‘The Flash’ Season 2 Episode 21 Recap and Review: The Runaway Dinosaur

The Flash Season 2 Episode 21
Grant Gustin as Barry Allen and Michelle Harrison as Nora Allen in ‘The Flash’ (Photo by Katie Yu © 2016 The CW Network)

“Good to see you, Barry, but I’m not Joe,” says an entity who look and sounds just like Joe West (Jesse L. Martin) to Barry (Grant Gustin) who has found himself trapped in the Speed Force after trying to get his powers back in episode 21 of season 2 of the CW’s comic book-inspired fantasy action series, The Flash.

As the episode begins Team Flash are extremely upset believing that Dr. Wells (Tom Cavanagh) from Earth 2 while trying to get Barry’s powers back by repeating another particle accelerator explosion – except this time directing it just at Barry – ended up accidentally killing him as he seemed to disintegrate before their eyes. Cisco (Carlos Valdes) reaches for and touches what’s left of The Flash outfit Barry was wearing when he gets a vision of Barry standing in some sort of energy field surrounding him. “I see Barry,” shouts Cisco and the team’s relieved to know he’s still alive.

Barry looks around and sees himself standing in what appears to be his home with Joe and some entity looking and sounding like Joe. The Joe image tells Barry that he is really the Speed Force and it is choosing images that will calm Barry so he can listen to what it has to say. This isn’t really working because all Barry wants to do is go back to his friends, city, and life to help them stop Zoom (Teddy Sears). The Speed Force tells Barry there is this speedster blur running around outside and if he can catch it he can go back home but not until then. Barry pleads with the Joe image to let him go back but to no avail so he goes outside the image of the house and starts running after the speedster blur.

Back at S.T.A.R. Labs Wells uses his genius and adjusts the machine he put Barry in to get his powers back to hook Cisco up and enhance his Vibe visions so he can find Barry and hopefully reach out and grab him to bring him back home. Cisco is a little nervous considering he will be getting hit with some electricity, but his determination to bring back his best friend overpowers his fear and he gives it a try. Meanwhile, Dr. Allen uses his talents to treat Jessie (Violett Beane) who is in a coma after getting hit by the dark matter.


Barry chases the speedster blur to what looks like a park bench and sitting there is Iris (Candice Patton) who really is still the Speed Force entity just picking another image Barry loves and trusts. But instead of having a calming effect on him, it only fuels his frustration. The Iris image tells Barry they need to test him because he rejected the gift they gave him by giving him his speed and making him part of the speed force. Barry starts yelling at the image that it doesn’t know what he has done. That he has saved so many lives and only gave up his speed to yet save another life. That he’s a hero and he’s now trapped here only because he tried to get his powers back to save his world. It’s than that Barry sees a little energy tornado open across from where he’s standing. He asks the Iris image what is that and it says, “That’s your friends, Barry. They want you back.” Barry asks if he can go back and the image tells him it’s up to him but if he goes back now before his testing is done, he’ll go back without his powers for good.

Cisco, using his Vibe powers, finds himself surrounded by the speed force which to him looks like an electrical energy storm. He sees Barry and yells to him to take his hand. Barry turns to look at Cisco and turns back seeming to be communicating with something Cisco can’t see. Cisco yells again for Barry to take his hand but Barry looks at him again with a sad expression and moves away. Cisco comes out of his vision telling Wells, Iris, and the others he lost Barry.

Barry continues chasing the speedster blur which leads him to a cemetery and right to his mother’s grave. This time the entity takes the form of Barry’s father, Henry Allen (John Wesley Shipp). At this point Barry’s patience begins to end and he asks the entity why it is doing this to him. The Speed Force tells Barry that it’s making him face his greatest pain (the loss of his mother) because he has never truly accepted her death. The entity asks Barry if he is at peace with letting his mother die when he could have saved her so others cold live? This infuriates Barry who asks back who could ever be at peace with making that choice?

Back at S.T.A.R. Labs, it seems the attempt to give Barry his powers back accidentally reactivated a part of Girder’s brain, a meta-human who was being kept in the basement on ice and now he’s reanimated and up with his metal strength like a slow, mindless zombie creating havoc on Central City. Once again Team Flash comes up with creating a machine that will shock Girder’s brain with enough energy waves to shut it down but they need to lead him back to S.T.A.R. Labs. Iris remembers that when he first became a meta-human, he kept coming after her so she will be the bait for the trap and lead him back to S.T.A.R. Labs.

