THE FLASH - Season 5.7

REVIEW:  THE FLASH - SEASON 5, EP. 7: "O Come, All Ye Thankful"

We all know Thanksgiving is a time to stop, reflect, and give thanks to what you have in your life.  This especially is true when it comes to family.  Particularly between Fathers and Daughters.  In the case of this holiday edition of The Scarlet Speedster, it's the theme that runs through its very core.

We open up with Orlen (or Cicada as we all know), looking in on his young girl Grace.  She is still unresponsive and in a coma.  As he watches over her, we hear in the background in the hallway of the hospital near the room, that Barry Allen has arrived, on official police business, asking to talk to the parents of the girl.  Dr. Ambers manages to lie to Barry, saying that Grace has no living relatives, and that the hospital is the closest parents she has.  Meanwhile, Orlen is hearing all this, hiding behind the door.  Once Barry departs, Ambers reminds Orlen that she can only lie to the cops for so long.  It's also finally revealed that Grace is actually Orlen's sister.  In a flashback, we see the CCPD knock on his door, and let him know that his sister died, and thus has his niece to take care of.

We take a break from Cicada and his troubles to see Thanksgiving at the Allen's.  Apparently Joe, Cecile, and little Jenna are spending the holiday with her family (which reminds me...just how IS Cecile's OTHER daughter?!  We don't hear about HER much, do we?).  Barry and Caitlin are preparing a pie, and we see Nora and Iris walk in, all smiles from their girl day out.  As they chat about their new manicures and pedicures, Caitlin talks to Barry about how the two have really started to bond.  Barry notes that they've spent more time together than he has with Nora, but he's okay, because with it being Thanksgiving, he's planning on making this a family day Nora will never forget.  It also turns out that Killer Frost can now appear at will and invites herself to dinner.

Iris tells Nora that the West family never misses a Thanksgiving.  Nora then discusses the time Barry saved Central City (from Season 1), and Iris tells her there have been a few times where they thought Barry might not come back.  Iris loves him dearly and respects him for what he does, but that doesn't mean she doesn't worry A TON.  Nora starts to feel sad and unsettled with her mother's words.

We also see Caitlin and Cisco try to get Sherloque to dinner, but he declines, feeling there is nothing to be thankful for...with all his marriages, the debt piling up, and then turns to Cisco and Caitlin, and reminds them about how THEIR year has been, and why should they be thankful for anything.

Orlen is on the phone with Dr. Ambers, and she's telling him that with the heat from the CCPD on them, he needs to lay low and stay away from Grace.  He says he'll do that after he's taken care of some business.  In yet another flashback, we see Orlen on the phone, presumably with Child Services, unhappy that he's now the last living relative for Grace.  He's not a happy person to begin with, and isn't prepared to be a parent of any sort.  Grace overhears his conversation on the phone.  She tells him she's hungry, and feeds her...though he isn't too great at it.

Team Flash gets an alert---there's a freak lightning storm that's happening around Mercury Labs, and Cisco notes that have a cold fusion core at the facility, and were it to be struck by any of the lightning, the city could be destroyed.  Flash and XS are on the case as they race to Mercury Labs.  They see the lightning, and Barry & Iris order XS to evacuate the building, while Flash gets the core.  As Flash races to grab the core, a bolt of lightning comes down, and after he manages to beat it, and grab the core, he's hit by the lightning and is thrown back.  XS reappears, and finds Flash out of it.  It appears that Barry's heart stopped and he's in cardiac arrest.  Caitlin orders Nora to rub her hands together to create lightning, and hit him with it in order to jump start his heart.  After the first couple of tries, it doesn't work, and Flash flatlines.  He appears dead, and Nora is frantic, crying as she continues to try and revive her father.  She manages to revive him, and she's visibly scared to death, as we see Iris nearly in tears herself.

