Post — Aaron Ngo

Major Spoilers are included in this episode review post. Please read with caution.

I’ll give the highlights for 5x20 and 5x21 because what happened in the season five finale is what I want to get into. Let’s proceed then:

The Flash’s latest Rogue Gallery episode is a reminder that this series never got the team right. When Leonard Snart and Mick Rory were on this show back in season one, the hype of the Rogue Gallery was real, but then a television series called DC’s Legends of Tomorrow snatched them up for a “Pilot”. Since then, every “Rogue” themed episode feels hollow and empty. Leonard Snart, Captain Cold, is the Rogue Gallery’s leader, and he’s dead now. Anyways, Nora assembled a new Rogues Gallery to steal tech that can help assemble the weapon that can destroy Cicada’s dagger, and in the end, Barry and Nora resolve their differences. Nothing else really stuck out for me in this one.

“The Girl with Red Lightning” episode had a lot going on, and The Flash couldn’t outrun the overstayed welcome known as Cicada. This was an important episode though because Ralph went from being the confused guy about time travel to master detective gradually over the hour. Thawne’s master plan was Cicada’s dagger! Brilliant way to tie-in Cicada to Thawne’s ultimate escape plan. I don’t think it justified keeping us in the dark for this long, but I mostly blame The CW for giving their shows 20+ episodes per season.

“Legacy”, the season 5 finale. Let’s talk about what happened. I think it was a mess. The entire season finale was not hyped except for the Eobard Thawne escaping bit, but otherwise, the Cicada resolution, Cisco’s inconsistent character journey, and Sherloque’s anti-dramatic leave were all not okay plus the whole metahuman cure is random and too similar to X-Men. But, Eobard Thawne’s escape and killing guards was a great scene to watch. I was digging the makeup in that scene, too.

Nora being erased from the timeline made me see this season was hers. I loved her character journey, and how it’s going to tie into Crisis On Infinite Earths. I’m proud of Iris West-Allen and Candice Patton for being an amazing character again. The emotional moments and the desperate plead for Nora to stay was raw. I haven’t quite recovered yet.

I thought The Monitor would show up like in Arrow’s season finale, but changing the deadline on the 2024 newspaper works better. The 2024 newspaper was teased since the “Pilot”, and it brings the show around in a circle as they approach season six. I think Barry will hunt Eobard Thawne at the start of next season to get revenge for what he did to his second Nora. This will pit the two speedsters against each other, and it will likely lead to the crossover. This is too much hype!

That’s all I got for you today. Stay tuned for next season!

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