On The Flash, for every positive force, there is an equal negative force … or something like that. In “Negative, Part 1,” Team Flash faces off with a new enemy that may have some answers about Iris’s (Candice Patton) time sickness.
A lot happens in this episode. Buckle up!
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CAITLIN
Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) apparently changed her mind about resurrecting Frost. She returns to Central City to help Mark (Jon Cor) build his pod. The plan is for Caitlin to step into the pod, tap into the part of her brain where Frost used to live, and extract Frost’s voice. And then once they get that part back, they will work on building her a body. And if that doesn’t work, they will find another way. Caitlin steps into the pod and is blasted with cold air.
CECILE
Next is Cecile (Danielle Nicolet). Cecile gained the ability to throw emotions around. She can also induce vertigo. But it turns out she actually stole that ability from Rosalind Dillon (Ashley Rickards), aka Rosa, aka the Top. Cecile was in the general vicinity where Rosa lived and thought about Rosa’s powers. She was able to use those powers against the mugger in the last episode. Now Rosa wants her powers back.
Cecile doesn’t really know how it happened or how she stole Rosa’s powers. Joe (Jesse L. Martin) says she needs to test this thought process to see if it works again and if they can figure out how to give powers back. He calls in a favor from Chief Singh (Patrick Sabongui).
IRIS
Iris appears in the year 2049 at the loft where her kids Bart (Jordan Fisher) and Nora (Jessica Parker Kennedy) live. She’s been lost in the time stream. Nora tries to take her back to 2022, but the Still Force trapped Iris in the future.
The kids take Iris to Dr. Joan Williams (Michelle Harrison). She discovers negative tachyons in Iris’s blood stream. This is the cause of her time sickness, but she doesn’t know how those got there. The tachyons are increasing, causing Iris’ headaches. If her headaches increase, it will eventually kill her
During her headaches, Iris sees visions from 2022. She sees the forces Bashir the Sage Force (Ennis Esmer), Alexa the Strong Force (Sara Garcia) and Deon the Still Force (Christian Magby)together and they are different. It’s almost like they are darker in some way. Nora decides to go to 2022 to let Barry know what’s going on with Iris.
THAWNE
At the end of last week’s episode, Deon paid a visit to Evil Thawne (Tom Cavanagh), saying he will get everything he deserves. What he didn’t tell him is that it would cost him his life. Deon kills Eobard, leaving his decayed body in the ARGUS cell.
The Flash gives Meena (Kausar Mohammed) her super suit and she’s hesitant about wearing it. They resume her training until she goes flying off a treadmill. Meena runs away, feeling like a failure. Flash gives her a pep talk and reveals his true identity. Meena feels better about everything knowing that the Flash is just an ordinary guy. She agrees to return to training. Barry also gives her the hero name, Fast Track.
Barry returns to STAR Labs, only to find out that Deon’s signature was detected at ARGUS. He races to Eobard’s cell and finds his dead body. Barry says Deon has changed. And they have no way of knowing when and where he could turn up next.
OG Eobard (Matt Letscher) tells Meena to take it easy on herself. Just as they get into an important discussion, the Forces show up. They say they are there to kill OG Eobard so he can fulfill his purpose.
NEGATIVE
Meena is ready to fight them, but she’s not strong enough. The Flash shows up to stop them, but it drains his energy. Deon says there’s room for only one set of forces, the negative ones. Want to kill OG Eobard because he’s not the avatar. His presence makes them weak. Deon says sacrifices have to be made and the Flash has to pay for what he did
Chester (Brandon McKnight) radios The Flash and Meena tells him that he is weak. Chester asked her to bring the Flash back to STAR Labs, he has a guest. Allegra (Kayla Compton) and Chester are smiling, because Nora has arrived from the future.
Nora tells them about running into the force field. They are surprised that there are Negative Forces and wonder what happened to Speed Force Nora. Barry thinks it has something to do with when he severed Evil Thawne’s connection to the negative speed force. Maybe Nora disappeared and that’s why the Positive Forces are weak now.
Barry realizes that the Negative Forces used Iris’s time sickness to take out the Positive Forces. They knew Deon would help Iris and he would get sick and spread it to the other forces. If the Negative Forces take over, all speedsters could cease to exist. He asks Nora to return to 2049 and watch over Iris.
ENERGY EXCHANGE
Isotopic energy masses, electrochemical, temporal, and geothermic, are hovering above the atmosphere. Team Flash has to be ready for anything. Barry asks about Cecile. She’s at Iron Heights but will return soon.
Cecile And Rosa meet Mona (Agam Darshi), the Queen to see if Cecile can tap into her powers . They have to meet in a power dampening room so Mona can’t escape. As soon as Mona starts to read Cecile’s mind, she loses her power. But Cecile can hear Mona and Rosa’s thoughts … and the minds of the entire city. Rosa says Cecile is becoming one the most powerful metas in Central City.
The tachyons in Iris’s body are increasing. Barry has to defeat the negative Forces. It’s the only way to save Iris’s life.
Eobard knows Meena is keeping something from him. She fesses up that she didn’t want to be a speedster. It should have been Eobard. It was his dream to be a speedster. She wanted to share meta powers with the world so they could heal their bodies and live fuller lives. Eobard says what she’s doing is greater. She’s sharing herself with everyone. And he’s proud of her. If only there was a way to share her powers.
Flash shows up and says there is. He’s been trying to think of a way to fight the Forces and making OG Eobard a speedster will help. And Flash can teach Meena how to share her powers.
SACRIFICES TO MAKE
Chester, Allegra, and Cecile go to Fast Track labs to help Flash. First they power up Meena. Then she holds Eobard’s hands and sends her lightning through his body. Flash gives Eobard a ring with a suit inside, so he will be prepared. Meena is worried that the negative force will affect Eobard, but Barry says their love will balance it out.
The Negative Forces arrive. Chester, Allegra, and Cecile keep them occupied while Barry talks Meena and Eobard through the transfer. The fight gets intense and in the end, Deon snaps the trio away. They end up outside of the lab. Flash arrives in time to save them from being snapped out of existence. Fast Track and new speedster Eobard stand with Flash to face the Negative Forces.
Meanwhile in 2049, Iris has another vision, seeing what is happening in 2022. She says the fight is a new moment in time. Time is changing. Her visions aren’t random. Everything the Negative Forces do has a purpose. Deon said sacrifices have to be made. But the sacrifice isn’t Thawne.
Flash tells Fast Track and Eobard to keep the Forces busy while he builds up speed to attack the Forces with. When Barry throws his lightning, Deon snaps his fingers and Iris appears in front of him. The Lightning hits Iris, killing her.
Deon says they’re tired of taking a backseat to their opposites. Sacrifices were made, but Iris isn’t the only one. The Negative Forces disappear. Iris’s body disappears too, but the green particles remain and fly into Eobard. He screams in pain, ripping his head off. Underneath is evil Thawne. He thanks Flash for the resurrection. Reverse Flash is back.
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.
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