The Flash: A Flash of the Lightning review S6 E2
Crisis on Infinite Earths is one of my all-time favorite comic stories and this season of The Flash is leaning hard into it. A Flash of the Lightning has me excited for all of the possibilities.
With a half season of build up, Crisis might be the closest DC equivalent we’ll see to an Avengers: Endgame level event. The Flash hasn’t been this good since Season 2.
Anti-matter Man
In the main plot Barry and Iris try to find a loophole for The Monitor’s premonition that Barry has to die for billions to live.
Trying to speed past his death date doesn’t work as a wave of anti-matter(!) blocks his path. Barry realizes he might need a little speedster help and visits Jay Garrick on Earth-3.
Jay already knew about this multiverse-threatening event and has been working on some measures to find a way to counter it with the help of his wife, Joan. Naturally, Joan looks just like Barry’s dead mother. Tapped in to Jay and Joan’s device, Barry goes through time and sees a comic accurate white wave of anti-matter wiping out Killer Frost, Elongated Man, Vibe and Iris. Oh man, they’re actually going there with it! Barry then sees himself running himself so fast he fades out of existence. This is another callback to the comic and it leaves Barry rattled. The Monitor wasn’t lying and he will have to die to save the multiverse.
Truth and Justice
One of the big complaints I’ve had with the previous two seasons of The Flash is how the supporting characters don’t do anything but wait for the next Team Flash emergency.
The writers are making far more of an effort to invest in the supporting characters’ lives and careers outside of Flash. Killer Frost’s infatuation with art was an unexpected subplot, but it gave her something to do and provided some genuine laughs.
Cecile got the big subplot this week as she realized a suspected murderer Allegra Garcia (Kayla Compton) didn’t kill anyone. This provided some professional strife with Joe who figures Allegra is a lost cause. Eventually, it’s revealed Allegra’s cousin — now known as Ultraviolet — tried to set her up using her own meta powers. Ultraviolet was a good meta of the week since she didn’t have to play a huge factor in the episode.
The encounter convinced Cecile she’s needed more as a Defense Attorney for metas, which is a logical progression for her character. I wasn’t the biggest fan of Cecile gaining powers, but the writers have evolved it in a way that’s useful so long as Cecile never has to suit up in costume.
Allegra’s acquittal also helped out Iris, who gains a new intern. I’m definitely down for Iris’ staff expanding and Allegra looks like she could be an intriguing side character provided she simply stays in Iris and Kamilla’s world and doesn’t become part of Team Flash.
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Acceptance
Barry wasn’t rushing off the couch after seeing the future so naturally it took one of Joe’s world famous pep talks to motivate him. I think I could watch an entire episode of Joe offering wise words to the various members of Team Flash. Not that it wasn’t obvious last season after Jesse L. Martin had to miss so much time, but this show really needs him as the stabilizing grounding force.
Even with the pep talk, Barry got bummed out while hanging out with Team Flash knowing his days with them are numbered. That’s great. Crisis should be this looming, unavoidable issue hanging over Barry and Iris. Thankfully by the end of the episode they agree to tell the rest of Team Flash about Crisis and prepare for a World Without a Flash. I’m really enjoying how this is all turning out.
It’s in the Blood
The best aspect of Crisis being positioned as the main threat is it’s giving the writers time to do a slow burn with Ramsey Rosso and his experiments. They don’t have to rush to show what he’s doing and can take their time establishing his threat. Ramsey doesn’t even have to come into contact with The Flash until after Crisis…assuming of course that Flash is still around after Crisis.
Rating: 9.5 out of 10
Photo Credit: The CW