Spoilers The Flash - Season 5

[Kirk Prime]

Surely, the Green Arrow could snipe Cicada with a special arrow from a distance, no? Plus, isn't it better to show us how powerful the villain is rather than just tell us that he is unbeatable?

Also, if XS' timeline change altered even who Cicada is, wouldn't all her intel be useless? It's a different guy.

And why is a different guy somehow following the same M.O.?

Given that Batman exists in the Arrowverse, why didn't Batman give this a go? I get the need for Sherloque Wells, but maybe they shouldn't have given him the greatest detective in the multiverse moniker. That said, I like Sherloque.

The Nora storyline could be great. I wonder if they start to push toward the actual comic version of the character and reveal, with a reason, that she's really their granddaughter. Others have speculated that she will somehow screw up her own existence, which I also think would be a fascinating storyline, especially if we the audience grow to like her.

The worst part about this Nora storyline is that they really aren't going to bring in Bart Allen now, since it would be way too repetitive. I guess the only way that's possible is if they bring him into THIS season.

 

[Christopher]

I don't think that's a spoiler that really surprises anyone.

I meant from Team Flash's perspective. It would be a surprise to them.

 

[dahj]

It's a good thing I noticed XS's absence after the explosion, and was able to deduce from there that she'd spirited Cisco away under cover of the blast.

I think it's implied he got away with the breach doohickey she threw to him together with the bomb thingy. She couldn't have gotten close enough to woosh him without losing her powers as well.

 

[tomalak301]

Flash really is off to a fantastic start this year. I'm liking where this is going, I already think Cicada is already a better villian than Savitar at this stage (I liked Devoe a lot at this stage too and then it all came crashing down in the second half) and the stuff with Caitlin and Ralph might be my favorite arc Flash has done since season 1. When Ralph initially came in last year, I thought he was annoying, and only used for comic relief. What we're seeing in this season is someone who I think is a sweetheart and he and Caitlin have amazing chemistry. Heck I think Ralph might be the best thing to happen to Caitlin since we originally met Killer Frost.

As for the stuff with Cisco, I am trying not to read spoilers so based on the trailer and the title,2 thoughts crossed my mind. The first was they were writing Carlos Valdes out of the show, which would have been a mistake. The second thought was after last week's episode, in that maybe they make Cisco powerless and he can finally get over Gypsy. They kind of did that at the end of the episode, but the way it was handled was well done.

I hope Flash can keep this up. I wish this arc was only 13 episodes long to cut the risk of overstaying it's welcome but right now I'm firmly on board with this. That's saying something because a few weeks ago I was getting tired of the Superhero genre as a whole and I still haven't seen the newest seasons of the Netflix shows.

 

[matthunter]

Also, if XS' timeline change altered even who Cicada is, wouldn't all her intel be useless? It's a different guy.

Agreed. All that stuff about even Supergirl not being able to stop him may have just gone out of the window... Hirsch!Cicada might have used a different means of depowering his victims, possibly researching each one (given it always took Sherloque to bring him in, he may be ultra-smart, though not at Thinker-level). Whereas new!Cicada is going after dark matter metas and may just be targeting the weak link of the shared origin.

 

[Christopher]

I think it's implied he got away with the breach doohickey she threw to him together with the bomb thingy. She couldn't have gotten close enough to woosh him without losing her powers as well.

That might well be true, but my point was simply that noticing XS's absence started me wondering if maybe she saved Cisco, so that kept me from being too afraid that he was really dead. It's not that I pegged the exact method, just that I was reassured that XS's plan might have involved faking Cisco's death in some manner.

I had a thought that might be interesting but probably won't happen... but just in case:

Spoiler: speculation

What if the reason Cicada's identity changed is because there's more than one Cicada? What if the very distinctive, Darth Vadery mask is a red herring to conceal the fact that multiple people are wearing it? Instead of one person, Cicada could be a cabal of anti-metahuman bigots. Although that would be a bit too similar to Supergirl's current arc about an anti-alien hate group led by a masked man. Still, it'd be a nice change of pace from having a single villain-of-the-year.

 

[Kirk Prime]

I hope Flash can keep this up. I wish this arc was only 13 episodes long to cut the risk of overstaying it's welcome but right now I'm firmly on board with this. That's saying something because a few weeks ago I was getting tired of the Superhero genre as a whole and I still haven't seen the newest seasons of the Netflix shows.

