THE FLASH is nothing if not formulaic, meaning that any changes that have happened during a time-skip are always swiftly undone so that the team can go back to business as usual for the rest of the season. Watching everyone be brought back into the fold after a break from the team always feels like treading water until we can get to the good stuff.
Fortunately, bypassing that tradition gave this episode much more room to breathe, and as a result we were treated to several quieter moments allowing Barry and Iris to reflect on what exactly being parent to someone almost the same age as them meant or Nora letting down her shield of fangirl enthusiasm to reflect on how lonely growing up without a father was. Much has already been said about Jessica Parker Kennedy’s remarkable resemblance to Grant Gustin and Candice Patton, but it’s worth pointing out that this uncanny casting and Kennedy’s striking ability to echo Barry’s way of speaking (without feeling like she’s doing an awkward impression) is an enormous part of why the episode works so well.
Sci-fi shows can occasionally underplay characters’ skepticism and fall into the trap of having them believe anyone who gives them a supernatural story, but it doesn’t feel strange for the characters to barely question Nora’s identity, because watching anyone who spends thirty seconds in a room with her can see the obvious family resemblance. Again, it’s pacing that leans into the strength of the cast instead of using every second to squeeze in another unnecessary plot element as all too often became the case at the end of last season.
One also can’t help but be amused it looks like the main storyline of this season will be Barry finally confronting the giant “FLASH VANISHES IN CRISIS” headline he’s known about and kept choosing to ignore for five years straight. Still it’s satisfying to see this loose thread come back into play now that the multiverse has been so firmly established and there are elements of Crisis that the show hasn’t gotten the chance to fully explore yet.
On the other hand, choosing to keep Barry’s disappearance a secret from everyone, even Iris (!), seems like a cheap writing trick to needlessly stretch out drama in a situation where there’s already plenty of it. THE FLASH was notoriously bad at lack of communication between its characters during earlier seasons, and it’d be disappointing to see it backslide in that area after doing a lot to improve in others.
I’ve praised the focused nature of this episode a few times already, but we also can’t ignore that putting the spotlight on the trio of Nora and her parents meant many characters were left with nothing to do. Heck, Joe literally spent the entirety of the episode catching a nap. It’s clear the cast has become desperately overcrowded, and I can’t help but feel it would be better for everyone if they could turn some characters like Caitlin or Ralph into part time team members. It’s easy to imagine their Killer Frost investigation turning into a road trip that we could periodically check in with, which seems like a more prudent way to tell their story then in random ten second intervals. Even the always charming Keiynan Lonsdale was treated mostly like a benchwarmer, despite how special his guest appearance should have been. It didn’t take away from this particular episode, but in the longterm the show clear needs to have a reckoning about what to do with its large cast moving forward.
After spending so much of the last season investing time in one-off metas or plots we never got to see pay off, it’s encouraging to see the show emphasizing the key family dynamic and tie in previous time travel elements to underscore the Flash speedster dynasty in a way that harkens back to earlier days. Nora’s narration shows how neat her journey is as a complement to her father’s. While the show may have a bit still to go before it can regain the goodwill it lost last year, but for those of us who want to see THE FLASH come home XS’s monologue about improving the future seemed to be speaking to us in more way than one.
Written by Kaitlin Roberts, THE FLASH Beat Writer
Comments
Post a Comment