I know, I know, this review's horribly late. That's because it's that time of year again, when the temps begin to soar and yard work and home improvement projects start taking up what little free time I have. I'm working as fast as I can, but unfortunately this last handful of reviews are gonna be late.
This week on The Flash, we get... an actual GOOD episode. One that was well written, brilliantly acted and featured a plotline that was actually relevant! Believe me, no one's more surprised by that than I am. Not sure what got into the writers this week, but against all odds they somehow managed to come up with an actual standout episode!
So far Season 9 has been a complete washout— rivaling the execrable Season 7 in its awfulness. It's started out with an episode-wasting five part story arc featuring a half-baked Power Rangers villain who turned out to be an evil version of Batwoman. Then we got what can only be described as a backdoor pilot featuring Cecile and Allegra, a Flash-less story involving an obscure character from a canceled show and an inconsequential filler episode in which Barry & Iris were locked in one room for forty three minutes.
All that would be bad enough in a normal season. But this isn't a normal season. It's the FINAL one! The last we're ever going to get! And they're completely wasting it with filler and dreck. What the hell?
EVERY episode of this last season should have been epic— filled with startling revelations, unexpected plot twists and appearances from fan-favorite characters. Instead it's sputtering to the finish line like an old broken down car.
That's why It's My Party And I'll Die If I Want To was so surprising. We got the return of Oliver Queen, as he teamed up with Barry and Diggle for one last ride! We got a welcome appearance from Wally West, who's been sorely missed on the show. Bloodwork returned as well, to wrap up the dangling threads of his seemingly abandoned storyline. Team Flash also found out that the Multiverse still exists! And we even got a couple of superhero battles— something we've not seen much in this final season.
THIS was the type of episode fans have been wanting! One final awesome season to end the series on a high note.
If the writers can't manage to come up with thirteen decent scripts in this truncated final season, then maybe they should have found some who could.
One last thing— It's My Party And I'll Die If I Want To was directed by series regular Danielle Panabaker, aka Caitlin Snow, aka Frost, aka Khione. She's no stranger to the director's chair, as she previously helmed Godspeed, License To Elongate, Rayo de Luz and Keep It Dark.
She seems to know what she's doing when it comes to directing, so her involvement likely contributed to this episode's success as well. Maybe they should have signed her up for the entire season!
The Plot:
Cecile, Chester & Allegra all meet at Jitters to discuss their plans for Barry's "second" thirtieth birthday party (don't ask). Later that night, Iris drags Barry into STAR Labs, where all his friends jump out and surprise him. Among the guests are Kristen Kramer, Chief Singh and John Diggle. Wally West even travels halfway around the world to show up! Curiously, Joe's the only one who isn't there...
Digg gifts Barry with Oliver's old Green Arrow bow, which ARGUS found in the rubble of National City after the Crisis. The bow reminds Barry of Oliver's ultimate sacrifice, and he says he can't accept it. Elsewhere, Chester gives Allegra a pendant containing transmorgrifier tech, to hide her identity when she uses her powers in public. How romantic!
Barry chats with Wally, who says he's still dealing with a lot of baggage from his dark past. He says he's been sending his consciousness into the Speed Force to discover alternate timelines, hoping to discover one in which he's found enlightenment (PLOT POINT!).
Everyone gathers round to toast Barry, but the instant they take a sip of their drinks they all pass out on the floor. The only ones immune are Barry and Wally, thanks to their speedster healing factors.
Just then a stream of black blood oozes into the Lounge and morphs into Ramsey Rosso, aka Bloodwork. He spiked everyone's drinks (though lord knows how), and says he's escaped from ARGUS custody and intends to continue his plan to infect the entire world and make everyone immortal or something.
Barry says he won't allow him inside his head again. Ramsey smiles and says he already is. Barry then finds himself in a formless black void, with no way out.
Back in the real world, Ramsey hears a noise and sees Chester (who didn't drink anything) trying to sneak away. Ramsey gestures and transforms the rest of Team Flash into his blood zombies. They all shamble toward Chester, who locks himself in his Lab.
Ramsey notices Iris is throwing off his control, and realizes Fetus Nora's speed healing is protecting her from the womb (?). Iris tells Ramsey he won't get away with his plan, and staggers away and hides out in the Time Vault, as if she can't wait to get offstage.
Back in the void, Ramsey appears and tells Barry he's not after him, but intends to break Wally instead. We then see Wally's inside the mindscape as well. He looks around and finds himself in a replica of the tenement he used to live in with his dying mother.
Ramsey appears and says he didn't realize Wally's childhood was so traumatic. He then reveals that the alternate timelines he's been sensing are actually other Earths, as the Multiverse still exists! He offers to help Wally unlock the Multiverse and finally find true enlightenment.
Back at STAR, Chester's still holed up in his Lab, while the blood zombies pound on the door. He tries calling for help but discovers all communication is down.
Meanwhile, Ramsey continues taunting Barry, and forces him to participate in a faux Flash TV show. For absolutely no good reason, Barry goes along with this, actually reading cue cards provided by Ramsey, who's playing the part of the director. He eventually has enough and storms off, inexplicably running into a group of pallbearers carrying a casket. They drop it, and Frost's lifeless body spills out.
Just then a vision of Caitlin (!) appears, saying it's vital that he live, as he's more important than the rest of Team Flash because he's the "star." Wow, meta much?
Barry then finds himself in a nightmare version of STAR Labs, where he see Wally standing in the corner, Blair Witch-style. He tells Wally not to listen to anything Ramsey says, as he's just trying to get in his head. It's too late though, because Wally begins berating Barry, claiming he stole the life he should have had. He then straight up kills Barry speedster-style, by vibrating his hand into his heart.