Barry chases the speedster blur back to an image of his home and he goes inside to see the Speed Force taking the image of his mother. (Okay, now that is below the belt.) The Mother image speaks to Barry and tells him how proud his mother is of him and the man and hero he has become. Barry asks if it’s the Speed Force telling him that or really his mother and the image says to him “Both.” It starts to become a little clearer that the Speed Force and Barry’s mother are connected to each other. Finally, Barry, with tears rolling down his face, admits the truth that he never really accepted his mother’s death and doesn’t think he ever will. The Mother image tells him he has to find a way to do exactly that, that even with his powers he can’t stop all the horrible things the universe is going to throw at him. No matter how strong he is and how fast, he’ll never be able to outrun the pain of loss. Instead he needs to accept it, deal with it, and find a way to draw strength from it. That’s the only way he’ll ever be the man he wants to be with his powers. The Mother image shows Barry his favorite childhood book that he and his real mother used to read together when he was little. It’s called The Runaway Dinosaur. Barry remembers it word for word because its message was that the dinosaur had the exact right mother for it, one that would love it always and forever.

This is when Barry, having accepted finally his mother’s death, is faced with the speedster blur which stops in front of Barry to show itself to be Barry as The Flash. He has gotten back that part of himself which is the speed force. This is when Cisco tries again using his powers to get Barry but this time he’s holding Iris’ hand so Barry can see and hear her. Iris reaches out to Barry and tells him to come back home to her. Barry looks back at the image of his mother smiling at him and then reaches for Iris’ hand. The two grab hold of each other and Barry is back at S.T.A.R. Labs and not a minute too soon because Team Flash’s plan to trap the Girder zombie didn’t work and he’s right outside the door pounding to get in. Cisco and Harry bring Barry quickly up to speed on what’s happening and Barry uses his speed to both fight Girder and re-energize the electromagnets to hit Girder’s brain to stop his reanimation. It works and Girder is once again at peace.

Barry visits Jesse who is still in her coma and instinctively touches her, giving her a spark of his energy which wakes her from her coma. Joe, Harry, and Barry suspect that Jesse is becoming a speedster but for now they are just happy to have her awake and alive.

Barry has a moment with his dad explaining how he has accepted everything that has happened to him both the good and the bad and that all of it is what makes him who he is today. Barry’s dad admits his plan to stay away so Barry would not worry about him was a dumb one and that from now on he will be staying close to his son.

The Flash season 2 episode 21
Candice Patton as Iris West and Grant Gustin as Barry Allen in ‘The 100’ (Photo by Katie Yu © 2016 The CW Network)

The next day Barry and Iris go to his mom’s grave and put down flowers along with The Runaway Dinosaur book to honor her. Barry never actually visited his mother’s grave until now. Iris admits she never cared for the book because it told a story of a mother who was always there for her son and she and Barry never had that. Barry corrects her that they did have someone who was always there for them…Joe. Barry than tells Iris that he’s not sure what it is going on between them but that they have always had each other.

The last scene is at the CCPD where Zoom is talking to Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) and he tells her that he’s had enough of her roller coaster going around and around again, that she is either with him or against him. He tells the horrified Caitlin he is going to go out to the main room and talk to his army of meta-humans. When he comes back if she is still here that means she has chosen to be with him and to be loyal to him. If she is gone it means she has chosen her friends and that he will show her no mercy and her fate will be as theirs. Caitlin stares and listens in terror as Zoom delivers a rousing, horrific speech to his meta-human army about taking over Earth 1 from the humans.

Review of The Flash season 2 episode 21 titled “The Runaway Dinosaur”

Emotional and slow moving with an exceptional performance by Grant Gustin, season 2 episode 21 titled “The Runaway Dinosaur” focuses on the pain and sorrow Barry still feels for losing his mother at such a young age and the guilt over not saving her when he had the chance for the greater good of others. It’s a very different episode in style and tone partially because it’s directed by Kevin Smith and mostly due to the writing. This is an introspective episode focusing mostly on Barry’s guilt, pain, and finally acceptance that one can not allow all the horrible things that happen to you or to the ones you love to define you and dictate your actions.

The stand-out performance goes to Grant Gustin who delivers nothing less than an Emmy-worthy performance as Barry who goes through wave after wave of emotions trying to figure a way back to those he loves. The scenes between he and the image of his mother are truly heartbreaking and are sure to bring tears to the viewers’ eyes. (No, nothing, I’m fine…must be catching a cold is all…sniff sniff.)

With Zoom’s meta-human army ready to attack Central City, Caitlin’s time almost out (will she run back to Team Flash and try to help them defeat Zoom or surrender to her inner darkness and join Zoom in his fight being his loyal moll?), and Barry back to full strength as The Flash, the final two episodes of season two should be exciting, action-packed, and unfortunately heartbreaking.

GRADE: B-