TV REVIEW: Not Even a Gorilla Grodd Tease Could Save The Flash’s “Crazy For You”

By Justin Carter

Meh.

That’s all I can think to say about this Flash episode. After a consistent streak, the show finally decided to pump its brakes so it could do the seemingly February mandated Valentine’s Day-ish episode. And there’s nothing wrong with that, as Arrow sort of showed us with “Draw Back Your Bow” earlier in its season. But the thing is, that episode had the highlight of being a really twisted and deranged Valentine’s Day special, as if it has been written by someone who had just gone through a fairly messy breakup and that was the only way they could vent out their twisted frustrations. This is just…well, let’s get into what it is.

Shawna Baez and Clay Parker, who looks enough like Robb Stark that it was genuinely confusing a few times, were a pair of criminal lovers until Clay got put away. Shawna was affected by the accelerator blast, giving her the ability to teleport anywhere, provided she had sight lines. She busts her old boyfriend out of prison so they can finally leave Central City, but Clay decides to use her to rob banks and pay off his debt to a gang lord instead of just leaving town with the girl who can teleport. It doesn’t entirely make sense to me, but it hardly matters, as Shawna’s whole arc just boils down to her having bad taste in men. She and Flash meet up for a fistfight twice in the entire episode, once about 15 minutes in, and another before the final commercial break. Her boyfriend leaves her, because of course he did, and even as she’s sitting in Team Flash’s prison she admits to still being in love with him. And that’s…pretty much it.

Cisco, meanwhile, is following up on Hartley Rathaway’s tease about Ronnie from last episode. Rathaway was actually telling the truth, revealing that Ronnie fused with Martin Stein the night the accelerator went off. Stein himself was at STAR Labs, holding a strange device that made his eyes go white and imprinted his shadow into the wall, much like Hiroshima. But that’s resolved just about as fast as it begins when Hartley takes out the cochlear implants that Cisco can use to ruin his day and bolts out of the CCPD. Good intentions, not so good execution.

The most significant thing about this episode comes from a few minutes of Caitlin and Barry hanging out at a bar. Drunk Caitlin was not something I realized that I needed until now, because she is just a delight. She’s just the right kind of happy drunk and giggly drunk that it doesn’t wear thin, and watching her sing and pester Barry fits well with the show’s light tone. The show did not make the most of Grant Gustin’s talent, which is to say that they should have let their singing run a few minutes longer. This leads to the speedster getting the number of one Linda Park, one of Iris’ coworkers at the newspaper. It’s a bit too soon to entirely predict how this storyline will play out, but connecting the dots won’t be hard. The episode also toys around with Caitlin possibly having a crush on Barry, which more than likely won’t progress because he’s going out with Linda and is more than likely not over Iris, and Caitlin herself is probably not fully over Ronnie. Next week, he makes his return, and hopefully it’ll add some fire to what’s left of their relationship.

Additional Notes:

• “How can you speak 6 different languages, but still sound like a dick?”

• Cisco is way better of a fighter than I would’ve pegged him for. Seriously, he can throw a punch.

• Oh yeah, Barry’s dad is still hanging around! After the midseason finale, I honestly forgot about him. Most of the interesting stuff with him is either off screen or through glass. He does finally learn that his son is the Flash, which I thought he already knew. John Wesley Shipp knows how to give a pep talk, that’s for sure.

• GORILLA GRODD. GORILLA GRODD, THIS IS NOT A DRILL, THIS IS NOT. A DRILL. THIS IS HAPPENING.