Barry wakes, looks around and realizes he's on the island of Lian Yu (which means "purgatory"). Oliver Queen then appears and asks what the hell Barry's done now. Barry realizes Wally killed him.
Oliver— who's still The Spectre— tells Barry that Ramsey isn't just threatening Earth-Prime, but the entire Multiverse. Barry asks what the hell he's talking about, as the Multiverse was destroyed in the Crisis. Oliver admits that when he tried combining the various worlds of the Arrowverse, he inadvertently recreated the Multiverse as well— which is news to Barry.
Ollie says Ramsey intends to use Wally to access the Multiverse and infect it with his blood cells— giving him full control over everything everywhere all at once and making him a god. He says they need to act fast to break Ramsey's hold on Wally.
Back at STAR, Zombified Allegra somehow appears in Chester's Lab, and threatens to infect him. Just then the door opens and Khione strolls in. She waves her hand and freezes all the water in Allegra's body,
Out on the street, Ramsey tells Wally it's time. Wally reaches out and creates a breach in the sky, leading to the Multiverse (how he does this is apparently none of our business). Ramsey then squirts a mass of black blood into the breach and smiles.
Meanwhile on Lian Yu, Oliver senses Ramsey's attack has begun. Barry says they have to stop him, and begs Ollie to resurrect him. Oliver says he can't, as there's a part of Barry that doesn't want to live again. Barry admits he has survivor's guilt, as he's still alive after watching countless friends fall and die. Oliver gives him a Patented The CW Pep Talk®, telling Barry he's saved far more people than he's lost, and he needs to learn to live with his guilt.
Oliver than punches Barry in the face, which somehow brings him back to life inside STAR Labs. Oliver's there too, now dressed in his Green Arrow costume. He grabs his old bow (that Digg just gave to Barry) and says it's time to save the Multiverse.
Barry & Oliver confront Ramsey & Wally in downtown Central City. Barry sees that Wally's now fully under Ramsey's control. The two of them zoom off for their own speedster battle. Oliver tells Ramsey the Multiverse doesn't belong to him, and he intends to stop him from taking it over.
Ramsey then reveals he has an entire army of zombified SWAT officers, who run out and attack Ollie. He then spends the next ten minutes or so battling them.
Back at STAR, Khione uses her powers to thaw out Digg, as well as burn out all the tainted blood cells from his body. Unfortunately she's too weak to do the same with the rest of the zombified team. Chester gives Digg his Spartan helmet (where he got that is anyone's guess) and says Barry needs his help.
Elsewhere, Wally chases Barry through the city, trying to blast him with streams of black blood. Barry stops and says he's not gonna fight Wally. Instead he gives him a Patented The CW Pep Talk®, saying he's sorry for making him feel like he didn't matter. He tells Wally everyone has darkness inside them, but they have to rise above it. Wally then flashes back to all the people who love him, and that's apparently enough to throw off Ramsey's control. Wally then apologizes to Barry for killing him (!).
Meanwhile, Oliver dispatches the last of the zombified SWAT officers. This enrages Ramsey, who says it's time he took care of him directly. Just then he's blasted into next Tuesday by the timely arrival of Spartan.
Digg's gobsmacked to see Oliver alive and well again (kind of). Their reunion is short lived though, as Ramsey transforms into Bloodwork— all nine disgusting feet of him. Before Bloodwork can attack though, Barry & Wally show up and run rings around him at superspeed— giving Oliver a chance to save the Multiverse.
He takes aim and fires a special Spectre-powered arrow into the breach. As the portal closes, it releases a massive wave of green-tinted energy, which burns up all the tainted blood cells throughout the city (and the Multiverse as well).
Ramsey shrieks, as he realizes he's human once again. He says Oliver's murdered him, as his HLH will return and kill him. Ollie assures him the wave of energy cured his disease when it made him human again, and he'll die at a ripe old age— in prison.
In the wrap up, Team Flash continues the party in Barry & Iris' loft. Oliver tells Khione she has a deep connection to the natural world. Iris & Wally chat, and he reveals he may never achieve the enlightenment he seeks. And Oliver and Diggle finally get a chance to say a proper goodbye to one another.
Sometime later, Barry apparently leaves his own party and goes out for a drink with Ollie at O'Shaughnessy's Pub. Barry says he wouldn't have become a superhero if not for Oliver, and wonders if he's doing enough to save the world. Ollie tells him the bolt of lightning chose him for a reason, and to never forget it.
Thoughts:
• First off, an update. At the end of the previous episode, Barry mentioned "all the things that'd happened in STAR Labs during the past nine years." We were then treated to a helpful flashback montage featuring Marlize DeVoe, Godspeed and Ramsey Rosso and his blood zombies.
At the time, I said those flashbacks had to be a clue that those characters were all gonna show up in the final handful of episodes. They'd pretty much have to, right? Otherwise why remind us of a character like Ramsey, who hasn't been seen since Season 6?
Welp, turns out I was right! Here we are just one episode later, and the Big Bad is Bloodwork! Just as I predicted!
• Of course this week's title is a riff on Leslie Gore's 1963 hit It's My Party (And I'll Cry If I Want To).
• Wow, I just realized they gave Jitters quite the upgrade this year. Here's how it used to look...
And here's the spiffy new version. Seems odd to spend money revamping the set so late in the series, but what do I know?
• Cecile, Chester & Allegra all meet at Jitters to discuss their plans for Barry's "second" thirtieth birthday party. If you're wondering what the hell they're talking about here, they're referencing the events of Season 8's The Curious Case Of Bartholomew Allen.
