for Papa Joe. Is this what Barry meant when he talked about needing diapers in the premier? Does this mean we will have two Wests getting married in the weeks or months to come?

What do we know?

We now know Barry's reappearance caused the creation of the 12 new metas including Kilg%re, Hazard, and two others that I'm assuming we'll meet shortly. We know there is a camera in the head of the Samaroid which The Thinker is using to spy on Team Flash. Finally, we know he wants the metas to be captured and held at Iron Heights. What we don't know is why.

This episode is very much in keeping with the promise of a lighter Flash this season. So far. I'm all for it.

4 out 5 breakup cubes or barrels of marbles. I can't decide.

Parting Thoughts:

Let's all take a moment to contemplate the awesomeness of the laser tag game...
We good? Ok, continue.

When Becky finds the parking boot her comment is "There goes another car." How much money does she owe that buying another car is cheaper? And how sad is it that this isn't the first time it's happened?

Ok, so I'm beginning to think "This house is bitchin'" is important to the plot. It was in this episode (see below). And if I'm not mistaken it's what Barry's gibberish was translated into when he first returned from the Speedforce. Not that I have any idea what it means.

I go back to my original question. How can they afford to feed Barry?

Did Cecille lose her job? Now that she and Joe are together, she has not spent a lot of time at work.

The day I sat down to write this episode I couldn't access OneNote which was where all my notes were. Coincidence or bad luck?

Quotes: This is the short list.  Believe it or not.

Cisco: "Who are the Wexler-Wa-claws-wilix, and why are we happy that their love is dead?"

Harry: "It's not you, it's me. Not, me. Her, me."

Harry: "I don't remember."
Wally: "Don't you have total recall?"
Harry: "Yeah. No."

Barry: "The last time I checked The Flash was faster than a Prius."

Cisco: "That's the least secure security footage I've ever seen."

Barry: "I slipped on a barrel of marbles. It was like I was in a cartoon"

Cisco: "Tell that to my cousin Hector. He got jinxed by an ex. Hasn't been able to find a mall parking spot for three years."

Iris: "A cat burglar literally burgled her cat."

Cisco: "Don’t touch the sat- Don't touch the satellite!"
Harry: "I'll be touching it."

Repairman: "This house is, uh-"
Joe: "Bitchin'."
Repairman: "No."

Barry: "If we can stop evil time-traveling speedsters from destroying the planet, we can find a wedding venue."

Barry: "I outgrew Iris at 12. She kept saying she'd catch up."

Iris: "Beautiful service. I love this coffin. Is that cedar?"

Cisco: "Jesse and the Quicksters."
Harry: " They're not called that."
Cisco: "Well, they should be. That sounds like an awesome team."

Co-pilot: " My pals said you were bad luck, sir, but I figure, what are the odds a pilot has a goose fly into his engine twice."

Barry: "How is that even possible?" (Which may be my favorite moment of the episode.)

Cisco: "You saved the day. That's your 'Get out of jackass jail free' card."

Shari loves sci-fi, fantasy, supernatural, and anything with a cape.

3 comments:

  1. Too bad they are trimming the supporting players by breaking-up Jesse and Wally. Too many dissapearing characters for me (adding to that Draco Malfoy). But all the comedy in this new season is really great. Also great is not having a mysterious speedster as a villian.

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  2. Patryk, are so many characters leaving these shows because of budget or the fans complaining that the shows are so overstuffed with characters, we forget who the show is about anymore? The ensembles were perfect for Arrow and Flash (minus Iris, though the actress is finally growing on me) in the first seasons. Legends was problematic due to the Hawks and Arthur Darville acting too serious, but I like it the way it is now. I'm really going to miss Victor/Martin and his singing.

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  3. I might've kept watching if the writers hadn't routinely thrown in more characters than they clearly knew how to handle. It got the the point where Barry would be out battling the latest meta while back at base up to seven different characters would be debating what he should do next.

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