While it’s not the best season of The Flash, season 5 introduces new characters, new threats, and a new meta cure (possibly). The Blu-ray and Digital combo offers an excellent selection of special features.
Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided us with a free copy of this Blu-ray that we reviewed in this blog post. The opinions we share are our own.
Team Flash returns for another season of time travel, new villains, and a possible meta cure!
“Season 5 finds Barry Allen and his new wife, Iris West, finally settling into married life when they’re visited by Nora West-Allen, their speedster daughter from the future. Nora’s arrival brings to light the legacy every member of Team Flash will leave years from now, causing many to question who they are today. And while Nora idolizes Barry, she holds a mysterious grudge against Iris. As Team Flash adjusts to the next generation of speedster, they discover Nora’s presence has triggered the arrival of the most ruthless, vicious and relentless villain they have ever faced: Cicada! All 24 action-packed episodes are here as The Flash, with help form friends and family, manages to fight metahuman threats and save the world . . . time and time again.” – Official Description
Season 5 of The Flash stars returning cast members Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Danielle Panabaker, Carlos Valdes, Tom Cavanagh, and Jesse L. Martin. Previous guest cast members Danielle Nicolet, Hartley Sawyer, and Jessica Parker Kennedy now join as series regulars. Chris Klein joins the cast as the season’s central antagonist.
When we last saw Team Flash, they had just defeated the Thinker, and Barry, with the help of a mysterious girl, destroyed the Thinker’s remaining satellite. Barry also rescued Ralph and helped return him to a body (long story). Meanwhile, Joe and Cecile’s daughter was born, and Harry was returned to Earth-2. Caitlin and Cisco began to question the real origins of Killer Frost. The season closed with the revelation that the mysterious girl who helped Barry is actually Nora West-Allen, his daughter from the future.
Season 5 picks up with Barry and Iris trying to understand why Nora has left the future (her time) to visit her parents (seems to be a trait in the Allen family). Nora warns them that Barry disappears in the year 2024, and that she never got to know him. Though Barry wants her to return to her time, Nora appears not to be able to time travel again due to changes in her blood composition.
Meanwhile, a new villain emerges in the form of Orlin Dwyer, aka Cicada. The destruction of the Thinker’s satellite injured Dwyer and left his niece in a coma. After already blaming metahumans for his sister’s death, Dwyer decides to kill all metahumans and devises a way to temporarily repress their powers. While Cicada isn’t the best primary antagonist the show has ever featured, he is a sympathetic and understandable character.
No season is complete without at least one version of Harrison Wells, and season 5 introduces viewers to Harrison Sherloque Wells. This version has been hired to help Team Flash track down Cicada after Nora warns of the dangers Cicada poses in the future. But Tom Cavanagh is again pulling off multiple roles with ease as Eobard Thawne faces his execution in 2049. Could the Reverse Flash still be changing the present from that far in the future?
Cicada and Reverse Flash aren’t the seasons only villains. Viewers will also get to see Gridlock, Box, Icicle, Weather Witch, Silver Ghost, the incredibly creepy Rag Doll and many more. Though the episode “King Shark vs. Gorilla Grodd” is hardly anything more than fan service, it’s a fun pairing and entertaining episode that fans are sure to remember.
Killer Frost’s storyline is continued this season as well. After realizing that her frozen powers may not be connected to any metagenes, Caitlin begins to learn that her parents may be more connected to her cold counterpart that she thought. Though she resists giving in to her powers, Caitlin begins to explore the idea of a symbiotic relationship with Killer Frost. Throughout the season (and the entire run of the show), the balance between Caitlin and Killer Frost continues to be one of the show’s greatest strengths.
This season introduces the idea of a cure for the metahumans. Which characters would want to take a cure? Should villains be forced to take it? Questions such as these are explored.
The season, while entertaining and thought provoking, is not the best in the show’s history. It does have stand out episodes and memorable guest villains (never gonna forget Rag Doll), but the overarching storyline with Cicada does not carry the same weight held by past season antagonists. Though it is always excellent to see Cavanagh’s Eobard Thawne, characters like Cisco and Joe aren’t given as much to do as in past seasons.