Back at the lab, and they're trying to figure out how the storm started, and they figure out that it was isolated, that it was created by an source very similar to what they've seen before...Mark Mardon, AKA Weather Wizard.  He's still serving time in Iron Heights.  Barry and Iris go to investigate to see if he's still incarcerated.  Nora expresses herself to her parents, by saying that she didn't like the plan, and that someone else should be making the decisions.  Iris is upset a bit, but Barry says it's best to let her calm down.

We flashback yet again to Orlen, who's now in the Principal's office of Grace's school.  She apparenlty swore at another kid, and he was called in from work to deal with her misbehavior.  He says that she shouldn't be saying the things she does, and she tells him why not----he does it all the time.  She calls him out of the floor for always feeling miserable, drinking, hating his job. He retorts back that HE is the parent there, and she said that a parent is supposed to make things BETTER...and he isn't.  She says she hates him and storms out.

At Iron Heights, Barry, Iris, and Nora see the Warden, who escorts them to Mardon's cell, where he's been all this time.  They are still trying to figure out if he's managed to have visitors, or he's managed to escape or use his powers from there, and the Warden goes to get the security footage.  As she does that, a blast rocks through the ceiling of the prison, and a young female with a staff emitting lightning lands in front of them...demanding to see her Dad.  Turns out this young lady is Mardon's daughter.  Barry zips Mardon out of his cell, and races him to STAR Labs, and locks him up in the Pipeline.  He then races back to confront the young lady.  She demands to see Mardon, and Flash says that isn't gonna happen.  She says they only have a few hours to cough him up, or she destroys the city.  She takes off.

Sometime later, we get another flashback of Orlen with Grace, where he surprises her with a new place to live.  He says that he's working hard to clean up his act, and wants to be there for her.  He also presents her with a dollhouse.  They start to bond.

Flash and Mardon talk, and Mardon reveals that indeed, the young lady is his daughter, Joss.  Mardon tells the tale of how he and Joss' Mom were in high school when she got pregnant.  He left Joss with her Mom, just as he started on his criminal career.  The team gets information on Joss...who's last name is Jackam, and she studied meteorology, but her highly questionable experiments got her kicked out of school.  She apparently gained meta-tech when her weather vane got struck by a piece of the satellite from the Enlightenment.  In order to stop her, Barry suggests giving her what she wants---her father.

They confront Joss, and she demands to see her Dad.  As Mardon appears, Joss strikes Barry & Nora, and they both get flung away, getting hurt.  Joss then picks up a car with her staff, and drops the car on Mardon.  All she wanted to do was kill him, because---according to her---he was a "dick who abandoned me". Also, she had a falling out with her Mom, and bailed, thus fueling her anger.  But the Mardon she crushed isn't really there...it's a hologram run by Iris back at STAR Labs.  This only serves to anger the Weather Witch, who vows to destroy and flood the city.  She takes off.  Barry and Nora recover.  Barry makes light of not dying this time, but Nora is shaken up with having him nearly die the last time, and she gets upset with him and takes off.

On the roof of the lab, Barry and Nora talk.  Nora finally reveals that she's angry at her father because he disappears, and doesn't even say goodbye.  It was heartbreaking for her to lose her Dad, and not even get to know him.  Barry tries to reassure her that the future she speaks of doesn't necessarily have to happen.  She says the only way to stop it is to stop being The Flash.  She went through losing her Dad once, she doesn't want to do it again.  She cries in his arms, as he tells her that people need The Flash.  

Yet another flashback to Orlen with Grace, and they're at the fateful day of the Central City Carnival, and they discuss about how his life has changed for the better, and all he wants to do is take care of her, and protect her.  They start talking more about her dollhouse, when she looks up and sees purple in the sky.  Orlen looks up, and starts seeing flaming pieces falling to the ground.  People at the carnival are scampering for cover.  Orlen grabs Grace and starts to run, but he gets hit.  He blacks out, and when he awakens, he sees Grace hurt and unconscious.  He then realizes he's been impaled by a sharp, dagger looking object.  He gathers all the strength he can to get Grace to the hospital.  He begs Dr. Ambers to look after her, and take care of her.  She handles both of them.

