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The Flash: The Good, the Bad, and the Lucky

“Things are going to be fine. I promise.”

Another episode and another blast from the proverbial past. This week has the return of Becky Sharpe. She may have been killed in season four? But Crisis apparently reset her and her good fortune. At least until now.

It was fun seeing Becky again and all the ways her luck unfurled, both good and bad. And, on a side note, it also hit me in the feels as her introductory episode was the first Flash review I ever wrote.

More importantly, Becky’s storyline was a lighthearted mystery with an obvious villain and fairly low stakes. That and the fact that Barry and Iris were off to Coast City allowed our secondary characters to come to the forefront. Which was good, since they had some issues to work through.

It appears Cecile’s transition to weekend motherhood wasn’t as smooth as Joe made it out to be. Conflicting priorities between work and family are problems all parents face. Add to this being alone five days a week and Cecile has created a perfect storm of self-doubt. She’s sacrificed time with her daughter to help her city. If she can’t do that, then she’s a failure on both fronts.

Outside of the villain of the week, this was the main focus of the episode. I wish the resolution had been as genuine and relatable as Cecile’s fears. A pep talk does not make up for missing your daughter’s traditional birthday breakfast. Then again, I think the issue may be too nuanced for a superhero show.

So do they get points for tackling the issue? Or demerits for attempting a topic they had no hope of addressing well? The other problem was the stakes. Cecile’s feelings of failure were brought to a head by a missed train. However, Allegra could have taken her there in seconds unless Team Flash has a new rule against using meta-abilities that I’m not aware of.

Mark’s ongoing grief was handled with more subtlety, even if (and possibly because) it wasn’t addressed straight on. Initially, I was disappointed that Mark seemed to be over his obsession with bringing Frost back. Though I was ready to write it off as the completion of a typical redemption arc. I was pleasantly surprised that his chill (pun semi-intended) was due to his belief that some part of Frost still lurked in Khione. His realization that his hope was misplaced was my favorite part of the episode, even as it broke my heart.

His misplaced hope led to someone finally questioning Khione’s abilities. It had gotten to the point where Team Flash had to be deliberately oblivious not to question how she knows what she knows. There seem to be two separate things happening. The first is her affinity for and knowledge about nature. This is exemplified by her awareness of the emotions of others and how she knew Iris was pregnant. Then there’s the cold factor. The cause of the drop in temperature when she kissed Mark or the indoor snowfall.

It seems when you start playing with human and meta DNA you get something that is neither. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I’m so curious to see where this is going. Because at this point my only prediction is that Mark and Khione are endgame.

Speaking of endgame, now that Chester and Allegra have committed to this relationship, they dove head first into coupledom. I’m happy for them. I’m also glad I don’t have to live and/or work with them every day.

This episode probably won’t make anyone’s highlight reel. However, it was a fun-filled romp that also managed to tug at our heartstrings. All while addressing a couple of elephants tiptoeing through the room.

3.5 out of 5 obviously placed poker chips

Parting Thoughts:

When Becky whined that she wouldn’t last five minutes in jail, I almost yelled at the TV, “But you were in Iron Heights!” Then I discovered this version of Becky never was. Oops, my bad.

It’s totally up to Cecile who lives in her house, but there’s a certain hypocrisy, with her having a problem with Allegra and Chester living together. There wasn’t a ring being on Cecile’s finger last time I checked.

They still haven’t addressed Mama Tannhauser’s reaction to Caitlyn’s death or the newest Snow sister.

Why am I getting the feeling that Barry and Iris’ baby won’t be Nora? Or maybe not just Nora...

Quotes:

Becky: “No matter what I do, the universe is out to punish me.”

Barry: “We’ve adopted a no zooping policy during the pregnancy.”

Becky: “My bad luck is rubbing off on you, too.”

Khione: “Ice Blast activate!”

Cecile: “I’m apparently failing as a superhero as well as a Mom.”

Khione: “Was it bad? Am I a bad kisser?”

Becky: “Are you feeling lucky, punk? ‘Cause I am.”

Shari loves sci-fi, fantasy, the supernatural, and anything with a cape.

4 comments:

  1. It's worth mentioning that the Earth-2 version of Becky recently appeared on the series finale of STARGIRL (a show I'm going to miss).

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  2. Hi Gary.

    There were so many superhero shows out that I never got a chance to watch that one. I also didn't realize it was in the same multiverse as the the others (never thought I'd ever have the need to construct that sentence). That said, I'd heard good things about it.

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  3. I watched Stargirl for awhile, but I think I'm superheroed out. Maybe I just need a break.

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  4. Stargirl was much better than typical Arrow, Flash, or Supergirl. Legends' highs were better, but Legends was a romp where Stargirl was much tighter written. All of these shows should just be better, though, fewer main characters, less angsty in Arrow's and Flash's cases, more absurd (like Legends could be) while less dumb, better use of supporting characters/setting.

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