THE FLASH - Season 5.3

REVIEW:  THE FLASH - SEASON 5, EP. 3:  "The Death of Vibe"

This episode of our favorite Monarch of Motion saw some doors open on a couple of our mysteries this season, only to have more doors in front of us.  When last we saw our team, Iris was playing back the footage from the Gridlock attack by our new villain, making everyone listen to the sounds the villain made.  They collectively figured out the noise was insect like, with Nora saying it sounded like a Cicada.  Hence our villain's name.

We see Nora open up the show with her own little flashback...to when she was in the Flash Museum in 2032.  She said that out of all the villains on display there, Cicada scared her the most...because they never caught him.  Not Supergirl, the Legends, or even Green Arrow could put an end to the serial killer.  So, it's up to the team to devise a plan to stop a killer they apparenlty never stop.  Seems simple enough.  This is where we get a double dose of Wells (Finally!  was wondering WHEN he was gonna show up!).  Cisco brings in the German sounding Wells (Hell, I forgot what his name is), but he seems stoked to meet the Flash Family, much to Cisco's surprise.  While he can't help 'em, we get another Wells instead:  Sherloque Wells (A FRENCH Wells...who's much like the actual Sherlock Holmes).  We find out that he's VERY perceptive much like the real Holmes, but a bit of a schuyster too....commanding a HUGE fee for his services.  Money he then blew on paying alimony to all his ex wives---what a guy.  Great plot device though---since he now has to pay BACK Team Flash for his lies...it keeps a Wells in the show for a good part of the season.

We continue to see Nora take some initiative, but see her keep messing up as well.  You can tell she's her father's daughter---headstrong, willing to help, but not thinking things through.  As much as Barry has tried to train her, it seems to fall flat.  Iris to the rescue though, as she assures Barry that Nora is trying to help, but she's trying to live up to her Dad's legend---and he's just gotta teach her patience.  Eventually, they have their heart to heart, and it does help later in the episode when Barry's in trouble, because Cicada sucked his powers out again, and Cisco's powers were gone, and he was being hunted.  Nora remembered that well Sherloque tried to bail on the team, she had thought the electrical power sources fried him, but Cisco reminded her they power the Pipeline.  Hence, her patience and wit helped save the day.  Cisco (still not over Gypsy), ended up damaging Cicada, vibing out, then back in, giving Cicada the impression that Vibe was dead.  Hence, no more breach jumping for Cisco for awhile.

With Wells staying, Barry invites Nora to stay with him and Iris.  One can only hope that we can get to the bottom of Nora's issue with Iris.  We DO get one hint, though, when she went to get her purse, and Wells used his deductive abilities to guess what Nora's real motives were.  Of course, he lied to protect her, but we could tell as she walked away that she knew he caught on.  I have to say...Jessica Parker Kennedy is just killing it as Nora.  She's got this part nailed down perfectly.  

Mystery #2 comes in the form of Cicada himself.  As we saw last episode, he halted his death blow to Flash when Irish yelled out "DAD!" before Cicada could stab Barry.  He hesitated, then left.  Turns out, not only do we find out his real name (or an alias), David Hersh, but that he has a daughter that is terminally ill.  The doctor monitoring her says she won't make it...and knows what Hersh is up to.  He took a wound from his last battle with Cisco & Barry, and the injury isn't healing.  He says it doesn't matter, and after the doctor leaves, he kisses his daughter.  Prior to this, he went after Joe, when he found out Joe and Cisco knew each other.  He captured Joe, and wanted him to bring Cisco to the West house, but Joe refused.  Hersh had said that he should love and value his family while he still has them.  Rather cryptic until we saw the end of the episode, but we now have a better idea of what drives Hersh to kill.  Not only to keep himself alive, but to also save his daughter.  Could explain WHY he wanted to capture Cisco---so that Cisco could vibe him to the past possibly---and prevent whatever's happening to his daughter FROM happening.  Chris Klein is doing a marvelous job playing our mysterious villain.  He's somber, sounds defeated to a point, but driven to try and complete whatever mission he feels he has.  But we can see he has very little to no remorse.  That makes him incredibly dangerous.  

Mystery #3 is the continuing case of Caitlin Snow.  While the rest of Team Flash use Wells as their detective, Ralph continues to help Caitlin solve the case of her missing Dad.  They head to her Mom's lab, where her mother flat out denies forging the death certificate, and tells Caitlin to simply drop it.  Caitlin is about ready to give, when Ralph lets her know that her mom is lying.  They later break into the lab, where they get access to her mother's files.  There, they find a periodic table of imaginary elements that Caitlin and her dad made up when she was a kid...and a letter.  Turns out it was a suicide note written by her Dad.  We find out from her that her Dad wasn't a letter writing type of guy.  At the end of the episode, we see her with the file they procured from her mom's office, and she was going over it...trying to make sense of it.  When Caitlin was handed the periodic table, she discovered there was a message her dad left for her:  "Caitlin. Come find me."  As we can see, Caitlin's mystery is just getting it's footing, and we're going to discover more about her as we go along, and quite possibly, who her dad really is.  I like that Ralph is the one helping her out---it allows Ralph (who did have his superhero moment this episode, which was quite comical), to show off more than his superpowers, and will make him a little more renowned in the community down the road (yes, I'm foreshadowing, but I've read the comics, dammit, and I'm allowed to!).  It also forges a stronger friendship between Caitlin and Ralph...both of whom are still trying to find their real selves in the world.

Ralph's busting up the robbery in the convenience store was awesome...and funny as hell.  Especially since the Elongated Man will soon become a household name in Central City---although Ralph could've done without the pics everyone took with their cellphones while he was still stretched out like a flat thing or whatever round shape he was.  It keeps Ralph the lighthearted one, even though we get to see his huge heart this episode.

Joe, once again, even in the throes of danger, keeps a level head when Cicada is torturing him.  Begging Cecile, who just happen to be behind Cicada, to NOT call Cisco.  That plan failed, obviously, but Joe has been through enough scrapes as a cop to weather another one...especially one to save his friends and family.  We haven't seen Joe play much of a cop thus far (still on maternity leave with Cecile perhaps?), but the moments he HAS had this season have been very impactful.  

The season is moving along at a nice pace.  We're getting our share of action, and we're seeing just how dangerous Cicada really is.  The humor is sprinkled in there as well, and the writers are managing to keep these three mysteries balanced, and they're not dragging the show down.  Each one gets a good amount of time without absorbing the entire episode (though Cicada is still the main focus).  Barry and Nora's relationship continues to grow, and it's just sweet and awesome to see their interactions.  You can see just how much Nora loves her Dad, and how put off a bit she is by Iris.  Iris' role this season is still big, but not overtaking the entire show.  She's giving Nora & Barry her space, but she's still saddened that she can't connect with Nora, and it DOES bug her...she's just hiding it well.  I won't be surprised (since seeing the preview of next week's show), if we get to the bottom of THAT mystery before too long.  

Again. this show has bounced back and found its footing again after last season.  I'm enjoying the ride.

Of course, don't be afraid to leave a comment.  I do appreciate the views!  

Until next week....keep on running!