Title:Ā The Flash: āThe Death of VibeāĀ Review
Release Date: October 23rd, 2018
Network:Ā The CW
Genre: Superhero, Drama, Action
With this episode being titled āThe Death of Vibeā, I immediately knew that the show had no plans to kill off Cisco. I got to hand it to The Flash though, they had me fooled for a moment or two.
Cisco has been a mainstay and a fan-favorite on The Flash ever since its pilot episode. If he did unceremoniously die at the hands of Cicada here, it would have been a huge disservice to the character. That being said, this truly seemed like it could be the death of his alter-ego, Vibe.
When Ciscoās abilities were first revealed near the end of season one, fans were excited. It worked due to the showās focus on the scarlet speedster as our lone hero. Over time, The Flash has become bogged down with too many metas on the team. His hand injuries sustained at the end of āBlockedā seem to be causing Cisco some issues. Itāll be interesting to see if the show decides to take away Vibeās powers permanently and put Cisco back in the overwatch position.
Other than a really cool Justice League reference and our first look at The Flash Museum (wish we got a Reverse-Flash cameo there), we learned that Cicada was actually a man named David Hersch. In Noraās timeline, Cicada was never caught and became known as one of the most notorious serial killers in history. However, this new Cicada isnāt David Hersh and has introduced himself much earlier than past versions. Ā
Iām not sure about you but I have no idea what Cicadaās powers are. I know in the comics, the character was a cult leader who could cancel out metas abilities and drain peopleās life-force (making Cicada immortal in the process). Here, he does still have the power to cancel out other metas but he also has a Mjolnir-like dagger and apparently the ability to fly? Hopefully, the show decides to flesh out Cicada soon so his powers are fully explained.
We also learned that Cicada is a father and has a daughter that is in a coma. This is most likely his reasoning behind his crusade to rid Central City of meta-humans. As much as Iām liking Cicada so far, I canāt help but get this feeling that we are in store for a new big bad soon (akin to The Flash season three with Doctor Alchemy and Savitar).
āThe Death of Vibeā was our introduction to the new Wells, Harrison āSherloqueā Wells. Iām kind of done with a new version of Wells appearing every year at this point. Eobard-Wells was awesome, as was Earth 2ās Harry, but since then the series has really been grasping at straws to keep Tom Cavanaugh apart of the main cast (especially with the whole Council of Wells business). Despite my feelings on this dynamic, Cavanaugh once again proves that he is one of the best actors in the Arrowverse with his portrayal of this new character. Slowly but surely, Sherloque grew on me and Iām actually excited to see how he fits into the rest of the season.
Like the previous two episodes, the most intriguing aspect of season five continues to be the relationship between Barry, Iris, and Nora. Barry is starting to get through to his daughter and Nora is becoming a better speedster because of it. Luckily, it appears that The Flash will go ahead and deal with this Iris/Nora drama next week. This should squash those worries that this mother/daughter relationship would be season fiveās undoing.
Unlike āBlockedā, this episode felt more focused. We didnāt have four rushed storylines to follow. We had the Cicada main story and Caitlinās quest to find out what happened to her father. Over the season, Caitlin will definitely get her time to shine but a so far, the standout of the season is Hartley Sawyerās Ralph Dibny. With taking on more of a supporting role, this character has become, just like this episode, more focused. Heās not flip-flopping or regressing on previous character developments. Instead, we see a comedic relief character that can occasionally give out some sound advice when needed.
Thereās not much else to say about Caitlinās story other than she now knows her father is alive. Hereās hoping this storyline escalates soon to keep up with the main Cicada plot.
That cliffhanger does spark up some nice conversation though. Sherloque is onto Noraās motivations and now, one has to think that maybe Nora didnāt come back alone. So many possibilities on who she could have talked to. A young Eobard Thawne who is obsessed with The Flash? William Queen (if youāve seen Arrow season seven then you would know why this would be a possibility)? The seriesā version of Bart Allen?
Verdict: āThe Death of Vibeā wasnāt the death of Cisco Ramon but it may very well be the sendoff for his alter-ego, at least for a while. Just like the first two episodes, the dynamic between Barry, Iris, and Nora is the showās biggest strength. The introduction of Sherloque Wells and Ralph Dibnyās supportive role were also welcomed surprises. However, Cicadaās unexplained powers and the sluggish pace of Caitlinās storyline drag down this episode of The Flash in the long run.
What were your thoughts on this episode of The Flash? Let us know in the comments below!
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