Considering the heroes are in something of a holding pattern, it's the perfect time to step off to the sidelines for a little while. It pays off as the episode is quite entertaining in its own right.
It's not surprising, really. Malcolm, Damien, and Thawne are all strong characters in their own right, played to the hilt by their respective actors. As such, giving them more screen time and more chances to bounce off one another makes for great viewing.
It becomes clear that this alliance isn't quite as solid as one might think. You'd think that each having a reason to seek the spear would be enough, but there's a lot of hostility brewing under the surface. The resentment between Malcolm and Damien makes sense, given their involvement in rival organizations, though it's surprising that it's taken this long for that to come up. Their differing approaches to problem solving also leads to some sword clashing, both figurative and literal. Add to that, Thawne's belittling treatment of the two and you have character conflict aplenty.
Once again, you feel bad for Rip/Phil as he's stuck in a situation completely outside his comfort zone. While the villains do torture him, they are considerate (or pragmatic) enough to acknowledge when he legitimately doesn't know anything and decide to take different tacts to get what they want.
Still, that doesn't stop him from playing the situation to his advantage. I'm kind of surprised that he stopped Malcolm and Damien from fighting. You'd think that just sitting back and letting one of his problems get eliminated would have been the right move, but he gets them to put aside their differences for a greater cause. Unorthodox as it was, it was rather clever on his part.
The side trip to the future bank was fun. I do think it was a missed opportunity, though. Considering the year was 2025, I would expect at least some mention of the crisis that occurred the year before. There isn't any. The bank and surrounding area seem to be in perfect condition and it isn't brought up in any capacity.
Still, that's but one missed continuity nod, and this episode provides plenty of others. If you're not terribly vested in the other Arrow-verse shows, this might be a problem. If you're all in, than you're going to love the little links, but I'm just throwing that out there.
Just as this week's episode of "The Flash" took a small detour to Supergirl's hometown, so too does this one briefly visit Star City circa Damien's death. It allows us to see how (and when) Malcolm was brought into the fold.
The heroes also venture to present day Central City to gather intel on the amulet. You'd think other characters would use this chance to visit friends or family. Maybe they do off-screen? It's never said, though it's a safe assumption.
Sadly, no "Flash" characters cameo...Well.....we'll get to that later, but the coffee shop is visited and it gives us the return of Stein's daughter.
Garber always nails the emotional material that this show gives him and that proves once again to be the case, as Lily discovers the nature of her origin and is sent into an existential tailspin. Not only does it advance one of the show's subplots, but it gives the episode some emotional weight that really elevates the episode considerably.
Thawne himself also brought a lot to the table. Not only was it nice to see the heroes deduce his identity (courtesy of Stein, the most likely pick given he's the only one to encounter him) but we also see his nature as time remnant get brought to the forefront. Not only does it help explain why it took so long for the heroes to figure it out, but that is his reason for seeking the spear in the first place.
The reveal that he's being pursued by something worse than he is added an interesting element. For one thing, seeing the normally cocky villain scared out of his gourd was a fun turnaround, but it also made him surprisingly human.
You might think that he's being hunted by the time wraiths, but that isn't the case. Thawne himself says that he was initially under that impression too (nice to see those haven't been forgotten completely after their single appearance) but it turns out to be someone else, more specifically...
Spoiler alert..
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Zoom.
Or what's left of him, anyway.
I kind of figured that Zoom would make a comeback at some point, much like Thawne himself did. These villains are too cool to put down for good. It was still great to see. It's true, there's no Tony Todd voice work, but the thing we see here is still fairly creepy and unnerving. The CGI was questionable at points, but in a way, it made the entity seem that much more alien and off putting.
The way he's defeated is a bit too easy. You do have to wonder why Thawne didn't think of that, but it still worked out fairly well. I don't know if the nod to "Jurassic Park" was intentional or coincidence. I find it hard to believe that it was the latter, but it made for a fun scene in any event.
Villains usually make for compelling characters. I don't know if I'd want to see villain based episodes become a regular occurrence, but every so often, it can be a fun side trip. That certainly proves to be the case here, as this episode stands out as a highlight for the season, if not the show as a whole.
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