‘The Flash’ “Out of Time” Episode Recap

The Flash Season 1 Episode 15 Recap - Out of Time
Liam McIntyre as Mark Mardon in ‘The Flash’ (Photo: Diyah Pera © 2015 The CW Network, LLC. All rights reserved.)

Spoilers ahead as we look back on the twist-filled 15th episode of The Flash season one titled “Out of Time” which premiered on March 17, 2015. Definitely do not read on unless you’ve already watched the episode.

One Year Ago…

We flashback to the barn we saw in the pilot episode during the shoot out between Clyde Mardon (Chad Rook) and Detective Joe West (Jesse L. Martin). The Mardon brothers are flying away when the particle accelerator explodes and the blast hits them mid-air. Their plane explodes and comes apart.

Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) and his date, Linda Park (Malese Jow), are at the bowling alley. They run into Iris West (Candice Patton) and Eddie Thawne (Rick Cosnett). Iris invites Barry and Linda to bowl with them, and they reluctantly agree. Iris makes a few moves that make Linda (and Eddie) jealous, unbeknown to Barry.

At the morgue, Mark Mardon (SpartacusLiam McIntyre) interrupts the coroner during an autopsy. Mardon says he’s looking for whoever killed his brother. He attacks the coroner with hail using his weather-controlling abilities.

At S.T.A.R. Labs, Dr. Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh) and Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes) are watching a Buster Keaton movie. When Dr. Wells asks Cisco why he isn’t spending time with his family, Cisco confesses that his life has been better since he stopped seeing them. Then they get a signal that the silent alarm at the city morgue has been tripped.

At the bowling alley, Eddie also gets a call about the morgue and leaves. Barry takes off, too, which leaves Iris and Linda to awkwardly say goodbye.

The Flash races to the morgue, but along the way, he sees what looks like another Flash running alongside him. He finds the coroner dead.

Later, Joe and the police are going over the crime scene. After Barry slams into the chief (knocking his drink all over him), he and Joe realize there’s water all over the floor. Barry figures out that, based on the bruises on the coroner’s body, and the water on the floor, he was killed by hail. Then Eddie plays back the tape recording the coroner was using and they hear Mark Mardon’s voice. They also hear the coroner tell Mardon that Joe killed his brother.

At S.T.A.R. Labs, the team talks about the Mardon brothers. Cisco explains his plan for controlling Mardon’s powers. After Joe leaves, Barry tells Dr. Wells how he saw another Flash running beside him on the way to the morgue. Dr. Wells assures him they’ll look into it later.

At the police station, Joe pleads his case to Captain David Singh (Patrick Sabongui) why he should be out tracking Mardon, while the Captain tells him that he’ll be coordinating it from the office. When Iris walks in, Joe tells Eddie and Barry to keep quiet about his being targeted by Mardon. Eddie walks away, giving Iris the cold shoulder. Iris talks to Eddie, and he tells her that he doesn’t like how he feels like an outsider when Barry’s around.

In Joe’s car, Barry asks him about being Mardon’s target. When Joe shrugs him off, Barry asks him what he should do about Iris. Meanwhile, rain starts pouring and a storm starts rolling in. Pretty soon hail starts hitting the car and they realize Mardon is right behind them. Barry gets Joe out of the car just as Mardon strikes and the car explodes.

At the station, the Captain tells Joe he can’t go out in the field anymore. When Joe resists, Barry reminds him that his friends at S.T.A.R. Labs can help keep him safe.

At the newspaper, reporter Mason Bridge (Roger Howarth) shows Iris pictures that he thinks prove Dr. Wells is behind the disappearance of Simon Stagg (William Sadler). He leaves Iris with a file full of information about Harrison Wells. She runs into Linda and apologizes for interrupting her date with Barry. Linda confronts Iris about her feelings for Barry, but Iris denies it.

At CC Jitters, Iris asks Barry about Dr. Wells. She shows him the picture of Wells at Stagg’s office the night he went missing. Barry assures Iris that Dr. Wells is a good man.

At S.T.A.R. Labs, Cisco shows the team his device for controlling Mardon. After Dr. Wells commends Cisco on his work, he excuses himself from the room. Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker) asks Barry if he’s okay because he seems “off.” He tells them that Iris and Mason Bridge think something is going on with Dr. Wells. When the group breaks, the camera lingers on Cisco looking thoughtful.

