The Flash Episode Guide: Season 9, Episode 5 - The Mask of the Red Death, Part 2

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.

Plot

With the Red Death and her Rogues laying waste to Central City, Barry and Iris come up with a plan to stop them but it will require Cecile and the Rogue Squad, who are unwilling to help Team Flash anymore. To save the day, The Flash must face his greatest failure.


Influences

Kingdom Come (The Red Death's method of protecting Central City borrows from the Bat Sentinels and the speed with which The Flash protects his hometown.)


Goofs

Allegra complains about The Rogue Squad not trying to save Chillblaine in the last episode. This would be fair, if Allegra weren't the one responsible for running Team Flash's teleport and controlling the evac that led to the team leaving him behind in the first place.

While it's a dick move on Barry's part that he never checked up on Grodd or Gorilla City, describing it as his greatest failure is a bit much. For that matter, how is the Crisis causing the Gorilla City gorillas to lose their sentience Barry's fault? (Okay, as the Paragon of Love he was responsible for remaking the universe, but still....)

Red Death says that Grodd is amplifying her telepathy. How did she get telepathic powers? Did she steal them from another hero the same way she copied Barry's speed?  If so, why didn't she use it before this episode when it might have been useful, like when she was talking to Iris West-Alllen and pretending to be the Ryan Wilder of Earth-Priime?

It never is confirmed that Red Death's Rogues were captured in this episode.

It never is explained just where Ryan Wilder has been all this time the Red Death was running around.

It also isn't explained how Ryan got to Central City or where she got an anti-speedster Batarang. (Perhaps Luke built one after discussing the problems Reverse-Flash caused with John Diggle? Or maybe he and Chester talk-shop off-camera? Or maybe he started building it after hearing about Red Death?)

Did Red Death kidnap Ryan to get her out of the way? If so, why didn't she just kill her outright or take all of her Batwoman gear to stop her from coming after her? Given her paranoia, wouldn't she be most afraid of the Batwoman of Earth-Prime becoming a threat to her?

This episode completely ignores the rules established in B112 which dictate that two doppelgangers cannot survive on the same Earth following Crisis on Infinite Earths. (It's possible the Negative Speed Force protects its users from this law in the same way it protects them from paradoxes. It may also not apply since Red Death says she comes from an alternate timeline rather than a parallel universe.)

Why is Iris so stunned by the revelation that she's pregnant? Haven't she and Barry planning for her pregnancy for the past few episodes?  Also, wouldn't that be the first thing she or Barry would think of if she were suddenly nauseous?


Performances

As cliché as they are now, Jesse L. Martin can still nail those inspiring Joe West speeches.

Artistry

The make-up for Murmur with her mask off is disturbing.


Technobabble

By boosting Cecile's empathic telemetry and superimposing it over a grid of the city map, Chester can hone in on whatever she senses.

ARGUS upgraded the satellite security system on the GCPD roof.

The device Murmur and Captain Boomerang install on the roof of the GCPD allow Red Death to be in multiple locations at once.

Chester detects multiple reservoirs of psychic energy, which are like individual manifestations of a single telepathic consciousness. 

Allegra's light powers give her X-Ray vision.

Barry claims psychic manifestations cannot hurt someone. However, he is reminded that Psych was able to make a projection of Savitar hurt him in 705.

Batwoman has an anti-speedster Batarang.

Chester reprograms the STAR Labs satellites to find Grodd's tribe.


Dialogue Triumphs

Joe: If there's one thing I'm sure of after all these years, it's you have a gift for bringing out the good in folks, no matter how bad they started out.
Barry: Well, if that's true, I learned it from you.
Joe: Maybe. Either way... I have run out of things that I need to teach you. Just like I don't need to protect Cecile anymore, considering how much her powers have grown. I should tell you, up until a couple of days ago, Cecile and I were talking about moving out of Central City to the country for good.
Barry: What?
Joe: It's okay. We decided to stay. And it's a good thing because the team needs her here.
Barry: We need you, too.
Joe: No, you don't. I'm not a cop anymore, and I'm not a meta, so what am I doing here?
Barry: Joe... no one is more important to this team... to this family... than you. I mean, think of all the heroes you've raised over the years. We couldn't do what we do if we didn't have you to teach us how. Inspiring people is your super power.
Joe: That's nice. But if it's my super power, it's yours, too, Barry. 'Cause you've inspired me. What I learned about being a parent is whatever seeds we've planted, we have to trust that they take root, no matter how dark things get. So you have faith in your way of being a hero. If you do that, you'll always find your way and those who follow you will, too.

Dialogue Disasters

Most of Javicia Leslie's dialogue as Red Death.

The Rogue Squad saying "It's a Wednesday" in unison and everyone laughing when Ryan Wilder asks if Central City is always like this. 


Continuity

As the episode opens, red Negative Speed Force Lightning is striking randomly around Central City.

The shipyard, Central City High School and City Hall are said to have been set on fire.

Murmur breaks into Captain Kramer's office and steals her pager for summoning The Flash.

Captain Kramer tries to copy Rainbow Raider's power and turns it against him and Fiddler. Somehow, Red Death is able to resist the effect. 

Barry is still depowered after using most of his speed to start up the Cosmic Treadmill.

Barry says they need to do something, but the Rogue Squad point out that they need a plan first.

Iris suggests they can use Cecile's powers to track Red Death's anger and hatred of Barry.

Red Death somehow senses Cecile looking for her, but not in time to stop her from figuring out she and the Rogues are at GCPD HQ.

Cecile also senses intense pain and fear from someone at the Red Death's base. She recognizes the person and informs Team Flash that Chillblaine is still alive.

Barry wants to rescue Chillblaine but the Rogue Squad refuse, saying they should take the fight to Red Death while they know where she is and saving the city is more important than rescuing one guy.

Khione offers to go rescue Chillblaine if nobody else will, but Barry refuses to risk her after losing Frost and Caitlin. 

The Rogues agree to help rescue Chillblaine, guilted into it by Khione's courage.

Cecile tells Joe that her powers are growing the more she uses them.

Cecile senses that Joe still feels uncomfortable about something.

Red Death left Chillblaine alive specifically to set a trap for Barry so she could drain the rest of his speed.

Red Death explains that her newfound psychic powers came from Gorilla Grodd, who is now connected to her.

Barry last saw Grodd in 613, where he was going to find Gorilla City and live with other intelligent gorillas like him. It turned out, however, that the Crisis caused the gorillas in Gorilla City to lose their sentience and they all became scattered across Earth-Prime.

Grodd agreed to amplify Red Death's telepathy in exchange for reuniting his tribe.

The Rogue Squad quit, saying there's no way they can beat Red Death and they want to spend what time they have left with their loved ones. 

Khione watches over Chillblaine but tells Iris that she feels useless. Iris says she feels that way sometimes too, but she eventually found her place on the team and she's sure Khione will figure it out someday.

