The Flash Season 2 Episode 10 Review: Potential Energy | Tell-Tale TV

The Flash Review: Potential Energy (Season 2 Episode 10)

Jennifer Knutson Reviews, The Flash

Don’t let the title fool you. “Potential Energy” isn’t a zippy plot, but the slower pace is necessary. The Flash needs time to refocus on Barry Allen and Barry needs time to decide what is most important to him.

Fed up with Barry’s constant excuses and obvious distance, Patty presents Barry with an ultimatum: figure out what he wants and do it quick.  The phrase “fish or cut bait” comes to mind. Perhaps Patty and Barry moved quickly, but the heart sets its own pace. Patty is all in and she needs to know if Barry is too.

Patty has earned Barry’s trust and he wants to tell her the truth.  Unfortunately, The Flash keeps getting in the way of Barry’s honesty. Every time Barry is about to tell Patty the truth, he has to save the day or save her. The moments of danger make Barry hesitate about revealing his identity to Patty.

It may seem like a tired trope:  the superhero keeping his distance to protect his lady love.  It’s a fair complaint. Too often a love interest’s agency is the sacrificial lamb to a superhero’s well meaning infantilism.

That said, the reason this plot is continually examined in superhero mythology is because it does have merit. A superhero’s life is extremely dangerous. Proximity to the superhero means increased proximity to danger. The superhero has a responsibility to protect the people he loves.

So the question is, what’s most important to Barry? Keeping the people he loves safe or being in their lives? The two are not necessarily mutually exclusive, but he can’t always guarantee safety. No matter what Barry decides, there will be consequences to his choice.

What’s fascinating about Barry Allen is he is not the stereotypical superhero. His natural default is honesty. When he became The Flash, Barry wanted to tell Iris immediately. He didn’t because Joe asked him not to. He let Joe, Cisco, Caitlin and Dr. Wells help him. Barry lets people in. He doesn’t push them away. When he does, it feels unnatural to him.

The core component to any superhero is their humanity. Nothing connects a hero to their humanity more than love. If Barry wants to become the hero he’s meant to be, he must love and be loved in return. Unless Barry is honest, and truly lets someone know him,  he’ll never achieve that necessary intimacy.

At the beginning of the episode, Barry dreams Zoom throws Patty off a roof and he can’t save her. It’s bizarre reaction because we’ve seen Barry save Iris from this exact same circumstance. Perhaps it’s because Zoom stole his powers. Perhaps the dream is a manifestation of his helplessness and fear. Or perhaps it’s something more.

Despite his fear, Barry decides being in Patty’s life is more important than protecting her from his. Unfortunately, it is too late. Just as he’s about to come clean, Patty pulls away and tells Barry she’s leaving town.

Patty breaks up with Barry because she fears she’s fallen faster than him, or worse, she’s the only one who jumped. Rather than wait for Barry to fall after her, Patty saves herself. She hits the brakes before she’s hurt even more. While it’s an act of self preservation, Patty hesitates just like Barry did.

The reason for Patty and Barry’s hesitancy is because they are the “Perfect on Paper” relationship. It should work, but somehow it doesn’t quite fit.  It’s sad because Patty is absolutely fabulous. She’s a step in Barry’s journey toward love, but she’s not the final destination. As much as they care for each other, neither of them could commit to diving off a roof.

Ultimately, that’s the love Barry is searching for. A love strong enough to propel him off the ledge. Barry will always fear the danger, but he is learning love is more important than fear. When he finds “The One,” he won’t hold anything back. He’ll jump without thinking.  He’ll act on instinct.

The Flash complicates his love life, but it also points the way. Everything Barry wants he already has with someone. (I’ll give you two guesses as to who I’m talking about, but you’ll only need one.) “Fast Lane” feels like further proof that all roads lead back to her.

Stray Thoughts

  • “Is that a bad idea? What do we think?” Barry Allen is a team player even with his love life. What a cupcake.
  • Wally’s anger toward Joe feels a bit predictable, but it also feels misplaced. Joe had no idea Wally even existed. The person who’s responsible for their separation is Francine, not Joe.
  • Can Caitlin’s love interest not insult her? Pretty sure Dr. Snow can think of something you can’t Garrick.
  • Garrick is dying. Sigh. Didn’t we already deja this vu? Caitlin deserves more than continually repeated plot lines.
  • “Barry is practically your brother.” Hard nope on that one Patty. Wally West’s necessity is becoming blindingly clear. Good call writers.
  • Patty will be back. There’s a love triangle headed Barry Allen’s way. Prepare for “The Choice” around May Sweeps. DUN DUN DUUUUN!!!

