Hey Youtubers, it's Charlie.
So this is gonna to be my 'Flash Episode 13' video.
All about Firestorm.
The title of the episode was "Nuclear Man".
So this was the introduction of what Firestorm is gonna look like in the DCTV Universe.
Just like with Barry Allen's Flash suit, the producers have said that there will be an evolution of the Firestorm costume.
So, the costume that we saw in this episode will change over time.
They've taken their time introducing the character, but I think, once they establish him, they'll start using him more often.
What I'd really like to see is Firestorm become a critical part of the finale.
I'll try to dig through that a little bit as I work through my Top 5 Moments and the Easter Eggs.
There's a whole bunch of stuff going on in the episode so I'll explain some of the really big stuff first.
Okay, just careful for spoilers from the episode if you haven't seen it yet.
So let's get going.
Starting with 'Blood Samples':
Cisco said that one was Barry's from the future
(so we're talking like, older Barry Allen that goes back in time)
...and the other one was, "unknown".
Meaning, it was not a match for Wells.
A lot of you were asking questions about this on Twitter while the episode was going on.
So.
He said that he tested both samples.
Meaning that he tested Wells' sample, and it was not a match.
Meaning, there are two Reverse Flashes.
I don't really consider that news.
I always felt like there were gonna be two Flashes.
There's gonna be a CRAZY Reverse Flash
and there'll be the 'Harrison Wells' Reverse Flash (that's trying to save his wife).
Here's what I think the producers are doing with the two villain characters (the two Reverse Flashes):
They're just mixing and matching aspects of ALL the Reverse Flashes.
So it'd be kinda misleading to call one of them Hunter Zolomon, and one of them Professor Zoom.
Because you'll have like an 'Eobard Thawne' character, with aspects of Hunter Zolomon's character.
So whenever they finally reveal everything, what we'll say is like,
"This is Eobard Thawne, with Hunter Zolomon's backstory"
Or, "This is Hunter Zolomon, with some aspects from Eobard Thawne's history"
So just remember that when you're theory-crafting.
And yes, I think it was the 'Crazy' Reverse Flash that killed Barry's mother.
As much as Harrison Wells seemed like a dick in this episode --
like he wanted to kill Ronnie Raymond and Prof. Martin Stein to stop the nuclear reaction
-- he shared his fries, AND he sacrificed the Tachyon Prototype.
He cannibalized that to make the Firestorm Device.
Technically you could call him a villain, because he is the Reverse Flash, and he's deceiving everyone.
He hurt a lot of people for selfish reasons.
But that doesn't mean that he's a psychotic serial killer.
And it seems like the other Reverse Flash (the one who's identity we don't know yet), it seems like he's more psychotic.
I think once they introduce time travel on the show in the next couple of episodes,
we'll start to learn WHO that other Reverse Flash is.
And also, if you were confused by why they lingered on the shot of that Flash Ring
(while Harrison Wells was, you know, holding his neck with the Flash ring really clear in-frame)
I think what they're teasing with that is that he just has a much deeper connection to the Flash.
A lot of people, when we first met him, thought he might be a future-version of Barry Allen.
Especially with the Flash Ring.
But, the Reverse Flash also* gets a Flash Ring.
Okay, so moving into the fun stuff.
"Top 5 Moments"
No. 5: Driving safely while kissing a pretty girl.
Probably one of the best Einstein quotes I've ever heard a TV show throw out.
Victor Garber was saying it, talking about his life, but it shines a light on what's going on in Barry's life.
It's what inspires him to go after her and eat that super hot pepper.
That's the show telling us that they're going to continue to be a thing.
I'm hoping Malese Jow stays on the show for a while.
Because Linda Park is a really big part of the Flash history in the comics.
...and Malese Jow is just a lot of fun.
It's just nice to have a female on the show, with her energy.
The show would be SO much less fun if no one was having sex on it.
Actually, I felt like they really shined a light on that in this episode too.
That there is a lot of sex happening in Central City.
Especially in Barry's old house.
'Cougar time for the win'
I'm gonna go ahead n'take a wild stab in the dark and say Joe, is not gonna tap that.
The funny thing is, is that the actor that plays Cisco said that Cisco might be finding some romance himself at a certain point.
Wouldn't it be funny if, in like a post-credits scene (or in the comic), you see him quietly go back to that house to go on a date with that woman?
That would be so gross and so funny at the same time.