Khione kisses Chillblaine and this seems to heal him.

Joe tells Barry you have to have faith in the people who follow you. This inspires Barry to try to talk to Grodd again.

Chester is able to track Grodd's telepathic signal.

Grodd is confirmed to be the most powerful telepath on Earth-Prime.

Barry persuades Grodd that he can help him save the formerly sentient gorillas.

Grodd restores Barry's speed with the energy Barry loaned him in 613.

The Rogue squad show up to help fight Red Death.

Batwoman shows up to help fight Red Death.

Batwoman has never been to Central City before.

ARGUS takes Red Death into custody.

Ryan Wilder is a fan of Iris' writing.

Joe decides to move himself and Jenna to the country, telling Cecile she can come be with them on the weekends.

Chillblaine comes to Joe's going away party, but tells Barry he still feels awkward, despite Barry insisting he's part of the family now.

Chester and Allegra kiss again in front of everyone.

Iris complains of feeling lightheaded, leading Khione to tell her that she is pregnant. When asked how she knows, she says she just knows.


Untelevised Adventures

Ryan Wilder gets to know Team Flash off-camera.

Ryan Wilder has a monthly brunch with Kara Danvers, Alex Danvers and Nia Nul. She invites Iris to come to the next one.


The Bottom Line

An easy contender for the worst episode of all time. The Grodd subplot comes out of nowhere and doesn't make any sense.  The new Rogues are completely forgotten partway through the episode. Nothing about Batwoman's appearance makes sense. 

The Flash Episode Guide: Season 9, Episode 4 - The Mask of the Red Death, Part 1

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.

Plot

The Red Death launches an assault on Central City and The Flash, with a surprising goal in mind. The new Rogues have to help Team Flash keep the peace as an EMP cuts out all the power in town, as Joe and Cecile have a discussion about where their relationship is going.


Influences

Injustice: Gods Among Us (Red Death is more like the corrupted Superman of this story than the Red Death of the comics, being a hero who crossed the line to fascism to try and build a safer world.)


Goofs

Red Death refers to herself as the Red Death, even though it was apparently Goldface who gave her that name with no indication that was what she called herself.

Come to that, if she thinks she's a hero, why would she choose a name liked Red Death?

Barry calls Khione Caitlin in the final scene in STAR Labs. (This could be due to the stress of the moment, but it seems like a mistake and nobody corrects him.)

Artistry

It's a small detail, but all the Rogues are shown to use ASL when talking directly to Murmur.

Flash Facts

The episode title is a play on the Edgar Allan Poe story The Masque of the Red Death, which Goldface quoted in 903.

Jenna West appears on-camera for the first time since 612.

Rainbow Raider appears for the first time since Season 1. While he doesn't have his full array of powers from comics, he can now inspire fear as well as anger.

Chester evokes the name of Otis Boykin - the inventor of the electric resistor.

Many of Red Death's lines are taken directly from various Batman comics and adaptations.

Red Death's line "I am vengeance. I am the night." is taken from the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Nothing To Fear." "

Red Death's line about criminals being "a superstitious and cowardly lot" was first said in Detective Comics #33.

Red Death's line "Everybody's got their limits. I ignore mine." is from Batman #497.

 Red Death's line "You wanna get nuts? C'mon, let's get nuts!" is from the 1989 Batman movie.

Technobabble

The Cosmic Treadmill requires enough power to light up the Eastern Seaboard.

Barry and Chester plan to reprogram the STAR Labs satellites to scan for the Red Death's tachyon signature.

The Flash's cowl is boobytrapped to administer 50,000 volts to anyone who tries to remove it.

Even with their backup generators, STAR Labs can only operate at 20% power after the EMP.

Pied Piper uses a CB frequency 160 hertz to communicate with his team.

Pied Piper's Harmonic Frequency Tracer can be used to detect Flash's vibrational biometrics anywhere on Earth. Unfortunately, it won't work if The Flash's powers are blocked by meta-cuffs.

A Red Team is a group of journalists who try to pick apart a major story before it goes to print.

Chillblaine overloads the capacitors on the Cosmic Treadmill so it shorts out after The Flash charges it. Instead of opening a wormhole, it shoots all the lighting The Flash put into it at Red Death.


Dialogue Triumphs

Barry: Mark, you don't have to do this.
Chillblaine: If I want Frost back, I do.
Barry: What happens when she turns on that treadmill and busts a hole in the timeline? Or decides it's a lot easier to just kill you than help you bring Frost back?
Chillblaine: If I die, I die. Who would even care?
Barry: You are a part of Team Flash.
Chillblaine: No, I'm not... not anymore. Now I'm just another dirtbag who double-crossed you. Aren't I?
Barry: Mark! Before Frost was one of my best friends, she tried to kill me. People make mistakes. I was so desperate not to make the same mistakes I made with Thawne that I rushed into thinking the Red Death was the new Avatar. But, actually, she's a new threat, one I wasn't ready for, and now the whole world might have to pay for my mistake, and the only one that can help me out of this is you.
Chillblaine: Me? You've got the wrong guy. It's too late for me.
Barry: No, you're wrong. It's never too late for second chances. 


Dialogue Disasters

Red Death: You want to know who I am? I'm the last glimmer of crimson a killer sees before he draws his final breath. I am vengeance. I am the night. I am the Red Death


Continuity

As the episode opens, Chillblaine is assembling the Cosmic Treadmill 

Red Death says she will take care of the power source when Chillblaine asks how it is supposed to run.

Red Death leaves Chillblaine to recruit one more Rogue for their team.

At this point, Barry believes Red Death to be a man and the new Negative Speed Force avatar.

Barry theorizes Red Death may be a corrupted innocent, like Dr. Meena Dhawan from The Flash Season 8 finale, based on the fact that they could have killed him in 903 but did not.

Iris is sent Ryan Wilder's last GPS coordinates by Luke Fox.

Cecile finds out that Joe has been talking to a realtor without her knowledge.

Joe found a house with a big backyard in a good school district. Unfortunately, it's a two hour commute from Central City.

Chester talks with his podcast follower, WookieLover77, about Allegra.

The new Rogue Red Death recruited is revealed to be Roy Bivolo, aka Rainbow Raider, who last appeared 121.

Bivolo has upgraded his powers and can now cause fear by looking at people as well as anger. This allows him to paralyze The Flash, who becomes so scared he hyperventilates and passes out. 

The Red Death uses the Negative Speed Force to generate an EMP that knocks out power in Central City.

The Flash asks Bivolo why he's working with the New Rogues when he had previously only cared about money.  Bivolo says he wants payback for being locked in the STAR Labs pipeline for nine months.

All the Rogues are revealed to know ASL so they can communicate with Murmur.

Khione suggests calling in Barry's Rogues when the Team Flash comms are shorted out.

