Category: The Flash – Season 5

Director: Gregory Smith

Writers: Lauren Certo (Story) Todd Helbing and Eric Wallace (Script)

Starring: Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Danielle Panabaker, Carlos Valdes, Jesse L. Martin, Danielle Nicolet, Hartley Sawyer, Jessica Parker-Kennedy, Tom Cavanagh, Sarah Carter, Chris Klein, Victoria Park and Patrick Sabongui.

Time travel. Consequences. Family. Legacy. The season five finale of The Flash delivers all the aforementioned, and a lot more besides.

Nora Allen is a creation of the T.V. show, she never appeared in the comics. Does this make her less valid than Iris, Ralph, Cisco, Killer Frost, Thawne or Flash himself? No, I don’t think so. Harley Quinn appeared on Batman: The Animated Series long before she ever appeared in a comic-book, and now she’s one of the most beloved characters in all of comics, and comic-book inspired film and television.

A hero isn’t just someone who saves the day. Sometimes being a hero means knowing the memory of you may well live far longer than you do. With the “Crisis On Infinite Earths” looming ever closer, both Flash and XS’ legacies could outlive them both.

Flashback

At the end of the last episode Ralph worked out Thawnes’ plan. The sneaky little so-and-so had been behind the whole Cicada thing from the start. Thawne doesn’t care who lives or who died, as long as he gets his own way. Mr. Dibney’s in pieces when he realises the truth and the future’s in deep, deep doodoo.

Tom Cavanagh, a man renowned for giving stellar performances, pulls double duties as Sherloque and Reverse Flash this week… and he’s twice as good as ever. I really hope that we see Tom’s Eobard Thawne again in season six, because he’s still the baddest of the bad in my book.

A Cool Customer

While this season suffered from having a few too many characters, it seems that some of them won’t be back. It’s been common knowledge for a while that the brilliant Carlos Valdes would be leaving the show after this season. While I’m sad about that, the manner of his departure was both fitting and totally in character. I’m really going to miss Cisco Ramon, but in this show no-one’s ever really gone forever.

I’m a huge Danielle Panabaker fan, so hopefully we’ll get to see more of her and her ice cold alter ego, Killer Frost, in season six. With a big shake-up at the CCPD and another character leaving the show we should get more screen time time for Barry, Caitlin and Ralph.

Conclusion

While it’s no secret that I found this season less enjoyable than the last, there was still plenty to be happy about. Jessica Parker-Kennedy was a joy to watch and I would love to see her again. Nora West-Allen was one of this show’s finest creations, but I’d love to see Jessica play her comic-book counterpart Dawn Allen.

Remember when she met the old Thawne/Wells in Episode 100, “What’s Past Is Prologue” he thought that he was meeting Dawn, which – as a comics fan – really made me smile. After all, if we meet her then we’re bound to get double trouble with her brother Don, the second “Tornado Twin.”

“Legacy” was an action packed, thought provoking season finale, and one that has me excited for the show’s future.

Director: Jeff Cassidy

Writers: Jonathan Butler & Gabriel Garza

Starring: Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Danielle Panabaker, Carlos Valdes, Jesse L. Martin, Danielle Nicolet, Hartley Sawyer, Jessica Parker-Kennedy, Tom Cavanagh, Sarah Carter, Kimberly Williams-Paisley and Patrick Sabongui.

Wow this episode was meaty! Tons of action, some real suspense and a more than healthy dose of heart and pathos too. This is the kind of T.V. we got tons of in season four, but have been lacking in the latest Flash run. Nora seems to have recovered from her negative speed force experience, but her connection to Cicada Mk. 2 is growing.

We got Flash in a leading role, great moments with Ralph actually being a detective and selfless acts of heroism from Cisco, Joe, Cecile and the wonderful Nora this week too. Now that’s what I’m talking about, people.

A Cut Above The Rest

This week we finally got to see Shecada (thanks, Cisco) really cut loose. The action sequences in this episode are some of the finest I’ve seen in the whole series. Grace is a truly awesome villain, both in terms of ferocity and fighting prowess. Though I got a little annoyed at the re-appearance of Chris Klein’s Mk. 1 version of Cicada, thankfully his scene was a short one.

This upgraded villain can really fight, and her revelations finally cleared up a few things that had been bugging me (and Ralph Dibney, apparently) since she arrived on the scene. Ralph’s detective skills were truly impressive, just as well too, as the other sleuth on the team had other things on his mind this week.

