Frost has turned herself in and has pled guilty to all of her crimes. The fact that she has become a hero, literally helping to save the world, doesn’t let her off the hook. The question is, what will her punishment be? If Kristen Kramer has her way, it’s going to be something Team Flash hadn’t even considered. Meanwhile, the hunt for the other forces continues, with shocking results. Wanna know more? Follow us after the jump!
SPOILERS AHEAD! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
First, an apology for the late review. A family gathering last night meant that I had to wait to watch this episode. I hope to be more timely next week. Now, on to the review:
Kristen Kramer has an ace up her sleeve. It’s “the cure”. The metahuman cure, to be exact. She is manipulating the proceedings to force Frost to take the cure and give up her powers. It would set a precedent for what Kramer really wants, taking away the powers of all metas. Why is that? Another meta had led her troops into battle, getting 20 of them killed. That set her on this over-the-top mission against metas in general.
Team Flash is doing everything they can to stop this. They even cross some lines that Frost asked them not to do in neutralizing the supply of the cure held at CCPD. But, Kramer still has that ace. It’s a vial of the cure prepared by A.R.G.U.S. So, how to save Frost?
Frost would rather go to jail than take the cure. Losing her powers would mean losing her identity. In the end, that’s the bargain she makes. Frost volunteers for life without parole, rather than being forced to take the cure. Her statement before the court rings true for anyone deemed “different”, and it was delivered exceptionally well by Danielle Panabaker.
The judge knows that any decision would set a precedent. Either they could go after all metas with the cure, or no one would be forced to take it. The judge sides with Frost. That’s the good news. The bad news is that it means life without parole. We may see her pardoned and back with Team Flash some day, but for now Caitlin has to go home without Frost. As for Kramer? She leaves, knowing that she won’t be able to go after other metas in Central CIty. She and Joe have a talk before she goes, with Joe reminding her to always be checking what side of the law she’s on.
In the other main storyline, Nora/Speed Force is acting more and more agitated. They are tracking down one of the forces, the strength force. It turns out to be Alexa Rivera, who is the field supervisor for a charity known as Keystone Cares. After some missteps thanks to Nora, Barry (as Flash) finally convinces Alexa to come to S.T.A.R. Labs for some tests. The tests prove their worst fears. She houses the strength force. While Barry wants to help, Nora/Speed Force wants only one thing.
She wants to kill Alexa.
There was an earlier discussion with Iris, Nora and Barry about the fact that innocent people may be the avatars for these forces. But, Nora/Speed Force wants nothing of it. She wants to kill them to save herself. Here, Nora springs into action, attacking Alexa!
Barry tries to stop her. Nora/Speed Force then turns to attack Iris! Barry throws lightning back to stop the attack, but that’s exactly what Nora had wanted. She uses the resulting energy to kill Alexa! Nora/Speed Force then tells him, “Time to choose a side, Barry”. That’s where we leave it for this week.
NOTES:
- This episode writes off (or potentially writes off) Frost and Kramer. Of the two, who is most likely to come back first? I’ll leave that to you (but I’m betting on Frost).
- The tension between Barry and Nora/Speed Force has been building for some time. It’s not surprising to see it come to a head. But, the sheer anger and violence coming from the Speed Force was a shock to see. Especially, it was shocking to see her go after Iris (even if it was possibly a ruse to get Barry to add his power to hers).
- The last statement in court by Frost had some undertones of X-Men in terms of dealing with those who are “different”. But, it also has a lot to do with issues in society today, and how we deal with those who are different. I was afraid that statement would be a little overdone, but for me it turned out just right.
SUMMARY:
This was a solid episode, with a sad farewell and a shocker of an ending. I’ll give this episode a 9/10. Of course, that’s just my opinion. What do YOU think? Leave your comments below.