Catching Up: The Flash, Episode 307, "Killer Frost"

Before we pick up with last week's cliffhanger, I've got to say that Director Kevin Smith really knows how to get emotion out of his actors. This episode of THE FLASH blows away everything this season, not just because of story but because of the way the characters come across. More on that as we progress.

At the end of last week's episode, Flash (GRANT GUSTIN) was being throttled by Savitar (ANDRE TRICOTEUX), who declares that he is the God of the Speed Force. As the police start to shoot at what, to them, is an invisible monster, Doctor Alchemy grabs his Philosopher's Stone and runs. That's when Savitar takes Flash on a little run himself, and it is a serious speed pummeling! Savitar and Flash are appearing and disappearing all over the city at rates so fast that the electronic trackers in Flash's suit are showing him existing in multiple locations at once. HR (Tom Cavanagh) suggest that Cisco (CARLOS VALDES) and Caitlin (DANIELLE PANABAKER) join the fight to give Barry the advantage of numbers, so Cisco puts on his Vibe gear and opens a portal across town, something he's never done before. Caitlin lets loose with a blast of cold, which freezes Savitar enough for them to actually see him, just before he breaks free and runs off.

Returning to S.T.A.R. Labs, we see Joe (JESSE L. MARTIN) and Iris (CANDICE PATTON) still watching over Wally (KEIYNAN LONSDALE), who is still in his Alchemy-induced chrysalis. HR questions why only Barry was able to see Savitar, and reveals crossword-puzzle knowledge that Savitar is the Hindu god of motion. (This incarnation of Harrison Wells is starting to grow on me; being the big idea man is a lot more fun than being the technical answers man.) Joe is more concerned over Wally's well-being, and complains that he's been ignoring his detective skills and gut instincts because Team Flash scientists always tell him everything is going to be okay -- so for now he's going to use his instincts, and walks out.

Joe's destination is the Central City Police Department, where he interrogates one of Alchemy's captured acolytes. But as he starts to get rough, Caitlin knocks and interrupts, claiming that Wally is out of his chrysalis and is well. Joe leaves to see Wally, and Caitlin holds the door open to allow herself into the interrogation room, where she quickly fogs up the camera and begins to perform her own interrogation, with the objective of finding Alchemy. But Alchemy, the acolyte says, only serves and fears Savitar. When Caitlin leaves, she encounters Julian Albert (TOM FELTON), who recognizes her. He learns she's a meta, and she forces him to come with her.

Upon discovering that Caitlin lied, Joe tells Team Flash where he last saw Caitlin. Flash finds the CCPD is on the hunt for her, but don't know who they're looking for because the cameras were frosted. Using the same methods they used to catch Captain Cold (per a suggestion from HR), Barry finds Caitlin and Julian. He tries to talk Caitlin down, and knocks Julian out in the process so he can converse without his identity getting out. This is an incredible scene where Caitlin, looking up at the security cameras with the full knowledge that the rest of Team Flash is watching through them, lambasts Barry with all of his failures. She even drops the bomb on Cisco that his brother died because of Barry's Flashpoint timeline changes. When the police arrive on the scene (thanks to an emergency text Julian sent earlier), Flash whisks Caitlin away -- and to thank him she stabs him in the leg with an icicle.

Back at S.T.A.R. we get yet another stellar emotional performance, this time from Carlos Valdes as Cisco confronts Barry with the information about his brother. He says he doesn't even know how to feel right now, and turns all his energies toward finding and helping Caitlin. He finds two addresses for Alchemy's acolytes, choosing to watch one himself while Joe and HR pair off to watch the other.

Caitlin -- as Killer Frost -- enters the home where Vibe is watching, and is surprised when the acolyte knows both her Caitlin Snow and Killer Frost monikers; he claims he's seen Savitar's future, and she is an important glorious part of it. She demands to know how to find Alchemy and get him to reverse the powers that are taking her over. Vibe calls Caitlin out, and we see the duel that Vibe foresaw earlier. An injured Barry rushes to help, and both Flash and Killer Frost both are laid out, giving Caitlin the opportunity to lay a frosty "kiss of death" on Barry. Vibe tells Barry how to shake it off (quite literally), and the captured Killer Frost later wakes up in the Pipeline at S.T.A.R. (One would think the S.T.A.R. Labs people would have and know the protocols for getting out in case one of them was ever trapped inside by accident.)

The awakened Killer Frost is a much colder, snarkier personality, and Danielle Panabaker really plays this well -- much harder and more dramatic than her almost "Snow White" version of Caitlin Snow. Barry turns to Cisco for help with reversing the process of Caitlin's powers, but he echoes Caitlin's earlier sentiment to Barry: Sometimes when things get broken, they can't be fixed, obviously meaning much more than just Caitlin's condition.

Joe, meanwhile, is going with his gut instinct to save Wally. No longer content to wait for whatever process is happening, he enlists HR's help to literally cut Wally out of the coccoon. It works -- Wally's out, and he's vibrating with the speed force. But he's not aware of his surroundings and speeds off. His brain and body are out of sync, and what he needs is help only Caitlin Snow can provide. Barry makes a judgment call and lets Caitlin out of the Pipeline -- with one condition. He won't fight her, but to leave the cell she has to kill him. He taunts her, begs her to live up to the "Killer" in her name -- and ultimately reaches the Caitlin Snow inside the Killer Frost, who can't bring herself to kill him. This exemplifies Barry's greatest superpower, mentioned earlier in the episode: not speed, but hope.

Team Flash finds Wally and Barry injects him with the concoction Caitlin whips up, causing him to pass out. When he awakens later, he's his old self, and running laps in the Speed Lab at rates faster than Barry did when he first became The Flash. Joe then gets a notice that Julian Albert is awake in the hospital, where he went with a concussion and frostbite during his episode with Flash and Killer Frost.

Arriving at the hospital, Barry asks Detective Tom Patterson (new cast member GREG GUNBERG of HEROES) to see Julian before getting a statement from him. Barry knows that Julian knows Caitlin, and he wants to prevent any damage to her. Julian understands this, and will feign amnesia from the concussion -- under one condition: that Barry quits the CCPD. Julian claims that this action on Barry's part shows that his moral compass is broken and that he has no place in law enforcement. Barry agrees to the deal and packs up.

During the closing moments, Julian is awakened again in his hospital bed, this time by the voice of Savitar. Julian tries to run, but the voice follows him, drives him, until Julian is at his locker. Opening it, he hears Savitar saying, "Only together can we bring about my return." And Julian reaches into the locker and pulls out the mask of Doctor Alchemy. Yes, the boy fron Slitherin has finally taken possession of the Philosopher's Stone!