The Flash might be losing speed, but that’s not stopping Barry (Grant Gustin) from protecting his family. In “So Long and Goodnight,” Joe West’s (Jesse L. Martin) life is threatened when he gets too close to the truth. And Ralph (Hartley Sawyer) encounters the elusive Sue Dearbon (Natalie Dreyfuss) once again.
RELATED: Recap the Latest Episode of THE FLASH, “The Exorcism of Nash Wells”
We don’t waste any time jumping back into things as Joseph Carver (Eric Nenniger) puts a hit out on Joe. Even a warning from Chief Singh (Patrick Sabongui) won’t keep Joe from continuing his investigation into Carver. Barry offers to help, but Joe tells him to save his energy.
Meanwhile, Iris is adapting to the Mirror-verse and comes up with a new idea about how to get out. She tells Eva (Efrat Dor) that her husband is the Flash. He may be able to phase through the mirror and save them. Eva thinks it’s possible, but she’s too tired to try. Iris leaves her to rest, but Eva has other plans. She contacts Mirror Iris, who informs Eva that Joe West is getting really close to the truth and soon the Flash will help him. Eva instructs her to drain The Flash of his speed. She needs Flash and Joe out of the way so she can take care of her husband.
Ralph brings in Cisco (Carlos Valdes) to help him find Sue. He thinks she’s about to rob a bank. He needs Cisco to set up a net to capture Sue. Cisco agrees to help while his speed force simulations are running. But only if there are waffles!
Joe is driving home when his brakes go out. The car begins to accelerate, so Joe bails on the car and it crashes into a road construction site. Everyone is pretty shaken up about the accident, insisting that Joe lay low for a while. Singh suggests that Joe goes into witness protection, but Joe doesn’t want to. He thinks Carver will come for him again and then they can capture him.
Ralph tracks Sue to a bank where an investor’s brunch is happening. Cisco is with him and attempts to hack into the bank security system. He also encounters January Galore. She asks about what he’s doing and what all of the lights mean. While Cisco isn’t looking she waves her wrist near the breaker box and the security system blips. Cisco gets nervous and returns to the brunch.
Cisco informs Ralph of the encounter. Ralph is a little confused about why an arms dealer would be at an investor’s brunch. Then Cisco checks his security hack and it’s not working. They run to the server room and find a January Galore mask. Sue just pulled a fast one on Cisco. Cisco is impressed and has a moment with Sue. She’s fancy y’all. Ralph breaks up the comradery by trying to apprehend Sue, but she gets away. Cisco finds a neat little device and says Sue has access to several billion dollars.
Joe investigates Sunshine (Natalie Sharp) about Joseph Carver. He tries to intimidate her by saying anyone who fails Carver, winds up dead. Joe offers Sunshine protection, but she refuses.
While Joe interviews Sunshine, Barry goes over the evidence in Joe’s car. Joe said he felt like someone was cutting his brakes while he was driving. And Barry finds a strange-looking piece of doll hair in the grill of the car. There’s only one person he knows of with doll hair. A metahuman who can fit into tight spaces who likes to watch his victims suffer.
Joe continues his interview while Rag Doll (Troy James) emerges from an evidence box behind him. Rag Doll startles Sunshine, warning Joe of the danger behind him. Joe pulls his gun and starts shooting. Rag Doll spins in such a way that the bullets bounce off of him back towards Joe.
Flash runs in to protect Joe. He sees the bullets and catches one, but a second bullet hits Joe in the shoulder. Flash was too slow to stop it. Joe says he’s fine, but Barry isn’t so sure. Barry agrees with Singh that Joe should go into witness protection. He asks his father-in-law to stay in STAR Labs until he can stop Rag Doll. Joe gets upset by the notion and leaves.
Iris appears and is concerned about both Barry and Joe. She notices that Barry’s speed watch is lit up. How can he keep Joe safe if he can’t use his speed? What Iris is actually doing is agitating Barry enough so he uses his speedster powers. Whether its speed thinking or a racing heartbeat, Iris nags him as long as his watch is red.
Joe can’t just sit in STAR Labs, so he leaves to visit Carver. Joe tells Carver about Peter Merkel, aka Rag Doll. The last time he was seen, Rag Doll was breaking into McCulloch Tech. CCPD never apprehended him. Carver tries to say Joe has a wild imagination. Until he gives himself away, by saying something about Rag Doll popping out of a box to assassinate Joe.
Joe points out his mistake, so Carver comes clean. He calls Joe a pain in the ass and says he will call off the assassination if Joe leaves him alone forever. Joe pulls out his phone. He’s been recording the entire time. He says he will put Carver away for admitting to assassinate the precinct captain. With a flick of his watch, Carver sends out an EMP pulse that erases the recording. Carver says Joe just made things worse and he threatens Cecile and Jenna. Joe punches Carver and leaves.
