It was a damned good week for TV. Every show brought a cliffhanger or a Big Reveal, and The Flash was no exception.

Source: tvafterdark.com

We begin with the Weather Wizard storming Iron Heights and breaking out Captain Cold and The Trickster to help him get what he wants most for Christmas; A dead speedster. This triumvirate of villany is really exciting to see; particularly The Trickster, my personal favorite villain, whose morbid sense of evil transcends the traditional villain’s…Plus, seeing Hamill’s acting genius a week before the release of Star Wars just seems right. The highlight of the hour was hearing him sing “Deck the halls with body parts of a girl named Holly“…yeah. That’s how that song goes.

Meanwhile, the CCPD’s investigation of the team lead Patty to go rogue and track down the Weather Wizard herself (to avenge her father). Towards the end of the episode, we get an emotionally-charged moment wherein The Flash talks Patty down from committing homicide (meanwhile, at home, the fangirls scream at their TVs for Barry to JUST TELL HER ALREADY).

Source: nerdbastards.com

I MEAN, COME ON!

In yet another sub-plotline, Iris is finally ready to tell Joe about the son he never knew. She enlists Barry for moral support, and when they tell him, it’s quite a tear-jerking scene. I would have expected Joe to take it harder than he did, but by the end of the episode he seems excited at the prospect of a second son.

Excited, that is, until Francine’s kid shows up, unexpected, at the door on Christmas Eve; his name is Wally West. Apparently we can be expecting another speedster in the near future.

Source: www.ew.com

This episode ends in the reveal of Zoom’s motive for blackmailing Wells with Jessie; he doesn’t want Barry dead. Zoom wants Wells to help him get faster, so Zoom can eventually absorb his speed force. Barry’s being fattened up for the kill.

So, this week’s story was great, and a fair place to end the first half of the season; though STAR Labs seems a little overcrowded nowadays, with too many alternate plots. I’m concerned that the writers are adding all this bulk because they’re about to trim some fat and kill some characters off….

The Flash will return January 19th, 2016.