But I would* like to see them bring on, like, Brie Larson from Community.
I feel like she would be a good date for Cisco.
On to No. 4: Time Travel-Flash Cinema.
Wasn't it awesome how they used the logic of the mirror to show, like, a projector reel of the Flashes fighting in the past?
We actually saw them digging a little bit deeper into that footage.
They end up showing it to Barry in the next episode.
So it's the show just pushing into the idea of time travel; they're going to start exploring time travel.
That'll cross through the rest of the back of the season.
So as we get further along in the episodes we'll eventually see Barry start to time travel.
First it'll be kinda like the 'Groundhog Day' situation where he kinda stumbles through time travel;
he accidentally stumbles into it.
I think by the end of the season he'll actually find a certain amount of control over time traveling.
And, now that Harrison Wells has destroyed his Tachyon Device, he can't time travel.
So if he's going to go back in time to save his wife, he's gonna have to find some other way to do it.
Which actually leads in to some Firestorm stuff.
So, onto No. 3: Firestorm ᵛˢ⋅ The Flash.
This is before they get him under control.
It's the big action-set-piece between the Flash and Firestorm.
This was a lot of fun.
It was really an FX sequence.
And I feel like The Flash doesn't have a huge budget, but the FX always look great.
There're usually ways to get around not having a lot of money for FX.
One: you don't do them for an extended period of time.
And Two: you try to shoot them at night so things don't stand out as much.
So you don't focus as much on the details.
That's also kinda how Arrow gets around their budget problems too.
They both shoot 23 episodes a season, but they have a smaller budget than a lot of major network shows.
So they don't have a lot of money to throw into FX.
What I'm really interested to see is what Firestorm's powers look like
now that he's slowly getting under control.
Moving on to No. 2:
Firestorm joins 'Team Flash'.
So he's not officially on the team yet.
What happened at the end of the episode (at least what it seemed like happened) is that they were successful
in separating Ronnie Raymond from Martin Stein.
Their device worked.
They have released some descriptions for some of the future episodes.
They've teased that, obviously, I mean the Firestorm character's still going to be a thing on The Flash.
But if they're going to BE Firestorm, they have to merge into The Matrix again.
So they're prob'ly gonna use that device to become Firestorm again.
I think mostly it's gonna be like a control device:
It'll help them control their powers.
The real question is,
Who's going to be controlling The Matrix? Who's gonna be The Mind?
And who'll be The Body?
Obviously it's a really simple answer.
I mean, Robbie Amell is gonna be the actor on the show.
So it's always gonna be Martin Stein driving the car IN Ronnie Raymond's body (he'll be the car).
They haven't said specifically whether or not they're doing it, but, what I'm hoping to see
is we get a shot of inside the Firestorm Matrix (with the 'floaty-heads' talking to each other).
It'd be kinda like being inside Tony Stark's helmet whenever he's talking to J.A.R.V.I.S.
Part of the energy, between Ronnie Raymond and Martin Stein in the comics, was the witty banter.
So I'm really looking forward to that.
And, my No. 1 Moment:
Alter Harrison Wells' plans, and General Eiling post-credits scene.
It's a two-part episode so we've really only seen half the story.
General Eiling is gonna try to capture Firestorm and use him for military purposes.
As a weapon -- pretty likely.
Like what he was gonna try and do with Plastique earlier this season.
I also think that answers Jason Rush's comment from the previous episode.
The "Mystery Backer" that they didn't know about (the person who provided the financial backing)?
...it was probably General Eiling.
That's why I think that when they found out about the nuclear blast, he was like,
"BAM. Firestorm"
He didn't even need to think about it.
He knew INSTANTLY what it was.
So on the side of that:
Because Harrison Wells clearly does not like General Eiling, he'll prob'ly try to help them out.
As part of Team Flash.
But, as the Reverse Flash---in terms of his secret plans---he sacrificed the Tachyon Prototype to create the "Quantum Splicer".
I'm wondering if whatever new plan he comes up with to time travel, involves using Firestorm's energy.
I think we should all remember, too, that the Reverse Flash is weak against Firestorm powers.
Both hot and cold stuff.
I mean that's why the Rogues are also very important; because they have those weapons.
If Team Flash is gonna fight the Reverse Flash, I feel like it would benefit them to use Firestorm AND the Rogues.
If they're gonna fight that villain they're gonna have to use weapons that he's weak against.