Red Death tells Barry that their real target is Iris.

Red Death, posing as Ryan Wilder, shows up at Barry and Iris apartment.

Red Death lies, telling Iris that she was driving into Central City when her car batter got fried and her arm was burned by the EMP  She also claims to have encountered the Red Death on Gotham City and to have been nearly been killed by them after they looted her utility belt.

Red Death claims that Luke Fox told her Team Flash was looking for her and that she drove from Gotham City to Central City in a day. When Iris questions this, she says her car goes fast.

The Red Death has the ability to control their armor remotely and is confirmed to be talking to Barry through an empty suit while simultaneously talking to Iris.

The Red Death reveals they kept Barry alive to use him as a power source for the Cosmic Treadmill, as only organic speed can charge it.

Red Death claims she is a big fan of Iris podcast.

Iris catches Red Death in a lie when she notices her distaste about the idea of Barry working with Rogues and says that attitude is understandable given Ryan's foster mother was killed by the Royal Flush Gang.  In truth, Ryan's mother was killed by the Wonderland Gang.

Iris also noticed that Red Death was familiar with the layout of her apartment, when the Ryan Wilder of Earth-Prime had never been in Barry and Iris' home before.

Red Death claims that, in her timeline, Iris West-Allen was her best friend and The Flash became the world's biggest villain. She also says she lied because she knew Iris well enough to know that she'd need to build a rapport first, because she wouldn't believe her if she had just said "I am your best friend in another timeline."

Red Death also claims that there was no Batman in her world, that she was adopted by Thomas and Martha Wayne just a few days after she was born and that it was she who saw them gunned down in Crime Alley as a child.

Red Death claims she protected her Gotham City for 10 years as Batwoman, fighting villains like Hush, Simon Hurt and her own brother.

Red Death began studying the technology her enemies used and then began studying the technology of her allies in a group called The League. (Presumably The Justice League.)

Red Death created her own Artificial Speed Force to imitate The Flash, knowing that with his powers she could put criminals behind bars before they could even think of committing a crime. She claims she was so successful in stopping crime that The Flash became jealous, freed his Rogues from Iron Heights, and turned them into an army that tore apart Gotham trying to get to her.

Red Death tried to hide in the Speed Force, but was rejected and kicked into the Earth-Prime timeline. She needs the Cosmic Treadmill to return home, so she can stop her Flash from destroying her world. She claims that she needs Iris to help her do this because the Iris of her timeline is dead and she's the only one who could talk him into surrendering. 

Joe tells Cecile that he wants to move so that Jenna doesn't have to grow up knowing the hardship that Iris, Barry and Wally did.

Red Death tells Iris that she accidentally killed Iris' doppelganger in her timeline

Iris points out all the holes in Red Death's story, like how she claims her Flash was jealous of her, but she was the one who created an artificial Speed Force to imitate him.

Cecile uses her powers to save Jenna from the breaking windows as a Negative Speed Force storm rages across Central City.

Pied Piper is able to detect Barry by Route 119 once he is put on the Cosmic Treadmill.

Allegra uses her teleportation clouds from Nash to take The Rogue Squad to Red Death's hideout.

Chillblaine betrays Red Death and rigs the Cosmic Treadmill to explode.

The Rogue Squad rescue Barry and Iris, but leave Chillblaine behind as they escape.

Allegra tries to talk to Chester about their relationship but he says it should probably wait until after the crisis is over.

Cecile considers that Joe might be right, but after Jenna draws a picture of Cecile saving her, Joe decides they should stay in Central City because it would send a bad message if he made Cecile stop being the hero she is.

Red Death swears revenge on The Flash, promising to destroy his world since he won't let her go back to her own.


Untelevised Adventures

Red Death describes her world and how she became Red Death.



The Fridge Factor

Averted with Iris, for once, as she manages to see through Red Death's lies and tricks her into revealing her real plans.

The Bottom Line

A bit of a disappointment compared to the build up. Most of the cast is on stand-by while the episode focuses on the cat-and-mouse game between Iris and Red Death. This would be fine, except Javicia Leslie hams it up to show how crazy Red Death is when it would be much more effective for her to be cool, controlled and more like the Superman of Injustice her character imitates.

The Flash Episode Guide: Season 9, Episode 3 - Rogues of War

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.

Plot

Barry assembles an unlikely team of his enemies to counter the new Rogues menacing Central City.


Influences

The Ocean's 11 movies and every classic The Flash comic where The Flash teamed up with The Rogues to fight villains that were actively trying to hurt people instead of just stealing.


Goofs

Unfortunately, Red Death's "I am Vengeance" line falls flat when we still have no idea why they want revenge on Barry Allen.


Performances

The ensemble play off of each other well in this episode, particularly Barry's gang of Rogues.


Artistry

The special effects work for the Rogues' powers is great.


Flash Facts

This episode introduces a new version of the villain Murmur. The original Arrowverse Murmur was last seen in A417.

In the comics, Murmur was Dr. Michael Christion Amar, a surgeon who went insane and became a serial killer. He cut out his own tongue and sewed his lips together after accidentally confessing to his crimes, earning him the nickname Murmur.

The new Arrowverse Murmur is a medical student named Michelle Amar. Apart from the gender flip, the new Murmur is almost identical to the one from the comics, wearing a similar costume and mask. The only other change is that this Murmur either has metahuman sound dampening powers or utilizes some kind of technology that allows them to neutralize the Piped Piper's powers.

The new Murmur is played by a deaf actor, Alexandria Wailes. 

Reportedly this version of Murmur is also deaf and is shown to speak American Sign Language.

It is Goldface who dubs the new villain the Red Death, quoting Edgar Allan Poe's story The Masque of the Red Death - "And darkness and decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all." 


Technobabble

The knife used by Murmur utilizes cutting edge nanocircuitry similar to Owen Mercer's boomerangs. The metal filings they leave behind are almost impossible to see without a microscope.

A temporal scanner measures radioactive half-lives.

A temporal scanner, Roemer accelerator battery, quantum vibration engine and Pied Piper's gauntlets can be used to construct a Cosmic Treadmill capable of using kinetic energy to open quantum wormholes in space and time. 

The quantum engine is located in a secure vault outfitted with a heavy-duty meta dampener powered by four different generators, each with their own unique power source. Two of these sources are cold fusion and thermal.

Chester helps Iris by running a comparative analysis on the fragments of Owen Mercer's boomerangs comparing them to the filings from Murmur's knife.

Chillblaine says he can eliminate the need for a fifth person for the heist by building a cryo-circuit to disable the thermal generator.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Goldface has revealed that he got out of prison early by betraying his girlfriend.)
Carver: Goldface's only sidekick is cold, hard cash. He ain't some bleeding heart.
Goldface: Ain't it the truth?
Carver: And he sure as hell doesn't stay up all night reading "Dr. Zhivago," then sobbing when Yuri dies before finding Lara.
Goldface: Damn it, Carver! You were told that in confidence. Book club will remain a safe space. 