While viewers may find the appearance of Nora in the present to be interesting, her character spends too much time caught up in conflict with her parents. She is initially resentful of Iris, but as the season progresses, she also starts to have conflict with Barry. The tension and family drama makes the season a bit darker and more stressful.
The season is not as light and humorous as past seasons have been and ultimately ends on a sad note with the death of an important character. When viewers look back over the episodes, they’ll likely feel that this death casts a pall over the entire season.
With season 6 filming now and Sendhil Ramamurthy announced to play the villain Bloodwork, we’ll see where the show goes next. Season 6 is set to premiere on the CW in October.
Afterthought – Danielle Panabaker makes her directorial debut with the episode “Godspeed.” She does a nice job and is already set to direct again in season 6.
Episodes:
- Nora*
- Blocked*
- The Death of Vibe*
- News Flash*
- All Doll’d Up*
- The Icicle Cometh
- O Come, All Ye Thankful*
- What’s Past is Prologue
- Elseworlds, Part 1*
- The Flash & The Furious
- Seeing Red
- Memorabilia
- Goldfaced*
- Cause and XS
- King Shark vs. Gorilla Grodd
- Failure Is an Orphan*
- Time Bomb*
- Godspeed
- Snow Pack
- Gone Rogue*
- The Girl with the Red Lightning
- Legacy*
* Includes deleted scenes from the episode
Special Features
The four-disc Blu-ray and Digital combo includes the following special features:
- Disc 1
- Best of DC TV’s Comic-Con Panels San Diego 2018 (1:00:59) – Highlights of fan interactions, audience questions, and show panels from Supergirl, The Flash, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Black Lightning, and Arrow are shown.
- The Evolution of Killer Frost (11:31) – Actress Danielle Panabaker and writers from the show take viewers on Caitlin’s journey in discovering her powers, fighting against them, and learning to work with Killer Frost.
- Disc 2
- Inside the Crossover: Elseworlds (45:01) Hector Navarro hosts a panel that includes the showrunners of the CW’s DC superhero shows, including the upcoming Batwoman. The panel discusses the 2018 crossover event: Elseworlds, introduces behind-the-scenes clips, and teases the next big crossover event.
- **On the Blu-ray only, Parts 2 and 3 of the Elseworlds crossover are included.
- Disc 3
- Villains: Modes of Persuasion (38:05) This feature serves as a documentary that explores why audiences are so drawn to villainous characters. It explores the idea by looking at iconic DC villains through the lenses of pathos, ethos, and logos. In addition to writers, actors, and crew members, a real life psychologist is interviewed on the topic.
- Disc 4
- Gag Reel (8:00) – Watch the cast dance, cuss, and blow hair out of each other’s faces in between takes. There’s even a King Shark cameo!
The team behind these special features put Work into them! Though viewers could watch the entire crossover event on Netflix, including the connecting episodes of Supergirl and Arrow on this release and the behind-the-scenes panel feel like steps above and beyond. While the gag reel and Comic Con highlights are entertaining, the standout features on this release are the look at Killer Frost and the analysis of villain persuasion. Caitlin Snow has been a fan favorite character since her introduction in season one, and the short look at her journey in discovering her powers and fighting against them feels like an appropriate acknowledgment of her importance to the show and the fans. “Villains: Modes of Persuasion” is certainly the most unique feature and feels heavily researched. The feature looks at villains on Gotham, Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow, and more, including clips and interviews with cast members. Be warned, if you are not caught up on each show, you may run into spoilers. The piece classifies villains based on likeability, sympathy, and justifiability. It’s a fascinating feature that is sure to please any DC fan.
Takeaway
While it’s not the best season of The Flash, season 5 introduces new characters, new threats, and a new meta cure (possibly). Though Tom Cavanagh’s Eobard Thawne is always entertaining, the season’s real lead antagonist of Cicada does not quite carry the same charisma or memorability. The storyline of Killer Frost is further developed, but characters like Cisco and Joe are given less to do. Season 5 sees Barry and Iris meeting their daughter from the future and another member of the Allen family messing up a timeline. The season unfortunately ends on a sad note that brings the fun of the entire season down. However, the Blu-ray and Digital combo offers interesting and well-developed special features. It may not be anyone’s favorite, but fans of the show should still check out the season and enjoy the combo’s special features.
