Flash: Things You Can't Outrun

"Things You Can't Outrun" is the third episode of season one of the superhero fantasy series The Flash. The episode was directed by Jesse Warn with a script written by Alison Schapker and Grainne Godfree, based on a story treatment by Godfree. It first aired on the CW Network on Tuesday, October 21st, 2014 at 8:00 pm. In this episode, Kyle Nimbus is a metahuman with toxic gas powers that tries to get revenge on the man who arrested him, Joe West. Caitlin tells Barry about the night that the particle accelerator explosion killed her fiance, Ronnie Raymond. Iris and Eddie continue to keep their relationship a secret, but Joe ultimately finds out and is none too happy with this situation.

Notes & Trivia

 * The Flash was developed for television by Andrew Kreisberg, Geoff Johns and Greg Berlanti. It is based on the DC Comics character created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino.


 * This episode is rated TV-PG.


 * This episode is production code number 3J5353.


 * This episode aired in the United Kingdom on Sky1 on November 11th, 2014.


 * The episode aired in Canada on CTV on October 21st, 2014.


 * Actor Johnny Ghorbani is credited as Arash Ghorbani in this episode.


 * Actress Jana Mitsoula is credited as Jana Mitsula in this episode.


 * This is the first episode of The Flash directed by Jesse Warn. He is also known for directing episodes of Arrow, and Supergirl. This is his only episode from season one.


 * This is the first episode of The Flash written by Alison Schapker. She writes four episodes of the show from season one.


 * This is the first appearance of Ronnie Raymond on The Flash.


 * This is the first appearance of Kyle Nimbus on The Flash.

Allusions

 * Harrison Wells makes reference to Big Belly Burger in this episode. This is a chain of fictional fast food restaurants that are persistantly name-dropped throughout the course of The Flash and Arrow.

Comic connections

 * Firestorm is a DC Comics superhero who is a gestalt character made of the combined elements of Ronnie Raymond and Professor Martin Stein. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artist Al Milgrom, and first appeared in the pages of Firestorm the Nuclear Man #1 in March, 1978. In the origin story, the two are caught in the blast of a nuclear reactor meltdown, which not only fuses them together, but gives them the ability to fly and to transmutate inorganic matter. In the comics, Ronnie Raymond was a high school student, whereas on The Flash, he is a scientist.


 * Kyle Nimbus is based on a DC Comics character known only as Kyle. He first appeared in Starman, Volume 1 #0 in 1994, and was killed off in issue #3. Kyle was the son of a Golden Age super-villain called The Mist, who was a foe of Ted Knight, aka Starman. Kyle was responsible for the death of Ted's oldest son, David, and fought up against his younger son, Jack Knight, who had taken up the mantle of Starman from both his father and brother.

Availability

 * This episode has been made available on the Netflix instant streaming video service. Availability subject to license agreement.


 * This episode was available on Hulu for a limited time.


 * This episode has been made available on Amazon Prime instant streaming service in HD for $2.99.


 * This episode has been made available for purchase on iTunes in HD for $2.99.


 * This episode is included on disc one of The Flash: The Complete First Season Blu-ray collection, which includes a digital HD copy. The collection was produced by Warner Home Video and released in Region 1 format on September 22nd, 2015.

Quotes

 * Barry Allen: I'm going full nerd again, aren't I?
 * Iris West: Yep.
 * Barry Allen: Yeah.
 * Iris West: It's okay, though. You are still the cutest nerd that I know.

....
 * Joe West: It's been a while since I watched you sleep.
 * Barry Allen: Rescuing you is exhausting.
 * Joe West: I really miss the ability to be able to ground you.
 * Barry Allen: Sorry I went and grew up.

....
 * Barry Allen: It doesn't matter if you're the slowest kid in gym class or the fastest man alive. Every one of us is running. Being alive means running-running from something, running to someone or someone. And no matter how fast you are, there's some things you can't outrun. Some things always manage to catch up to you.

....
 * Eddie Thawne: So you're not mad?
 * Joe West: Oh, I'm mad. And if the doctor hadn't confiscated my gun, we'd be having an entirely different conversation.
 * Eddie Thawne: Well, I should let you two talk, and I'll just be outside looking into the witness protection program.

....
 * Joe West: Do you like him?
 * Iris West: Yeah, I do.
 * Joe West: Then I will do my damnedest not to shoot him.
 * Iris West: That is all I ask.

....
 * Barry Allen: I thought being the fastest man alive would make my life easier—that I could outrun anything. Turns out no one can outrun pain. Life is tragic. But it's also precious... and sweet... and extraordinary. And the only way I know to honor my mom's life is to keep running.