Potential Energy

Barry and the team are still trying to find a way to beat Zoom and find a meta-human who may just hold the key. The Turtle is a guy who can slow people down and uses his powers to steal from them that which they most value. He’s a broken, crazy guy who felt unvalued by his wife, the most precious thing in his life who took him for granted and was preparing to leave him. Instead, he killed and preserved her like a trophy and started stealing things from people to teach them not to take what they love for granted. They set at trap for him that goes wrong and he ends up kidnapping Patty to take from the Flash what he most loves. Barry powers through the Turtles inertia waves and saves Patty. Back at STAR Labs, Harry begins the brutal testing on Turtle that may hold the key to stealing Zoom’s – or maybe Barry’s – speed. Meanwhile, Joe has a hard time connecting with Wally, who turns out to be a speed demon drag racer, and Barry prepares to tell Patty that he’s the Flash. Also, pre-Wells Eobard Thawne just sped back into existence somehow and seems confused about where/when he is. Intriguing!

Wally West

I can see how Wally might think that Joe didn’t care about him and his mother since the great detective didn’t make it his business to find them. That’s a reasonable resentment. But if you feel that way, why bother even meeting up with the Wests? Sure, he’s in town to run a couple drag races and make some money for his mom’s medical bills, but that doesn’t mean he has to antagonize a couple people doing their best to get to know him. In the end, though, Joe and Wally agree to forget expectations and just work on being friends.

Barry and Patty

After Patty confronts Barry about his guarded attitude and unreliability, Barry decides he wants to take their relationship further and tell her that he’s the Flash. After a few interrupted attempts and an emergency in which Barry ditches Patty to save the day as the Flash, Patty makes a big decision to move on from Central City and her relationship with Barry to pursue her forensic studies. Barry is devastated, especially considering his desire to take their relationship forward, but there’s really only so long a girl can tolerate unexplained distant and unreliable behavior. And as Patty rightly pointed out, she has been a really cool and understanding girlfriend, and she absolutely deserves better than Barry. I mean, if Barry is going to casually reveal his identity to someone as unnecessary as Linda Park, then why not a woman who is not only his girlfriend but his father’s trusted partner? I mean, honestly.

Caitlyn and Jay

Caitlyn and Jay are pretty chill about it, but they are definitely an adorable little item. Jay still feels useless without his speed so Caitlyn offers her help to figure out how to get it back. Jay declines, though, saying that he’s also a scientist and that any tests she would run he’s already run on himself. However, Caitlyn is never one to be persuaded she can’t help and sneakily runs some tests on his DNA and discovers that Jay is dying. Jay knew this, of course, having run the tests himself also. Caitlyn is upset that Jay, knowing how sick he was, knowing how hard it was for Caitlyn after Ronnie died, and still allowing her to get close to him. She vows to help him get his speed back to save his life, promised in that ever and inexplicable sense of optimism that only Caitlyn can conjure.

Wells

It’s hard to know if Harry is interested in Turtle more to help Zoom steal Barry’s speed or to defeat Zoom. My guess is that he’s looking for any way he can to get his daughter back and he’s playing the angles. In his own journal entry he says that he has the dark capability to do terrible things to ensure her safety, and it’s obviously going to come down to a dramatic choice.