THE FLASH 8.7

RECAP - THE FLASH  8.7:  "Lockdown"  

We continue our interlude for The Fastest Man Alive, as we return to 2022 and we get back to Team Flash, as we move forward with this season.  This week, we welcome back one of Flash's old foes, as they try to cause some trouble for The Monarch of Motion, as well as the CCPD.  We also get into some personal stuff for Caitlin, as she tries her hand at dating again. 

Chester was on monitor duty this week, as he was also looking to provide yet another video blog of his crazy inventions....with Allegra's help.  This also prompted Caitlin to show up to stop the proceedings as she's having nerves about going out on her first date since Ronnie Raymond.  An alert interrupts everything, and they see several crimes being committed, and the Flash is on it.  He stops a robbery, a car thelft, and another crime, and drops them off at the CCPD.  Though they were ushered there by the Flash, he forgot to stick around to tell the cops what they were being brought in for.  Barry comes downstairs from his lab, as he meets up with Kramer, who says she wishes she could communicate with the Scarlet Speedster in order to better work together in bringing down the criminals in Central City.  Barry talks this over with Joe and Cecile, and they both agree that Kramer is trustworthy, and it would benefit everyone around for him to help the CCPD by giving them a way to contact the Flash.  Barry heads back to work the next day, and as he is about to talk it over with Kramer, they open the elevator, and get knocked out by a gas bomb.

When they awake, they have inhibitor bands on their wrists, preventing both Kramer AND Barry from using their powers, but they are on the wrists of several officers in the precinct.
...courtesy of Goldface, who has returned at the behest of his love--Amunet Black.  Goldface recognizes Barry, but doesn't equate him to the Flash.  He requests the metahuman bullets that Kramer had gotten that were in the police armory, and he plans on selling them on the black market with Amunet Black.  He says that not only does the band knock out meta powers, they can also kill if Goldface likes.  Kramer refuses to abide by Goldfaces plan.  Because once they check the armory, the bullets are gone.  He wants to know where they're at, but Kramer isn't giving up their location.  Barry intercedes, and says he can build a device that could help Goldface track them.  Barry's in his lab, and he has to endure Goldface's diatribe about love.  He puts the device together, but when he turns it on, it emits a loud sonic sound that deafens Goldface and his henchman, and Kramer and Barry make a run for it, and hide in a storage area.  Goldface recovers, and says he wants the bullets and the weapon, otherwise, he's going to start killing policemen.  

Barry notices that Kramer's band is off, because her Mimic powers nullifed it by inheriting Goldfaces powers.  Kramer is afraid to use her powers, and the main reason she wanted to talk to Flash, is because she wanted his help training her to control them.  She's afraid of using her powers for lack of control, and hurting someone. Barry assures her she can do it, and they need to do it fast before Goldface starts offing police officers.  Barry wants her to bide him time to see if he can get the band off, and find a way to save the precinct.  Kramer meets with Goldface as she says she's not giving him anything, and she is---as she said to Barry---"Get our house back!".  So, as she confronts Goldface, holding onto his gold chain, Barry is upstairs trying to get the band off, when he remembers what Caitlin said about him "leveling up".  So, he uses his powers to short out the band, and he manages to outrace the explosion that Goldface set off.  Downstairs, Kramer's powers are fading and Goldface is about ready to kill cops when Flash shows up, and puts dampener cuffs on him, as well as taking down his other goons.  Flash looks to Goldface to see who put him up to this, but the Pat Benetar song "Love Is A Battlefield" blares out, which is Goldface's ringtone.  It's Amunet, and Flash just shakes his head.

Later on, Flash shows up to give Kramer a device to contact him.  He also decides that it's time to reveal his ID to her, but she figures out it's Barry.  When he wonders how she did, she said she found the charred band in the explosion, and the only person that could survive that was Flash.  They shake hands, and Barry says he'll be happy to train Kristin on how to control her powers.  

As for the rest of this filler episode, we had Caitlin go on her first date in what seems like a millenia with a man named Marcus.  Though they HAD reservations at a nice restaurant, they booked so far ahead, that they're forced to make other plans, and wind up in the same place where Cait's sister Frost is on a date with Mark---Chillblaine.  This doesn't sit too well with Cait, as she puts the heat on Chillblaine about abandoning her sister, and she doesn't fully dig him at all.  This ticks not only HIM off, but Frost as well, and they bail.  Later on, after Marcus leaves, Cait is at the bar, and Mark sits down, and they hash out how they handle things.  He gets it...she doesn't like him.  But he says he's trying hard with Frost, and while their relationship is unconventional, it's still a relationship.  He says that he gets she's scared to date, but give it a shot...Marcus looks like a nice guy.  What he says seems to help Caitlin, and she ends up talking out how she feels with Frost. While Frost is appreciative, she knows what she's doing with Mark.  They end up agreeing to double date.  

The end of the episode saw Iris at Joe's having dinner, and then having her Speed Force powers going haywire again, as she slips out and then back in time.  This time, Joe is bringing in a casebox for her to look at, and she's perplexed at the time jump.  Joe just chalks the incident up to dinner, then heads upstairs.  Iris' eyes power up as the episode fades to black..  

As I said...another filler episode until the next arc beings for this season...another "Graphic Novel" if you will.   It was a pretty standard episode in the "stand alone" department, as it had a beginning, middle, and end to the story.  The only thread we see continuing is the time displacement abilities Iris is suffering from....and they're getting worse.  I am hoping that the main focus of this last arc for the season (because I think they only have two, with some filler in-between), will be finding a way to cure Iris.  After all----she's still got Nora and Bart to give birth to.  This episode had a few cute moments, but it centered on the fact that we got to see Barry in his CSI mode a good part of the episode as he was captured with Kramer.  We learn more about WHY Kramer doesn't like using her powers, but knows she needs to get them under control.  And the logical ending with her finding out Barry's secret ID was simple and to the point....true, there was no big "unraveling" of the mystery for her---it's fairly cut and dried this epsidode, and I'm okay with that.  They painted enough of a picture for Kramer, that it just makes me like her more----and with her and Flash---or at least Barry.....they make a good team.  So, I'm curious as to how Mimic controls her powers going forward.  So, Chief Singh, Kramer, Joe, and Cecile are people who are either lawyers (Cecile), or members of law enforcement.  It finally ends that tease of WHEN Kramer would find out Barry and the Flash are one and the same.  While her putting the pieces together would've been fun, it would've gotten boring in an episode or two.  This shows at just how great a cop she is, how savvy she is, and it was something simple like the charred wristband to prove her theory true.  But I wouldn't mind seeing Kramer and Barry working more, and developing that partnership as not only Police Captain/CSI, but also has Police Captain/Flash.  

We're going to get a few more fillers before we hit the final arc of the season, but we're seeing some sides to our cast we haven't before.  And, I gotta tell you, seeing Goldface again was great!  Anytime they can fit in a Rogue to cause a little chaos is a good thing---plus, Goldface is good for a laugh---especially when you add Amunet Black into the mix.  

What did YOU all think of this episode?  Was it good for filler?  Or are you just itching for them to get on with it, and move into the next arc?  What about Caity and Frost and THEIR dating life?  Do we get more Chester and Allegra?  Subscribe and provide YOUR thoughts and opinions below.

Until next time....keep on running!