A lot went down in tonight’s episode that I felt paid a little homage to the 1990s version of The Flash and a bit of a tongue and cheek reference to Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and that has to do with Mark Hamill aka Luke Skywalker reprising his role as James Jesse aka the Trickster.

The present day storyline starts off with a lot of parachute bombs going off at a park in Central City. The Flash saves one little boy named Henry and the police receive a video from a man calling himself the Trickster laying claim on the bombing.

At STAR Labs, it is determined that this Trickster is a copycat of one from 20 years ago and we see old footage of Hamill’s appearance of the Trickster back from the 1990s series. Team Flash learns that he is in Iron Heights prison. When Wells is trying to be helpful, Barry is a bit passive aggressive with Wells. Earlier at Barry’s lab, Joe and he are going over evidence on their suspicions on Wells.

Joe and Barry visit James in the special section of the prison. The two ask him about this copycat Trickster and James doesn’t know anything about it but when they mention the bombing MO, he becomes pissed that someone is pretending to be him and leads Joe and Barry to his hideout where is weapons are.

When Barry and Joe arrive at said warehouse, they find it booby trapped and the Trickster’s weapons gone.

The two return to see James and wants to know what sort of weapons were in the warehouse. Their conversation doesn’t get any further when another video with the faux Trickster appears and when Barry shows it to James, he becomes further incensed at someone ruining his legacy.

Before going back to STAR Labs, Barry has a moment with his father where he tells his dad that he is coming close to finding the person that killed his mom thus closer to setting him free.

When Joe and Barry return to STAR Labs, they discuss how to find this copycat Trickster when once again Barry becomes a little hostile towards Wells. When Wells pulls him aside, he believes Barry is acting moody because of the situation with his father; Barry agrees that it what is wrong with him. Not quite sure if Wells believes this or not.

Meanwhile, Iris asks Eddie for help in finding Mason Bridge. Eddie promises he will once they find the Trickster but believes that Mason may have just run off with some woman. Not satisfied, Iris then calls the Flash to help find Mason. During their meeting at Jitters, the Trickster posts another video saying he has planted a bomb that covers a certain area of Central City.

The Flash takes off to search for the bomb while the CCPD do the same. However, the Flash is coming empty-handed. Wells realizes that this is a trick and that there is no bomb. The Flash doesn’t believe Wells and continues searching. However, Wells is right and in fact there is no bomb but the search was a distraction for the copycat Trickster to break out the original Trickster. In doing so, they take Henry Allen prisoner.

Barry is distraught and tells Wells that maybe he should have listened to him. At the pipeline, Barry talks to Joe about Wells motivation in being his mentor and he tells his surrogate son that he doesn’t know but trusting Wells isn’t an option. Barry then breaks down and says that he cannot lose his father.

Flashback

We open the episode 15 years ago and we see the Flash and Reverse Flash chase each other with it culminating in Barry’s house. We see the two speedsters run circles around Nora Allen and when the Reverse Flash makes to go for young Barry, the Flash whisks the boy away to return to deal with the Reverse Flash. The Reverse Flash runs away but then runs out of steam. The Reverse Flash asks Gideon what is wrong and she tells him that he has run out the Speed Force for moving around in time so much this is now stuck. The Reverse Flash then screams and removes his mask to reveal not Tom Cavanagh as Eobard Thawne but Matt Letscher as the character.

We then move ahead in time for a bit and we see Harrison Wells and his wife Tess at the beach. Wells has drawn the particle accelerator and wants to call his new scientific endeavour after his wife but she suggests naming it STAR Labs. Wells is more Ed Stevens (Cavanagh’s character from the NBC show Ed) than the villainous Wells.

We then move onto the night of the accident which Thawne caused. Tess is killed and when Wells emerges from the car wreck, Thawne tells Wells that in 2020 he successfully opens up the particle accelerator but he needs to move up that time line. Thawne sticks some needle in Wells chest then his chest and somehow sucks the life out of Wells so that Thawne becomes Wells. When the police come onto the accident scene, “Wells” emerges from the car wreck again and states to the police his name as Wells.

Back to present, in the Tricksters lair, Henry tells the pair that if the police don’t catch him that the Flash will. Axel Waters, the name of the second Tricksters wants to know why James chose him to follow in his footsteps. This is the Star Wars montage I was referring to. James tells Axel “I am your father” almost in the same way that Darth Vader says it in the film. Plus the score was reminiscent of the Empire Strikes Back. I was laughing the whole time when I knew this was where the writers were going with this scene.

The Tricksters have targeted a political party of Central City’s mayor. Iris is there to cover it for the paper. The Tricksters have poisoned the champagne and want the guests to transfer money into a bank account. If they comply, an antidote is then given. Iris manages to call Joe to alert him of what is going on. The Flash arrives but James cuffs him with a bomb where he has to run at a certain speed or it will blow. Same goes if he tries take it off.

So off Barry runs but Wells gives him some advice on how to remove the bracelet safely. Wells talks about being one with the wind as he runs and taping into the speed force. Barry phases into a gas tankard and the bracelet falls off.

The Flash then returns to the party, gives all the guests the antidote and captures the Tricksters and saves his dad. Once his dad is led to safety, the Flash reveals himself to be Barry and the two share a hug.

Just before being returned to prison, Barry takes Henry to STAR Labs. Barry shares with his father what it is like run as the Flash. Caitlin gives Henry a hug thinking he could use one while Henry thanks Wells for all he has done for his son. Wells promises Henry that he will ensure Barry’s future. After Henry is taken back to prison, Caitlin gives Barry a hug.

Later on, Joe meets with Eddie about Iris’ investigation into the missing Mason. The Flash appears with a file on the case and reveals himself as Barry. The two need Eddie’s help to ensure Iris’ safety. At Joe’s Eddie tells Iris that Mason took off to Brazil to follow some girl.

Iris seems to have bought the story. When the trio are alone, Eddie wants to know what is there next move where Wells is concerned. Barry shares his theory on how he believes that Wells is the Reverse Flash.

What an episode. A lot of twists and turns. Great to see Mark Hamill and he looked like he was having a lot fun. Could have done with two people learning Barry’s secret but other than that a solid episode. We have to wait to see the fallout of all of this as the next new episode isn’t till April 14, 2015!