This episode has a lot of major implications for the rest of the season’s run; not just for The Flash, but also Arrow.  And so it seems odd that something felt “off” about this crossover.  I’m struggling to put my finger on it, which is an indication that it might be the collective effect of several minor elements.  If I were to hazard a guess, it would be that the characters from Arrow didn’t quite feel like themselves, or at least, it didn’t feel like the visit from Team Flash was taking place in the context of the interpersonal drama playing out on Arrow right now. 

Maybe it was also the effect of the “villain of the week” and the inability of the main characters to recognize the not-so-subtle clues that people were not who they appeared to be.  Geniuses aren’t perfect, to be sure, but why wouldn’t Caitlin notice that Barry was suddenly putting the moves on her?  Yes, she’s not entirely averse to the idea (and no one in their right mind would ignore a hot ginger like Caitlin!), but under the circumstances, wouldn’t everyone be more wary of sudden mood swings?


The Everyman character tied thematically into the question of who Harrison Wells actually is, which was fine on the face of it.  But other than the obvious parallels for the audience, the plot threads felt disconnected.  And so a lot of time was spent with Lance and Laurel over in Starling City, which felt very odd, as neither of those characters seemed to be quite themselves.  It provided a means for Cisco to help Laurel come up with something that will allow her version of Black Canary to have that trademark Canary Cry, but that was also awkward.  

The slow burn with Iris and keeping Barry’s secret from her is also getting tedious.  Eddie takes it halfway in this episode, and it just puts a spotlight on the fact that the writers are telegraphing her extremely negative and damaging reaction at the worst possible time.  Lance’s attitude actually serves as a really good reminder that this can turn into a nightmare scenario for the heroes, and for that matter, they dodge another bullet with Caitlin and Dr. Wells in this episode.  Even if Barry is clueless about the consequences of secrets and personal relationships, at this point, someone should be getting the message.