

Having said all that, though, watching the origins of Firestorm here felt like The Flash at its most comic book-y, especially since this is pretty much the first time we’ve seen a metahuman turn into a fully freelance member of the team, rather than die, be locked up or escape to fight another day.

A good ensemble superhero series has enough great characters to carry the A-plot regardless of the titular hero, and so watching Caitlin attempt to reconnect with Ronnie while also periodically checking in on the time-travel plot with Joe and Barry worked well. It sounds churlish, but it’s a problem that has sometimes plagued Arrow and the reason why the last few weeks of that show have been so refreshing.

I kind of like these episodes the best, because too much of Barry being sweet and heroic, front and centre might more quickly wear us out on the character.
