The Flash, S3 Ep07 – Killer Frost

Following the events of last week’s episode, Barry now has a much bigger problem than Dr. Alchemy to worry about. As it turns out, Alchemy is just a patsy working for a new speedster known as Savitar. What makes Savitar even more threatening than Zoom or Reverse-Flash before him, is the fact that only Barry can see him. Even though this new villain has just been introduced, this week’s episode, appropriately titled “Killer Frost”, mostly focuses on Caitlin as she continues to struggle with her newfound meta-human abilities. Additionally, we see the aftermath of Wally’s transformation and a conclusion which provides yet another shocker.

Team Flash after capturing Killer Frost

I said it in last week’s review and I’ll say it again. Caitlin’s new evil side isn’t working. It really feels like the writers are just making Caitlin bad because Killer Frost is a villain in the comics. There hasn’t been much that has happened in previous episodes to set up this kind of character development. On the one hand, it seems the writers are aware of this, adding a throwaway line from Barry about how Caitlin’s powers are messing with her head, but that just seems like a quick-fix explanation as to why she has turned.

Keeping that in mind, Caitlin’s journey in “Killer Frost” does make sense for her character, despite the fact that she nearly kills Cisco with icicles to get there. Caitlin focuses the entirety of her efforts on finding Dr. Alchemy in an attempt to have him remove her powers. Sadly her plans fall through, but fortunately Barry is able to knock her out of her trance by the end of the episode. The shared scene between Barry and Caitlin reconciling is somewhat touching, but it doesn’t make up for the laziness of Caitlin’s emotional transformation.

Julian plays a major role in this story-arc as Caitlin forces his assistance in locating Alchemy. While Julian was safe and sound by the episode’s conclusion, he ends up promising Barry he won’t tell anyone about Caitlin’s condition as long as Barry resigns from the CCPD, stating Barry has no moral compass if he’s choosing to protect a dangerous friend like Caitlin over protecting Central City from the threat she potentially causes. Julian has every right to feel this way, in my opinion, and I was glad to see him play that card against Barry almost as if he was saving it for the perfect occasion. So, unfortunately Barry is no longer a CSI for the CCPD… for now.

On the lighter side of things, Wally is broken free of his meta-human husk and becomes Kid Flash. Despite some brief fear and confusion of what to do with himself at the beginning, Wally is later able to embrace his powers doing laps in S.T.A.R. Labs. It’s been kind of sad seeing Wally react to not having powers, especially considering he has felt like this side of his life was missing ever since the Flashpoint universe was erased. It’s good to see him happy with his new abilities and I’m hoping we’ll be able to see him fight alongside Barry in events soon to come.

Julian before the punch

Now, let’s talk about that twist. In the final stinger scene of “Killer Frost” we learn that Julian is working for Savitar. Julian is Alchemy. I’ll admit, I’m a little disappointed with this revelation. When Tom Felton was first cast in this season of The Flash, I did expect him to be some kind of villain, but after learning more about the character I had hoped he wasn’t going to be. I was hoping he would just be a constant thorn in Barry’s side. Making Julian a villain seems like a pretty obvious move.

“Killer Frost” was definitely one of this season’s weaker episodes, but that could also be stemming from my personal opinions about Caitlin’s current story-arc. I’m just not appreciating it. “Killer Frost” did have plenty of satisfying moments, though, including a metaphorical bomb being dropped about how Barry basically killed Cisco’s brother by creating the Flashpoint universe, Wally West embracing his powers, and Julian making a pretty brilliant move against his now former colleague. This episode mostly struggled due to the uninteresting, continued forced character development of Caitlin, though hopefully she will get that temper under control soon enough.

Next week The Flash will crossover with Supergirl, Arrow, and Legends of Tomorrow as all of The CW’s DC TV heroes will join forces against a race of alien invaders known as the Dominators. Check out The CW’s official trailer for the upcoming 4-night crossover event below and feel free to let us know what you thought about “Killer Frost” in the comments.