We have come to the finale of Season 5. Eobard Thawne has played puppet master throughout the season, and now we come to an epic battle between Barry Allen and the Reverse Flash! How did we come to this? And, can Barry beat an even more experienced, more desperate Thawne? Wanna know more? Follow us after the jump!

SPOILERS AHEAD!

NOTE: This review is posting before THE FLASH airs in the Pacific Time Zone, USA. If you haven’t seen the episode yet, STOP HERE and come back after watching the show. You’ll be glad you did!

There was SO much going on in this episode…there was at least 2-3 hours’ worth of show time packed into this one hour program. Let’s just try to hit the highlights here:

• Ralph did stop the shot aimed for the dagger, at some personal cost on a temporary basis. While he was out of action, Sherloque figures out what Ralph had already realized…that getting rid of the dagger was Thawne’s plan all along.
• Now, Barry has a choice – stop Cicada or stop Thawne. He is willing to risk dealing with Thawne in order to save all the metas in Central City. But, Nora has an idea about how to stop both, by convincing young Grace to take the meta-human cure.
• Meanwhile, Cicada 2 has a plan of her own – one that would stop all metas on the original night of the accelerator accident!
• Nora’s plan almost works – it does stop Cicada 2. But, in the end that dagger still had to go, and Thawne was freed.
• Nora and Barry arrive in 2049 to stop Thawne, and they are joined by the rest of Team Flash. They try to stop Thawne and almost succeed…
• …but then Nora starts to fade from the timeline. That is the last piece of Thawne’s plan…he could get away while Barry sends Nora into the Negative Speed Force to save her.
• Problem is, Nora won’t go. She knows that the Negative Speed Force will take her over, and she won’t have it.  Barry and Iris put their arms around Nora as she slowly dissolves, leaving the time line as if she had never been born.
• The team grieves Nora’s loss, though we do get one last message from her in the form of a video played on Gideon’s screen. It takes us back to Barry’s supposed message just before disappearing in the Crisis in 2024.
• Thawne has gotten away, but there are some hopeful notes. Cisco gives up his meta powers to be with Kamilla, Sherloque is able to return to his world and to his love, Ralph is able to resume his detective work, and Joe is promoted to Captain as David Singh becomes the new Chief of Police for Central City.
• …and in the epilogue, Gideon turns on by itself.  That famous newspaper headline about Flash disappearing in the crisis changes…with a NEW date in 2019! The Crisis on Infinite Earths is DEFINITELY coming next season!

NOTES:

• Even with all the info above, I am leaving SO much of the show out of this review! There was basically a full show’s worth of plot points in the first 15 minutes. Cicada was out by the 30 minute mark. And, the show just kept rocketing forward. The only time it slows down is near the end to deal with Nora’s loss.
• Cisco has made the choice to give up his powers, and according to reports will not be on next season. I will miss this character terribly, as Carlos Valdes has been a true highlight of this show since the beginning. Long time comics fans will remember that Vibe was not always so cool – but on this show Cisco Ramon has been the epitome of nerdy-cool. Thanks Carlos for five amazing seasons!
• I suppose we couldn’t continue with Nora into another season, but it is a shame. This character has developed so well over the season that her loss was guaranteed to have an impact – not only within the show but also with fans.
• Sherloque Wells has left for his home world – wonder which version of Harrison Wells we will get next season? Tom Cavenagh has proven his ability to make this character over (and over) successfully throughout the time THE FLASH has been on the air. Looking forward to that.
• It was good to see that Singh had Barry figured out as the Flash. Nice to see a “reveal” that didn’t involve Barry rashly pulling back his cowl.
• This episode was all about legacy – and we’ve seen both Barry’s and Nora’s legacy here. Whether we will see a baby Nora in the future (or a Don and Dawn) is now up in the air, but that does leave a lot of plot lines open for next season.

SUMMARY:

This was a fantastic finale, giving us a HUGE amount of story in just one hour’s time. This season has been one of the better seasons in the history of THE FLASH’s run on CW. I am only sad that we have to wait several months for next season to begin – but as for this show? THE FLASH ended on a high note with a 10/10! Of course, that’s just my opinion. What do YOU think? Leave your comments below!

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