Harrison Wells’s past is revealed, as the Flash works to outwit the deranged master criminal, Trickster, in the present.

“YOU’RE PART OF THE SPEED FORCE.”

Note: The following review goes into detail about the episode. SPOILER ALERT!

The Flash, much like its sister show Arrow, has to walk a fine line between its weekly villains and the season-long plots that fuel the show’s larger narrative. When the two components come together, it’s a beautiful thing, and “Tricksters” stands a testament to how to do an episode of superhero television right.

After the events of “Rogue Time,” Barry has begun getting suspicious of Dr. Wells, but he doesn’t have much time to investigate when a Central City park is attacked by a thug calling himself the Trickster. The titular villain committing a series of crimes was inspired by a criminal of the same name who operated in the mid-‘90s. When the elder Trickster is freed from prison, it’s up to Flash and Joe West to stop both men before the their reign of terror can begin anew. Mark Hamill reprises his role from the ‘90s Flash series (which also starred Henry Allen himself, John Wesley Shipp). Hamill’s Trickster is a big bundle of psychopathic joy, channeling quite a bit of his iconic take on the Joker, and giving an unhinged, energetic performance that will not be forgotten anytime soon.

Devon Graye, who plays the younger Trickster, can’t possibly keep up with Hamill’s manic energy. Nonetheless, it is fun to him watch interact with his older counterpart and shout demands via social media like some sort of Joker for the digital age. In between all of this, “Tricksters” lifts the curtain on the night Eobard Thawne got stranded in the present. This was a great sequence which did more to flesh out Wells’s character. This also offered the revelation that he isn’t just a name that Thawne took when he came to the past, but an entirely separate person Eobard Thawne killed and assumed the identity of. While this is exactly the kind of development that raises more questions than answers, it’s still a great wrinkle to the increasingly great Reverse-Flash plot.

THE BREAKDOWN

“Tricksters” proved to be a masterful example of how to do an episode of The Flash right. Mark Hamill was memorable and imposing as the Trickster, and the B-story proved to be a great look into the secret history of Harrison Wells. That’s to say nothing of the episode’s fantastic action sequences, including a high-speed battle between Flash and Reverse-Flash, and Flash disarming a bomb straight of the movie Speed. Let’s all hope the Trickster returns to Central City soon, because even with the show’s already high bar, “Tricksters” managed to raise it once again.

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95/100 – Good

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How was Mark Hamill’s return as Trickster? Was it great seeing the origin of Dr. Wells? Use the speed force and let me know on Twitter @MaxMielecki or leave your comments in the area below. Also, be sure to follow us @YouNerded.

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