Barry yells at Joe for putting himself in danger by confronting Carver. Joe isn’t worried about his safety. He’s very worried about Cecile and Jenna. Barry is worried about them all. He reminds Joe that Carver has unlimited resources and the Flash can’t protect him. He tells Joe to go into witness protection.
Sue meets with an investment company when Ralph interrupts, giving away Sue’s fake identity. He asks to talk to Sue alone. Ralph figured out that Sue’s parents are being blackmailed by Joseph Carver. Her crime spree wasn’t about stealing anything, she’s investigating Carver for something he has on her parents. Sue insists that her parents are good people, so Ralph offers to help her. Sue apologizes for tricking him and considers that Ralph is a good guy. She gives him the giant diamond that she stole the last time he saw her. Sue tells him to look inside because she found something interesting in there.
Allegra (Kayla Compton) asks Cecile about the attempt on Joe’s life. Cecile sent the baby to stay with her older sister. Allegra offers to protect Cecile if Rag Doll shows up. Nash (Tom Cavanagh) wants to protect them too. Allegra blows him off and Nash chases after her. Allegra has trust issues and can’t exactly forgive Nash for befriending her under false pretenses. She tells him to walk away.
Allegra goes to the breakroom and the lights are out. She grabs a flashlight to look around and finds Rag Doll hanging out. Nash rushes in to save Allegra, giving her time to power up her UV light. She runs away, but Rag Doll stretches his hands out to grab her.
Cecile feels someone’s pain. It’s so intense that she loses her balance. Rag Doll bursts in the room and says she will bring so much suffering. Rag Doll sends a video of Cecile to Joe. Joe shows Barry, who can track Rag Doll. Barry promises they will do everything they can to save Cecile.
Flash runs Joe to Rag Doll’s location and they immediately encounter Rag Doll. Joe runs to find Cecile while Flash faces off with the villain. When Joe finds her, she informs him that she’s sitting on a pressure bomb.
Rag Doll travels through pipes to trick Flash. He grabs Flash and squeezes him. Joe calls Nash and Allegra for help on how to defuse the bomb. Nash tells him to pull the green wire, but all of the wires are green. Joe hangs up when he realizes they can’t help him. He decides to move Cecile off the bomb and he takes her place. When they switch places, the bomb speeds up by one minute.
Barry gets away from Rag Doll and is able to tie him to the pipes. Rag Doll says he’s trying to kill Joe for a release. He has no one left to suffer after his mom died of a heart attack. He tells Barry that his suffering will end when the bomb goes off. Flash runs to Joe and Cecile. Joe tells him to move Cecile, but Cecile protests. Flash leaves Cecile outside and goes back for Joe. He stumbles a little while he runs, slowing him down.
Joe opens the bomb and tries his luck. He pulls one green cord from the bomb. When Flash finally arrives, Joe is looking out a window. He agrees to go into Witness Protection. The CCPD shows up and takes Rag Doll into custody. The Federal agents are on their way to take Joe to a safe location. Barry tries to call Iris, but she’s not answering. Joe says a tearful goodbye to Cecile and Barry. He says to tell Iris that he loves her. Barry promises they will take down Black Hole and Carver and bring Joe home.
After Joe leaves, Singh goes to his car. He moves his mirror and says Joe West is out of the picture. Eva answers him, saying if anyone is going to make her husband pay for what he did, it’s going to be her. Eva has control of Singh!
Carver gets word about Joe’s disappearance. Someone else heard the news and sent Carver a gift. It’s a mirror. Eva appears to give Carver one more chance to apologize. They yell about how Carver stole Eva’s creations to destroy the world she was trying to save. They both had a vision for humankind, and he is making his vision a reality. He says he’s untouchable and breaks the mirror.
Barry goes home to let Iris know what happened with Joe, but Singh already called her. Iris is upset and tries to use Barry’s weakness against him. He assures her that Joe will come home once Carver is behind bars, but who knows how long that will be. Carver is a powerful man with powerful friends.
Then Iris gets angry and demands that Barry take her to her father. But Barry can’t use his speed. He’s having a hard time catching his breath, getting dizzy and numb and basically feels like he’s being ripped apart when he runs. There wasn’t much he could do.
Iris then turns the tables on Barry saying his decisions are hurting their family. She tells him to leave their home because she’s had enough. Barry tries to reason with Iris, but this time it’s different. Barry walks out of the loft and turns to look at Iris as she shuts the door in his face.
RELATED: Catch Up on THE FLASH Season 6 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