In that episode, Barry clashed with mad scientist Pytor Orloff, who built a device to try and de-age himself. Things went south, and Barry was blasted with gamma rays— which caused his cells to age thirty years in an instant (even though he inexplicably looked exactly the same). Eventually he shorted out Orloff's device, which restored his cells to normal.
At the end of the episode Chester somehow determined that Barry— who was previously thirty three— got de-aged a little too much, and was now the equivalent of twenty nine again.
Which brings us to this week, where he's now "turning thirty" for the second time. I know, it doesn't make any sense, but let's just move on or we'll be here all day.
• Speaking of age, according to the Official Arrowverse Wiki, Barry was born on March 14th, 1989. Since they're celebrating his birthday here, it's safe to assume this episode takes place on that date. But we saw undeniable proof that the previous week's episode occurred on April 5, 2023! This means that chronologically, It's My Party And I'll Die If I Want To is out of order, and takes place BEFORE the previous two episodes!
So why the hell isn't Joe at the party? Welp, that would be because actor Jesse L. Martin was contractually obligated to make five appearances in this final season, and they already wasted four of them on the idiotic Red Death story arc. I'm assuming they're saving his fifth & last one for the series finale, preventing him from showing up at the party this week.
I'd also contend that Cisco's conspicuously absent as well. Jesus Christ, if they can lure Keiynan Lonsdale back to the show, surely to hell they could have gotten Carlos Valdes to stick his head in the studio for a few minutes. They didn't even name drop him, for corn's sake!
Maybe they asked and he told 'em to bugger off, I dunno.
This was during the period when he famously said, “I don’t want to go by ‘he’ anymore, I just want to go by ‘tree.’ I want people to call me ‘tree,’ because we all come from trees, so it doesn’t matter if you’re a he or a she or a they or a them. At the end of the day, everyone’s a tree. I want to call my friends ‘tree’ and me ‘tree’ and everyone ‘tree.’ So, I think, like now, when people ask me what my preferred pronoun is, I’m going to say ‘tree.’”
Wise words indeed. Whatever the hell any of that meant.
Anyway, it appears Lonsdale's decided to move on from all that. If I had to guess why, I'd say the extreme look he was sporting likely made it hard to land any roles, so he decided it was time to clean up his act.
• Thanks, Opening Credits, for ruining the surprise return of Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen in this episode. I know SAG rules require them to credit everyone, but it still stinks when it ends up being a spoiler.
• At the party, Digg gifts Barry with Oliver's old bow, which ARGUS somehow found lying in National City after the events of Crisis On Infinite Earths.
Digg tells Barry, "Sometimes I'll be at the grocery store man, or with my kids, and, uh...grief will hit me all over again." Barry then stares solemnly at the bow, remembering his friend's ultimate sacrifice. Jesus Christ! Way to bring down a party, Digg!
• Digg offers Barry his condolences on the death of Caitlin:
Digg: "I'm sorry to hear about Caitlin, losing her so soon after Frost."
Barry: "Eh, having Khione's helped. But something about it all still just doesn't feel right."
That's for damn sure! Which is the part that "doesn't feel right," Barry? The one where your team didn't even have any kind of memorial service for Catilin (like they did with Frost)? Or the fact that they've seemingly forgotten all about her, and rarely if ever mention her after her death?
• Allegra asks Chester if Khione needs help buying the birthday cake. He replies "Oh, she said there's huge line at the bakery."
How convenient! I'm sure the fact that Khione's AWOL for most of this episode wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that Danielle Panabaker directed it, would it?
• Chester gifts Allegra with a present to celebrate their one month anniversary. A few things here:
First of all, it's only been a month? It feels like their interminable and uninteresting romance has been going on for decades.
Second, Allegra takes one look at the pendant he gives her and says it's beautiful. Clearly she's just being nice here, as the thing looks like he took a circuit board from a discarded computer he found in the gargage and attached it to a chain.
First of all, it's only been a month? It feels like their interminable and uninteresting romance has been going on for decades.
Second, Allegra takes one look at the pendant he gives her and says it's beautiful. Clearly she's just being nice here, as the thing looks like he took a circuit board from a discarded computer he found in the gargage and attached it to a chain.
Lastly, he says the pendant has a facial transmorgrifier in it, to help hide her identity when she uses her light powers in public.
Why are they just now bringing this up, in the final handful of episodes? HR Wells had a transmorgrifier way back in Season 3— which he used it whenever he went out in public to prevent himself from being mistaken for mass murderer Eobard Thawne. Surely it's been lying around STAR Labs all this time? Did the writers just now remember this was a thing on the show?
• We're then treated to Kristen and Cecile firing up the karaoke machine and singing Wannabe at the party. I honestly can't tell if actress Carmen Moore (aka Kristen) is just camping it up and deliberately wailing off key, or if she legitimately can't sing.
• Nice Touch: Team Flash toasts Barry and wishes him a happy birthday. Everyone then immediately drops to the floor, as their champagne & sparkling cider's been doped. Note that both Barry & Wally are immune to the knockout drug though, due to their speedster healing factors. Well done, writers!
• We then see the cause of the trouble— Ramsey Rosso, aka Bloodwork.
It's been a while since we've seen Rosso, as he was one of the Big Bads back in Season 6. Last time he appeared he was in ARGUS custody, where he ominously said he was "playing the long game" and threatened to return some day. Guess the long game's finally over!
It's been a while since we've seen Rosso, as he was one of the Big Bads back in Season 6. Last time he appeared he was in ARGUS custody, where he ominously said he was "playing the long game" and threatened to return some day. Guess the long game's finally over!
I still think "Bloodwork" is a stupid name for a supervillain. Who's his partner, Biopsy?
