Catching Up: The Flash Episode 415, "Enter Flashtime"

"Enter Flashtime" will go down as one of the best, most intense, episodes of THE FLASH since the series debuted. The Flash (GRANT GUSTIN) goes up against an eco-terrorist, Veronica Dale (BERNADETTE SAQUIBAL), aka Hyrax from the GREEN ARROW comic books. Her team are robbing an A.R.G.U.S. shipment of nuclear fissionable material. As Jesse Quick (VIOLETT BEANE) is on hand visiting her father, she accompanies Flash to stop the heist.

But they're too late to prevent Veronica from pressing the button to detonate the nuclear material. That's the first five minutes of the show. The rest of the show happens in less than a picosecond, as Flash enters "Flashtime" -- a phase where he's moving so fast that all the rest of time appears stopped. (Recall the TWILIGHT ZONE episode with the great Burgess Meredith, "Time Enough at Last," and you'll have the same effect.) Only Barry and Jesse are moving, as they try to come up with a way to stop a nuclear explosion that's already been kicked off. But they have to keep moving or time resumes and everyone dies. It's a problem Barry's never faced before, and he sends Jesse to Earth-3 to find Jay Garrick (JOHN WESLEY SHIPP) and mine his experience.

Meanwhile, Flash tries to bring others into Flashtime with him, which he can only do if he's touching them to make them move as fast as he is. He tries to bring Vibe (CARLOS VALDES) in to warp the explosion to a dead Earth -- but they're moving too fast for a warp to open. He then tries Killer Frost (DANIELLE PANABAKER), to freeze the event, but she too lacks the capability. Both of them wear down quickly, as their bodies aren't made for super-speed. In desperation, he goes to Harrison Wells (TOM CAVANAGH), who suggests sending the blast into the Speed Force, but this is something Jay Garrick quickly nixes -- it could destroy the Speed Force and cut every speedster in the multiverse off from their powers, not to mention have ripple effects on the multiverse itself.

Ultimately, it's Iris (CANDACE PATTON) who inspires Barry, who is on the brink of collapse -- and the last Flash standing at this point, as the others have given way to exhaustion and fallen out of Flashtime. It's a gamble involving the Speed Force and the lightning it can throw out, but it works, leaving behind some questions yet to be answered.

It's always great to see the other good speedsters show up, and the rumors are that there's another one waiting in the wings -- Johnny Quick. In the comics, Johnny Quick is the father to Jesse Quick. In the television show, Harrison Wells is the father to Jesse Quick. They can't be the same person -- but then why does Wells have the speed force equation, 3x2(9YZ)4A, written on his work board? Could Wells be on the verge of tapping into the Speed Force in Season 5?

We also have to wonder what is keeping the Speed Force in check, now that Barry has tampered with the one thing that allowed him to leave it at the beginning of this season. Is it going to try to reclaim him? And is that why the mysterious girl from the future, played by JESSICA PARKER KENNEDY, is still hanging around and bumping into Team Flash members?

And with Jay Garrick announcing his retirement from heroics, choosing to train a NEW Flash on his world, does that mean we've seen the last of SHIPP on the series? Heaven forbid!

It's a fantastic Flash-centric episode that will have fans on the edge of their seats. More like this one, please!