Nora will be sticking around Central City for a while, so Team Flash is trying to get things back to normal. Problem is, nothing is ever truly normal for Team Flash. Cisco is lovesick over Gypsy, Cecile is worried about losing her powers, Caitlin wonders if her father is still alive, the satellites are still not working so they can’t track metas…oh, and there is someone out there killing people with meta powers! This is a jam-packed episode of THE FLASH…and that’s actually a very good thing! Want to 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 show yet, STOP HERE and come back after watching the episode. You’ll be glad you did!
There are several threads going on here, which is one of the great things about a show like THE FLASH. Here are some quick summaries of those plot threads:
- Nora and Barry tell the rest of Team Flash about that 2049 story in which Barry never comes back from the future crisis. Iris refuses to accept that as a final answer, noting that they have changed those future newspaper headlines before. This explains why Nora came back…to actually spend time with the father she never knew.
- Nora is looking to impress Barry, a theme that goes throughout the episode. It gets them into trouble early on, and Barry has trouble understanding why Nora is going so overboard until he speaks with Joe about it. By episode’s end, Barry and Nora have a better understanding, and Nora even saves the day…at least for a moment. BTW – Nora has also managed to work herself into the CCPD as an unpaid intern for Barry. This should make for some real fun over the season.
- Cisco is ridiculously lovesick over Gypsy, and Caitlin and Ralph spend the episode trying to help him get over her. (NOTE: I’ll have more about this later on)
- Caitlin spends much of the episode dealing with the fact that her father’s death certificate was a fake. Is he still alive? If so, why hasn’t he reached out to her? By episode’s end, she finds out who faked the death certificate, and it opens up even more questions.
- Cecile realizes that her powers are finally fading…and she is afraid. Up to now she has had a telepathic bond with her baby, and without that bond she is afraid that she won’t be a great parent. By the end of tonight’s show she comes to terms with that, thanks to an overheard conversation between Joe and Barry. Still, we are re-introduced to the device Harry made last season that could create an ability to read thoughts…will it be used sometime this year? The Magic Eight Ball says “Reply Hazy, try again”.
- The villain of the week is Vanessa Jansen, aka Block. She can compress air molecules into block forms, compressing to tightly that even a speedster can’t vibrate out. She can also shrink the block, killing and compacting her victims. She uses her powers to take over a black market high-tech weapons sale, and gains the upper hand on Flash and XS at first. Of course she is finally apprehended with XS saving the moment…but not the day, as…
- Cicada attacks! He comes out of nowhere and stabs Block from behind with that lightning bolt dagger. He then fights Flash, Elongated Man and Vibe – with the dagger first temporarily taking all their powers away! Without their powers, Cicada is more than a match for all three. He is ready to deal a fatal blow to Flash when XS shows up…and for some reason Cicada stops in his tracks and walks away.
- As Team Flash reconnects, Iris shows them the footage she found from Cicada’s attack last episode. The common theme is that sound of Cicadas that accompanied both attacks. Nora recognizes that it is our big bad of the season…and she looks very worried!
NOTES: The Flash is above all a show with a great ensemble cast, and tonight’s episode gave highlights for just about everyone. Wonderful acting all around, and just the right mix of action, comedy and emotion. The new uniform for Flash is working well (or maybe I’m just more used to it with two episodes completed…either way it is working well now). Overall an excellent episode.
BONUS: I was able to grab a screenshot of the first 8 items in “Ralph Dibny’s 27 Steps to Getting Over the Love of Your Life”. Here is what I was able to find from the list:
- Shark cage diving (make sure you have no paper cuts)
- Positive affirmations “Ralphie is great. Ralphie is kind. Ralphie is a brilliant detective.” (NOTE: the affirmations on the page do not include “Ralphie is smarter than the average bear” which was likely an improv line by Carlos Valdez)
- Watch “Beaches” and paint your toe nails (Pastels look best)
- Rearrange your record collection autobiographically (after 3 months, arrange by color)
- Give your best bud $20 every time you think of your ex (go to ATM first)
- Attend a Corgi beach festival (BRING TREATS!)
- Take a hot air balloon ride to Star City
- Hit the gym – twice a day!
Other notes on the page included: Dance with Ellen, Get into Death Metal (again), Change is goal – and inevitable!, Go Vegan!
If you were able to find more, please add them below in the comments! Overall I’ll give this episode a 9/10 – of course, that’s just my opinion. What do YOU think? Leave your comments below!
I admire the dedication that you guys have shown in updating this website each and every week. I’ve tried to get into Flash comics since I first seen the show back in 2016 but in all honestly I’m not much of a reader, with that said, I still LOVE this show and both The Flash season 5 and Arrow season 7 both had really good opining episodes, my personal favorite storyline so far has to finding out who Caitlin’s father is (he’s clearly still alive, he just doesn’t want anything to do who his daughter). thank you to you all for always updating the website and I wish you all the best.
interesting tidbit. Last week Ralph mentioned the M.E.’s name Cameron Mahkent was a fake name. However, Joar Mahkent was the real name of the Golden Age Villain, The Icicle. (Icicle died during the Crisis I think, and he willed half of his estate to Wally West in the comics) It would be interesting to find out that Caitlyn’s father is the CW version of the Icicle.