The Flash - The Man in the Yellow Suit

Although the introduction of Firestorm is a bit of a dud, otherwise The Flash's mid-season finale doesn't disappoint as the Reverse-Flash finally makes his presence known and "The Man in the Yellow Suit" gives us Barry's first encounter with the man responsible for his mother's murder 14 years ago. After weeks of teasing us about the true identity of the Flash's arch-nemesis the last few sequences of the finale seem to suggest that both Detective Eddie Thawne (Rick Cosnett) and Professor Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh) are connected to the villain whose power set follows the more modern take on the character in that his powers are similar, but the source of them are in sharp contrast, from those of our hero.

The show has long teased that Wells' advanced tech and knowledge of the future make him the obvious choice for Professor Zoom, the time traveler from the 31st Century who replicated the hero's powers and returned to the past to drive Barry Allen mad, but given both Barry's admission to Iris (Candice Patton) about his true feelings (the fallout of which may soon effect Iris and Eddie's relationship) and the fact that Eddie isn't even touched by the super-villain there's still a possibility that he may be wearing a yellow suit in the near future as well (although I certainly wouldn't mind if they got rid of the red pants and gloves to get closer to the villain's classic look).


Following news that Mark Hamill has signed on to play the Trickster (the best of the classic comic Flash villains used in the 1990s television show) "The Man in the Yellow Suit" gives us the first appearance of another member of the show as Amanda Pays shows up playing Dr. Tina McGee (the same character she played on the 1990s show). Hamill's casting may be more exciting, but Pays is well-used here in an older and far more corporate version of McGee than we've seen before. Her company's creation of something the Reverse-Flash desperately wants and the fact that she's the major rival for what remains of Star Labs makes me hope we might see more of her in the future.

The episode's B-story reintroduces Ronnie Raymond (Robbie Amell) as a metahuman overwhelmed by his powers. Although it gives Danielle Panabaker a nice subplot involving Caitlin's former fiance, it's obvious at this point in the series the show is far from certain about what exactly they want to do with the character whose full comic-based power-set would easily make him the most powerful character we've seen on any current DC TV show. Thankfully, it seems the show's writers have a much clearer idea about the Reverse-Flash (who wipes the floor with our hero repeatedly) and his ties with time-travel, an idea which Cisco alludes to in the episode's closing moments right before the ominous reveal of Wells' new toy.