Our new Doctor Light! Photo taken via screenshot directly from the episode.
Please Keep In Mind That This Article Contains Potential Spoilers For “Marathon” and Events That Occurred Prior
Barry had a very personal journey in his first post-crisis adventure. Diggle showed up to give him one last gift from Oliver. This gift, however, was not some last huge mystery or Barry to solve, but instead a way to show Barry that he needs to slow down. As Diggle so perfectly put it, he’s chasing a mission that doesn’t exist—something that very much describes Barry’s actions and mindset post Crisis. It felt like a very fitting epilogue to Barry and Oliver’s relationship. In doing so though, it separated him from everyone else as they dealt with a bigger threat.
That new threat took aim at Team Citizen as they published their big article. The mystery underground group that was teased earlier in the season became clear: Black Hole. First impressions on the group? They aren’t too intriguing. Honestly, our new Doctor Light looks just a little silly. But she’s not a dud just yet. I’m hoping we get to explore her specifically more going forward. There doesn’t seem to be much more to the group than just your usual conspiracy theory. I do think it’s important to mention a key connection to Black Hole that hasn’t been addressed yet. That connection is Godspeed. Someone teased in the very first episode of the season, but not brought up since. I think it’s extremely likely that he will end up being a key threat by the end of the season. Which would be great, given how haphazardly he was used in Nora’s backstory.
Mirror hand got Iris. Photo taken via screenshot directly from the episode.
As for the specific members of Team Citizen, they started to develop as a crew—even if that did involve some forced and cringey team banter. Iris got the brunt of the focus. She is going full steam in pursuing Black Hole, and it might be a bit too much. She was having a very similar problem that Barry was having. However, in this case, there was very much a mission. A mission that became an almost fatal threat due to how hard Iris was pushing. It’s always great to get a pep talk from Joe, and it was very needed. Iris’s power move at the end of the episode felt great. Even if their successful plan to catch Doctor Light felt a little too easy.
Like Barry, Cisco has some meaty stuff in this episode. I will always stand by the fact that taking away Vibe’s powers was stupid and out of character decision when it happened—something that Crisis enforced. But the weight of the decision has come back to haunt Cisco. With it came one of Carlos Valdes’ best performances in the entire run of the show. It was very powerful and moving watching him have his emotional moment with Frost. Also great? The mention of Wells and Jessie, and the weight of not only their loss but that of every destroyed world.
Barry’s fruitless mission comes to an end. Photo taken via screenshot directly from the episode.
On top of everything else, Cisco had plenty of animosity towards Nash. For very good reasons of course, and it’s great that Nash isn’t getting out of Crisis Scott free. I mean he now has a key position on the team, replacing Cisco while he goes on his temporary sabbatical. I think this is a fantastic move for the character. It gives him a hefty amount of responsibility, and a new outlet to try and atone for setting off Crisis in the first place. With all of this, we got introduced to a brand new mystery. Allegra is somehow related to Nash! Was this a thing Pre-Crisis? Or is it a Post-Crisis change? Consider me intrigued.
“Marathon” established our world post Crisis and provided plenty of new revelations. Black Hole has officially been unveiled as The Citizen becomes bigger, Barry got one last gift from Oliver, Nash’s role on the team has been upgraded, and Cisco has gone on a trip. This Post-Crisis world is definitely going to have plenty of surprises up its sleeve. The most important question though: Where was Ralph this whole time?
Bonus Note:
- Man, that opening Jitters scene was full-on cringe.
- Iris 100% shouldn’t have been able to drive away in the parking garage after the black hole bullet hit it.
- I really hope this whole do-over lets them actually do the Rogues properly. But know how unlikely that is, given Mick is very much still active.
- Now that they do have the ability to essentially re-write villains and redo things (Gorilla City is on Earth-Prime!), I really hope the show truly takes advantage of that.
- They say the multiverse is gone, but didn’t the finale of Crisis specifically show that the multiverse was reborn as well?
- Frost taking the bullet and surviving was a clever note. I also really enjoyed how she handled it.
Special Note: We’ve had to resort to taking direct screenshots of the episode ourselves and/or repeated and unrelated Flash images due to the CW Network failing to provide adequate photos for proper coverage.
You can catch The Flash as it airs on The CW on Tuesdays at 9pm EST!