Team Flash is still looking for ways to pinpoint Joss and stop her before she goes on a Weather Witch rampage.  Barry and Iris discuss Nora.  Barry feels that she makes a valid point, but Iris assures Barry that he'll make Nora understand.  Suddenly, they get a lock on Joss...it's showtime!

Barry is on evac patrol, trying to save as many of the citizens as he can.  They eventually figure out that the only way to stop Joss is to use Weather Wizard's wand to counteract her staff.  Nora races to grab it, and bring it to Barry.  Joss arrives, once again demanding she get ahold of her Dad, but Barry refuses.  She then starts creating a huge lightning storm, that will result in the city being destroyed.  Nora gives Barry the staff.  She finally understands what Barry must do, since there is a possibility that Joss can destroy him, and he might not come back.  She tells her Dad to run.  Barry takes off, and starts creating an airpocket to force the lightning upwards by running in a circle around Weather Witch.  She then throws down a lightning strike from her weather vane just as Barry throws a lightning strike of his own, with Weather Wizard's wand in hand.  Nora orders the people back, and there's a bright flash of light.  Iris asks Nora if she sees her Dad....through the smoke that resulted from the lightning clash, we see Barry walk through with Joss, cuffed and taken care of.  Nora, overjoyed to see her Dad, runs up and hugs him.  

Back at STAR Labs, Barry is locking away Joss' staff in the Pipeline, and then they head to Thanksgiving.  Barry has a heart to heart with Nora, and she finally realizes why her Dad is the Flash.  Barry reminds her that the reason he does it is to protect the ones he loves---including her.  She feels a bit more reassured, and says that if she gets good enough, she'll be able to save him.  Barry says he doesn't doubt it.  At this time, we see Caitlin, Sherloque, and Cisco, who decided to have an Anti-Thanksgiving, because Sherloque's messy life, and finding out about the history of Thanksgiving, managed to convince the other two NOT to celebrate.  As they get drunk off of cheap liquor and bad food, Killer Frost emerges, and says that she'd rather have time with people who care about them, instead of being miserable, and SHE has less to be thankful for than ANYONE.  She leaves, and eventually, Cisco and Sherloque join her.  Thanksgiving commences at the Allen household, and all is well...for now.

We have one final flashback, as we see Orlen keeping vigil over Grace, having been wounded himself.  Watching the news stories on tv about how the Flash saved the city from disaster.  It doesn't sit well with him, and apparently, Dr. Ambers is no fan of metahumans, either.  So that further angers him.  All the news stories he watches about metahumans upsets him enough that his own powers activate, and the jagged piece of metal from the satellite flies into his hand.  Surprised by this revelation, he decides that all metahumans MUST die.  He promises Grace that he will "make things right".

Once more to STAR Labs, where Sherloque and Cisco present Barry and Iris with a "gift":  Hosptial security cameras showing Orlen going in and out of Grace's room.  Sherloque says that he's the only visitor she's had.  They also find out his full name, Orlen Dwyer.  Barry now knows who Cicada is.
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This episode dealt with a very specific topic:  Fathers and Daughters.  And it hit home in so many different ways, which is why I liked the episode.

First of all...getting the full story on Orlen Dwyer, and how he came to his plan to destroy all metas, and became Cicada is tragic.  Here was a guy who seemed down on his luck, hated himself and his life....then got a bombshell dropped on him in the form of his niece, whom he was the only living relative she had.  At first, he didn't want the responsibility.  But when faced with seeing her become more like him...he realized that he couldn't be the person he was anymore.  He made drastic changes to improve his life, and she was his big influence.  He actually became a BETTER person because of her.  His was a life on the uptick, and was becoming a great parent before tragedy rocked his world.  Now, the girl he's raising like a daughter is in a coma, not sure if she'll survive, he himself has issues with these now powers, and an anger stemming from a mere accident he had no control of.  Dr. Ambers, while admirably standing by and taking care of BOTH of them like a mother hen, is also someone with issues, because she hates the metahumans as well.  It only fuels Orlen's decent into madness.  You have to kind of feel for the guy---even though he's going about everything in the WRONG way.  He feels that killing every metahuman off is the "right thing to do", and feels just for it...all for Grace.

