"I Know Who You Are" - The Flash Gets 2Edgy4Me

I guess my overall review is in the title. We're done here.

No wait, come back. I guess we should talk about it.

Seriously, though, did Snyder get ahold of the CWverse? Because that was the edgiest and thus far least interesting reveal in the history of the Arrowverse. I mean what's next in the world of superheroes? Captain America turns into a literal Nazi?

Spoilers beyond the fold.



The coolest (#sorrynotsorry) part of "I Know Who You Are" was the extra money that was spent in the climactic fight between Killer Frost and The Flash. Although as my husband pointed out, it was very much Killer Frost channeling Iceman. But whatever, we never get to see Killer Frost actually be an awesome villain, so it was pretty neat.

Also, I'm totes digging her new suit. Killer Frost looked fabulous in the episode. It's worth noting that, as Savitar points out, despite the "killer" in her name, Caitlin has yet to actually kill anyone. Obviously that's by design, since one presumes that the moment she actually kills someone, our beloved scientist Caitlin will be gone for good, her deadly persona locked in.

I make this crappy episode look good
In "I Know Who You Are" Team Flash is tracking down Tracy Brand, the physicist who helps future Flash trap Savitar in the speed force. Turns out that in 2017, she's a failed grad student who doesn't believe in her own theories, so here comes HR to mack on her and convince her she's worth it and that her theories are sound.

This is one of the few times lately when HR has been likeable. Instead of being gross, he is genuinely cute and charming as he tells Tracy the things she needs to hear in order to gain confidence in her own theories.



Tracy herself is adorable. I kind of love her and wish she would stick around. The writers spent more time on fleshing out her character in this single episode, then they've spent on poor Iris West in 3 years.

Anyway, Savitar knows that Team Flash is going to seek out Tracy. Savitar knows everything, because reasons (reasons later revealed). Thus, he sends Killer Frost to kill Tracy, but she fails the first time at the university. And then she fails again at Jitters, during which we had the awesome battle scene where she flies around Central City on ice. They spent some money on her CGI for this episode, no foolin'. And it was worth it.

Third time's the charm? Maybe. Killer Frost gets smart and decides to use bait instead. She goes after Cecile, that cutie pie that Joe West is gaga over. Cecile dropped the L word in the opening scene, which freaks out Joe and causes him to break up with her "to protect her." Barry tells him to knock it off, and just tell her the truth about everything. But right after Joe breaks up with Cecile, Killer Frost kidnaps her, and the only way Cecile is going to live is if they trade Tracy for her.

HR spends this episode convincing Tracy that not only do they need her, but that she is capable of doing the thing. When she witnesses Savitar in action during the scene to rescue Cecile, she gets an idea of how to stop him.

The other cool thing about the Cecile rescue was the fight we've been waiting for all season: Vibe and Killer Frost go at it. It's worth noting that Cisco hesitated the entire episode to use his powers on her because he's afraid of killing his best friend Caitlin. But in this final battle, they NEED Vibe to do this thing, and boy does he ever.


Again, if anything saved this episode at all, it was Killer Frost's scenes. Danielle Panabaker steals every scene that she's in. I kind of wish that Caitlin could be Caitlin and still have her powers, because Killer Frost is actually really neat. 

Anyway, despite knocking her out, Team Flash doesn't get to keep her. Savitar foregoes killing Tracy entirely to save Killer Frost instead, which seems like an odd choice. 

Later, back at the West residence, Wally is back from his supposed trip to Earth-3 to visit Jesse, and during that little family reunion, Barry has a sudden epiphany. He thinks back to all the hints Savitar and Killer Frost have dropped throughout the season, and he starts making connections. And suddenly, he knows exactly who Savitar is. 

So he runs off to face Savitar and tell him he knows. And Savitar steps out of his fancy suit.


Rather than elicit a gasp or an "OMG!" from me, this just elicited an eyeroll. Besides the fact that fans had already pretty much sleuthed this out (despite a slight red herring last week when some folks thought it might have been a Wells or a Ronnie Raymond), I was just hoping they wouldn't go this route. Sorry, but my heroes turning into murderers is not a compelling storyline. It's why I despise Secret Empire and Nick Spencer right now.

I started watching The Flash because in season one it was fun and lighthearted and sweet. These days, Legends of Tomorrow has the distinction of being that kind of show. And I'm pretty sure I know Josh Segarra torturing Stephen Amell on Arrow has been more fun than The Flash this season.

It's worth noting that while Iris West was in this episode, they made a more compelling character out of Tracy Brand than the woman Barry is supposed to marry (and murder, apparently). If Iris had any lines in this episode, I don't remember them. She might as well have been a painting on the wall. Considering that the entire story arc this season centers around her death, this character has been phenomenally absent.

Next season, can we please just get 23 episodes of the cast singing and tap-dancing instead? It would be a lot more fun than what's going on now.

If you haven't seen "I Know Who You Are" and you're looking for something else to do, I recommend watching the trailer for Netflix's The Defenders over and over again instead.



The Flash airs on Tuesdays at 8/7c on the CW.

Ivonne Martin is a writer, gamer, and avid consumer of all things geek—and is probably entirely too verbose for her own good.