(Barry negotiates a compromise to get the Rogues to work together.)
Goldface: Hang on. Something's rotten in Denmark. We left the city hours ago. How were you able to catch up with us? And why do we need to disable meta dampeners so you can do "forensics"?
(There is a long pause as Chillblaine and Piper look at Barry expectantly. Barry sighs, clearly aware something has to give and what it has to be.  Suddenly, The Hotness laughs.)
The Hotness: Dude, come on. Even I figured it out. Barry Allen's the Flash!
(Everyone just looks at The Hotness, stunned that he apparently figured this out on his own.)
The Hotness: They have the same Jitters order!
Goldface: Officer Chemist is the... Yeah, no, I see it now.

(Chillblaine has revealed himself as a traitor.)
Barry: Why are you doing this?
Chillblaine: You're never gonna help me bring back Frost. So I had no choice but to join up with someone who will. For the record, my new boss found me at O'Shaughnessy's right before you did, Speedo. (laughs) Made me an offer I couldn't refuse.
Barry: Look, I know you feel like you've lost Frost all over again...
Chillblaine: Shut up! You do not know what it feels like to lose the only person who's ever loved you.
(Barry looks to the exit. Chillblaine notices his eyeline.)
Chillblaine: Think you can make it? (charges his gauntlets) Run, Barry, run.

Continuity

In the opening scene, the new Captain Boomerang and new Fiddler team up with Murmur to rob Corbin Taft Industries, stealing a temporal scanner.

Barry and Iris are shown taking a French cooking class in Paris, France.

Iris is shown to speak French.

Barry reveals he and Iris went into Flashtime 40 times to perfect their dish to the satisfaction of their teacher.

Barry and Iris' plans for their babymoon vacation include getting pizza in three different countries, a sunset cruise in Kauai, seeing Big Ben at midnight, camping under the Northern Lights and a mezcal nightcap in Cabo.

Barry and Iris return to Central City after getting called about the Rogues' break-in. Iris decides to report on the crime herself to give Aariz a day off from covering lab break-ins.

Khione is shown to have something of a green thumb and brings plants into spruce up STAR Labs.

Khione is a believer in talking to plants.

Allegra and Chester are avoiding each other after their kiss in 901.

Khione names her plants Kesha and Bob.

Barry figures out that the Rogues are stealing the parts to build a Cosmic Treadmill.

Reference is made to Godspeed's use of a Cosmic Treadmill to time travel in 717.

Barry contacts Pied Piper to ask who might have a quantum vibration engine.

Piper informs Barry that the Department of Defense has such an engine at Fort LUKIA, a military base outside Central City and suggests that Barry offer to use STAR Labs as a more secure facility.

Barry dismisses this idea after learning the commanding officer at the military base is General Wade Eiling, who has not been seen since 121 but is still holding a grudge against Barry and STAR Labs. This leads Piper to suggest stealing the engine before the Rogues can.

Barry decides they don't have time to recruit reliable heroes, even if he could talk them into running a heist on the Department of Defense, given that the next night the base will have less guards than usual due to maneuvers in Masonville.

Barry and Piper decide to recruit their own team of Rogues while Iris investigates the benefactor behind the new Rogues, figuring someone has to be supplying their tech and acting as the brains of the operation trying to build the Cosmic Treadmill. 

Khione and Allegra go through the Starchives to see if any old Rogue tech has gone missing.

Jaco "The Hotness" Birch, last seen in 808, is recruited to join the good Rogue team. He is revealed to be working at CC Jitters, but quits his job to go off with Barry and Piper.

Barry and Piper recruit Chillblaine, who reluctantly agrees to help, saying that it is what Frost would want. He refuses to take orders from Pied Piper, however.

The last Rogue Barry and Piper recruit is Goldface, who was last seen in 807. 

Goldface makes reference to Barry alias of The Chemist, his criminal alias in 513.

Goldface was released after turning state's evidence on the real mastermind behind the CCPD Hostage Situation - his now ex-girlfriend Amunet Black.

According to Carver, Goldface feels guilty over what he did and stays up all night rereading Dr. Zhivago while crying.

Goldface organized a book club for his gang.

Goldface agrees to join in on the heist after Barry explains the danger posed by the new Rogues and the fact that their heists are cutting into his territory. 

The new Rogues are revealed to be spying on Goldface's meeting with Barry and Piper.

Chillblaine robbed Goldface at some point in 2016.

Chillblaine makes reference to The Hotness opening up an active volcano under Central City and being accused of murdering his favorite bartender in 808. (Jaco notes he was cleared of that crime.)

Chester confirms that Owen Mercer's boomerangs, the Fiddler's violin and Murmur's knife were all uniquely designed and made by the same engineer, but he can't figure out who made them.

The Rogues all fight over who gets ownership of the engine once they steal it. Barry says nobody gets it, which doesn't please the thieves. Hotness wants a cut if he's risking breaking his parole and he needs money to put his son through college. Chillblaine wants it because the tech was designed to be used for cryogenics. Piper wants it to power his new and improved sonic gauntlets. Goldface wants it because it is worth at least a million dollars on the street.

Barry's Rogues decide to go out on their own and steal the engine without him when it becomes clear he doesn't trust them.

Iris has had no luck tracking down the benefactor behind the New Rogues.

Iris says she's worried she won't be able to break any more big stories once she is pregnant, which is why she really wanted to help Barry with this case.

Barry reminds Iris that she's supposed to win two Pulitzer's and there's nothing that says she can't win three.

Chester tells Iris he traced the Rogues' weapons to prototypes being developed by Wayne Enterprises.

Allegra admits to feeling awkward around Khione, due to Frost being the closest thing she ever had to a big sister.

Allegra says Chester is a good kisser and she likes him, but she can't get involved with someone. 

Khione compares Allegra to a daffodil, saying it needs to be carried on the wind to grow but clings to the stem to avoid being hurt.

Barry comes up with a compromise, saying that Piper can get the engine but will pay the other Rogues $250,000 each to compensate them for their help. When Piper protests, Barry reminds him that he said the money wasn't important to him and that he specifically wanted the tech to protect his employees.

When Goldface asks how Barry caught up with them, The Hotness reveals that he is The Flash and that he figured it out because The Flash and Barry Allen have the exact same drink order at CC Jitters.

After Barry's team disable the meta dampener, Chillblaine turns traitor and attacks Barry, stealing the quantum engine.

Captain Boomerang attacks Goldface.

The Fiddler fights The Hotness, though the two seem to have a mutual attraction. If nothing else, Nine Inch Nails is both their favorite band.

