Catching Up: The Flash Episode 310, "Borrowing Problems From The Future"

In the weeks since Christmas, Wally (KEIYNAN LONSDALE) has been shadowing Barry (GRANT GUSTIN) as he does his Flash duties. He's learning by observing, which has led some -- like Detective Tom Patterson (GREG GRUNBERG) -- to assume that "the guy in yellow" is not so super-heroic after all. Wally overhears this but tries not to let it affect his patience.

Over at S.T.A.R. Labs, H.R. Wells (TOM CAVANAGH) is testing everybody's patience, particularly Cisco Ramon's (CARLOS VALDES), as he ramps things up for the "soft" opening of the new S.T.A.R. Labs museum (and he never does fess up to where he gets the financing for the venture). The idea is to provide an income for Team Flash, which up until now must be living off their savings and/or unemployment benefits, which must be pretty nice considering the super sweet pad Barry Allen just surprised his honey (and kinda sorta stepsister) Iris West (CANDICE PATTON) with. Iris and Barry have been living together for a while now, and lately Barry's been waking her up by screaming himself awake.

Barry has a good reason for his nightmare's. At Christmas, he accidentally ran so fast he broke the time barrier. Again. Only this time he ran into the future, and saw a world where Savitar murdered Iris and he wasn't fast enough to save her. One thing he does remember is a television broadcast about the escape of a villain named Plunder (STEPHEN HUSZAR), who reportedly had just been apprehended a few months back by The Flash. So when Flash actually encounters Plunder for the first time, he's hesitant about capturing him. He surmises that if he doesn't capture Plunder, perhaps the future will play out differently. So when Wally intervenes, Barry takes attitude with him and tells him that if he can't follow his orders then their training deal is off.

Over at Team Flash, Caitlyn Snow (DANIELLE PANABAKER) is having problems of her own. The power dampening bracelets that keep her inner Killer Frost persona at bay are going on the fritz. Technically, they're fine, they just use a lot of power and she doesn't like plugging them in all the time, since she has to be wearing them while they charge. So she goes to visit Julian Albert (TOM FENTON), the police expert in metahumans, to see if he can help her rid herself of Killer Frost for good. Unfortunately, the acerbic Albert tells her his expertise is in capturing metahumans, not curing them. She leaves quickly gets herself plugged in before her eyes can continue the Lou Ferrigno effect they've begun to undergo.

When Barry finally caves to Iris and the rest of Team Flash about his future visit, the team works together to come up with a plan to save her. According to H.R. the future wants to happen a certain way, but if they very carefully take out certain events, they can alter it. Working together, Cisco "vibes" himself and Barry into the future Barry saw, so that they can copy down the headline scroll on the news broadcast Barry saw last time. Yes, it's the return of the 52 CHALKBOARD! The theory is that if they can change the headlines, they can change the future. But the headlines include things like a warning about a gorilla attack, the closure of the S.T.A.R. Labs museum -- and Killer Frost still at large. Also, H.R. is in the future with a badass rifle on a rooftop, which didn't happen last time. This gives the team hope that the future is changeable.

The team decides to tackle the biggest news item: Plunder's capture. They know where he's going to strike, and together Flash and Wally, now embracing the name Kid Flash, head to the scene of the crime-to-be. The plan is for Kid Flash to perform the apprehension, as that will change the future even a little. It takes some doing, but in the end Wally is triumphant, and a cheering crowd chants his name.

All seems to have a happy ending for the day, as the crew adjourn to the housewarming party for Barry and Iris. Julian has had second thoughts about how he treated Caitlyn, and working with Cisco has developed a power-supply solution to her problem: a solar charger that will charge the bracelets every time she goes outside. It might be a little less foreboding if it wasn't a pendant shaped like a glowing snowflake...

H.R. delivers a heartwarming toast, and all seems to be going well. But we fans know that no Flash episode is complete without the last 30 second teaser. Leaving the Allen/West abode, we find ourselves in a deserted alley (is there any other kind?) where a wormhole has just opened. Coming through it is a very serious looking woman, who carries a holographic picture in the palm of her hand: the image of H.R. Wells! (IMDb has listed this mystery woman as JESSICA CAMACHO, playing the role of... GYPSY! Could she be a new member for the future Justice League? (For that matter, could Killer Frost, given the way her role is changing in DC Comics in the aftermath of JUSTICE LEAGUE vs. SUICIDE SQUAD?)