Thank God (any and all of 'em) for Tom Cavanagh. I really hope that the person responsible for his casting received a big bonus, and even more-so when they decided he'd be returning for Season 2, despite the, er, potential problems that might've posed. He's consistenly the best performer on the show, capable of elevating any scene he's in. Somehow he's even managed to raise the bar this year on the duplicitous Wells character, but generally he's had a lot of good stuff going on alongside him. This week, though, in Fast Lane, it was his scenes that really helped carry what was an otherwise mundane episode. While he was busy stealing the Flash's speed, and trying to hide it from the STAR Labs team, there was a new metahuman on the loose: Tar Pit. This was the villain-of-the-weak model at its worst, as he was completely unimportant to the plot, offered no real threat, and by the end was dealt with swiftly even by Flash's standards. There was slightly better stuff in the West family drama, with Candice Patton, Keiynan Lonsdale, and of course Jesse L. Martin doing solid work and bringing some emotional heft to the table, which goes without saying for Martin by this stage, but Patton in particular has upped her game recently. So ultimately, not a bad episode, but definitely a forgettable one. What it did well, though, was set up next week and a trip to Earth Two, and leave us with plenty to ponder for the next week.
NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far.
A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.