THAT was the biggest problem last year. I don't believe any villain is worth a full season arc. There's no need. Tell the story in 11 episodes. Then tell another story in 11 episodes. Or make it 2 arcs of ten episodes, and an annual 2 part in between episode that just kicks butt, like a crossover to another show.

Perhaps one big crossover like they do, and one smaller one.

 

[tomalak301]

THAT was the biggest problem last year. I don't believe any villain is worth a full season arc. There's no need. Tell the story in 11 episodes. Then tell another story in 11 episodes. Or make it 2 arcs of ten episodes, and an annual 2 part in between episode that just kicks butt, like a crossover to another show.

Perhaps one big crossover like they do, and one smaller one.

I like the idea of having the crossover as the midseason finale. Then it's kind of what you suggest, the shows arcs will be done and to celebrate the first half of the season thats when you do the crossover. Then when you come back in the new year, new arcs start, and you can carry minor ideas, like what is happening with Caitlin now being in response to finding out she has always been Killer Frost, over to the second half of the season and do a new storyline. Either that or make these series half a season but the wait between seasons would be longer.

 

[Romulan_spy]

THAT was the biggest problem last year. I don't believe any villain is worth a full season arc. There's no need. Tell the story in 11 episodes. Then tell another story in 11 episodes. Or make it 2 arcs of ten episodes, and an annual 2 part in between episode that just kicks butt, like a crossover to another show.

Perhaps one big crossover like they do, and one smaller one.

I like that idea. Maybe they could wrap up the arc with Cicada in the first half of the season and then focus on Caitlyn's dad in the second half?

 

[Kirk Prime]

Or something completely new. I guess since they've started the Caitlin arc, they might as well work on it. But the show is after all, The Flash. With all the time travel/multiverse stuff, they can do so many things--why one a year?

 

[The Old Mixer]

So was the reference to "the League" a reference to the Justice League? Have we gotten one of those before? (Flash is currently the only CW superhero show that I'm watching.)

I hope they don't plan to draw out Cicada for the entire season. He bores me to tears.

 

[Christopher]

So was the reference to "the League" a reference to the Justice League? Have we gotten one of those before?

Not yet...

 

[The Old Mixer]

In that case, did anyone else take that as one?

 

[Christopher]

In that case, did anyone else take that as one?

Yes, of course it was foreshadowing the JL, which is what I meant by "not yet." And not the first time -- recall the "Hangar of Justice" in "Invasion!"

 

[Dick Whitman]

I think it’s very odd that anyone expects the future to be rewritten to match the comics. In the comics there is no Joe West. Wally West is not Iris’ brother but nephew. Also Iris is really from the distant future and sent to modern times by her real parents.

So to expect the show to reshape XS to fit the comics when it has ignored them to reimagine core characters is unrealistic.

I am the biggest time travel fan in the world. But Barry’s family history in the comics is so convoluted I am glad simplfied a lot of that for this show. Barry and Iris’ twins were born in the distant future after he died. Once DC fully committed to bringing back Barry to life they should have ignored that baggage created for a title they were cancelling.

 

[Awesome Possum]

I thought of that, but if that were the case, they wouldn't have set up the shots the way they did. Like last week, there was a shot of Joe seated when Cecille called to him from upstairs. He leaned forward, but before he could actually stand, the camera cut away to Cecille with the baby, and then we cut to Joe already leaning against the doorframe from outside the room. Later, when Joe said he'd go to check on the baby, we saw Martin lean forward in his seat, then cut to a shot of Cecille for several moments, then cut to a shot where we saw the back of "Joe" from the shoulders down as he climbed the stairs, which suggests they substituted a stand-in. So the character is still supposed to be mobile in-story, but they're avoiding any shots where Jesse L. Martin needs to move around. That's concerning.

The premiere established he wasn't getting enough sleep, that's why he had been napping in the newly discovered lounge.

 

[dahj]

So was the reference to "the League" a reference to the Justice League?

Either them or the League of Assassins...

 

[Phoenix219]

Not yet...

Well, there was the whole "Founding member of the.... " bit a few years back.... I think a comic version of it added the word "Justice" to the line...

 

[Phoenix219]

So, what was the original timeline if she hadn't helped punch the satellite? How were they supposed to defeat the Thinker?

 

[Snaploud]

So, what was the original timeline if she hadn't helped punch the satellite? How were they supposed to defeat the Thinker?

My guess is that the punch was at least partially successful in the original timeline. Perhaps Barry was injured in the process, though, which made him unable to save friends from danger while he was healing...