2. “The Runaway Dinosaur” (Season 2, Episode 21)
Few episodes of The Flash hit you in the feels quite like “The Runaway Dinosaur”. Directed by Kevin Smith, this one was a majorly important piece in Barry Allen’s journey as it introduced the Speed Force as a living entity, and forced him to acknowledge the grief he had been running from for his entire life.
The title is inspired by the fictional book that Barry’s mother Nora would read to him when he was a child, and it was a fitting one at that, because Barry – who had essentially died trying to get his speed back to stop Zoom – ended up in the Speed Force and couldn’t find his way out. it was then that he had to acknowledge that maybe he didn’t want to.
The scene in which Barry recounts the story of the runaway dinosaur to his mother (or the Speed Force incarnation of her) is, without question, one of the best moments in The Flash‘s nine-season run. Grant Gustin and Michelle Harrison always produce magic when they work together and this was one of the finest examples of that.
Passionate, heartfelt, and incredibly pivotal to the future of the show, “The Runaway Dinsoaur” is a beautiful episode of television and among the very best that The Flash has to offer.