Things don’t stay quiet for long on The Flash. In “Into the Still Force,” Barry (Grant Gustin) goes above and beyond … forward and backward … to find Iris, despite Joe’s (Jesse L. Martin) warnings. Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) continues with her latest science project.
Two things you need to remember for this episode. Iris (Candice Patton) has time sickness and she infected Deon (Christian Magby). And unfortunately, things are getting worse. Iris can make people and things disappear with just a touch. Last week, she disappeared into thin air without anyone knowing.
RELATED: The Flash Recap (S08E14): Funeral for a Friend
Barry discovers that Iris is missing. The team jumps into action to try and find her, but none of their sensors pick up her signal. Cecile (Danielle Nicolet) reminds them that Tinya’s (Mika Abdalla) power also had a hand in Iris’ disappearance in Coast City. Barry races off without a word.
Caitlin explains to Mark that she plans to build a new body for Frost with Eva McCulloch’s technology. Mark thinks she’s crazy, especially since Caitlin just tried to resurrect her dead husband. Caitlin sounds more insane when she explains that they have exhume Frost’s body to get a fresh sample of her DNA. The hair sample Caitlin acquired is decaying too quickly. Caitlin pleads with Mark, saying they were robbed of the full life they were supposed to have together. Mark wants that life back but he won’t help Caitlin.
STAND STILL
Barry races to Coast City and finds Tinya at Jitters. As soon as he mentions Iris, Tinya gets angry. Barry asks how Tinya’s powers work because Iris is missing again. Tinya won’t help him. She says Iris took everything away from her and she doesn’t care what happens to Iris.
Time stops and Deon shows up. He tells Barry that he’s infected with the time sickness and won’t let Barry touch him. Deon asks Barry to find the isotopic sensor and go with him into the Still Force to find Iris. He put a particle inside of Iris so if she ever got lost, Deon could find her. Barry says the isotopic sensor will have to be fixed first. Deon promises to return and disappears again.
Barry returns to STAR Labs and informs the team of Deon’s plan. Joe doesn’t like it. Allegra (Kayla Compton) remembers Deon saying it’s too dangerous for Barry to go into the Still Force. Barry is ready to go. He says as soon as they find Iris, they can return home. Joe asks why Deon needs help finding a particle that he created. Valid question. Barry informs the team that Deon is infected too. There’s a chance that all of the Forces are infected. Joe thinks they need to slow down and figure things out before sending Barry into the unknown. Barry says there’s no time. He trusts Deon and he’s ready to run.
Joe gets frustrated. He says something doesn’t feel right. Barry is putting a lot of faith in Deon’s plan. Joe asks what Barry thinks he should do. Barry doesn’t know. He has to trust Deon. He owes Deon. Barry feels guilty for not focusing on Iris’ sickness when it started. This is his way of making up for that.
INSPIRATION
Chester (Brandon McKnight) gets a call from Captain Kramer (Carmen Moore). The CCPD found an unknown device at a crime scene. She asks Chester to come to the station and take a look at it. He’s super excited to step up and help.
Deon meets Flash in the speed lab. He warns Barry that there’s only one way in and out of the Still Force. The Still Force is unstable. Deon says past, present and future all exist in the Still Force, but there is no balance. There’s even a dead zone where time repeats itself. If that happens, Deon could never get Barry out. Barry detects Iris’ signal at the Citizen. He sees a future moment stuck on repeat. It’s Allegra arguing with Taylor (Rachel Drance). The only way to stop it is to find Iris.
Barry hears Tinya’s mom, Renee (Meghan Gardiner) call for help. She’s been stuck in the Still Force for weeks. She’s trapped like Iris. Barry wants to help Renee, but Deon says they have to find Iris first. She’s the key to everything.
Kramer shows Chester a device they found at an explosion site. When he examines it, he finds high levels of radiation. Chester thinks it may have emitted a power EMP. He takes off the cover and examines the inside. Chester is impressed with the quantum coiling. When he takes out a chip, Chester recognizes the work. Kramer allows Chester to take the device back to the lab to examine it further.
