Barry deals with trust issues as his newest foe, Hartley Rathaway/The Pied Piper, seeks revenge against his former mentor Harrison Wells using sonic and soundwave technology in this week’s episode of The Flash.
After the subtle set-up in the previous episode, we finally meet the estranged Rathaway, now as a supervillain seeking revenge. Throughout the episode, he reveals Wells’s neglect of the accelerator’s failure, which rips apart the S.T.A.R.S. team apart. Piper provides a new type of threat, sowing the seeds of distrust among the team. His moves against Wells, combined with the viewer’s knowledge of his activities as the Reverse Flash, make for an intriguing game of chess between the two masterminds. Piper’s final trap for Flash is particularly clever.
Some more details about Wells’s powers are revealed, including the use of the Tachyon device to absorb Barry’s speed force. Unlike Barry, his abilities are not permanent. The episode is skillful in revealing more about his character without giving away too much, and it wets the appetite for the return of Reverse Flash.
Iris’s storyline, working for the Central City newspaper, fleshes her out her motivation and career goals, and gives her more of a purpose beyond just writing about the Flash. Her implied partnership with Mason could cross over with the Flash’s antics in an interesting way. Meanwhile, Joe’s suspicions of Wells grow, and his involvement of Eddie on the investigation could soon address the significance of the Thawne name in this series.
“The Sound and the Fury” is a solid episode. While it is mostly focused on defeating the rather clever “villain-of-the-week”, it also advances several other plot threads in small doses. The season is now half-way through, and the pieces are all set for Wells’s hinted endgame.
What are your thoughts on this episode?