Murmur is somehow able to ambush Pied Piper, despite his enhanced hearing. This, coupled with her absorbing his sonic blasts, suggest that she has some ability to muffle the sound around her. It is unclear, however, if this is a metahuman power or tech-based.

The Red Death appears for the first time and is able to dampen Barry's powers long enough for the New Rogues to escape. Barry briefly mistakes them for Thawne, based on their red lightning.

Goldface, The Hotness and Pied Piper agree to help Barry deal with the Red Death once they track them down.

Barry wonders if the Red Death is the new Negative Speed Force Avatar now that Thawne is apparently dead.

Barry noticed that the Red Death had a bat-shaped insignia on their costume.

Luke Fox confirms that the Rogues' weapons resemble advanced WayneTech designs, but their nanotech foundations are beyond bleeding-edge, so he has no idea who they are fighting.

Luke Fox also confirms that they never fought a villain in a costume like Red Death, but that Ryan Wilder did disappear while on patrol as Batwoman several weeks earlier.

Chillblaine tries to back out of the new Rogues when the Red Death says they will only help him resurrect Frost after their mission is complete.

The Red Death unmasks, revealing herself to have the face of Ryan Wilder, saying that she is vengeance.


Location

O’Shaughnessy Pub on the south side of Keystone City.


Untelevised Adventures

Chester speaks with Luke "Batwing" Fox off-camera regarding the new Rogues' weapons.


The Bottom Line

A fun little heist episode which falters in the closing moment because of the anti-climactic mystery built up around the Red Death.

The Flash Episode Guide: Season 9, Episode 2 - Hear No Evil

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.

Plot

As Team Flash argue about how to address the fate of Caitlin and Frost, Pied Piper comes to STAR Labs seeking help fighting a new version of The Fiddler.

Influences

Dark Knights: Metal (presence of The Red Death)


Goofs

Joe's sudden fears about Cecile putting herself at risk because of her increased powers seem illogical, given she's already putting herself at risk as a metahuman defense attorney. Also, he doesn't seem to have similar fears about both his sons who have speed powers or his reporter daughter who has been repeatedly kidnapped and taken out of reality because of various supervillains. 

When Pied Piper mentions being attacked by someone called The Fiddler, Iris makes reference to Izzy Bowin and says they were friends the last time they met. Iris apparently forgot that Izzy Bowin was killed by The Thinker shortly after they met, so this Fiddler can't be her. (It's possible that Izzy was one of the lucky metahumans resurrected after Crisis on Infinite Earths.)


Performances

Grant Gustin seems to be channeling Stephen Amell in the scene where he lays down the law with Chillblaine.

Danielle Panabaker makes Kihone into an instantly engaging character.


Artistry

The use of rainfall and storm effects in the background of this episode is fantastic


Flash Facts

Pied Piper's nightclub is called the Krakatoa Club. This is a reference to the loudest sound in recorded history, which was the 1883 eruption of a volcano on the Indonesia island of Krakatoa. The eruption was heard almost 3000 miles away and is estimated to have been nearly 310 decibels at ground zero. To put that in perspective, 200 decibels is lethal to humans and sounds measuring 150 decibels can rupture eardrums. 

This episode introduces a new version of The Fiddler. Much like the new Captain Boomerang, this Fiddler is a convicted criminal who seems to have been empowered by The Red Death. Her real name is Andrea Wozzeck and she seems to be a metahuman with sonic control powers, which she can focus through a specialized violin. Her fine control is such that she can trap people in a state out of phase with reality or cause a person to develop a arrhythmic heartbeat that will slowly kill them.

The Fiddler traps the employees of Pied Piper's nightclub out of phase with reality. This is similar to a stunt from The Flash comics where The Fiddler, joining forces with The Thinker and The Shade, caused Keystone City to become trapped in a pocket dimension. 

Technobabble

Chillblaine says the CRC was supposed to unzip Frost's neural DNA from Caitlin and isolate her brain patterns. Unfortunately, a power fluctuation caused the process to malfunction. 

The new Fiddler is armed with a teleporter, similar to the one used by Captain Boomerang.

When the CRC fails in STAR Labs, Chester detects tachyon feedback when the neural conductive readouts start surging.

A sonic cuff in STAR Labs' medical bay is able to stabilize the heart arrhythmia that the Fiddler instilled in Pied Piper. 

Chester runs a full diagnostic on the CRC. He determines that neural DNA could never unlock Frost's consciousness. He says the only way Chillblaine's plan would work is to use endogenous neural imprints, creating a literal map of Caitlin's mind.

Hartley boosts the efficiency of his Pied Piper gauntlets by 400% while planning how to fight The Fiddler.

Barry says that Dr. Thomas Snow's notes reveal that he tried to create a Caitlin 2.0 that wound be immune to ALS, but instead he created a daughter with two mixed consciousnesses Reversing the process would kill one of the two consciousnesses. . 

Rather than killing Hartley's employees, The Fiddler traps them in a vibrational phase. This is apparently painful and described as a fate worse than death.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Barry has a seat opposite Chillblaine at a table in his favorite bar.)
Chillblaine: You're wasting your time.
Barry: And you screwed up, Mark. Badly. 
Chillblaine: (grunts) Yeah.
Barry: I know why you did it.
Chillblaine: (amused) Okay. No, go ahead. Enlighten me.
Barry: Because you love Frost. With all your heart. And you still do. Sometimes when we love someone like that we do the wrong things for the right reasons.
(There is a long pause as Barry considers his next words.)
Barry: I know I have.
Chillblaine: (skeptical) Please.
(There is another long pause.)
Chillblaine: Are you saying you're not mad at me?
Barry: No, I am. But I understand why you lied. But there's something you need to understand now too: how we operate. You are part of this team now. And that means we have your back. But you need to have ours. Which also means no more going rogue.
(Chillblaine sighs, clearly skeptical.)
Barry: Mark.. if you lest us in... we work together... we can do the impossible. But we have to stick togehter. 

Snow: You're not a killer. I can tell.
Hartley: You don't know me!
Snow: Actually, and I can say this quite truthfully, I think I know you better than I know myself.
Hartley: I used to be a meta-criminal. A Rogue, as they say. I used to hurt people all the time. And I enjoyed it.
Snow: What changed you?
Hartley: (frustrated) Oh, Roderick, okay?  (pauses) Roderick.
Snow: You changed to keep him safe. That's beautiful. But that's not real change, is it?  Deciding to change for the person you love doesn't mean you've decided who you want to be. That's a choice you still have to make for yourself.

Continuity

This episode picks up where 901 ended, with the rest of Team Flash joining Barry in answering Caitlin's distress call.

The woman who looks like Caitlin with blue streaks in her hair introduces herself as Snow. She says that despite her appearance, she is a blank slate with no memories or powers.

Chillblaine makes reference to Barry destroying Caitlin's lab in 816.