Seeing him here made me realize they should have given Bloodwork a five episode arc, instead of wasting all that time on Red Death, Especially since Ramamurthy is a WAYYYYYY better actor than Javicia Leslie.
Lastly, someone online said Ramamurthy would make a good Master over on Doctor Who, and damn if that wouldn't be inspired casting!
It appears he doped Team Flash's champagne with his blood, infecting them and transforming them into zombies he can control. All things considered, that's a pretty good evil plan. There's just one big problem with it— exactly where and when did Ramsey spike everyone's drinks? Apparently even the writers don't know either, as it's never explained.
As always, this is another of Chester's Black History Month Oaths. Duane Jones starred as main character Ben in the original Night Of The Living Dead. This was a huge deal at the time, as Jones was the first black actor to ever star in a horror film.
• Similarly to Barry & Wally, we see that Iris is partially protected from Ramsey's blood by her unborn child's speedster healing factor. But because Nora's still a developing fetus, her powers aren't as strong as her Father and uncle's— meaning Iris will eventually succumb.
That's actually a pretty cool concept, but for some reason the writers do absolutely nothing with this notion, dropping it immediately after it's brought up. In fact they lock up Iris inside the Time Vault for a good 90% of the episode, as if they couldn't wait to get rid of her.
What gives? Was there not enough time in the episode to give her any kind of storyline? Or did Candace Patton want another week off from the show again?
That's actually a pretty cool concept, but for some reason the writers do absolutely nothing with this notion, dropping it immediately after it's brought up. In fact they lock up Iris inside the Time Vault for a good 90% of the episode, as if they couldn't wait to get rid of her.
What gives? Was there not enough time in the episode to give her any kind of storyline? Or did Candace Patton want another week off from the show again?
This is a VERY deep dive, dredging up elements that were first seen in Season 2 & 3— back when Wally was still a Fast & Furious-style street racer! I'd honestly forgotten about all that, so it was interesting to see it again.
• Meta Alert! As Barry stares in horror at Frost's body, the vision of Caitlin says:
Caitlin: "It's okay that she's dead, Barry. It's more important that you live. You're the star, right?"
Barry: "No. No, that's not true."
Caitlin: "You matter more than the rest of us. That's why it's okay that you got those extra years and we didn't."
Wow, meta much? That seemed like a particularly catty little statement on Caitlin's part. In fact if I didn't know better I'd think it was a direct dig at Grant Gustin!
As always, this tiny volcanic island in the North China Sea looks a LOT like a Vancouver forest when you get close to it.
• Oliver Queen– who's still The Spectre– suddenly appears and asks, "Oh, Barry, Barry, Barry... what have you done this time?"
This is a nod to Elseworlds, Part 1, in which Oliver found himself living Barry's life and quipped, "What have you done this time."
Note that when Oliver first appears, we get the classic Arrow howling musical sting on on the soundtrack! Cool!
• The entire point of the Crisis On Infinite Earths comic was to simplify the DC Universe by eliminating the Multiverse. I assume that was the point of the Arrowverse version as well, as it consolidated all the various characters onto Earth-Prime. All well and good.
I never quite understood the point of rebooting the Multiverse, as it made the entire Crisis moot.
Welp, this week we get a partial, half-hearted explanation from Oliver:
Oliver: "When I took on the power of The Spectre, I thought that I was simply creating Earth-Prime. But I was also making something else... a new Multiverse to replace the one that had fallen."
So the implication here is that after Supergirl and Black Lightning's respective Earths were destroyed, Ollie created a new one where they could live alongside the other Arrowverse characters. But by doing so, he somehow inadvertently started up a new Multiverse. Sure, why not.
• A few weeks ago in the Red Death Saga, we met an unhinged version of Ryan Wilder (aka Batwoman), who ended up becoming the villainous Red Death. She told Iris she was from an alternate timeline, one in which the Flash was evil and ruined her life.
• Back at STAR, Chester's being menaced by Zombified Allegra. Khione somehow opens the locked Lab door, waves her hand and instantly immobilizes Allegra. When Chester asks what she did to her, Khione casually replies, "I froze all the water in her body."
Oh, so you killed her then? Along with all the other blood zombies out in the hall. Despite Khione's assurances that they're all "safe," I'm pretty sure that having all the water in your body instantly turned to ice would be fatal!
Also, at this point I wonder if the citizens of Central City even bother looking up when something like this appears in the sky? If they notice it at all, they're probably like, "Oh look, there's another interdimensional portal above town. What's for dinner?"
I couldn't help but laugh at how silly this scene looked. Sometimes I wonder if the actors on this show are ever embarrassed by all the stupid crap they're asked to do.
• Before they bid one another farewell, Oliver tells Digg:
Most fans (myself included) naturally assumed that the mystery box housed a Power Ring, and that the producers were planning on turning Diggle into the Arrowverse equivalent of the John Stewart Green Lantern from the comics.
There were even rumors that Diggle would be spun off into his own Green Lantern series.
Then in one of the biggest instances of Franchise Blue Balls ever, the series never happened. And at this point it's pretty obvious it never will.
• Earlier in the episode, Wally told Barry he was sending his consciousness into the Speed Force, where he could sense various alternate "timelines." He hoped he could find a version of himself in one of these timelines who'd already achieved enlightenment, and could show him how he did it.
Ramsey reveals that what Wally's sensing aren't timelines, but actual alternate Earths, as the Multiverse still exists! That's a pretty huge reveal, and one that should have come a long time ago. And of course with just four episodes left before the series finale, there's precious little the characters will be able to do with this mind boggling information. Classic!
