“Into the Still Force”

The Flash sees Barry enter the Still Force in an attempt to find Iris as Chester investigates a suspicious device and Caitlin prepares to raise the dead.

At this point, it’s really difficult to pinpoint which of the three plots being covered in this episode is the least interesting. Each of them is difficult to engage with in their own ways and there’s a general sense that the show is spinning its wheels before entering into another large scale incomprehensible event. In fairness, credit is owed for opting not to include a traditional antagonist in favour of a sci-fi problem that has to be dealt with. It adds some variety to the storytelling even if what is delivered is underwhelming.

Caitlin’s plan to resurrect Frost is in the very early stages. She knows how to do it but lacks everything she needs to get started. Her accomplice in this insane notion is Mark who starts off reluctant to help her because he sees it as unnatural. Adding to his trepidation is Caitlin requiring a fresh DNA sample as the hair she took is decaying far too quickly. Getting a fresh sample means exhuming the body; something Caitin can easily get permission for apparently. Caitlin attempts to put his mind at ease by pointing out that she’s aware of how insane her plan sounds as if that counters the insanity of it.

She tries to appeal to Mark on an emotional level by talking about the life he was building with Frost and how they will never have the chance to live it. Danielle Panabaker has a lot asked of her in this episode in terms of delivering the information and coming across as emotionally damaged yet scientific and she rises to the occasion wonderfully. She is connected to Mark in that they both feel the emptiness of this loss and want the pain to go away but Mark starts off from a place of needing to accept what has happened whereas Caitlin’s focus is on undoing it. He makes a fair point when bringing up the disaster that was Ronnie’s resurrection and what that turned out to be but Caitlin remains driven because she feels that what she wants to accomplish is possible.

Eventually, Mark comes around to her way of thinking because he doesn’t want to go through life without Frost. His earlier protests are silenced because he sees it being worthwhile to try bringing Frost back in order to abate his loneliness. He puts a lot of trust in Caitlin’s ability to do this and offers himself as the one to take any necessary action. It’s very much a slippery slope for both characters who are giving into their grief and indulging in harmful behaviour rather than allowing themselves to heal. Whether this will result in Frost being brought back but without the essence that made her who she was or a last minute stop on Caitlin’s plan once they accept the finality of that loss is unknown but pairing up the two characters closest to Frost makes sense as an idea. Despite the strength of the performances the content of the scenes wasn’t all that compelling as it consisted of repetitive and uninteresting dialogue.

Chester being recruited by Kramer to look into a suspicious device found at a crime scene returns to the idea of there being a risk associated with him sharing his designs online. The device in question is clearly inspired by his work which makes him feel guilty about his belief in the free exchange of ideas and expertise if something he came up with could be used to hurt people. Ultimately the lesson here is that he shouldn’t lose faith in people as he was just lacking all of the information. The device was designed to provide free hot water to the residents of a halfway house and the person who built it ensured that everyone was evacuated before it malfunctioned.

The messaging surrounding this is bizarre. On the surface what is being said is very clear and it’s as simple as not judging a book by its cover. Chester has to learn to know all the facts before reaching a conclusion. Once he does his faith in his followers is restored as he learns that the builder of the device isn’t a criminal. Beneath that obvious and played out lesson is the detail that this information is shared on the internet. It is well known that people use the internet to spread misinformation, scam people and hide behind the anonymity that it provides while doing or saying horrible things.

Allegra warned Chester about the risks associated with trusting his followers and she was right to because Chester has no idea who these people are or what his designs will be used for. It appears that this instance worked out well but the hack into his system after he logs out shows that not everyone will be like that. There’s a real opportunity to tell a story about the dangers of the internet through a sci-fi/superhero lens while highlighting the dangers of Chester’s trusting nature when it comes to maintaining an online presence. Instead, it’s a half baked lesson about fully understanding a situation before coming to a conclusion. This will be picked up again as per the ending but as a narrative within this episode, it wasn’t much of anything.

The main plot involves Barry entering the Still Force in order to track down Iris. Deon tells him they need to track the particle he put inside her and they enter together. The Still Force is represented by familiar locations with odd out of sequence goings on such as a flock of birds flying past being shown out of order. Allegra is shown to be arguing with Taylor though the words repeat and other similar depictions. It’s mildly interesting on a conceptual level but the episode doesn’t really do anything with it other than acknowledge that it’s weird. The emotional hook comes from Iris being missing and Barry impulsively going after her. Joe tries to warn him against blindly trusting Deon which in theory ties into Barry’s ongoing arc of learning to be a better leader by taking a more measure approach to problems. In practice, it doesn’t work because it’s a repetition of the same lessons that constantly go unheeded.

Barry’s recklessness is justifiably punished when Deon absorbs the particle and leaves him stuck in a loop that he can’t escape from. For some reason, Nora is also pulled into the loop after Deon approaches her. This makes his motivation more confusing than mysterious and does nothing to further the immensely frustrating Time Sickness plot. So far it’s used as an excuse for things to happen with no direction to it and nothing to latch onto.

Nora is always a delightful presence in an episode though she doesn’t accomplish much by being part of this one. Her purpose is to encourage Barry to find a way to solve the problem. She is the living embodiment of his relationship with Iris and hope for the future because her existence, in theory, means that this situation works out favourably. This notion is confirmed when he taps into the Still Force and sees further into the future with lots of associated happiness. Escaping the Still Force also involves latching onto the fact that they have already escaped in the future. Once again this is interesting on a conceptual level but the execution is flat and rushed.

