If you would like to read my review of the last episode of The Flash, click here.
Synopsis: While Nora grapples with unresolved anger over her father’s disappearance in the future, Barry and Team Flash must stop a powerful new meta, Weather Witch, from killing her own father, Weather Wizard. (TVGuide)
Writers: Jonathan Butler and Gabriel Garza
Director: Sarah Boyd
Rating: TV-PG
Running Time: 43mins
Airs: Tuesdays at 8pm on Space (Canada)/The CW (United States)
The Flash reveals Cicada’s origin story this week, and ties together who he is and who the child in the hospital is. The episode opens with Cicada sitting next to Grace’s hospital bed. He overhears Barry’s voice asking about Grace Gibbons and her father, but Barry is diverted away from there by Grace’s doctor.
A flashback reveals that Grace’s parents were killed by metahumans, and was sent to live with Cicada, her mother’s brother. It’s safe to assume that Cicada was not enthusiastic about caring for his niece, and was hoping that she’d become someone else’s responsibility.
Meanwhile, the S.T.A.R. Labs crew prepares for Thanksgiving but when a plant has unusual electrical activity. Nora and Barry go to check it out and see a strange lightning storm is wreaking havoc on the plant. According to Cisco, a cold fusion rod that is in the plant and if it is struck by lightning, it will wipe out an entire city block.
Barry prevents the lightning from hitting the cold fusion rod but gets hurt in the process himself. He’s essentially dead for a few minutes until Nora shocks him back to life. Nora is clearly shaken from the whole ordeal, and unhappy with how the situation went down.
Since Iris was the one who suggested the plan, Nora is visibly upset with her and runs off after an argument. Meanwhile, the group starts to suspect that the Weather Wizard may be responsible for the strange weather occurrences in Central City.
After Barry’s surprise visit, Cicada decides to stop going to the hospital to see Grace. In another flashback, we see Grace and Cicada in the principal’s office. Grace called someone “rat bastard”, a phrase she’s picked up from Cicada and is now apparently using to insult people at school.
Barry, Nora, and Iris head to Iron Heights to see if the Weather Wizard/Mardon is still under lock and key or if he has actually escaped. Upon their arrival, they are attacked by a tornado and from it emerges Mardon’s daughter, Joss. Barry quickly transports Mardon to S.T.A.R. Labs for his safety and away from Joss.
We finally learn Cicada’s real name, Orlin, during another flashback where he and Grace move into a new house. It seems like things are finally improving between them, and Cicada is warming up to having a child around the house.
Caitlin figures out that the Weather Wizard’s daughter’s name is Joss, and see her on the CCTV prison footage. They also notice that she’s carrying around a staff that has meta-tech inside of it. This is what allows her to control the weather, similar to her father’s powers.
Team Flash assumed that Joss wanted her father to be free but it turns out that was not the case. In fact, as soon as they reunite them she tries to squash him flat with a car. But don’t worry because it wasn’t actually Mardon, but just a holographic simulation of him controlled by Iris.
Nora comes clean about her frustration with Barry and how she’d like him to stop being the Flash. This would prevent the future she knows from coming true, but of course, it’s not what Barry wants for himself. She also confesses that she’s not even mad at Iris, but mad at him for being careless.
We get another Orlin and Grace flashback while they are at the carnival. They’re finally a family unit and both happy to be in each other’s lives. While they’re at the carnival, the Enlightenment occurs and both Orlin and Grace are hurt. It’s the night Orlin becomes Cicada, but Grace goes into the coma she is still in.
Joss shows at the airport and Team Flash gets to work as Barry and Nora go to stop her. This time, Nora doesn’t stop Barry from helping the civilians and delivers Mardon’s weather staff to Barry. This staff will counteract Joss’s powers and stop her from destroying and killing everyone.
Barry saves the day and imprisons Joss in Iron Heights–just in time for Thanksgiving dinner. Throughout the whole episode, Sherloque, Cisco, and Caitlin decide they are anti-Thanksgiving. That is until Killer Frost shows up to remind them that they have family and friends that they can celebrate with.
So why does Orlin/Cicada hate the Flash? Well, when Orlin rushes himself and Grace to the hospital, the doctor blames everything on metahumans. And a news report talking about the Flash doesn’t help their case either. It is at that moment Orlin/Cicada comes to know of his powers and makes a plan to take down the Flash.
It’ll be interesting to see where this goes considering Cisco figured out Cicada’s true identity. Let’s just hope Cicada doesn’t disappoint because thus far, I’m not a huge fan.
Score: 6.5/10
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