Ramsey reveals that what Wally's sensing aren't timelines, but actual alternate Earths, as the Multiverse still exists! That's a pretty huge reveal, and one that should have come a long time ago. And of course with just four episodes left before the series finale, there's precious little the characters will be able to do with this mind boggling information. Classic!
• Elsewhere, Barry's still stuck in the void. Ramsey appears and says it's much too dark, so he draws a curtain aside and reveals they're in a film studio. Gosh, I wonder how they managed to build such a realistic looking studio set?
Ramsey then poses as a director, forcing Barry to perform in a TV show called "Flash Facts," and read a script about survivor's guilt.
A crewman holds up a series of cue cards, and amazingly, Barry actually begins reading them! A few things here:
Why the hell would Barry play along with this illusion and read the goddamned cue cards? Talk about contrived! Why wouldn't he just zoom off to try and find an exit from the void? It makes absolutely zero sense for him to be a willing participant in Ramsey's little illusion.
Why the hell would Barry play along with this illusion and read the goddamned cue cards? Talk about contrived! Why wouldn't he just zoom off to try and find an exit from the void? It makes absolutely zero sense for him to be a willing participant in Ramsey's little illusion.
To his slight credit, Barry does eventually stop reading the cards and try to leave, but by that point it's too little too late.
By the way, if the cue card guy looks vaguely familiar, there's a reason for that. He's Mitch Romero (played by actor Shawn Stewart).
Romero was an ex arms dealer who became one of Ramsey's blood zombies. He was last seen in Season 6's Dead Man Running, in which he blew up real good all over Barry & Frost.
• Barry tries to flee the fake show, but accidentally runs into a coffin and knocks it over— causing Frost's lifeless body to spill out of it.
I will bet everything I own that that isn't Danielle Panabaker lying there! No idea why they used a double here instead of putting a white wig on her, but there you go. Maybe she was too busy with her directorial duties to play Dead Frost for ten seconds?
• We then get a surprise appearance by Caitlin! Not Frost, not Khione, but the one & only Caitlin Snow!
OK, so it's not really her, since we're still in Ramsey's illusion— but hey, I'll take it! It's been far too long since we've seen our favorite resident doctor/scientist, and her appearance here made me miss her all the more! Damn you, Eric Wallace, and your boneheaded and misguided decision to get rid of her!
• Meta Alert! As Barry stares in horror at Frost's body, the vision of Caitlin says:
Caitlin: "It's okay that she's dead, Barry. It's more important that you live. You're the star, right?"
Barry: "No. No, that's not true."
Caitlin: "You matter more than the rest of us. That's why it's okay that you got those extra years and we didn't."
Wow, meta much? That seemed like a particularly catty little statement on Caitlin's part. In fact if I didn't know better I'd think it was a direct dig at Grant Gustin!
• Barry then finds himself back in the STAR Labs Lounge. He looks around and sees Wally in the corner, recreating the creepiest scene from The Blair Witch Project!
• Barry then tries to warn Wally not to listen to Ramsey:
Barry: "Ramsey's manipulating you, so you'll choose to follow him. It's the only way he can
beat our speed healing and take over our minds."
Ramsey: "He doesn't care about you, Wallace. He's been living with your father, pawing at your sister, while you were trapped in that hellhole."
Wally: "You were living MY life!"
Woah, woah woah! OK, I realize Ramsey's trying to spark anger and jealousy in Wally here. But the way Wally says it, it sounds like HE wanted to be the one pawing at his sister! Surely there was a better way to phrase this.
• Barry then tries to warn Wally not to listen to Ramsey:
Barry: "Ramsey's manipulating you, so you'll choose to follow him. It's the only way he can
beat our speed healing and take over our minds."
Ramsey: "He doesn't care about you, Wallace. He's been living with your father, pawing at your sister, while you were trapped in that hellhole."
Wally: "You were living MY life!"
Woah, woah woah! OK, I realize Ramsey's trying to spark anger and jealousy in Wally here. But the way Wally says it, it sounds like HE wanted to be the one pawing at his sister! Surely there was a better way to phrase this.
By the way, kudos to Keiynan Lonsdale here. He acts the hell out of this scene, and proves he can actually do good work if he's given the proper material. Well done!
• Barry tries reasoning with Wally:
Barry: "Wally, I know how hard it was for you growing up.
Wally: "No, you don't! You don't know anything!"
Barry: "But Joe and Iris didn't even know that you existed."
Wally: "Keep his name out your mouth!!!"
Really, guys? We're going there? Welp, at least Wally didn't stride over to Barry and slap him into next Wednesday!
• Barry tries reasoning with Wally:
Barry: "Wally, I know how hard it was for you growing up.
Wally: "No, you don't! You don't know anything!"
Barry: "But Joe and Iris didn't even know that you existed."
Wally: "Keep his name out your mouth!!!"
Really, guys? We're going there? Welp, at least Wally didn't stride over to Barry and slap him into next Wednesday!
• Wally then KILLS Barry by phasing his hand into his heart— the preferred murder method for speedsters everywhere.
And yes, Wally really does straight up kill Barry, as they're currently in the real world and not Ramsey's nightmare void. This is a HUGE deal, and one that I don't think the episode emphasizes enough.
I think the problem is the awful way in which the scene's shot. It's so poorly lit that it's honestly hard to make out what's even happening. The biggest issue though is that the bulk of the actual "stabbing" happens just out of camera range. We get one brief, dark and blurry image of Wally phasing his hand into Barry's chest & that's it.
Barry's death by Wally's hand definitely deserved to play out better and more clearly than this!
• Barry then finds himself on Lian Yu— the hellish island seen dozens of times over on Arrow. Say, did you know that Lian Yu means "purgatory?"