At the station, Cisco asks Joe about why he thought Dr. Wells was responsible for Barry’s mom’s murder. Joe dismisses him, but as Cisco leaves, he spies Mardon getting off the elevator. He calls Barry just as Mardon announces his presence to Joe.

Mardon and Joe face off. Joe tries to go for Cisco’s device, but Mardon blows him back. Mardon starts a storm in the station, shooting the Captain with lightning. The Flash arrives and uses the device to absorb all the energy from Mardon. Mardon leaves, but the Captain is down. The Flash races away with him.

At S.T.A.R. Labs, Caitlin is leaving but Cisco is preoccupied. He asks Caitlin if she thinks there’s anything going on with Dr. Wells. Cisco shows her how there are things that don’t add up when it comes to the Reverse Flash and Dr. Wells. Finally, he asks her to keep Dr. Wells out of S.T.A.R. Labs the next day.

At the hospital, Barry, Joe and the Captain’s fiancee are waiting for news. The doctor tells them the Captain may never walk again. Joe, incensed, leaves to go after Mardon, after making Barry swear not to leave Iris’s side and keep her safe.

At the newspaper, Barry is looking for Iris. Mason tells him that she left to go and find her dad. Mason tries to convince Barry that Dr. Wells killed Simon Stagg. He hints that he’s got evidence that will come out in the Sunday paper.

At the lab, Cisco is running tests on the containment system that failed to hold the Reverse Flash.

At a rundown apartment building, Joe is looking for Mardon. He finds Eddie, who says Joe shouldn’t be there without a partner.

At Joe’s house, Barry finds Iris, who’s trying to call her father. Barry tells her how Mason has proof that Dr. Wells did something, but Iris doesn’t know what the proof is. Iris tells Barry that she doesn’t think Linda is the right woman for him, but she doesn’t answer when he asks her who is.

At the lab, Cisco finds something that doesn’t make sense, but then he spots the Reverse Flash in the containment system.

At the apartment building, Joe and Eddie are still searching for Mardon. They find his apartment, but Joe gets blown out of the window.

Joe wakes up on the pier, handcuffed, bloody and with a broken leg. Mardon continues to threaten Joe.

At the coffee house, Penny is stalling Dr. Wells with conversation and coffee.

At the station, Eddie is briefing the officers. Barry assures Iris that her father will be okay. Just then, Iris gets a call from Mardon, telling her to come to the waterfront without telling the police. She tells Barry. Just as they’re leaving to go to Joe, Linda shows up, but Barry tells her he has to leave for an emergency.

At the coffee shop, Caitlin is still trying to stall Dr. Wells. He gives her an idea for trying to find Mardon, but it looks like he’s suspicious of her. She walks to the counter to ask for coffee to go, but when she turns around, she sees Dr. Wells’ wheelchair — and it’s empty!

Back at the lab, Cisco realizes that what he’s seeing in the containment system is a fake Reverse Flash. Just then, Dr. Wells arrives — on his own two feet!

At the waterfront, Mardon sees Barry and Iris getting closer. Joe begs him to spare her.

At the lab, Cisco confronts Dr. Wells. Dr. Wells says his real name is Eobard Thawne, a distant relative of Eddie’s. Wells/Thawne shows Cisco how he can create a speed mirage that makes it appear that there are more than one of him. Cisco realizes that Wells/Thawne killed Barry’s mom. Wells/Thawne confesses that he was there to kill Barry, and that killing his mother was a mistake. He tells Cisco that he’s been grooming Barry to go faster so that Barry can time travel and get him back to his own world, to his time. Wells/Thawne tells Cisco that he’s grown very fond of Cisco, that he’s like a son. While Cisco has tears in his eyes because he knows what’s coming, Wells/Thawne apologizes, saying he’s had hundreds of years to get used to Cisco not being around, and then he kills him.

At the waterfront, Barry begs Iris to run, but she tells him that she’s not leaving because she can’t stop thinking about him, and they kiss. (And I mean KISS.) Meanwhile, Mardon is bringing a tsunami toward the city. Barry calls Caitlin, who tells him that in order to stop the wave, he has to run back and forth in front of it to sap its energy. Barry tells Iris, “I didn’t want you to find out this way,” and becomes the Flash. He tells her to go, and she does. He runs back and forth along the beach, going faster and faster, until he bursts through time, suddenly going back to a scene from the beginning of the episode. Time travel!

– By Nancy Basile