One strong character beat is Nora talking about her decision to follow in Iris’ footsteps and become a reporter. This is in contrast to the previous Nora who followed Barry’s example and became a CSI; something she points out. She oddly expresses concern that Barry would be disappointed in her career choice which does come out of nowhere as she has no reason to believe he would be anything but supportive.

The point of her bringing this up is to highlight that Iris is helping her find her way in this career and supporting her all the way. It acts as another confirmation of the positive outcome of this difficult situation. She also prompts Barry to anchor himself to Iris’ hairbrush as a representation of her. It’s very much in line with prior examples of creating an emotional connection to solve a problem. Unfortunately, this is all let down by the lack of detail around the Still Force and how it works but Barry and Nora’s interactions are engaging even though Nora’s inclusion is superfluous in terms of how the story flows.

As repeatedly mentioned, the time sickness plot is poorly thought out and meandering. This marks yet another example of supplying meaningless content connected to the plot without furthering it in any meaningful way. It could have been an opportunity to explore the mechanics of the Still Force and use it to explore Barry and Iris’ relationship in an unconventional way. Instead, it’s largely visual oddities and surface level emotional exploration. It’s possible that what is mentioned here will become important later but it’s difficult to be invested due to how uninteresting the plot is.

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Verdict

A weak episode with three uninteresting plots and squandered potential on a compelling concept. Caitlin’s plan to resurrect Frost is in the very early stages. She knows how to do it but lacks everything she needs to get started. Her accomplice in this insane notion is Mark who starts off reluctant to help her because he sees it as unnatural. Adding to his trepidation is Caitlin requiring a fresh DNA sample as the hair she took is decaying far too quickly. Getting a fresh sample means exhuming the body; something Caitin can easily get permission for apparently. Caitlin attempts to put his mind at ease by pointing out that she’s aware of how insane her plan sounds as if that counters the insanity of it. She tries to appeal to Mark on an emotional level by talking about the life he was building with Frost and how they will never have the chance to live it. Danielle Panabaker’s performance is excellent. Eventually, Mark comes around to her way of thinking because he doesn’t want to go through life without Frost. His earlier protests are silenced because he sees it being worthwhile to try bringing Frost back in order to abate his loneliness. It’s very much a slippery slope for both characters who are giving into their grief and indulging in harmful behaviour rather than allowing themselves to heal. Chester being recruited by Kramer to look into a suspicious device found at a crime scene returns to the idea of there being a risk associated with him sharing his designs online. The device in question is clearly inspired by his work which makes him feel guilty about his belief in the free exchange of ideas and expertise if something he came up with could be used to hurt people. Ultimately the lesson here is that he shouldn’t lose faith in people as he was just lacking all of the information. The messaging surrounding this is bizarre. On the surface what is being said is very clear and it’s as simple as not judging a book by its cover. Beneath that obvious and played out lesson is the detail that this information is shared on the internet. It is well known that people use the internet to spread misinformation, scam people and hide behind the anonymity that it provides while doing or saying horrible things. Allegra warned Chester about the risks associated with trusting his followers and she was right to because Chester has no idea who these people are or what his designs will be used for. It appears that this instance worked out well but the hack into his system after he logs out shows that not everyone will be like that. There’s a real opportunity to tell a story about the dangers of the internet through a sci-fi/superhero lens while highlighting the dangers of Chester’s trusting nature when it comes to maintaining an online presence. Instead, it’s a half baked lesson about fully understanding a situation before coming to a conclusion. This will be picked up again as per the ending but as a narrative within this episode, it wasn’t much of anything.

The main plot involves Barry entering the Still Force in order to track down Iris. The Still Force is represented by familiar locations with odd out of sequence goings on such as a flock of birds flying past being shown out of order. The emotional hook comes from Iris being missing and Barry impulsively going after her. Joe tries to warn him against blindly trusting Deon which in theory ties into Barry’s ongoing arc of learning to be a better leader by taking a more measure approach to problems. In practice, it doesn’t work because it’s a repetition of the same lessons that constantly go unheeded. Barry’s recklessness is justifiably punished when Deon absorbs the particle and leaves him stuck in a loop that he can’t escape from. For some reason, Nora is also pulled into the loop after Deon approaches her. This makes his motivation more confusing than mysterious and does nothing to further the immensely frustrating Time Sickness plot. So far it’s used as an excuse for things to happen with no direction to it and nothing to latch onto. Nora is always a delightful presence in an episode though she doesn’t accomplish much by being part of this one. Her purpose is to encourage Barry to find a way to solve the problem. She is the living embodiment of his relationship with Iris and hope for the future because her existence, in theory, means that this situation works out favourably. One strong character beat is Nora talking about her decision to follow in Iris’ footsteps and become a reporter. This is in contrast to the previous Nora who followed Barry’s example and became a CSI; something she points out. She oddly expresses concern that Barry would be disappointed in her career choice which does come out of nowhere as she has no reason to believe he would be anything but supportive. The point of her bringing this up is to highlight that Iris is helping her find her way in this career and supporting her all the way. It acts as another confirmation of the positive outcome of this difficult situation. She also prompts Barry to anchor himself to Iris’ hairbrush as a representation of her. It’s very much in line with prior examples of creating an emotional connection to solve a problem. Unfortunately, this is all let down by the lack of detail around the Still Force and how it works but Barry and Nora’s interactions are engaging even though Nora’s inclusion is superfluous in terms of how the story flows. As repeatedly mentioned, the time sickness plot is poorly thought out and meandering. This marks yet another example of supplying meaningless content connected to the plot without furthering it in any meaningful way.

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