Please Enable Cookies thenerdstash.com is using a security service for protection against online attacks. The service requires full cookie support in order to view this website. Please enable cookies on your browser and try again.<doc-sep>The Flash has quickly established a compelling family struggle in Season 5, with Barry and Iris dealing with having their time-displaced daughter Nora hanging around Central City. But while that new conflict seems to be working in the series' favor, there's still a long way to go when it comes to reinvigorating the supporting cast. "The Death of Vibe" is the first time the new season has turned its attention more towards Cisco, Caitlin and Ralph. It's also the episode that introduces the Season 5 incarnation of Harrison Wells. But in both cases, the execution is mixed at best. One thing this episode makes abundantly clear is that Nora has inherited her father's talent for screwing with time and making bad situations even worse. The opening scene lends a little more context to both her decision to travel back in time and the threat posed by Cicada. We now know that he's a serial killer who's destined to never be caught, not even when heroes like Supergirl or Green Arrow are brought to bear. That's all fine and well, but what's more interesting is the reveal that Nora has already messed up time so badly that Cicada has now become a different person entirely. This episode featured a nod to the character's traditional David Hersch identity from the comics while also making it clear that the series is moving in a completely different direction. The really neat thing in all of this is that Nora name-dropped "The League." That's pretty much the most direct confirmation so far that we're eventually going to see an Arrowverse Justice League. Maybe that'll be the end result of the Elseworlds crossover in December? So long as Legends of Tomorrow doesn't get booted in favor of a more traditional team-up series, I'm game. The Nora storyline remains the driving force of Season 5 so far. This episode's best moments come as Barry continues leaning into his role as a father and Nora takes his wisdom to heart. These voice-over scenes should by all rights be corny, but they work really well in terms of highlighting Nora's personal growth and celebrating the show's speedster legacy. And especially given the damage she's caused already, it's nice to see Nora begin making amends and find a way to save Cisco from certain doom. As for Cicada himself, things aren't going quite as smoothly. On the plus side, we see more of his fragile human side in this episode, learning that he has a daughter of his own he's fighting to either protect or avenge. On the down side, he doesn't cut nearly as imposing a figure in-costume as he did when his appearances were more sparing. In particular, the scenes where Cicada threatened Joe lacked the terrifying quality they should have been able to conjure. The digitized voice shtick for Arrowverse villains is really becoming a tired trope. And if you're going to go that route, you need a voice actor on the level of Tony Todd (Zoom) or Michael Dorn (Prometheus) to pull it off. As far as I can tell, Chris Klein is doing the Cicada voice himself, and it just doesn't have the menacing quality it needs. The southern accent alone is enough to see to that. Nor did the Vibe/Cicada feud do much to spice up this particular conflict. We really needed more context for why Cicada is harboring such a grudge against poor, innocent Cisco. Thankfully, the death alluded to in the title turned out to be metaphorical rather than literal. It's hard to imagine much being gained by killing off Cisco. Not to mention that the climax did such a poor job of building tension that his death would have felt hollow anyway. The hope is that Cisco's "death" will actually work out in the character's favor. Sometimes I wonder how much the series has actually gained by establishing Cisco as a metahuman sidekick. If the end result of this episode is that Cisco has to lie low and give up being Vibe for a while, that might not be such a bad thing. The biggest development this week involved the debut of Season 5's designated Wells. The rotating Harrison Wells chair has been an amusing recurring gag over the years, but at this point we may have to question whether it's outlived its usefulness. Does the show actually need a Wells anymore, especially when it struggles to make use of the supporting cast it already has? Is there a point to introducing a French detective version of Wells when Team Flash already has a perfectly cromulent detective in Ralph? So far, I remain unconvinced. A big part of the problem is that I don't enjoy these cartoon character versions of Wells nearly as much as the more traditional incarnations. Tom Cavanagh has done a spectacular job of creating three distinctly unique versions of the same character in Dr. Wells, Harry and H.R. But when it comes to these other multiversal incarnations, Cavanagh opts for broad stereotypes and goofy accents. It just doesn't have the same impact. If this version of Wells is going to make his mark, it'll be through his relationship with Nora. Everything else being what it is, he seems the only person capable of seeing through her deceptions. This episode also brought with it a little more progress on the hunt for Caitlin's father. Mirroring this new Cisco development, the best I can say for Caitlin's story so far in Season 5 is that it shifts focus away from her Killer Frost side and back towards her scientist side. But apart from the brief confrontation with her mother, the Caitlin/Ralph subplot didn't do much to stand out this week. A lot here is going to hinge on the reveal of her father's identity and what exactly he's trying to accomplish.