The Flash: 4 Things We Learned From Season 3, Episode 5 [SPOILERS]

This week's episode of The Flash offered a lot in the way of character development for secondary characters on the CW series. While Barry Allen adjusts to living with Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow goes to her mother for help with her new metahuman abilities. In addition, a giant monster is attacking Central City. Barry and the STAR Labs team have a lot on their plate this week.

Last week, Caitlin used her icy powers to help get Barry out of a jam, but no one knows about her predicament.

Now, Caitlin is seeking help to understand what's going on with her, while the rest of the STAR Labs crew has no clue what's happening because their main focus is elsewhere. In addition, Barry tries to get on his partner's good side at the CCPD.

Caitlin is Becoming What She Fears

Caitlin realizes that she needs help with her metahuman abilities, so she goes to her mother, Dr. Carla Tannhauser, who is a biomedical researcher. After a few tests, one of Carla's employees, Nigel, traps Caitlin to try and get more answers about her powers in an attempt to further his own career. Caitlin uses his powers and freezes his arm to escape his clutches. Her mother sees this, Caitlin flees the scene. During the final moments of this week's episode, Caitlin receives a message from her mother saying her body chemistry is changing. The more she uses these powers, the harder it will become to reverse what's happening to her body. Caitlin gets upset and freezes her computer.

The Flash is setting up Caitlin's story exceptionally well, letting it grow and breathe between episodes. Caitlin becoming her Earth-2 counterpart, Killer Frost, is something comic fans have been waiting for. What's making this plotline work is the slower pace to the story, as we see sparks of anger and fear in each episode rather than a rush to her development and becoming a villain.

Julian and Barry Start to Work Together

New to the season is Julian Albert (Tom Felton). He's Barry's partner at the CCPD, and the two do not get along. However, they have to work together to solve the mystery of the disappearing monster in this episode. Both Flash and Barry separately saved Julian this week. During their partnership, Julian opens up about his past, revealing he comes from a wealthy family, but he was the odd duck of the family. He comes to the realization that both Flash and Barry are alright in his book.

The tension between the two characters has been immense up until this point. Now, we can see a bond growing between them, and the more cynical fans of the television series are just waiting for Barry to reveal his secrets to his partner. Regardless, this storyline was a great addition to the episode, and Tom Felton is doing a phenomenal job as this complex character.

Central City's Monster Problem

A giant monster is attacking Central City. It takes the efforts of the team at STAR Labs and Julian to figure out what is going on. Eventually, everyone figures out that the monster is actually a hologram, controlled by a teenager who wanted people to feel as scared and helpless as he does everyday.

While this feels completely like a throwaway story--because there was simply too much going on this week--there is potential for something greater here. A teenager put together a computer that can create giant holograms. He may be a criminal now, but he would be an excellent addition to the STAR Labs team. We anticipate the return of this genius, and hopefully, he'll be one of the good guys.

HR Wells Has Secrets On Top of Secrets

It's hard to trust any Harrison Wells when different versions of him turned out to have selfish intent. Each season, Wells is part of the villain's plan, one way or another. However, HR Wells seems cool and smart, so there's nothing wrong with him, right? Cisco and Barry find out that HR Wells isn't even a scientist. On his Earth, he comes up with the ideas and has someone else do all the dirty work. He's on Earth-1 because he wants to write a novel as redemption for all his past screw ups.

It's hard to believe this is the whole story for Wells this season, but we learn a lot about him, and it all seems genuine. There is only so many times the creative team behind this show can make Wells a completely untrustworthy character with ulterior motives. Here is to hoping HR Wells isn't a secret monster.