THE FLASH - SEASON 6.3

REVIEW:  THE FLASH - SEASON 6, EP. 3:  "Dead Man Running"


The Fastest Man Alive is certainly brooding a bit with the news of what COULD be his eventual departure from existence, and Iris is right there with him.  They have yet to inform the team of his supposed future demise.  Meanwhile, Killer Frost is still adjusting to being out in the world more, as Caitlin is taking a back seat, Ralph runs into new trouble, and Ramsey Rosso is looking at the results of his run in with gun runner Romero, whom he THOUGHT he killed last week, only to realize that the dark matter he used on Romero actually REVIVED him.

Barry and Iris are facing a problem this episode:  being honest with the team about not only their little visit from the Monitor, who tells them of the impending CRISIS, but of the fact that the Flash will die, thus fulfilling the prophecy of Iris' article that's been a mainstay of the show since the beginning.  They do decide to let the team know that there is an eminent threat coming...but doesn't say too much more at first.  The entire conversation gets interrupted when Ralph takes a call from Joe--his mother Deb's been arrested.

We see Deb Dibney (what is it with these double lettered names for comic book characters?).  She apparently has a rap sheet AND she's been yanking Ralph's string for years in regards to all the men that passed through his life since his father's death.  Or so he believes.  Cecile is there with him to lend support, He finds out she supposedly robbed a pawn shop next door to this bar, and they need to obtain whatever evidence they can to prove her innocence.  So, they head to the bar she was seen in, and they look to obain the security footage, but the owner wants cash money to obtain the footage.  Ralph, Ceicle, and Deb have to try and find another way.  They come up with a distraction, by having Deb gamble and Cecile using her powers to help, as Ralph sneaks away to the bar owner's office, and manages to obtain the flash drive with the security footage using his powers.

Meanwhile, Barry has Frost tag along for assistance in finding out was behind a string of deaths at a safe house.  They find several guards dead, as well as the gang that Romero ran...and more dark matter guns, with the dark matter missing gone.  Barry does spot some blood left behind, and Frost has an idea as to where it might've come from. She pays a visit to Ramsey.  They go to question him, and he sees that Caitlin is Killer Frost.  She wants to interrogate him, but Barry has to reign her in.  He finds blood samples in Rosso's lab, as the same at the safe house they investigating.  Ramsey says it's just research, but Frost smells a rat.  Barry convinces her that maybe they can use his help in resolving the situation, and finding Romero fast before he kills again.  

We get to see new Central City Citizen employee Allegra come to Iris about who is behind a recent break in at McCulloch Industries.  She manages to get proof that it's Harrison Wells.  Iris is quick to jump on the story and keep Allegra out of it, before the secret gets spilled between the connection to Harrison Wells and Team Flash.  Allegra is up for wanting the story, but Iris takes over.  Allegra isn't happy about it, Iris then grabs Cisco, and they're on the trail.  They DO manage to find Wells...from another Earth.  But this one is ultra aggressive, taking Cisco down, and threatening  him with a red rock, but something in his watch goes off when he gets closer to Iris.  Cisco distracts him enough for Iris to taser him, and put him out of commission.

Ralph, Cecile, and Deb see an old flame of Deb's on the security footage.  A man named Marv Grant.  Turns out, Deb's fibbed to her little Ralphy, saying that the men in her life left, and she said they died to Ralph to protect him.  Ralph does NOT take this well, and tells his mom to leave.  

Barry and Frost try to use Rosso to help them track down Romero before he powers up with more Dark Matter.  They DO get a bead on Romero, and as they confront him, Flash gets struck down, and Frost blasts him out a window, much to Flash's dismay.  Thinking Romero was dead, they find out he disappeared.  Flash and Frost argue about how the situation was handled.  Back at STAR Labs,  Rosso sees the samples that Caitlin had been working on, and starts to pocket a couple, but is caught by Barry.  Barry lays it out for him:  help out or get out.  Ramsey reluctantly agrees, and manages to make a discovery, but not before he's faced with Romero again.  While Ramsey is occupied, Barry and Frost have a talk, and she admits she's scared to die before she even has a chance to live.  Barry tells her to live her life to the fullest and not worry about later.  Ramsey faces down Romero, but is surprised to realize that whatever HE does, Romero does...like a mirror image.  