Chillblaine explains that Snow was born of Caitlin's sacrificing herself to try and bring back Frost in 819 and that Caitlin is now dead.  Thankfully, he has a plan that will bring her and Frost back to life.

Chillblaine says he can bring Frost and Caitlin back if he's loaned a steady power source. 

Team Flash agrees to help, though Barry seems reluctant.

When the rest of Team Flash leave them alone, Snow asks Chillblaine how she did, revealing there is some kind of deception in play. While Snow is unsure about what they are doing, Chillblaine reassures her this is what Caitlin would want.

Allegra and Chester agree to discuss their kiss from 901 later, once Frost and Caitlin are fine.

Joe tells Cecile that he does not want her on the front line as a superhero. This is the main reason he wants to move from Central City. 

Hartley Rathaway (aka Pied Piper) and his boyfriend Roderick last appeared in 618.

Hartley and Roderick are revealed to now be running a dance club called the Krakatoa Club. It is located at the corner of Park and Second in downtown Central City.

Hartley is attacked outside his club by a woman armed with a high-tech violin, who calls herself The Fiddler.

Barry pulls Snow out of the CRC when it starts failing.

Snow says that the CRC hurt her.

Snow accidentally lets it slip that Chillblaine 's plan was to bring back Frost and Caitlin rather than just Caitlin.

Chillblaine defends his decision to lie to Team Flash by pointing out that Barry destroyed Caitlin's lab when he learned about her plan to resurrect Frost.

An intruder alert in the med lab informs Team Flash of Hartley breaking into STAR Labs, seeking treatment for the arrhythmia he developed after being attacked by The Fiddler.

Hartley confirms that The Fiddler who attacked him is not Izzy Bowin from 414.

The new Fiddler is confirmed to be working for Red Death. She is throttled for failing to complete her mission in attacking Pied Piper and is told that if she fails a second time she will die.

Barry tracks down Chillblaine at O’Shaughnessy Pub, getting drunk.

Barry says he will help Chillblaine resurrect Caitlin and Frost, but he will need to be completely honest to him and the rest of the team from now on.  Chillblaine agrees, albeit reluctantly. 

Chester and Chilblaine work on repeiaring the CRC while Barry gets Dr. Thomas Snow's notes about how he created Frost while trying to cure Caitlin's ALS.

Snow meets Hartley while he is upgrading his Pied Piper gauntlets. She confirms that she does not have Caitlin's medical knowledge or Frost's ice powers.

Snow realizes that Hartley is worried about Roderick being hurt by The Fiddler.

Snow believes killing is wrong and that deciding to change for someone doesn't really make you change.

Hartley says Central City is the metahuman violence capital of the world.

Barry determines that there is no way to bring back Frost and Caitlin - only one of them can survive.

Team Flash put it to a vote as to which Snow sister they should bring back. 

Chillblaine, unsurprisingly, votes for Frost, saying that Caitlin wanted to give her life to save Frost.

Allegra votes for Frost, presumably because she was closer to her than Caitlin.

Chester votes for Caitlin, saying that after his experiences with Deathstorm in 809 have convinced him that no good can come of trying to bring the dead back and that, given the choice, Caitlin is only mostly dead.

Iris votes for Frost, later telling Barry that she never really got to know Frost when she was alive, having not really given her a chance to reform and be part of Team Flash.

Barry says he needs more time to think, but Chillblaine says he'll only wait eight hours before making another attempt at bringing Frost back.

Barry admits he was mistaken to destroy Caitlin's lab in  816, saying the last thing he said to Caitlin was "I'm sorry" but that he wasn't.

Cecile speaks with Snow about how she is feeling, after discovering that she cannot read her emotions or mind. She is apparently the first person Cecile's powers didn't work on.

Snow loves rain and nature because she feels connected to all living things yet disconnected at the same time.  She says that  everything in nature has a purpose and she hopes to find a purpose of her own.

Cecile says that something about Snow seems inherently friendly and she is not scared of her, despite being unable to read her mind and emotions. 

Snow says that she is cure of only two things. First, whoever she is she likes herself. Second, she doesn't want to go back into the CRC.

Barry and Iris tell Snow that they are going to let her decide if Frost or Caitlin should come back, based on the logic that Dr. Thomas Snow didn't try to force his daughter to decide which personality would be dominant and they can't make that choice either. Only Snow can.

Hartley leaves STAR Labs to confront The Fiddler after she returns to the Krakatoa Club.

The Flash easily takes out The Fiddler and destroys her Fiddler. It is then that she reveals that, like Izzy Bowin, the instrument only focuses her powers. She is still able to attack him and Hartley with a sonic scream.

The Flash stops Hartley from killing The Fiddler and reveals that his employees and boyfriends are trapped out-of-phase with reality.

With Flash's help, Hartley uses his gauntlets to save all the people Fiddler phased. This also cures Hartley's heart problem.

The Fiddler steals Hartley's gauntlets after Captain Boomerang stuns the crowd with a trick boomerang that seems to put them out of phase with the rest of the room. They teleport away together.

The Fiddler is identified as an ex-con named  Andrea Wozzeck.

Snow decides that she wants to be her own person and refusing to go back into the CRC.

Hartley uses his powers (and a sonic scream) to destroy the CRC, saying he just helped a new friend when Chillblaine asks if he knows what he did.

Chillblaine swears revenge on Pied Piper and leaves STAR Labs, furious.

Snow decides to take the name Khione - the Greek snow goddess Dr. Thomas Snow references in his notes in 405.

Barry and Iris decide to take a trip to go see Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park.

The team go out and dance at the Krakatoa Club.

Allegra asks Chester to dance with her.

In the final scene, Captain Boomerang and The Fiddler construct some sort of device that seems to stabilize Red Death.

Red Death says that The Flash disgraced them, but they will have revenge.

Location

O’Shaughnessy Pub on the south side of Keystone City.

Untelevised Adventures

Chillblaine's interactions with Khione before she contacted Barry are undescribed.

Barry meets with Dr. Carla Tannhauser to get access to Dr. Thomas Snow's notes.


The Bottom Line

An incredibly disjointed episode. There's a lot of good moments here, but there's surprisingly little unifying the two storylines, apart from Snow/Khione pestering Pied Piper and inspiring his becoming a real hero. The Piper and Chillblaine plots are otherwise unconnected and the brilliant moments are outweighed by the bits where the rest of the ensemble gets in the way of the story. It also doesn't help that the new Fiddler is barely developed as a character or a threat.

The Flash Episode Guide: Season 9, Episode 1 - Wednesday Ever After

 

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.

Plot

Barry starts creating a "map book" based on what he's learned of his future and trying to build the best possible life for himself and Iris. Unfortunately, the future isn't what it used to be and the two quickly become trapped in a time loop, repeating February 1, 2023 over and over.

