When Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War opened to warm reviews and healthy box-office receipts, the comparisons to the less well-reviewed DC film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice were inevitable. With plot similarities that extended beyond mere superhero clashes, headlines like “Captain America: Civil War Shows Exactly Why Batman v Superman Failed” and “Captain America: Civil War Gets Everything Right that Batman v Superman Gets Wrong” were to be expected. But, surprisingly, just as Marvel dealt DC a massive blow by being, once again, the friendlier and more popular cinematic superhero generator, DC pulled off a big win of its own. Sure, this one took place on the small screen, but CW’s The Flash not only had its best episode yet, but paved the way for a rosier future for DC films.

Though it lacks some of the prestige shine associated with Netflix’s Marvel shows, The Flash has received glowing reviews since it premiered in 2014 and is, by far, the CW’s highest-rated series. Grant Gustin’s turn as Barry Allen—“the fastest man alive”—is so beloved, in fact, that when Warner Bros. announced that Ezra Miller would be taking on the Allen role in their cinematic Justice League, there was a massive outcry from loyal TV watchers who felt no one would be able to match Gustin. That doesn’t mean the show has been completely flawless, but this week, for the first time in two seasons, The Flash didn’t miss a step.

This latest episode, “The Runaway Dinosaur,” was directed by famed comic book fan Kevin Smith and written by Zack Stentz (Thor, X-Men: First Class). The series has always been funny (thanks, in large part, to the great Carlos Valdes as Cisco Ramon) and has used veteran actors like Victor Garber and Jesse L. Martin to lend gravitas and tug at the heartstrings. But in one episode, The Flash managed to hit new comedic and emotional highs while also leaving room for some exciting action.

Even characters who have been a little patchy—like Barry’s leading lady, Iris West (Candice Patton)—had a chance to shine and the episode was surprisingly coherent given that it contained one zombie metal man, three grieving father figures, a Jason Mewes cameo, two potential new speedsters, and the personification of a mystical element called the Speed Force. It shouldn’t have worked one bit. But, miraculously, it did.

Like Civil War and Batman v Superman before it, this episode of The Flash focused on a hero grieving for his dead mother. Gustin’s apparent heartbreak when Barry finally, finally let his mother go was palpable without ever being oppressively grim. In true superhero-myth fashion, the episode forced Barry to confront his wound—the death of his mother—before he could regain his strength. And, in an eerie moment of synchronicity, both “The Runaway Dinosaur” and Batman v Superman had Barry reaching out through a swirling vortex. Sure, it’s a thing the Flash does, but why did that image look so much better on a TV show with a fraction of Zack Snyder’s budget?