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What did you think of this week’s episode? Leave us your thoughts in the comments below!

The Flash airs 8/7c on The CW.

Wife, mother and TV enthusiast. She has a degree in Communications, a minor in English, a background in marketing, and a deep love for all story telling mediums. The TV obsession probably started from birth, but hit saturation level with Buffy The Vampire Slayer and hasn't dissipated since. She has a weakness for dark & twisty heroes and selfless love stories. When she's not working, raising her little human, or spending time with her spouse, she's writing, analyzing, tweeting, and obsessing about all things Arrow. You can check out her blog here: http://jbuffyangel.tumblr.com/ You can also follow Jennifer on Twitter: @jbuffyangel

9 comments

  • Great review. I agree, Barry needs a love that will propel him off a rooftop. It’s interesting how caught Iris, legitimately ran with the confidence to catch her. Yet didn’t superspeed to save Patty.

    I disagree about Wally though. The same way Iris is protective of Joe, Wally is protective of Francine, the only parent he’s ever known. She’s also dying and we haven’t seen whether he’s been upset with her yet. I understand his frustration with Joe, he’s an 18 year old boy with the weight of the world on his shoulders – he has every right to feel whatever emotions he’s dealing with right now. I’m not one of those people who gloss over Joe’s sins. He is partly to blame, he declared his wife dead, a woman suffering from an addiction. It’s not all black and white. I think Wally is sassy and going through growing pains. He clearly wants a relationship with Joe and Iris but is hurting.

  • Lol! Re-read your review and was like, “Iris! All roads lead you to Iris.” Once again great review.

  • I’m really going to miss Patty. Her relationship with Barry made him a better character.

    You have to fanwank why Barry and Patty broke up because it wasn’t really there on the show. All that was there was that they needed to get rid of Patty now for plot so that Barry will be able to be with Iris in the end. And not because they’ve been written as a deep and true love story (Barry was much more fun with Patty and Iris had a more mature relationship with Eddie) but Because Comics. After 33 episodes, the only reason I can see for Barry to be with Iris is because he thinks he’s in love with her. Iris treats him like an emotionally delayed younger brother.

    If Patty comes back and Barry has to decide Patty or Iris, it’s a no brainer it’s going to be Iris. I guess I should be very grateful that they were willing to go against Comics on Arrow.

    • I understand your frustration. Patty is a fabulous character and she and Barry were a great match. They felt very organic and it’s frustrating when those pairings are set aside for “the plan.” That said, I don’t think we’ve see “the plan” in all its glory yet. I think the writers have been overly focused on throwing wrenches in the “the plan” rather than letting it develop. So now I believe we are going to see Barry and Iris really explore the possibilities of a romantic relationship. Until Barry and Iris do that I don’t think we can compare them apples to apples with Barry and Patty. So, I guess I’m willing to sit tight and see where the writers are going with this.

  • Hmm. I’m left to wonder, did Barry really complicate his own love life or sabotage it on purpose? The last scene between him and Patty, in CCPD, when Patty calls an end to their relationship, Barry just stands there with his arms folded and reluctantly calls after her. I’m not sure if that was on purpose by the actor or director but it was very odd to see. He makes no effort to go after her nor does he hesitate to salvage the relationship because I believe he does not want one with her. I don’t even think it’s to protect her, I think it’s because he flat out sees and knows in his heart that “she isn’t Iris.”

    Nothing about Patty makes Barry jump (literally and figuratively), react, or care all that much. All of their dates have been affected in some way shape or form, from the first one when he was blind to the last where he did not go back for her as she laid on the floor. I won’t go into the possibilities of her have a concussion but it’s so blatant that Barry just does not care for Patty. He forgot all about her until someone mentions her while they all stood around STAR Labs.

    In my opinion Patty was a mere distraction for Barry so that he could buy time to feel relevant and stop blaming himself for Eddie’s loss. I hope him visiting E2 and seeing Iris helps him make sense of his feelings again. I also hope he learns that Iris is his main power source and that no matter where everyone ends up in the respective earths, Barry and Iris are in each other’s lives in some way, shape or form.

    • I think that Barry really really really really liked Patty. Unfortunately, that’s not enough for a lasting relationship.

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