Ramsey stealing his blood. Photo taken via direct screenshot of the episode.
Please Keep In Mind That This Article Contains Potential Spoilers For “There Will Be Blood” and Events That Occurred Prior
The news of Barry’s upcoming death has really hit the team hard, and it can be felt in nearly every aspect of this week’s episode. From Cisco, to Joe, to Ralph—the team wasn’t taking the news well.
Ralph felt the news of the upcoming Crisis and the deaths that came with it made the here and now not worth anything. I felt it was fairly impactful, and a meaningful reaction to the impending doom by our resident detective. While Cisco had the most focus (which I will touch upon in a second), I think Joe West certainly takes the cake for the best scene. His breakdown with Barry was phenomenal, and Jesse Martin’s performance was amazing. It was one of the harder hitting moments that the show has had for awhile.
The Flash, ready for any challenge. Photo via direct screenshot of the episode.
Now about Cisco and Barry. It’s always rough to watch the two of them fight. Their friendship is one of the stronger supporting pillars of the show. So when it comes under pressure, you know it’s not going well. The whole thing was handled very well, and their dramatic and emotional scenes felt grounded and serious. They never lost their footing. Sometimes corny dialogue or moments tend to undermine some of these scenes. Thankfully that never was an issue when it came to the two of them. What really made it all the better is not only how determined the both of them were, but also how neither was wrong in the situation. It’s that complexity that really sells the conflict between two close friends.
Cisco and Barry’s squabble was interwoven with our new friend Nash Wells. We got to spend a lot more time with him, and I can now safely say that he’s awesome. He’s a blast to watch, and he bounces off our characters really well. I’m very interested to see what that very last scene means. Nash is clearly looking for the Monitor, but why? Will Nash become Pariah just in time for Crisis, with the two characters actually being the same person?
Cisco trying to save Barry’s life. Photo via direct screenshot of the episode.
While everyone was distracted by the distressing news of Barry’s death, Ramsey was given time to continue his transformation into the villain Bloodwork. So far the character is fine—but he’s still a good distance from being really great. Ramsey had plenty of awkward monologues to himself that simply gave clunky exposition. This being a good chunk of his arc this episode, it made his personality shifts become far less natural. It all could have been better. On one hand I commend the fact that we are already so far along with Ramsey’s storyline. On the other hand though, that speed is hurting the impact of the story. Some things feel rushed. It’s understandable that this would happen with something as big as Crisis looming ahead.
“There Will Be Blood” was easily the best episode of the season thus far. Yes, the Ramsey stuff was a little rough. But the emotional set up for the upcoming Crisis was spectacular, and really gave us some great character moments. Will the show actually end up killing Barry? Probably not. But the journey there is a worthwhile one so far.
Bonus Notes:
- They sure do love the word Crisis.
- Odd that Joe thought Barry should help with the blood at first. It wasn’t really obvious that it was a Meta involved incident. It seemed that it only happed since the script needed it.