<doc-sep>“Sometimes our powers are so extraordinary; it makes our mistakes feel amplified, especially guilt.” The first rule in the Speedster’s Handbook has to be ‘time travel forks up the timeline’. Time and time again, we’ve seen speedsters, for one reason or another, find themselves traveling into the past and, whether they mean to or not, change things. We’ve seen it with Reverse Flash then, on several occasions, Barry. Now, it’s Nora. The ripples her jaunt into the timeline caused began early on, starting with Team Flash’s first encounter with Gridlock. As minor as that hiccup was, the team, along with Sherloque—the newest Wells—discovers the first major change Nora’s presence has had on the timeline. In the first few minutes of the episode, Nora gives a very sparse history on Cicada. The disturbing news to the team is that, according to the Flash Museum, they “never catch him”. More than that, his appearance has somehow been expedited. Similar to it taking more than one try for Barry to catch Gridlock, on the surface, it doesn’t seem to be that big of a deal. It’s not until the greatest detective in the multiverse, Sherloque Wells (take that, Batman!) does his paint by numbers deductions that lead David Hersch where we realize there has been quite the flippity-flop in the timeline. Based on Sherloque’s experience with Cicada (tracking him down on 37 different worlds) Hersch has always been the guy. Somehow, Nora’s injection into the past has changed the man that was to become Cicada. Speaking of the Big Bad, for some reason, his focus turns to Cisco and he pays Joe a visit in order to bait Vibe to the scene. It works and, for a brief moment, it seems as if the plan works and our precious Cisco Ramon is toast. But with some Flash Time thinking and speedster skills, they not only save Cisco but fake his death, satisfying Cicada’s urge. At least for the moment. While it doesn’t seem like “The Death of Vibe” really takes us a long way into discovering more about Cicada, that’s not a bad thing. Considering that Team Flash coming face-to-face with the big bad this early in the season, it’s a delicate process to ration out the nuggets of information on Cicada’s backstory and purpose, lest you lose the audience’s curiosity. Thankfully, there’s still quite a bit to explore non-Cicada related. The mystery of Caitlin’s father will play a role over the next several weeks just as Nora’s development as a hero and perhaps mending the rocky perception she has of her mother. Couple that in with what will likely be several instances of meta-of-the-week, and The Flash should be able to coast through to the mid-season Elseworlds crossover with plenty left in the tank for the second half of the year. Flash facts<doc-sep>
This post contains spoilers for The Flash. Check out our previous review here. It was only a matter of time before Nora’s presence started damaging the timeline. The question is, just how broken is it going to get before Barry and Iris send her home? “The Death of Vibe” reveals that her stunt with the satellite has already had lethal effects, and things may only get worse the longer the youngest West-Allen remains in the wrong time. All of this isn’t to say that Nora isn’t a darling. Her earnestness is a charming addition to The Flash, even when she screws things up from time to time. The moments she has with Barry are nothing short of heart-warming, and watching him get to train her has continued to be a gift in her first three episodes. But the fact of the matter remains: a lot of people are going to die because of Nora’s decision to be with her dad. Honestly, Team Flash is just a tiny bit too chill with that now that the bodies are starting to fall. Especially considering the fact that two of those bodies were almost Cisco Ramone and Joe West. After hearing Cicada’s call at the end of last week’s episode, Nora launches into an explanation on this season’s big bad. We learn that not only is he the most dangerous serial killer Central City had ever seen, he’s also early. Oh, and he’s never caught in the future. With all of this in mind, Team Flash decides that they’re going to need some assistance. Meaning it’s finally time for Wells to enter the fray! Tom Cavanagh remains the gift that The Flash probably doesn’t deserve and, though the bitter, snarky iterations of Wells are inarguably the best, any version will do in a pinch. Sherloque Wells is an odd one, and a little bit of a fraud, but he does manage to help save Cisco from certain death. Like XS, he gets a little too confident in his abilities and just skips to the end instead of thinking things through. But it looks like he may be a better detective than the young speedster by the time things come to a close. XS finds a way to save Cisco from Cicada, but it means that the team has to fake his death for the time being. While it looks like he’ll finally have time to repair Star Labs’ satellite issues, Team Flash might have some issues without Vibe’s help. But at least we’ll get plenty of Wells/Cisco banter. Especially since it seems Caitlin may not be in the lab as often while on the hunt for her father. Speaking of Caitlin, she and ol’ Frosty might be just what the team needs to crack this whole Cicada case wide open. If the real Killer Frost was inside her all along, and wasn’t a result of the explosion, Cicada’s little lightning rod might not be able to sap her powers. It didn’t seem to dampen Cecile’s ability while she was trying to communicate with Joe, so here’s hoping we explore that more as things progress. “The Death of Vibe” closes out with a little heart to heart between Wells and Nora. The detective finds himself curious about her motives, wondering what it was that made the satellite the speedster’s breaking point, and not the countless other moments Team Flash and Central City found themselves in peril while she was around. Nora’s poker face still sucks, but Wells never needed her to answer the question to begin with. We’ll undoubtedly get more answers to that little mystery next week when we explore just what it is about Iris that Nora can’t tolerate. In the meantime, head down to the comments to let us know what you thought of this week’s offering. Or maybe what you’re excited to see unfold, since this one had a little less excitement than the previous two!