Love Has Addle(r)d His Brain

This episode also saw the welcome return of Kimberly Williams-Paisley as Renee Adler. The scenes between her and Tom Cavanagh’s Sherloque were heartwarming and intriguing. Since meeting her, Sherloque’s arrogance has taken a back seat, and we’ve started to see a new, and much more likeable side of the character. The fact that his new love is a meta-human, in a world where there’s a meta hating, knife wielding homicidal maniac on the loose, is clearly cause for concern.

With all the Arrowverse shows drawing to their conclusions in the next couple of weeks, this was a dangling plot thread which has proven proving to be an important one. I know that this version of Wells hasn’t been as popular as others (though I absolutely love him) and the seeds for his departure have been cleverly sown into this episode.

Too Many Cooks?

One thing that I will agree with my fellow critics and reviewers on is that this show’s ensemble cast has grown a little too big. The episodes that feature every cast member are few and far between, and none of them give the actors, or their characters, enough time to shine. When they do get some juicy lines and a fair slice of the action, others get little or none. Sadly this includes Grant Gustin, who’s supposed to be the star of the show.

This chapter does actually feature everyone, but Caitlin only gets a couple of lines. Everyone else, however, does get a decent amount of screen time, and plays an active part in the developing plot. Thankfully, this includes Barry Allen.

My performances of the week go to Jesse L. Martin, Danielle Nicolet, Carlos Valdes and Hartley Sawyer. Honorable mentions also to Tom Cavanagh (in BOTH his roles) and Kimberley Williams-Paisley. Cecile compliments Joe this week with the exact words I used for him in my last review. I love it when art mirrors life, reviewing art.

Conclusion

We’ve had a good run of strong episodes recently, which we needed after a rocky first half to this season. It’s funny, but Supergirl has had a similar journey this year. Of all the Arrowverse shows the most consistent in the 2018/2019 season have been Arrow and Legends Of Tomorrow.

This week’s was a very good episode of The Flash, with the final revelation being one that will have me on edge until next week’s “Legacy.” Will Eobard Thawne finally ride the lightning, or will he not go gentle into that good night?

Meet me here in seven days, and we’ll find out.

Director: Kristin Windell

Writers: Sam Chalsen and Joshua V. Gilbert

Starring: Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Danielle Panabaker, Carlos Valdes, Jesse L. Martin, Danielle Nicolet, Hartley Sawyer, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Tom Cavanagh, Sarah Carter, Emily Kinney, Reina Hardesty Troy James and the voice of Phil LaMarr.

Nora Allen has accessed the negative speed-force, unleashing all her pent up anger and darkness. Has she completely broken bad? Is there any scope for redemption? This week XS teams with some of her father’s enemies, so the prognosis is grim. All the while, Cicada’s still out there.

Embracing The Dark Side

I’ve made it no secret that I found the first half of this season of The Flash a little disappointing, but the last few episodes have shown a true return to form. I’ve always been a big fan of a good redemption arc, and the Arrowverse has delivered many. In this show alone we’ve seen Ralph Dibney go from disgraced cop to stretchy superhero and even Killer Frost has embraced the light.

What happens, though, when a hero succumbs to their “Dark side”?

XS has been at worst naive and at best misguided, but her demeanour and actions at the start of this episode made me fear the worst. Have her father’s misgivings actually been on the money all along?

Jessica Parker Kennedy plays a dark Nora Allen every bit as convincingly as the sweet innocent hero we’ve come to know over the last 7 or 8 months. Her performances have been consistently strong from day one, and she’s on top form this week too.

Family Values

It’s great having Jesse L. Martin back in an active role, as I really missed his fatherly presence in the first half of this season. The character of Joe west is one of my favorites, as he’s both a strong guiding force and a solid moral compass. The way he steers both Barry and Iris towards what right shows that he’s a fantastic father, as well as arguably the most noble and heroic member of team Flash.

A strong contender for the no. 2 spot is Ralph Dibney. Hartley Sawyer’s role may have been reduced from last season, but he and Danielle Panabaker have some great moments together this week.

Speaking of moments; I always love it when comic-book shows drop little nods or tributes to the original source material, and eagle eyed comics fans will notice a company called G. Simone and associates in this episode. Gail Simone is one of DC Comics’ finest writers, having penned Birds Of Prey, The Atom, Wonder Woman, Batgirl and many other titles.

Team Dynamics

Not only do we get some nice Ralph/Caitlin scenes this week, Sherloque and Cisco also share some terrific on-screen shenanigans. Carlos Valdes and Tom Cavanagh are two of the best in the business, so seeing them use each other as sounding boards (talking about romance of all things) is great fun.

