Ep 12. Butterfly Proboscis

Barry Allen has faced a lot of foes since becoming the Flash, but none have posed as big of a threat as the latest one he faces in season 1 episode 12, "Butterfly Proboscis." Barry finds himself up against Brie Larvan, a tech villain popularly known as Bug-Eyed Bandit. Larvan has the ability to control technology with her mind, and she has created robotic bees with stingers made of nanobots. These bees are able to enter any computer system and hack it from the inside, potentially causing untold chaos.

As the episode begins, Team Flash is still reeling from their encounter with the Reverse-Flash. Barry is having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that the man he thought was his mentor, Harrison Wells, was actually a villain masquerading as a friend. To make matters worse, Eddie Thawne was killed by Reverse-Flash, and Iris is mourning the loss of her boyfriend. Cisco and Caitlin are also finding it difficult to process the events of the previous episodes.

Barry is finally able to shake off his despair and start focusing on his work as the Flash when he receives an alert about a break-in at Mercury Labs. When he arrives at the scene, he finds that Larvan has stolen a prototype weapon that can shoot a spark of energy through solid objects. He realizes that he needs to act fast before this powerful weapon falls into the wrong hands.

Team Flash quickly learns that Larvan's ultimate goal is to hack into the city's power grid and take control of the entire electrical system. This would give her the power to hold the city ransom and make any demands she wanted. In order to stop her, they need to find her and stop her robotic bees from infiltrating the city's systems.

As they search for Larvan, they discover that she was fired from Mercury Labs and is seeking revenge on her former employer. They also learn that she has a rare genetic condition called aquagenic urticaria, which causes her to break out in hives whenever she comes into contact with water, making her vulnerable to certain types of attacks.

The team eventually tracks down Larvan's location, but they are not prepared for the level of resistance they encounter. Larvan sends her robotic bees after them, which are able to infiltrate the team's communication systems and shut down their weapons and defenses. The team is forced to use their wits to outmaneuver the bees and stop Larvan.

One of the standout moments of the episode comes when Cisco is forced to confront his fear of bees in order to take out some of the robotic attackers. His transformation from a terrified bug-phobic to a confident hero is a major highlight of the episode.

Ultimately, Barry is able to save the day by using his speed to create a vortex that sucks up all of the bees. Larvan is arrested, and the team is able to prevent her from hacking into the city's power grid. The episode ends on a hopeful note, as Barry and his friends talk about coming to terms with the traumatic events of the past few episodes.

"Butterfly Proboscis" is a thrilling episode that showcases the emotional range of the Flash cast. It's an episode that reminds viewers that even superheroes are vulnerable to the effects of trauma and that sometimes the hardest battles are the ones that are fought inside the mind.