Influences

The movie Groundhog Day (Specially evoked by Cecile. Ironically, it takes place the day before the American holiday of Groundhog Day, which is celebrated on February 2nd.) and Legends of Tomorrow, particularly the Here I Go Again episode.(Being trapped in a comedic time loop.)

Goofs

Candice Patton has a far more subdued response than the rest of the cast to the red lightning death in Barry's nightmare sequence. They all scream and shake while she just slumps over into his arms.

Allegra is awfully free about discussing her secret identity in the open office of CCC Media. 

The Rosewood Hotel Georgia, a notable hotel in Vancouver, is prominently featured in the background shots of downtown Central City.

The episode concludes with the dramatic reveal of a bat-shaped emblem made of red lighting, revealing the mysterious figure backing Captain Boomerang as the Red Death. However, the episode says nothing about this and the symbol only has meaning if you read the Dark Nights: Metal comics featuring the character or heard the news about the character being played by Batwoman actor Javicia Leslie.

Performances

Richard Scott Harmon is engaging as the new Captain Boomerang.

Artistry

The new Captain Boomerang costume is a nice mix of elements from the classic costume (scarf and cap) and the more militarized costume favored by Owen Mercer in the comics.


Flash Facts

This is the first episode where Jesse L. Martin is not part of the opening scroll of recurring characters before the title card and is credited as a Guest Star.

The title card sequence now features Jon Corr's Mark "Chillblaine" Blaine as a series regular, but he does not appear in this episode.

This is the first episode to feature Richard Scott Harmon as Owen Mercer, AKA Captain Boomerang II.

First appearing in Identity Crisis #3 in 2004, Owen Mercer was the illegitimate son of George "Digger" Harkness, the first Captain Boomerang. Owen grew to young adulthood ignorant of his heritage, until his father tracked him down with the assistance of the Calculator. The two bonded briefly just before Digger's death at the hands of Jack Drake. Owen was recruited into the Rogues as the new Captain Boomerang by Captain Cold, but ultimately left them to join Nightwing's Outsiders and Amanda Waller's Suicide Squad. Ironically, he was later killed by the Rogues during the Blackest Night event for killing innocent women and children at the direction of his father's zombie, in a misguided effort to resurrect him.

The Arrowverse version of Owen Mercer is said to be a career criminal who has been in and out of Iron Heights since he was 19. He does not have any known connection to Digger Harkness. He also lacks the limited superspeed that Owen Mercer had in the comics, which enabled him to throw boomerangs fast enough to tag The Flash.

Iris is said to win a Pulitzer for an article titled "Nightmare Under Red Skies." This seems to be a clear nod to how Crisis events in DC Comics always have skies turning red.

The episode ends with the revelation that the brains behind the new Captain Boomerang is an evil speedster whose symbol resembles the Bat-Symbol made of red-lightning. This is the symbol of the Red Death, who first appeared in Dark Days: The Casting #1 - a tie-in to the Dark Nights: Metal event.

The Red Death was an evil version of Bruce Wayne, from the dark universe dubbed Earth -52.  In this world, Bruce Wayne merged with his world's version of Barry Allen, stealing his speed and going insane, killing his enemies while Barry Allen's soul, trapped in the Speed Force, was powerless to do anything but watch.


Technobabble

The Omega Maneuvers apparently involve all of Team Flash ganging up on a single villain.

Chester uses a portable force-field to protect a box full of explosives Tar Pit is trying to destroy.

The new Captain Boomerang is armed with exploding boomerangs, electric boomerangs, a force-field and a teleporter.

Chester detects composite temporal particles surrounding both Iris and Barry. He says this confirms they've been exposed to a tachyon feedback loop.

Chester determines that the device Captain Boomerang keeps stealing is the battery of a Roemer Accelerator, which is a compact and portable version of the STAR Labs Particle Accelerator. He says that Barry's speed interacting with such a device could be create the temporal loop.

The battery Captain Boomerang stole as being made of quantum-based micro circuitry. 

On Day 3, Chester tries to reverse engineer the photon relays of the battery. 

Chester detects a fusion signature inside the Roemer Accelerator, determining that Captain Boomerang planted a tactile nuke inside the device.

Dialogue Triumphs

The Flash: (To Tar Pit) Welcome back. Let's do this. One last time.

The Flash: Hey there! You must be new in town!  I'm The Flash.  And you are?
Captain Boomerang: Your worst nightmare, dumbass. And please - you can call me Captain.
(Mercer holds his coat open too show off the rows of boomerangs.)

(Iris just realized that the timeline is messed up.)
Iris: Barry, what did you do this time?

The Flash: Captain Boomerang, right? Didn't we do this already?
Captain Boomerang: Nope. And since you know who I am, I'm sure you're aware that I'm your worst nightmare.
(Mercer holds his coat open too show off the rows of boomerangs.)
The Flash: You said the same thing yesterday.
Captain Boomerang: Dumbass, we just met. Just now. Let's skip to the fighting part so I can cut that stupid look off your face.
(Mercer throws his boomerangs at The Flash, who easily dodges them. In the middle of all this, Iris calls him on his cowl radio.)
Iris: Barry, did you time-travel us?
The Flash: If I did, it wasn't on purpose!

Captain Boomerang: There is one thing you don't know about me - I always have a comeback!

Continuity

This episode takes place on Wednesday February 1, 2023.  It is said to be one week after the events of 820.

The opening sequence finds Team Flash fighting Tar Pit, who last appeared in 212. Frost, Chester, Allegra, Cecile, Joe and Iris all join Barry in the fight.

Barry realizes the opening fight sequence is a dream after noticing that Frost is still alive. This confirms that whatever happened to Caitlin in 820 did not bring Frost back.

Everyone except Barry dies of apparent brain hemorrhages after red lighting sparks in their eyes. 

Barry tells Iris to "just say yes" before going to work. 

Joe and Chester are training Cecile in using her telepathy by throwing footballs through a tire.  Cecile has the strength to manage this task easily, but lacks fine control. 

Cecile's telekinesis is strong enough to a glass beer mug with a thrown football.

Cecile senses something wrong when she tells Joe she's excited about being the muscle of Team Flash.

Allegra tells Iris about the events of 817 - specifically, how Taylor, Vanya and Aariz now know about her powers and how she and Taylor are no longer fighting.

Taylor is working on an ad-free portal for the CCC Media website, but complains to Iris about the filing system needing to be fixed.

Allegra surprises Iris with the news that she had a meeting with Cat Grant, who wants to buy CCC Media and turn it into a subsidiary of CatCo Worldwide Media. Cat Grant reportedly offered them a blank check and said all Iris had to do was "just say yes."

Allegra notes that Nora and Bart said Iris would eventually build her own giant media empire and win a Pulitzer Prize.  She thinks this may be what sets her on that path.

Iris says she will get back to Allegra and that she left her phone at home, clearly nervous about the deal.