Grant Gustin and Candice Patton are terrific as Barry and Iris. After the huge falling out they had last week, seeing them and how they would move forward after all that, was something I was really looking forward to. Both actors do a great job, and their interactions with each other, as well as with Joe and the always wonderful Danielle Nicolet as Cecile, delivered everything I was hoping for.

Conclusion

This episode is chock full of returning baddies (including my favourite from “All Doll’d Up” and two others, both of whom bug me and are no fair weather friends). We get laughs, scares and surprises. All in all this was another strong episode which left me wanting more.

Next week’s chapter is called “The Girl With The Red Lightning” and I can’t wait ’til it strikes.

Barry returns from leaving Nora in the future to a huge bust up with Iris. She’s mad that he didn’t include her in his decision and more so that she didn’t get to say goodbye. Damn, I’ve never seen Barry display this much rage before. He actually gets pretty spiteful with Iris too which is mostly through frustration that no one appears to sympathise with him. For him, Eobard Thawne is probably the one person he could never forgive and Iris only fuels the fire in his belly by confirming that she doesn’t.

It’s lucky Barry doesn’t go back for Nora as she’s headed straight over to Thawne for help. She realises that he was able to travel through the speed force undetected and he ends up trying to help her use negative force to get back to 2019. Ralph helps Iris travel to the future to find Nora, but her visit makes things a whole lot worse. Nora ends up using the anger towards Barry’s actions and eventually finds the negative force. Let’s just say she doesn’t arrive back quite the same.

It’s a huge week for Caitlin as Icicle returns to kidnap her and her Mum. He has plans to turn his family ‘The Snow Pack’ into permanent ice people. Killer Frost surfaces and saves the day but with some twists and turns thrown into the mix, Caitlin doesn’t get the ending she is teased with. Caitlin and Killer Frost have been thrust into the forefront throughout this season and I’ve loved it. I love Caitlin and I love Killer Frost even more. There was a great ice war between Icicle and Killer Frost which left me wishing we got to see her fight more.

As the episode moves along things are looking bad for Iris and Barry. She even begins a ‘Dear John’ letter but is stopped by Ralph who compares their relationship to that of Harry and Megan. Once again, Ralph was invaluable this week as he cut some majorly tense moments with his humour. The plot with Cicada (or Cicada 2.0 as she’s been affectionately named) picks up again also as Future Grace breaks Little Grace out of hospital. There’s not much left of this season now so I’m expecting the last 3 episodes to heavily focus around her.

There was quite a lot going on this week. The pace really picked up again and I’d go so far as to say this episode brought back the magic from Season 4. It doesn’t look like things will be slowing down either. Sherloque is on the verge of disappearing, Nora is on the warpath and Cicada 2 is in possession of something quite dangerous. Then there’s Eobard Thawne. He’s on death row with the clock almost down to zero. With Iris revealing that she believes he truly cares for Nora, maybe Thawne is about to be saved? Either way, I can’t wait to see!

This episode picks up with everyone reeling from the discovery that Nora has been working with Eobard Thawne. Ralph’s decision to find out the truth by reading her diary means we get thrown back to the future and see how Nora ended up coming back to find her Dad. I really liked that we’ve finally got to see Nora in the comfort of her own timeline. We also get to meet her best friend, Lia, who I loved. She’s like Cisco and Caitlin all rolled into one. She’d make a great sidekick for XS.

In a time where it’s believed that all speedsters have disappeared, Nora’s work leads her to meeting the God of speed, Godspeed. Just to add to an already great cast, Godspeed is played by the flipping awesome BD Wong. I hope that Godspeed shows up again as he really played a classic speedster villain – all powerful and all sinister. He strikes her with his lightning bolts and this is when she discovers that she’s a speedster too. Of course we know from a previous episode this isn’t true, and we see Nora find out that she’s had a power dampener planted in her and this is the beginning of the downfall of her relationship with Iris. She manages to arrange a meeting with Eobard Thawne at Iron Heights so he can help her defeat Godspeed. Eventually he agrees and seeing him work her was completely nostalgic, taking you back to season 1 where Dr Wells taught Barry how to be The Flash.

Nora is charming in this episode. She’s giddy and excitable, or excessive as her friend, Lia, labels her. She’s eventually let out of her cell by Iris and faces her family and friends. You genuinely feel bad for her, and I’d say that they do too. All apart from Barry. Barry is ANGRY and he shows her no mercy. I was actually shocked by his actions and felt my heart break a little for Nora. The end of the episode is very good!!!

A huge congratulations to Danielle Panabaker who directed this episode. What a great job she did – I’m sure this will lead to her sitting in the directors chair more often.