The true origin of Barry Allen revealed.

What They Say:
The Scientist – Central City police scientists Barry Allan investigates a seemingly impossible robbery; Sin turns to Roy for help when a friend goes missing.

Content:
Though things have been changed in how The Flash will be drawn into a pilot episode for his own series, this episode and the next are still highly anticipated because it actually does draw in Barry Allen. And it did it well enough that the execs at CW decided that the character is definitely strong enough to be pushed into his own series with his own pilot. That keeps a lot of anticipation for this two part mid-season finale that’s going on here, which is on top of so many other storylines that are running throughout the show. Which is a lot considering that we’re only eight episodes in as of now and there’s a whole lot more to grow from with it. Particularly with some of the revelations that we’ve gotten recently with Merlyn, Thea and the League of Assassins.

With this episode, the main focus that will draw fans is the arrival of Barry Allen, a Central City CSI member who has come to check out a break-in at Queen Consolidated in one of its storage warehouses/facilities. That’s pretty awkward with what’s going on here since you have some wondering if there’s another earthquake machine in there. Barry is pretty much right on what’s going on here because it’s tied to things going on in Central City and it seems to be done with a lot of power by one man and he brings some good forensic approach to figuring out what’s going on here, which is definitely impressing Oliver. The small nods are great though, especially in noting that the centrifuge that’s likely been stolen is one from Kord Industries, which gives us another sweet smile.

The first introductions are all pretty amusing to watch as it unfolds, but in particular with the way that Barry is treated as being too young for what he does as he does look young, and how Felicity seems to be a bit taken by him. Not completely outwardly, but the way she interacts with him throughout the episode is definitely a whole lot of fun. And Oliver’s reaction is surprisingly defensive as he’s not quite keen on what he’s seeing and tries in his own way to put a little distance between everyone. Some of it you could attribute to him not wanting to add more people to his inner circle and their connections, but there’s also some nicely done jealousy. But there’s little time to really deal with it early on as through some good flashback moments to the island and some footage in the present of the theft, it becomes pretty clear that Slade has become more than he was and he’s now in Starling City.

Some of the smaller plot elements here are definitely intriguing to watch, though the Queen Consolidated material is all just building towards something else with the corporate politics and the like. The best moment is when Malcolm shows up again to talk with Moira and it reinforces their relationship in the past and how Thea was born from it. But it also is something that brings in more of what happened to Malcolm after that incident as he left and found his way to Nanda Parbat, which is where a lot of things obviously do happen in a mysterious corner of the world. Including his induction into the League of Shadows, which hints well at the Lazarus Pit as well since he’s come back to life. The expansive layering of what’s going on in this world through Arrow is definitely fantastic and seeing this brought in, named and more, adds well to it all and definitely allows for all sorts of spinoff material down the line.

The island arc is covered well in past and present as Oliver reveals the truth about the serum in the present and how Ivo and his plans for testing it on people was brought to a conclusion. That sort of cuts the arc down in a way since we get that reveal, but there’s also the potential for Oliver telling only so much of the truth with how he dealt with Ivo and all of those that he gave it to. The idea that someone survived is obvious, or found what Ivo was working on, and is using the centrifuge and other things to recreate the serum and create more people like himself for whatever purpose there is. It’s fairly standard material in a way, but the layered execution of it across a couple of place and stories is what works very, very well here.

Barry’s story is one that is well told here and I’ll admit that I’m quite surprised by how much they drew into things. When it’s discovered that he’s been lying about part of who he is and why he’s there, Oliver confronts him and he reveals his origin story in a way. Talking about how his mother was murdered when he was eleven, he delves into the mystery of the case where his father was convicted as the killer but Barry tells of something like a tornado that burst into the house, fought his father, flung Barry twenty blocks and then killed his mother. It’s a lot of what’s been revealed in the comics for quite a few years now with how that particular origin came about, but it’s definitely something that is far more detailed than I expected and indicates that the world will indeed become much larger as this gets explored likely in his own series. Everything we get with this show is being so inclusive that it’s almost scary.

In Summary:
With this being a two part piece, it does a solid job of setting up a lot of things that will culminate in the next episode – including Oliver getting a proper mask as we see from the preview. But even though it does a ton of setup, it also provides for a lot of revelations. Arrow is not a series that teases things along and then gives you small doses of meaty material. We get a lot of plots moving along here, several connected, and reveals in past and present that advances the larger storyline and gives Oliver one hell of a busy life. While I was initially concerned about the actor being brought in for Barry Allen because of his youthful look at that he doesn’t conform with what most feel Barry looks like, his role here was spot on and it made me want to see much more of him in his own series and adventures, especially if they get to pull off the effects and costuming right when that point in time comes. So much back story provided here, such a big picture view set up, that it’s easy to see how The Flash can be every bit as engaging as Arrow has been. A very strong episode that’s finally bringing some of the best of the flashback to the present.

Grade: A