A theme of redemption has been running through the seventh season of THE FLASH. We’ve seen some pretty dangerous baddies take a turn for the better. That trend gets a severe test in this episode, as Allegra faces her cousin, Ultraviolet. Things aren’t looking good, especially with Barry and Iris off to an island paradise. Will a Flash-less Team Flash be able to stop Ultraviolet? And, is there an even greater threat lurking in the shadows? Wanna know more? Follow us after the jump!
SPOILERS AHEAD! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
With Barry and Iris off to try and start a family, Team Flash seems to think they have the day off as well. Frost goes off on her own (we’ll see her again at the end of the episode). But, Allegra gets a message that says her cousin may be in town. Allegra and Chester meet at Jitters to talk, and are met by an attacking Ultraviolet! Things look very bad until Sue Dearbon arrives to even things up.
After Ultraviolet gets away, Allegra decides to track her cousin down. Allegra is doing the “what would Barry do?” routine, believing she can save her cousin. Sue Dearbon does not believe that’s possible, but reluctantly agrees to help.
They do succeed in tracking Ultraviolet down, and even win the day (or the moment). What they learn next is the real surprise. Ultraviolet is actually tracking down the doctor who operated on her to take her voice. She wants vengeance, and Allegra and Sue allowed him to get away. While Sue still does not trust Ultraviolet, Allegra agrees to free her cousin and help her track down the evil Dr. Olsen.
We see a training sequence that goes wrong. Allegra simply can’t muster the level of power that her cousin has. Eventually Ultraviolet gives up and leaves – but not before accidentally blasting Chester. He recovers but spends the rest of the show with his arm in a sling.
When the team finally catches up with Ultraviolet, she has been promised her voice back by Dr. Olsen. That, in return for killing Allegra and anyone else who knows about him. Dr. Olsen has not given up his evil experiments, and he doesn’t want anyone to stop him. So, the battle is on.
It boils down to a final test of wills…and power blasts…between Allegra and Ultraviolet. What wins the day comes after Dr. Olsen claims that their powers are fueled by hate. Instead, Allegra realizes her power comes from her heart, from the love she has for her family. She begins to glow, and we get a whole new look for her. She has a swirling aura of light around her, and she overpowers both Ultraviolet and Dr. Olsen.
In the end, Ultraviolet is willing to turn over a new leaf. While Allegra realizes the risk she took, Caitlin reminds her that she followed her heart, just as Barry would have done. In the end, Barry returns to find them…acting as if nothing happened.
We leave this main storyline with Chester and Allegra coming closer to a potential relationship. She asks Chester to meet for coffee, but instead agrees to join him for some D&D. We’ll certainly see more of this in future episodes. That leads us to the…
EPILOGUE:
Caitlin catches up to Chillblaine and threatens to return him to Iron Heights. The only problem with that is…Chillblaine has turned state’s evidence and his record has been cleared. He is actually a free man. We’ll see more of this next episode as well.
NOTES:
- There is one other storyline going on here. Joe West finally learns what was going on with Kristen Kramer. It was not her, but someone close to her who betrayed her team and led to the deaths of a dozen soldiers. He was like a brother to her, but now she wants nothing more than to track him down. She asks Joe for help – and he’s ready to do just that.
- While this is a second episode in a row with very little actual Flash, there are two things to remember here. One is that scheduling around precautions for the Covid pandemic may have made some of this necessary. The other is that it is always good in an ensemble cast to let other characters shine (in this case literally shine). And Kayla Compton was more than up to the task in this show.
- Yes, this is one more redemption story for season seven. But, this one actually makes more sense than some of the other “turn over a new leaf” plots. With family being the source of it all, it actually works well here.
- I loved the new look for Allegra. That swirling, glowing look with the blank white eyes (think The Undertaker in WWE for the eyes) gave a better superheroic look to her character than we have seen up to now.
SUMMARY: This episode put a lot on the shoulders of Kayla Compton, and she really came through. This was also another directorial shot for Danielle Panabaker, and her efforts gave us a solid show. I’ll give this an 8/10. Of course, that’s just my opinion. What do YOU think? Leave your comments below!