Flash Fix With Marc Kaliroff: “Honey I Shrunk Team Flash” – Season 4 Episode 12
January 31, 2018
Lightning strikes again this Tuesday as The Flash speeds its way into the third episode after its mid-season premiere. This issue of Flash Fix will focus on episode twelve “Honey I Shrunk Team Flash.” Another movie inspired episode, another week of Cisco classic movie references! The red speedster might have been absent the entire episode, but the characters still managed to create one of the best episodes of season four and overall one of the most entertaining episodes in the entire show’s history.
Recap
The Trickster invaded Central City along with his mother, Prank, for one of the most disappointing episodes in the shows entire run. Mark Hamill not being able to portray The Trickster this season due to certain wars taking place far far away, inevitably created what might have been the worst episode this season. While Ralph got some screen time to further develop his character, Barry made a new friend in prison who was previously nursed back to health by his father.
Episode 4×12 Review “HONEY I SHRUNK TEAM FLASH”
While the show may have been swept off its feet last week due to unforeseen circumstances, this week’s episode was The Flash at its finest. Barry Allen might have only been present for a little over five minutes, but his team was able to pull through without him. The Flash has always been known for filler episodes that create character development. It’s infrequent that an episode is present to fill the twenty-two episode order from the network in order to just fill the time.
“Honey I Shrunk Team Flash” brought a particular legend back into the mix. The Atom may be traveling through time with the rest of the Waverider crew over on Legends Of Tomorrow, but his character’s impact still continues to resonate throughout the Arrowverse shows. Ray Palmer had been introduced to Arrow during the controversial season three. Arrow season three’s biggest savior was the shrinking man himself. Dr. Palmer is one of DC Comics oldest superheroes, but the scientist had barely any villains during his solo run in the golden age of comics. During his solo run, the character Dwarfstar was introduced. Dwarfstar has the same shrinking powers as the atom, except for the ability to miniaturize himself. The character uses massive objects that he has shrunken down as tools to use during combat. He’s basically the Inspector Gadget of DC. For a one-time episode character, Dwarfstar was by far the best minor villain introduced during this season. I hope we get to see more of this character later this season because he has tons of enshrouded potential.The characters unexplained backstory was able to create a link between Barry’s current prison story arch and the main story.
For an episode created almost entirely behind green screens, this was visually one of the most impressive episodes in the entire Arrowverse since the second season finale of Legends Of Tomorrow. The writers continue to bring in elements of the past in the most unexpected ways. I would have never expected to see the Savitar future fight lego replica that the team created during the previous season. Seeing Cisco and Ralph shrunken down, walking on a lego set, just put a smile on my face throughout the entire episode. Green screens are typically visible on a lower budget television show, except the visual editors and directors have mastered what they have to work with. The background was made in a similar fashion to that of how the original Star Wars films were made. The overlapping effect looked genuine and never distracted me from what was going on. The episode looked visually better than the majority of Atom’s scenes on both Arrow and Legends Of Tomorrow, shows that heavily revolved around the character’s powers.
Surprisingly, Joe’s newest wife Cecile is a metahuman who can peruse the minds of everyone around her. Her situation created some hilarious comedy that the show has needed after its last serious and distressing episodes. It was also discovered that the child Cecile is a girl, which could potentially mean that the supposed daughter of Barry Allen that has shown up twice, is actually the daughter of Joe West. While I do not believe this is the case, it’s always a possibility. Although the episode was supposed to be a reference to Honey I Shrunk the Kids, it contained dozens of references to bigger pop culture phenomenon that began during the time of the film’s release. Cisco continued to act as the comic relief, as he brought in more hilarity as usual into the episode. Harrison Wells and Iris West also had more significant roles this time around. The two were cornered into fighting Dwarfstar without the help of both Vibe and The Elongated Man. The characters continually think strategically and managed to find a creative way to beat the newest threat.
Overall this was an excellent episode this week. The Flash had taken a drastic turn last season. The writers have continued to attempt to replicate what they originally started and they have so far successfully accomplished their goal. While The Flash has been plagued by weak drama, its most recent episodes persistently strive to create less drama and more detective stories. It may not work all the time, but it is certainly a step in the right direction, Barry’s prison story finally pushes forward after two episodes along with the main plot. It will be interesting to see how next week pans out now that the prison warden is aware that Barry is The Flash.
Next Week’s Teaser
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