We are back for Season Six of THE FLASH! Barry and Iris have lost their once and future daughter Nora. Cisco Ramon is no longer Vibe, having given up his powers to have a chance at love. The Crisis is looming…but that’s for later in the season. What will come up for Team Flash tonight? Follow us after the jump!

SPOILERS AHEAD! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

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

Let’s set the stage for Season Six:

• Nora disappeared from reality in the fight with Eobard Thawne at the end of last season. This leaves Barry and Iris devastated, as it naturally would for any parent who lost a child (even though the circumstances are obviously unique).
• Joe West is now Captain West, as Singh has been promoted to Chief of Police.
• Cisco is no longer Vibe, having given up his powers at the end of last season to pursue a more normal life and relationship with Kamilla – and Kamilla is now at least an observer at S.T.A.R. if not a full member of Team Flash.
• Ralph has spent the summer pursuing a case of his own…but we will see him in this episode.
• No version of Harrison Wells is around…for now

There are multiple threads here, with some items purposely left hanging for a revisit in future episodes, like:

• There are multiple fake Godspeeds in Central City…four so far, but August Heart hasn’t shown up yet. 
• Barry and Iris are dealing with the loss of Nora. Knowing that some version of Nora may yet be born in the future doesn’t take away the pain of this loss.
  • Different mementos that tie Barry and Iris to Nora are coming up either destroyed or missing. There is more than one reason for this happening, as we will find out.
• Dr. Ramsey Rosso makes his appearance at the funeral of his mother…and we will see a LOT more of him this season.
  • Ramsey is researching cures for cancer…using dark matter. What could possibly go wrong?
• Caitlin and Killer Frost need to have a talk…one that will change the dynamic for this season.
• Black Holes are appearing around Central City (This is the main thread for tonight)

Let’s get to those black holes. Chester P Runk is an amateur inventor who appears on his own streaming channel. He has somehow gathered the parts needed to invent a machine that creates small black holes…and of course those are getting larger and causing all sorts of havoc in Central City. One of those black holes sucks up the jacket that Nora wore as XS, just as Iris was attempting to salvage it for herself. Unfortunately for Chester, he physically contacts one of those mini-black holes, and his consciousness is now tied to a looming danger for all of Central City!

The one way to save everyone is for Barry to somehow enter the black hole itself and to counter the energy, returning Chester’s consciousness to him…and to do that while surviving the trip. He does accomplish that, with the help of some gear left behind by Nora – which helps to explain the VERY cool new Flash suit for Season Six. For once, we have a “threat of the week” without a “villain of the week” – and I’m more than okay with that. Just a note – Barry brings Nora’s jacket back with him from the black hole, placing it on display in the Time Vault.

As for Dr. Ramsey Rosso, we find a truly obsessed man. His mother was also a researcher, who died of cancer without “fighting” as much as Ramsey wanted her to fight. He is willing to do anything…even experiment with dark matter…to fight the cancer cells in his own body. He gets the dark matter he is looking for, and it works…for a moment. Of course, this experiment goes awry – and we see the origin of our bad guy of the season in tonight’s epilogue. More on that in future episodes, of course.

Next, we come to Caitlin/Frost. Killer Frost has been afraid of…not dying, but living her own life, making her own memories that are separate to Caitlin’s. Ralph Dibny has figured them out, and convinces Frost to talk about this with Caitlin. When this happens, Caitlin agrees to let Frost “take the wheel” and experience life on her own for a while. This establishes Frost as the major player for Danielle Panabaker’s character for Season Six…and it should be very interesting as we move forward.

Finally, we come to the first appearance of the season for The Monitor. This is not good news. He is the one who destroyed Nora’s message…to take away hope. His own message is clear. On December 10th, 2019, Barry Allen will sacrifice himself to save multiple Earths. Barry and Iris don’t want to accept this…but the Monitor replies, “In order for billions to survive the Crisis, the Flash must die.” We now have the exact date. BTW, December 10th is on a Tuesday this year (gee, this happens on a night THE FLASH airs? Of course!). We have been pointing to this since the very first episode of Season One…can’t wait to see how this plays out on the show!

NOTES: 

• WOW, how much action can you pack into one episode? This episode moved along at a blistering pace, even for The Flash. Yet, it did not feel disjointed – everything moved along smoothly…it’s just that a lot happened here.
• I have to say this – Candice Patton nailed it tonight. This was some of her best acting in the series so far. She came across as genuine and believable in every scene, and the relationship of Barry and Iris never looked closer than in this episode.
• COOL DUDS! I love this season’s Flash suit – anyone who had reservations about last season’s uni should feel MUCH better about this version of the Flash’s uni. Kudos to the costume design folks!

SUMMARY: This was a fantastic start to Season Six. The script was tight, the acting was exceptional, the special effects were good…I’m a very happy Flash fan right now after watching this premiere. It’s a 10/10 for me…but of course, that’s just my opinion. What do YOU think? Leave your comments below!

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