This is a nod to Elseworlds, Part 1, in which Oliver found himself living Barry's life and quipped, "What have you done this time."
Before I forget, it was awesome to see Oliver again. It made me realize how much I miss him, as well as the entire Arrowverse and all the fun crossovers they used to have. How The CW has fallen lately.
So I guess even though Ollie's a virtual god now, he chooses to hang out on his old island turf?
Note that when Oliver first appears, we get the classic Arrow howling musical sting on on the soundtrack! Cool!
• The entire point of the Crisis On Infinite Earths comic was to simplify the DC Universe by eliminating the Multiverse. I assume that was the point of the Arrowverse version as well, as it consolidated all the various characters onto Earth-Prime. All well and good.
But then in the epilogue of Crisis, we saw the Universe divide over and over and create a NEW Multiverse— one that none of the characters were aware of.
I never quite understood the point of rebooting the Multiverse, as it made the entire Crisis moot.
Welp, this week we get a partial, half-hearted explanation from Oliver:
Oliver: "When I took on the power of The Spectre, I thought that I was simply creating Earth-Prime. But I was also making something else... a new Multiverse to replace the one that had fallen."
So the implication here is that after Supergirl and Black Lightning's respective Earths were destroyed, Ollie created a new one where they could live alongside the other Arrowverse characters. But by doing so, he somehow inadvertently started up a new Multiverse. Sure, why not.
• A few weeks ago in the Red Death Saga, we met an unhinged version of Ryan Wilder (aka Batwoman), who ended up becoming the villainous Red Death. She told Iris she was from an alternate timeline, one in which the Flash was evil and ruined her life.
I discussed her claim at length in my review, saying that the world she was from sure sounded more like an Multiversal Earth than an alternate timeline to me.
Welp, turns out I was on the right track!
In this episode Barry & Ollie discuss Red Death & just where she was from:
Barry: "But when we fought the Red Death, she thought she escaped from her timeline into an alternate one."
Oliver: "She is from Earth-4125."
Barry: "You're numbering them?"
Oliver: "I've had a bit of time on my hands."
So she really WAS from an another Earth, and not an alternate timeline! I knew I was right!
By the way, in the past, the various Earths often had designations that had significant meaning or were in-jokes. For example, Supergirl was originally from Earth-38, which referenced the year in which Superman first appeared in the comics— 1938.
If there's any significance to Red Death's Earth-4125, I can't find it. I guess it's just a random number the writers pulled out of their collective butts.
Welp, turns out I was on the right track!
In this episode Barry & Ollie discuss Red Death & just where she was from:
Barry: "But when we fought the Red Death, she thought she escaped from her timeline into an alternate one."
Oliver: "She is from Earth-4125."
Barry: "You're numbering them?"
Oliver: "I've had a bit of time on my hands."
So she really WAS from an another Earth, and not an alternate timeline! I knew I was right!
By the way, in the past, the various Earths often had designations that had significant meaning or were in-jokes. For example, Supergirl was originally from Earth-38, which referenced the year in which Superman first appeared in the comics— 1938.
If there's any significance to Red Death's Earth-4125, I can't find it. I guess it's just a random number the writers pulled out of their collective butts.
• Oliver then reveals Ramsey's master plan to Barry, and it's a doozy!
Oliver: "Like your friend Ramsey Rosso. He wants to spread his infectious cells to every world out there."
Barry: "No, I mean, Ramsey's powerful, but he's not capable of something like that."
Oliver: "Right, but with Wally by his side... Wally thought that he was projecting his consciousness into the Speed Force to reach alternate timelines, when, in fact, he was reaching other Earths. So, if Ramsey's control over Wally becomes permanent..."
Barry: "He'll gain control over the Multiverse, too."
A few things here:
First of all, that's a pretty awesome master plan. And kudos to the writers for tying it in to Wally's powers. It made his appearance here actually relevant, and was a good way to utilize his interminable chatter about meditation. Well done!
Second, despite multiple attempts, Ramsey has never been able to take over THIS world yet. And now he wants to rule the entire Multiverse? Baby steps, my friend!
Lastly, does it seem odd that Oliver's the one outlining this plan, instead of Ramsey? Seems like something an over the top villain would be constantly monologuing about.
Oliver: "Like your friend Ramsey Rosso. He wants to spread his infectious cells to every world out there."
Barry: "No, I mean, Ramsey's powerful, but he's not capable of something like that."
Oliver: "Right, but with Wally by his side... Wally thought that he was projecting his consciousness into the Speed Force to reach alternate timelines, when, in fact, he was reaching other Earths. So, if Ramsey's control over Wally becomes permanent..."
Barry: "He'll gain control over the Multiverse, too."
A few things here:
First of all, that's a pretty awesome master plan. And kudos to the writers for tying it in to Wally's powers. It made his appearance here actually relevant, and was a good way to utilize his interminable chatter about meditation. Well done!
Second, despite multiple attempts, Ramsey has never been able to take over THIS world yet. And now he wants to rule the entire Multiverse? Baby steps, my friend!
Lastly, does it seem odd that Oliver's the one outlining this plan, instead of Ramsey? Seems like something an over the top villain would be constantly monologuing about.
Oh, so you killed her then? Along with all the other blood zombies out in the hall. Despite Khione's assurances that they're all "safe," I'm pretty sure that having all the water in your body instantly turned to ice would be fatal!
• Ramsey boosts Wally's powers, which somehow allows him to open up an aerial portal to the Multiverse (?). Wait, what?