We find out another side when we see Weather Witch show up.  This is another side of the angle, where we see a young woman feeling angry and bitter about her father abandoning her, and having a falling out with her mother, thus seeking revenge against the very man who created her.  We see that Mardon thought he did the right thing leaving her with her Mom, but it doesn't excuse the fact he chose a life of crime over his little girl.  He's nothing more than a deadbeat dad, and that's sad to see.  There's a lot of those in the world, and it's a heartbreaking reminder that even parents can be cruel.  

Then we have Barry and Nora.  Nora has so desperately wanted to keep her Dad, that she's administered feelings of selfishness and often petulance this season.  From having issues with Iris in current time, dealing with issues that technically haven't happened yet, to having felt abandoned by her father when he was lost in the great Crisis.  She is desperate to save him at all costs.  Her watching her Dad flatline, and having to rescue him from death was a wake up call for Nora....that the superhero game isn't a game...but a harsh reality.  And now that she's seen first hand how easily it is to lose her Dad when he does what he does---and hearing the stories Iris reiterated to her about nearly losing him before...she'll give anything to keep him around---even if it means begging him to give up being the Flash.  But she then understands WHY Barry does what he does---not just to save the city....but to save his family as well.  He tells her that he's ALWAYS thinking of them when he goes into battle...but that's part of the job.  And as much as he would like to guarantee that he'll be back, he can't make that promise...even when he told Nora the story about how worried HE got when Joe would leave for work---not knowing that it could be the last time.  As much as Nora didn't THINK that was the same thing...it actually was.  But ANY hero put in dire situations knows the risks---yet they do it anyway for those they love...and because it's the right thing to do.

I was REALLY bummed that Ralph was missing this week----what the hell is up with that?!  He's a part of the team, AND he's family.  As much as I enjoyed the comic interaction between Cisco, Caitlin, and Sherloque, this episode SORELY lacked in Ralph's banter and antics as well.  Boo to the writing staff for not having him there.  Also, still understandable why they chose to have Joe and Cecile at HER family's for the hoiday---Jesse L. Martin is still recovering from his surgery, and hope he's back soon---though I gotta admit;  this episode would've been BETTER with a shot of Joe doling out some fatherly advice...especially to Nora.  We need more Nora/Papa Joe time.  But hoping Jesse will be back soon, and we'll have our beloved Flash patriarch back.  Show isn't the same without him.

I like the fact that while Sherloque tried to bum everybody out with his Anti-Thanksgiving rant...it was Killer Frost herself to save the day there.  If ANY character has a reason to feel like crap---it's her.  But glad her and Caitlin are finally able to find a common ground.  Plus...freakin' awesome to have her back!

Okay...your FLASH FACT of the day is all about our Weather Witch, Joss Jackam.  In the comics Mark Mardon AKA Weather Wizard DOES have a child, but it's a BOY with a woman named Julie Jackam, who once had a steamy quick relationship with Wally West, but they didn't exactly leave on good terms.  She was a cop in the Keystone Police Department, and she had a one night stand with Mardon, whom she did not recognize as the Weather Wizard.  She had their son, Joshua.  She was raising the child by herself, when she was killed by one of Cicada's cult followers.  Many thought at the time, with the apparent powers Joshua possessed, that he might actually be Wally's.  But Julie never told anyone about the father.  She was the partner and friend of one Fred Chyre before she was killed.  He was eventually named guardian of the child, even though Mardon tried to take him back.  She made her first appearance in FLASH #170, and was killed in the same issue.

I hope you guys enjoyed this blog (as well as the plethora of others I have written over the last month and a half).  Please subscribe and leave comments...love to hear from ya!  Plus, to my friend Jocelyn....always love the videos, gal!  

Until next time, folks----keep on running!