Iris and Cisco interrogate the new Wells, and asks him what he's after.  He says he's looking for something called Eternium (a SHAZAM reference, perhaps?), and he tracked it to Earth 1.  They want more answers, but he pulls a fast one on them, and uses cloud cover from a gas to make his escape.  

Ralph and Deb have a heart to heart once she's cleared, and she says she was protecting him because all these men left her, and she didn't want him to suffer for it.  He finally sees her point of view, and they make up.  She takes off, and amends have been made.  

Amends are something Iris has to make when Allegra threatens to quit the Citizen when she finds out that Iris is keeping secrets from her.  Iris tells her that while she can't give her the truth at this point in time, to trust her, and she will get it.  Allegra seems fine with that.

Flash and Frost manage to discover Romero has made it to STAR Labs, and capture him, and put him in the pipeline...but he escapes!  They figure out that the only way to stop him is to give him all the Dark Matter he wants...so he'll overdose.  The plan works, as Frost freezes him in place long enough for Flash to inject him with all the Dark Matter they have. Romero explodes into a gooey mess, but the threat ends.  Barry sends Rosso on his way after he gets checked out.  He returns to his lab, where he has more of Romero's blood sample, and starts to experiment with it.  He realizes that the coagulation responds to his commands, and that he can absorb it into himself---he needs more Dark Matter.

The theam throws Frost a birthday party, and everyone is having fun, except Barry and Iris, who are still mulling over telling the team the full story about his eventual "death".  They decide to be honest with them ,and gathers the team to tell them what's up.  

We end the episode with Wells back out on the streets looking for this Eternium.  He manages to track his source to a manhole cover...so under the streets he goes.


Another episode I enjoyed of the Flash.  We got a little more character development from both Ralph AND Caitlin this episode...plus more of what the hell is going on with Ramsey, as he seems to be shaping up to be the so-called "main" villain of AT LEAST the first half of this season, while the Monitor and CRISIS will trump that.  We see Barry get frustrated with Frost as he tries to train her for the upcoming CRISIS, and get her more aware of how things work if she's going to be "out" more.  It's not a smooth transistion, but we see how scared Frost is at not only ADAPTING to being on her own, but also balancing being a superhero AND wanting to survive this catastrophic event coming.  She's genuinely scared, but I do give props to Barry for being that shoulder of strength when she needed it, in spite of his own fears about his upcoming fate during the CRISIS.  We also see Iris having to deal with lying to her own employee to save face for the team, only to have the new girl call her out on the carpet.  Iris was her usual strong self---especially in the face of the new Wells.  She takes him down, and let's him know it.  She also manages to convince Allegra that it's worth sticking around if she trusts her.  I know for sure that Allegra is going to get pulled into Team Flash some way or another----it's inevitable.

Ralph's relationship with his mom is rocky.  Deb's good at being manipulative, and we understand where Ralph gets a part of her con-job charm.  But finding out that she was somehow responsible for all the men in her life leaving...thus leaving HIM, but a damper on their relationship.  But even Deb had to have a LITTLE redemption---she's going to be a part of a wedding down the road...trust ME on that.  As far as the new Harrison Wells goes---interesting version.  Strong minded, all attitude, and kind of badass.  He's on a mission to find this Eternium, and look forward to getting to know more about THIS Wells...AND the Eternium, down the road.  Of course, what his relationship with Cisco will be is going to provide some great humor to help balance out the show with the drama that CRISIS will no doubt bring.

A solid episode that did a nice job of handling the balancing act between the characters and their own stories this week.  Consistency is key, and if they can keep this up....the season will pan out to be spectacular.  

Again...apologize for the last posting this week, but it was hectic, and not the way I wanted it.  But here we are, another blog in the books, and I can't thank you all enough for sticking around.  Please continue to do so buy subscribing, and passing the good word along, as I try to keep this blog on some sort of schedule.  Also...don't be afraid to leave comments or questions...it's what I'm here for!

Until next week....keep on running!