Here’s hoping all my friends in the USA had a great Thanksgiving. As for Team Flash, In this episode we see them preparing for their own Thanksgiving dinner at the West-Allens. Of course, no celebration on THE FLASH is complete without a major villain battle. There are major father-daughter relationship issues highlighted in this episode, each with a different slant (and a different outcome). And, we learn even more about the backstory of Cicada. Want to know more? Follow us after the jump!
SPOILERS AHEAD!
Note: This review is posting prior to THE FLASH being aired in the Pacific Time Zone USA. If you haven’t seen the show yet, STOP HERE and come back after you see it. You’ll be glad you did!
There are three father figure-daughter relationships we explore in this episode. Let’s look at each one in turn:
- Cicada is not Grace Gibbons’ father. He is actually her uncle, Orlin Dwyer, having taken her in after his sister was killed in a meta attack. He is a terrible father figure at first (days-old Chinese food for breakfast?). But, over time he becomes a good father figure to Grace, and just as things are going great for them…the sky turns purple. Yes, we’re talking the enlightenment. The pieces of satellite fall to Earth, with that now-infamous dagger hitting Cicada in the shoulder. In the hospital he meets Doctor Ambres for the first time. She tells him that Grace may never wake up. Ambres also passes on her hatred of metas, blaming them for what happened to Grace and to Cicada. In his anger, he connects to the dagger at a distance for the first time. That dagger flys from a tray in the operating room to his hand, and he swears that all metas will die!
- Mark Mardon, the Weather Wizard, is in Iron Heights…so where are the lightning attacks coming from? Turns out it’s his estranged daughter Joss Jackam. Joss never really knew her dad, who left to concentrate on his “career” (read that criminal career). Joss was a storm chaser and experimental meteorologist. Her van had a special logo…”Weather Witch”. Her weathervane has become meta tech, and she has the same control of the weather as her father. She was to free him from Iron Heights…to kill him! If she can’t get to him she will take down the entire city. More on that in a moment, but first…
- Nora and Iris may be fine now, but Nora begins to have issues with her dad. She learns that the Flash Museum doesn’t tell the whole story. Barry has willingly risked his life on many occasions, going into situations with the full knowledge that he may not return. This deeply affects Nora, especially after Barry’s heart stops after their first encounter with the Weather Witch’s lightning. She asks Barry to stop being the Flash so he can survive. But, in the final battle with Weather Witch she realizes why Barry does what he does. She can accept the risk, as Barry tells her that he is always thinking about her and her mom.
At the start of the episode, Barry is thrown off the trail when he is told that Grace’s parents are both dead. That is true, but it obviously doesn’t tell the whole story. At episode’s end, Team Flash hacks into the hospital security camera system to see the only person who visits Grace…her uncle Orlin Dwyer, the Cicada!
NOTES:
- There are some interesting moments between Sherloque, Cisco and Caitlin regarding why they may not have so much to celebrate from the previous year. It’s a good recap for recent viewers, but it also leads to some fairly funny scenes. It’s surprising that it’s actually Killer Frost who settles the issue.
- And yes, Killer Frost no longer needs the mental activity dampener to communicate with Caitlin or to show up. Glad we are past that, as I like the Killer Frost persona.
- After last week I thought we were past the angst phase for Nora. Hopefully this week takes care of that, as she has worked through the major relationship issues now with both parents. XS is a great addition to Team Flash, and it’s time to see her develop in a more positive direction through the rest of the season.
- Now we finally see how Cicada got that dagger…and how he got that open wound in his shoulder. The dark matter from the dagger is continuing to affect him, and we’ll have to see where that takes us through the rest of the season.
SUMMARY: This 99th episode was a reasonably good Thanksgiving episode. I’m always concerned when a show tries to work in a holiday…any holiday…as the holiday celebration can overshadow the rest of the episode. Not such a major problem here. And, getting the full backstory on Cicada was handled well. I do like the pacing of this episode, and am looking forward to the big 100th episode next week. As for this episode, I’ll give it an 8/10 – but that’s just my opinion. What do YOU think? Leave your comments below!