Yes, earlier in the episode Wally said he'd been sending his consciousness into the Multiverse. But that's a lot different than opening a physical portal! Speedsters have never been able to do anything remotely like that before, so how can Wally suddenly do it? Is this some side effect of Ramsey's control over him? Who the hell knows. Let's just move on.
Also, at this point I wonder if the citizens of Central City even bother looking up when something like this appears in the sky? If they notice it at all, they're probably like, "Oh look, there's another interdimensional portal above town. What's for dinner?"
• Ramsey hurls a large glob of his tainted blood cells into the portal. I have questions!
First of all, where'd that stream of matter come from? It's a big mass of blood cells from his body, right? So did he just shoot a bunch of himself into that breach? Does that mean all his internal organs are gone, and he's now a hollow shell in the shape of a man? Or can he spontaneously generate tons of extra mass whenever he needs it? Inquiring minds want to know!
Also, just where is this goo going? Ramsey keeps saying he's sending it "into the Multiverse." Yeah, but what does that mean? The Multiverse isn't a physical place, like a vast hallway containing doors labeled "Earth-10, Earth-12, etc." It's an infinite collection of different universes separated by vibrational frequencies. I don't get where this glob of tainted blood is supposed to be going.
First of all, where'd that stream of matter come from? It's a big mass of blood cells from his body, right? So did he just shoot a bunch of himself into that breach? Does that mean all his internal organs are gone, and he's now a hollow shell in the shape of a man? Or can he spontaneously generate tons of extra mass whenever he needs it? Inquiring minds want to know!
Also, just where is this goo going? Ramsey keeps saying he's sending it "into the Multiverse." Yeah, but what does that mean? The Multiverse isn't a physical place, like a vast hallway containing doors labeled "Earth-10, Earth-12, etc." It's an infinite collection of different universes separated by vibrational frequencies. I don't get where this glob of tainted blood is supposed to be going.
And yes, I realize we're not supposed to question any of this and I'm putting way more thought into this than the writers did, but I thought it was worth bringing up.
• Back on Lian Yu, Oliver senses something's not right with Barry. After some prodding, Barry admits he's sad because he got an extra three years to live, while all his friends are dropping like flies around him. Oliver then monologues to him, outlining how life isn't fair and that Barry needs to quit feeling sorry for himself and save the world again:
Oliver: "When my father sacrificed himself, when he gave me my extra years, what was I doing with them? I was wasting them. I was drowning myself in this sea of... of pain and darkness and saying, 'Ollie, if you just... If you cross one more name off the list, if you save your city one more time, then you'll absolve yourself of all of this guilt.' And I was wrong. This guilt is never going to go away. It is something that you have to learn to live with. That is why people sacrificed themselves. That is why I sacrificed myself for you, so that in all of this darkness, you ould be a guiding light. A hero."
Just as with Keiynan Lonsdale, Stephen Amell does an amazing job here, acting the HELL out of this scene. Why, it's almost like if you give an actor some decently written lines and creative direction, they'll actually turn in a superior performance! What a concept! Too bad it took them nine episodes to figure that out this season.
Oliver: "When my father sacrificed himself, when he gave me my extra years, what was I doing with them? I was wasting them. I was drowning myself in this sea of... of pain and darkness and saying, 'Ollie, if you just... If you cross one more name off the list, if you save your city one more time, then you'll absolve yourself of all of this guilt.' And I was wrong. This guilt is never going to go away. It is something that you have to learn to live with. That is why people sacrificed themselves. That is why I sacrificed myself for you, so that in all of this darkness, you ould be a guiding light. A hero."
Just as with Keiynan Lonsdale, Stephen Amell does an amazing job here, acting the HELL out of this scene. Why, it's almost like if you give an actor some decently written lines and creative direction, they'll actually turn in a superior performance! What a concept! Too bad it took them nine episodes to figure that out this season.
• Oliver then punches Barry back to life (literally!), and he finds himself in STAR Labs again.
Oliver's there in the flesh as well, saying he's allowed to intervene "only when the Multiverse is in danger." Well that's certainly convenient for the writers! Without that little rule they could just have Barry call for Oliver and have him solve every single problem each week!
Oliver then grabs the bow that Digg gifted Barry with at the beginning of the episode. That was also quite convenient. Good thing for Ollie that Digg found his old bow! Wonder what he'd have done if that hadn't happened? Can this literal god not create his own weaponry?
• We then get a commercial bumper featuring the usual Speed Force lightning, along with... a green arrow! Hell yeah! As I said in the intro, this is what EVERY episode this season should have been like!
• Barry & Oliver confront Ramsey & Wally in a Central City plaza.
If this location— with its distinctive tile pattern and stone lions in the background— looks familiar to you, there's a reason for that!
It's actually the North Plaza of the Vancouver Art Gallery. It's been used many times on the show over the years, notably in Season 7's Masquerade, Season 8's Negative, Part Two and earlier this year in The Mask Of The Red Death, Part 2 (although they filmed on the other side in that episode).
• If you look closely at the background of this scene, you'll see it's pouring down rain, as the actors do their best to ignore it.
This happens virtually every time the series shoots on location. Hey, that's what happens when you insist on filming in one of the rainiest cities in all of Canada!
• Barry zooms off to battle Zombified Wally, while Oliver stays behind to deal with Ramsey. Unfortunately Ramsey doesn't play fair, as he summons an army of Zombified SWAT officers to attack Oliver. Luckily they all have glass jaws— make that glass bodies— as each one is easily knocked out by a light tap on the head from Oliver's bow!
Also, when Ramsey possesses Team Flash, they all slowly shamble along like traditional movie zombies. But then he takes over the SWAT officers and they're all super fast running zombies. Why the difference?
