Here’s a trip down memory lane – all sorts of baddies from the history of this show are coming together for Season 9. And, it’s not just to have a cup of coffee at Jitters. The action dials up significantly in this episode, with just as significant reveals. Team Flash is possibly up against their greatest danger yet, and I don’t say that lightly. Wanna know more? Follow us after the jump!
SPOILERS AHEAD! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
During the latest theft – a temporal scanner at Corbin Taft Industries – we get one more member of Red Death’s team. This time it’s Michelle Amar/Murmur joining Owen Mercer/Captain Boomerang and Andrea Wozzeck/Fiddler. With just one more device, their “benefactor” will be able to build a cosmic treadmill – and that would allow all sorts of havoc with the timeline.
One more device…and one more member of Red Death’s team to be revealed. But first…
Barry puts together his own team of Rogues to help grab that last piece to the cosmic treadmill puzzle, a quantum vibration engine. It’s in a secure DOD facility that seems tailor-made to stop the Flash. There are four engines powering the meta-dampeners, and they must all be taken down at the same time to allow Flash to use his speed to get the engine.
To do that, he recruits Pied Piper, the Hotness, Goldface, and Chillblaine (who reluctantly joins, still hurting over Frost). It works…for a bit. But in the end Mark turns on Team Flash. He’s been offered a chance to join Red Death’s team in exchange for getting Frost back, and he can’t see anything else past his pain.
In a brief series of battle sequences, team Red Death outduels our Flash-Rogues team. The battle continues outside the compound, but it’s stopped as Red Death herself shows up. Her negative speed force temporarily takes away Barry’s speed…and he gets an eyeful of that bat logo for the first time.
After the battle, the Hotness, Goldface and Piper agree to join Team Flash…as least for now. That’s good, especially since they all now know who Flash is (more and more people know…).
While all of this is going on, Iris and Team Flash are getting the idea that this is somehow related to WayneTech and Gotham…though the “upgrades” our baddies are getting seem beyond even the present state of the art for Wayne Enterprises.
While Team Flash tries to figure this out, they learn that Ryan Wilder, aka Batwoman, has been missing for weeks. They wonder if this is connected to the speedster, but they haven’t put the pieces together yet.
In the end we see Mark at Red Death Central…and the reveal of Red Death as Ryan Wilder herself! Yes, we finally see her face as Red Death in continuity. That’s it for this week…with a LOT hanging in the balance.
NOTES:
- Quick question – why were the meta dampeners only around the vault at the DOD facility and not near any of the four engines that powered those dampeners?
- I got a kick out of how Jaco knew Barry was the Flash (their orders at Jitters are the same!)
- Khione is settling into this new personality – and this runs a lot more smoothly than last week. I’m in on this character now, and looking forward to what comes next.
- Allegra is still afraid of a relationship…Khione tries to talk her into trusting her heart, and I’m hoping we can finally get past all this will they/won’t they and get to the actual relationship.
- I can see the heel turn for Mark – and it makes sense as he is hurting so deeply. Hopefully there will be redemption for him down the road, but this works for me (at least for now).
- Goldface quotes the last line of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death” – very appropriate here, and as an old Poe fan, I was glad to see it included.
SUMMARY:
This was an action-packed episode, capped by the reveal of Batwoman as Red Death. This is the best episode of the season so far for me – and I’ll give this one a 10/10. Of course, that’s just my opinion. What do YOU think? Leave your comments below!