Barry and Deon find Iris’ signal, but no Iris. Instead they find the particle. Deon takes the particle and puts in himself. He tells Barry that he’s sorry and tries to leave. Barry tries to race after him and is launched into Joe’s house. This is Barry’s dead zone;
2049
Nora (Jessica Parker Kennedy) sits on the couch, writing a story about XS. She asks Gideon for a synonym for her story. Before Gideon can answer, she goes away and Nora’s screen disappears. Nora hears someone call her name. A green light appears and talks to Nora. She thinks it’s Deon. he says Barry is trapped but he can’t help. Nora can though. She is overcome by the green light and sent to Joe’s house.
Chester thinks he’s a super villain. The microchip in the device was hardwired with an energy converter that he created. He thinks someone watched his live streams to build the converter. Chester says Allegra was right. He never should have put his designs online. And now he never will again.
Allegra says he’s not a villain. He inspires people. Whoever made the device also evacuated the building and no one was hurt. So Chester didn’t turn anyone to the dark side. They just don’t know the whole story.
Barry finds Iris’ hairbrush that disappeared at New Years. He also hears Nora’s voice before she appears in the room. Barry says Nora shouldn’t have followed him. She tells him that Deon sent her there. Barry is confused because Deon is the reason he’s stuck. Barry feels bad for not listening to Papa Joe.
Nora tries to cheer him up by telling him that she is following in her mother’s footsteps. She’s a reporter and she’s having a hard time finding her voice. Future Iris is helping her and tells her to follow her instincts. Barry should do the same. She says it’s their belief in each other that keeps them connected.
THE SPARK
Barry realizes just how connected they are. Iris and Barry created the Still Force. He heard Nora’s voice before she appeared. He thinks he connected to the future and could connect to the present as well. Barry has a part of the Still Force within him. If he can connect to that and control it, he can get them out.
Barry sits on the floor and tries to connect to the stillness. He has a hard time doing so. Nora says Iris still has the same brush in the future. She tells Barry to use it as an anchor. It works. Nora and Barry show up in Joe’s living room.
Joe can see them both and asks what’s going on. Nora says the present must be stabilizing if Grandpa Joe can see them. They disappear, but the brush stays. When Barry opens his eyes, green lightning flashes in his eyes. He can feel the temporal energy of the Still Force. He can see the future, present and past all at once. Barry also sees old friends and new family, including Nora’s wife. And someone named Max.
KNOWN FUTURE
The spark is fading so Barry transfers part of it to Nora. They run as fast as they can, straight to the barrier, but bounce back. They run again. Flash says they have to hit it with everything they got while trying to phase through the barrier. That doesn’t work and they bounce back again.
Flash figures out that the barrier pushes them back into the past every time they try to escape. Deon said the past, present and future coexist. If they’ve already escaped, the only way to stop them is to keep them stuck in the past. Flash tells XS to use the spark to focus on the moment they get past the barrier. That’s how they escape. They run again and this time it works.
Later, Barry and Nora explain to Joe and Cecile how they were able to escape. The Still Force spark is gone, so they will have to find another way to save Iris. Cecile and Barry are worried about why Deon would trap Barry in the past though.
Nora returns to 2049. Barry apologizes for not listening to Joe. He says he felt Iris in the Still Force. She has a spark inside of her too. He knows wherever Iris is, she’s okay.
FRANKEN-FROST
Chester interacts with his online posse. He found the person who built the device. The creator was trying to provide unlimited hot water to the residents of the halfway house. All is good with Chester P. Runk. he even musters up the courage to ask Allegra out for a root beer. After they leave, someone hacks into Chester’s computer and downloads all of his files.
Mark returns to Caitlin’s apartment/lab. He changed his mind about helping her because Caitlin was right. He lost his life with Frost and he wants it back. The only thing he asks is that Caitlin promises that they won’t fail. She makes that promise and they get to work.
RELATED: Catch up on all of The Flash recaps here
News Editor, Senior Contributor, and Press Editor. Coordinate breaking news, trailers and press releases. I also contribute reviews, recaps and interviews. Creator of the Indigenerd Wire, a column dedicated to the Indigenous creatives in pop culture.
GGA's resident Indigenerd, a little bit rez, a little bit classy...with a love for all things Star Wars, zombies, science fiction, and Indigenous. My ultimate goal is to start my own podcast.
- INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE Recap: (S02E07) I Could Not Prevent It - June 24, 2024
- INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE Recap: (S02E06) Like the Light by Which God Made the World Before He Made Light - June 17, 2024
- INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE Recap: (S02E05) Don’t Be Afraid, Just Start The Tape - June 10, 2024