• Back at STAR, Chester sees that Khione apparently froze ALL of Team Flash— while they were in mid-stride, yet! Fortunately none of them fall over and shatter into a million pieces.
I couldn't help but laugh at how silly this scene looked. Sometimes I wonder if the actors on this show are ever embarrassed by all the stupid crap they're asked to do.
• Khione then grabs the frozen Digg and charges him with some sort of energy, which burns Ramsey's blood out of his system. Digg collapses and violently vomits out the tainted blood. Because as always, it wouldn't be a Flash episode if Digg didn't throw up!
• Chester tells Digg that Barry needs his help, and hands him his old partan helmet. So... where the hell did Chester get that? Did Digg bring it with him to the birthday party? Or were they storing it in the Starchives for some reason?
In a similar vein, when Digg appears and helps out Oliver, he's wearing his full Spartan costume and sporting a massive bazooka-like blaster. Again, no idea where he got all that gear. Did he have it in the trunk of his car?
• During their epic speedster battle, Wally fires black goo at Barry. We also see that Wally's Speed Force Lightning is white all through the scene. Wait, what?
Granted it's been a while since Wally's been on the show, but wasn't his lightning always yellow before? Why's it suddenly white? Did the FX Team forget what color it was supposed to be? Or is this some effect of him being possessed by Ramsey?
• Technically we get a brief appearance by Joe in this episode. Well, sort of. Barry tries to save Wally by giving him a Patented The CW Pep Talk®, telling him he's sorry for ever making him think he didn't matter. As he does so, Wally begins flashing back to earlier seasons, as we see him meet Joe for the first time.
• Technically we get a brief appearance by Joe in this episode. Well, sort of. Barry tries to save Wally by giving him a Patented The CW Pep Talk®, telling him he's sorry for ever making him think he didn't matter. As he does so, Wally begins flashing back to earlier seasons, as we see him meet Joe for the first time.
It ain't much of an appearance, but hey, I'll take it!
• Ramsey then morphs into his comic-accurate Bloodwork form, prompting Spartan to channel Predator and quip, "That's one ugly son of a bitch." Com-O-Dee!
• Bloodwork quickly takes out Ollie & Digg. Fortunately Barry & Wally appear and capture Bloodwork with... Speed Force lassos. Sigh...
• With Bloodwork subdued, Barry tells Oliver he has a clear shot to shoot some kind of explosive arrow into the breach and close it up. Oliver takes aim and dramatically says, "Ramsey Rosso! You have failed this city!"
HE SAID IT!! HE SAID THE LINE!!!
I think my favorite thing about this scene is that you can clearly see normal traffic moving along behind Oliver in this scene. Apparently the crew didn't close off the street in the background during filming! Hey, chalk it up to Central City residents not giving a sh*t at this point!
HE SAID IT!! HE SAID THE LINE!!!
I think my favorite thing about this scene is that you can clearly see normal traffic moving along behind Oliver in this scene. Apparently the crew didn't close off the street in the background during filming! Hey, chalk it up to Central City residents not giving a sh*t at this point!
• Oliver's arrow hits its mark and closes the breach, which causes a massive wave of green energy that flows over the entire city, conveniently burning the tainted blood out of everyone who's been infected.
I assume this was a special Spectre arrow that Ollie cooked up with his god powers. In fact I know it is, because the wave also burned the tainted blood out of Ramsey, leaving him human again. It even cured him of his HLH! WOW! That was one POWERFUL arrow!
• After the crisis is over, Team Flash resumes the party. Digg mentions that Ramsey's been taken back to his cell at ARGUS. I guess so, but... why? He no longer has any powers, so what's the point of holding him in a high security metahuman prison?
• Nice to see Digg get a chance to say a proper goodbye to Oliver this time. He was kind of robbed of that back in Crisis, what what him being erased (along with everyone else in the universe) while Oliver was sacrificing himself.
Oliver: "John, that cube was designed to tempt you. But you did the right thing. And now all of your brightest days are ahead of you because they'll be spent with your family."
We then get a flashback to Season 8's The Man In The Yellow Tie, in which Digg finally opened his glowing green cube, saw what was inside and then rejected it.
So what the heck was that all about? If you'll recall, back in the series finale of Arrow, Diggle found a mysterious box that eerily called to him. He picked it up and opened it, revealing a bright green light inside before it snapped shut again. He then began traveling the Arrowverse, trying to find a way to open the box again.
Most fans (myself included) naturally assumed that the mystery box housed a Power Ring, and that the producers were planning on turning Diggle into the Arrowverse equivalent of the John Stewart Green Lantern from the comics.
There were even rumors that Diggle would be spun off into his own Green Lantern series.
Then in one of the biggest instances of Franchise Blue Balls ever, the series never happened. And at this point it's pretty obvious it never will.
Oliver's line about Digg's brightest days being ahead of him is clearly a nod to the Green Lantern oath, which goes, "In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil's might, beware my power— Green Lantern's light." Sadly though, we'll never get to see Digg utter these words. Wow, way to twist the knife, guys.
• Iris and Wally even get a nice little emotional moment together as well this week. See, writers? It's not that tough to come up with good dialogue and engaging scenes! If you did it this week, there's no reason why you can't do it all the time!
• Another Meta Alert! At the end of the episode, Barry & Oliver share a drink at O'Shaughnessy's Bar. Ollie says Barry's probably saved Central City at least 170 times. Barry replies it's actually 180.
This is a cutesy moment on the part of the writers, as Arrow had a total episode count of 170, while this is the 180th episode of The Flash.
This is a cutesy moment on the part of the writers, as Arrow had a total episode count of 170, while this is the 180th episode of The Flash.
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