The team gathers for a nice Thanksgiving dinner. Photo courtesy of FlickeringMyth.com.
Please Keep In Mind That This Article Contains Potential Spoilers For “The Icicle Cometh” and Events That Occurred Prior
Well, Nora has gotten over her mother problems with Iris. But now it’s Barry’s turn! We were introduced to some sudden daddy issues as they burst out of the blue. Don’t get me wrong, I know why she would have these deep seated issues about her father leaving. In fact having these feelings makes Nora a stronger character, and gives her even more depth. The problem is how fast and suddenly we were introduced to them. I mean before this episode, we really had no clue. It’s something that they should have slowly hinted at and built towards (with small exchanges or comments in the field). Instead, the end result nearly gave us whiplash, and in turn felt forced—while also repeating the shows philosophy about changing the future. But hey, maybe Nora is finally going to be able to move past her heavy parental issues? Yea…probably not.
As for the villain of the week, we got to see Weather Witch. Who was…well…extremely campy, and not the enjoyable kind either. The best part of her introduction was getting to see Weather Wizard again (man, it really is a shame that we never properly got the Rogues isn’t it?). It wasn’t all too interesting seeing another meta piece of tech lazily tacked onto a weekly villain. However, her presence gifted us with one of my favorite scenes so far of the season—oddly enough. Seeing Mark Mardon get completely crushed by a car was awesome, and delivered a fantastic shock to the audience. I mean, we all knew something was probably up, but even then—you probably didn’t see that coming. It was such a brutal moment that we don’t get very often in The Flash. Yes, it still counts if it was a hologram. Speaking of which, Iris’ reaction after her cover being blown was genuinely funny.
The Flash and XS ready to take down Weather Witch. Photo courtesy of FlickeringMyth.com.
While we had a villain of the week for padding, a good half of the episode was dedicated to the one and only Cicada—whose entire backstory was unveiled to us. Orlin Dwyer was not in fact a father. But due to a tragic incident caused by Metas, his niece Grace was thrust into his care without any warning. We got to sympathize with Orlin as he learned the hardships of being a guardian, and accepting those kinds of responsibilities and all of the consequences that come with it. Eventually, Orlin grew to like his niece, putting an actual effort their relationship. Then tragedy struck, putting Grace in a coma and throwing a meta-charged shard of metal into Orlin’s chest. Up until this point, I think the show has done a good job at making Orlin relatable, and having the audiences understand where he comes from. However, we learn that it wasn’t just Orlin who started his crusade—he was gently guided and helped along the way by Dr Ambres, the doctor who took them both in the night of the incident. I do think it’s a very interesting approach that they have with Dr. Ambres—whose actions both seem to come out of pure hatred. Has Dr. Ambres guided any others in the way that she is with Cicada? I’m sure her hatred runs deeper than just having to clean up their mess at her place of work. Now with all of that said, can someone please explain to me how Cicada’s “dagger” was conveniently shaped like a lightning bolt?
When it came to everyone else…well not much of interest happened. Cisco, Caitlin/Killer Frost, and Sherloque merely wasted screen time bonding over Thanksgiving. Sure some may have found fun in their shenanigans, but it didn’t do anything special. Well, besides giving us a little more personality and info on Sherloque as a person—specifically that he doesn’t have a family (even after seven failed marriages). It gave us a little more sympathy for the guy. But it’s going to take a lot more than that to make an important legacy as one of the many Wells of the show.
The Weather Witch ready to strike. Photo courtesy of FlickeringMyth.com.
While not a bad episode, “‘O Come All Ye Thankful” wasn’t the best outing that The Flash has given us. The only substantial parts of the episode were really related to Cicada, and the unveiling of his origin—which was mostly done pretty well. Things are going to get interesting now though, since the entire team knows what Orlin does in his free time. With his identity no longer a secret, I guess it’s time for Team Flash to attack head on. What could possibly go wrong?
Bonus Notes:
- Cicada angrily delivering his lines at the end of the episode was easily the weakest part of a fairly good plot. It dialed the camp up to Weather Witch levels.
- I think that the writer’s should start thinking of more clever ways to defeat the enemies besides running around in a circle really fast.
You can catch new episodes of The Flash when they air on The CW network every Tuesday at 8pm EST