Barry is called into the office of Captain Kramer.  He immediately puts his name up for the recently vacated position of Director of CCPD's CSI department. Kramer is stunned by this, as the position literally just became open. She is concerned, however, that Barry won't be able to balance the work load and being The Flash. Barry convinces her it won't be a problem and she agrees to recommend him to the mayor.

The Flash is summoned to deal with the robbery of a Kord Industries truck.

The robber reveals himself to be the new Captain Boomerang. Chester and Allegra identify him as an ex-con named Owen Mercer.

Mercer makes his escape after putting up a forcefield that Barry runs into and teleporting away with a component stolen from the device inside the Kord Industries truck.

Barry is oddly undisturbed about Captain Boomerang escaping and tells Chester and Allegra than can deal with him tomorrow. It is later revealed that this is because he knew he didn't catch the new Captain Boomerang the first day they fought him.

The device Captain Boomerang disassembled sparks after Barry leaves the crime scene.

As they are getting ready for bed, Iris asks Barry if he knew about the CatCo offer.  Barry says that he did and reveals his map book charting the future that leads to XS and Impulse being the way they are.

The map book says that Sue Dearbon will become the richest woman in the world in 2024 after buying Big Belly Burger and forcing them to shift to a plant-based menu.

The map book also says that Iris wins her first Pulitzer in 2023 for an article titled "Nightmare Under Red Skies." This could foreshadow a coming Crisis event.

Iris is upset by Barry trying to map out the future and not letting their future together be a surprise.

Barry tells Iris about how he keeps having nightmares about failing to keep her and their family and friends safe and the map book is his way of making sure they get the future they are meant to have.

Barry tells Iris that she is going to get pregnant with Nora in three months (May 2023) and will go on to win two Pulitzers.

Barry makes reference to the Mirror Dimension from The Flash season 7 and the battle with Despero and Iris' time sickness from The Flash season 8.

Pink particles float around Iris and Barry as they go to sleep that night.

When Barry and Iris wake up, it is still February 1, 2023.  Neither of them notice this, however.

Iris does not notice that Allegra is repeating the same news she gave her "yesterday" until she starts talking about the blank check from Cat Grant. Allegra is confused by Iris knowing what she is going to say before she says it.

Barry doesn't notice that time is looping until he is called into Captain Kramer's office. However, his confusion over thinking she was already recommending him for the CSI Director job causes her to reconsider the recommendation since he is clearly overworked.

Barry tries throwing lightning at Captain Boomerang the second time they fight, which triggers an explosion that seems to kill Barry... until he wakes up in bed next to Iris. This causes them to figure out they are stuck in a time loop.

Chester figures out that the Kord Industries tech interacting with Barry's speed is what is causing the time loop.

Barry borrows the key component Captain Boomerang stole so Chester can analyze it.

Chester's efforts to test the component on Day 3 causes an explosion that kills him and Barry.

Chester blows himself and Barry up again on Day 4.

By Day 18, Barry has Chester wearing an armored suit and tells him not to touch the battery at all.  This time, Barry blows them up with a Speed Force spark accidentally starts the explosion.

On Day 19, Iris is up before Barry wakes and is drinking wine for breakfast. She tells Barry that she's decided to enjoy herself since it probably won't matter.

Iris reveals that she's refused to say yes to the CatCo deal every single day since they got stuck in the loop.

Barry suggests that Iris defying the map book is what caused the time loop instead of the Roemer Accelerator theft. Iris doesn't care , however, saying that if the choice is doing what some book tells her to do or just having fun being trapped in the same day with no consequences, she'll happily be stuck in the same day forever.

Iris tells Barry that being bounced around in time was her worst nightmare and that is why she's come to love being able to live in time normally over the past week and is afraid to let anything control what she does, good or bad.

Barry winds up running around the entire city with his map book trying to clear his head. He winds up at Joe's house, just as he and Cecile are getting ready to have dinner.

Barry shows Joe the map book.  He reads an entry which says that Barry and Iris will eventually move into his house.  Nora will chip a tooth on the staircase and Bart will say his first word on the same couch they are sitting on.

Joe tells Barry that Iris may be safe in the future he is creating, but it says nothing about if she is happy with it or how it comes about.

Barry decides to burn the map book, agreeing with Iris they should let the future come as it will and just trust that things will work out.

On Day 20, Iris and Barry decide to spend the day together and just have fun with the loop. This leads to Barry going with Iris to work and handing out bagels.

Iris decides that, rather than take the offer from Cat Grant, she is going to get a loan from Sue Dearbon, buy the Coast City Gazette, and use that to start her empire on her own terms rather than as part of Cat Grant's network.

Iris and Barry spend the next few hours enjoying a pool and tropical drinks somewhere.

Iris goes with Barry to his meeting with Captain Kramer and helps convince her to give him the recommendation for the Director job.

This time, Iris goes with Barry to fight Captain Boomerang, shooting him with an energy gun while he's distracted by Barry making fun of him.

Captain Boomerang still escapes by teleporting.

Rather than try to move the accelerator, Barry uses his powers to phase the nuclear explosion through the city until it dissipates. 

Allegra and Chester kiss for the first time in sheer joy that they didn't get blown up.

Barry says they went through the time loop 58 times.

Iris takes a phone call from Sue Dearbon. She confirms that Iris now owns the Coast City Gazette and it is part of her company.

Allegra asks how a thug like Mercer is suddenly a tech genius and where he got access to a teleporter and high-tech boomerangs. Joe says Mercer must be working with someone who is the brains to his brawn.

Barry and Iris decide to take a "baby-moon adventure" since they never really got to have the classic newlywed phase.

Cecile successful throws a football through a tire with her mind for the first time.

Cecile asks Joe why he feels anxious and he says he's feeling the need to get out of Central City.

Barry runs to STAR Labs after receiving a signal from Caitlin's cell phone. He is greeted by a strange woman who looks like Caitlin, but with dark blue streaks in her hair. She apologizes for scaring Barry, but says she is not Frost or Caitlin.

In the post-credits scene, Captain Boomerang delivers the battery to a mysterious figure and trades it for a case full of more trick boomerangs. The figure, who looks like a living shadow with red lightning sparks inside it, is a speedster who leaves red lightning behind as they run. The episode ends with a bat emblem made of red lightning - the symbol of the Red Death.

Location

Central City - February 1, 2023 and February 2, 2023. 


Untelevised Adventures

It is said that Barry and Iris have been on vacation for the past week.

Allegra has an off-camera meeting with Cat Grant regarding selling CCC Media.


The Boomerang Factor

Averted with style by the new Captain Boomerang, who is competent and capable.


The Bottom Line

A welcome return to form in most respects. The Red Death reveal doesn't work that well, thanks to all the spoilers about who they will eventually turn out to be, but it is more than made up for by the shock of Danielle Panabaker's new role.