And those other characters are the only ones that have those right now.
It gets you even more pumped when Episode 18 is called,
"All-Star Team up"
Even though that doesn't refer to Firestorm.
So let me know:
What was your favorite moment from the episode?
And where would you like to see them take the Firestorm character?
I mean, do you wanna see Captain Atom in S02 (because he's a big part of the Firestorm comics)?
I think that would be awesome.
Like, if they take their time introducing Firestorm, then they can introduce Captain Atom as part of that.
All in all, great episode.
So here are actually some of the Easter Eggs that I spotted that I haven't already mentioned yet:
One: "The Conway Award".
That's actually named after Jerry Conway.
He's the person that created Firestorm in the comics.
Barry Allen says,
"Please don't flame-on"
I know that sounds like a Fantastic Four reference, but that's ALSO a Firestorm reference.
That's something he says in the comics whenever he fires his powers up.
When they're talking about blood samples on the screen here:
They have both blue, and yellow samples.
Visually, I just feel like this is an Easter Egg for the Reverse Flash -- the yellow blood sample.
They also have a nice heads-up display for the Firestorm Matrix too (on these computer monitors while they're talking about it).
We see Harrison Wells' Flash-ring here again.
Very prominently displayed.
I can't WAIT for Barry Allen to get a Flash-ring.
In the comics it has a number of uses.
Mostly the 'Wally West' Flash used it to contain his suit.
So, when he was running around, the suit would come out of the ring.
I feel like eventually we'll get there, but it might be a couple seasons away.
And finally:
The 'adult' Blood Sample from Barry Allen
Very clearly, Barry Allen IS time traveling...right now...while The Flash is happening.
An older version of Barry Allen is jumping around in the timestream, fighting the Reverse Flash.
Trying to save his mother.
Just like Harrison Wells, in the future, is probably trying to save his wife.
Just to talk a little bit more about that too.
Harrison Wells, yes, I DO think he is someone from the future; he has knowledge of the future.
Clearly.
The thing about his wife dying though: that's* truth.
Regardless of where he is from in the timeline --
like, he came back in time and got stuck
-- I feel like his wife did die in a car crash (or died in an accident).
So he's telling the truth about his wife.
He's just not telling the truth about where he's from and his real identity.
For those that are asking:
Gorilla Grodd will be back in Episode 15, at least.
I don't expect to see him in next week's episode.
But because General Eiling is back, we might get a Grodd-Easter egg at the end of the episode.
Hopefully we'll get an Easter Egg for the new Weather Wizard too, because he'll be back in Episode 15.
Or he'll debut* in Episode 15.
So lots of stuff to look forward to.
Lots of time travel.
The "Other" Reverse Flash?
...finding out who HE is.
Although I totally think it's Eddie Thawne.
You guys can let me know if you agree though.
The "Other" Reverse Flash -- who is he?
I didn't really have any big Thumbs Down about the episode.
I thought they had a really interesting choice in music.
I mean, "Uptown Funk" at the beginning was kinda funny.
Sometimes the songs they pick are a little bit weird and it takes you out of it.
Something else I also noticed:
I feel like Malese Jow is kinda like a 'Felicity'-type character.
Notice what she's wearing.
She always seems like she's dressed, to catch you're eye.
Like everyone else in the background is dressed in really plain colors, but she's wearing this crazy-looking pattern.
I tried to find an Easter egg in her dress but I didn't see anything that jumped out at me.
If you think her dress (like that pattern) is an Easter egg for some comic book thing, let me know.
In related news, I know a lot of you are asking about my Gotham video.
It's just because of the special video---the fun video I posted yesterday---I had to move it around.
I AM posting Gotham next.
I'll get that out before Arrow tonight.
I don't know if I'll get my 'Agent Carter' video out before that though.
If I don't, I'll just post it after Arrow on Thursday. So don't worry.
I'm also doing Q&A's for The Flash and Arrow this week.
And for the big Marvel/Sony announcement.
So there's plenty of time to ask questions.
Think of stuff for that.
Okay, so while you guys wait for all that to happen, you can click here* to catch up on The Flash.
And you can click here* for my Explainer for the Spiderman/Marvel announcement.
"Spiderman in the MCU".
Everyone is STILL freaking out.
I'm still freaking out a little bit about it.
So thank you so much for watching.
Everybody high-five.
I'll see you tomorrow.
[Closed Captioning brought to you in part by The Justice League of America]