This review contains spoilers.
5.1 Nora
I made no secret about my general disdain for the previous season of The Flash. Then again, I was in the minority who absolutely loved season three, so make of that what you will. But seriously, I was so disappointed in last season that not even the finale, where the show has often managed to do its best work, was able to change my opinion of things.
Which is why I am so very pleased to report that Nora is not only an excellent episode, it’s the best The Flash season premiere in the show’s history. No season has ever laid out its mission statement as clearly and succinctly as Nora did, let alone felt so downright creative right out of the gate. I mean, think about it. The pilot was, well, a pilot. Season two laid the groundwork for the multiverse theme of the season but was ultimately forgettable. Flashpoint was quite good, and I’ll admit that the season four opener got the job done just fine.
But The Flash season five premiere, Nora, is a genuinely special episode. It manages to encompass everything the show did right last year, and get right back to focusing on what the show has done best throughout its run. And perhaps most importantly, it’s only a superhero show when there’s superheroing to do, and the rest of the time it positively revels in the weirder elements of being what is now officially a long-running science fiction TV series. Legends Of Tomorrow did exactly this spectacularly last season, abandoning any pretense of being a DC superhero show and instead just going forth and being a bonkers sci-fi series. The Flash has always been (and always will be) a superhero show at heart, but when the costumes are off, it feels more heavily sci-fi than ever, and I love it.
Often with all of the CW DC TV shows, there’s a time jump of some kind at the start of the season. These shows more or less function in real time week to week. Not here, though. Nora literally picks up seconds after the season four finale ended, with the mysterious Nora West-Allen trying to explain herself to a roomful of semi-drunk Team Flash members. This is exactly the kind of scene that could have gone wrong last year, and instead (other than the unfortunate and unwelcome revelation that Cecile’s powers have stuck around), it’s a perfect way to get everyone centred before the weirdness and fun begins.
As befits the fact that they are suddenly the parents of an adult child, this is by far the most mature Barry and Iris the show has ever given us. Barry is free of the usual self-doubt and soul searching that has characterised most of his arcs, but also free of the irritating swagger that sometimes comes along with that. He gets some devastating news this episode, but for once, it has to do with him and not the people around him. But Barry takes this news less as a tragedy for himself, but more as to how it affects Nora. Barry’s selflessness (and really, the selflessness that pretty much all of Team Flash displays) has always been the emotional core of this show when things are going right, and I feel like seeing it spotlighted here in a subtle way is a good omen for this season.
But you don’t name an episode after a character if you don’t intend to spotlight her. Jessica Parker Kennedy is an immediately welcome addition to Team Flash. Nora is eager to get to know her young parents, and carries just enough mystery (and a bit of an inability to handle the burdens of certain mysteries) with her. Amazingly, she also has subtle hints of both Grant Gustin and Candice Patton’s mannerisms in her performance, and she’s utterly believable as their daughter without ever feeling like she’s doing imitations. There’s always the worry that we’re going to end up with too many speedsters on this show (and sadly, Keiynan Lonsdale is about to leave, just as he does perhaps his best ever work as Wally West this week), but so far, it doesn’t look like we’ll be in danger of getting tired of XS.
And can you believe it has been nearly a year since we were first teased with this character during last year’s “Crisis on Earth-X” crossover? Also, did I hear the hints of an XS theme while she was training in STAR Labs? Blake Neely can be a real secret weapon sometimes.
How good is Nora? It even uses a nobody villain-of-the-week (the hapless Gridlock) to perfection. He’s a holdover from last year’s villain engine, he exists solely to galvanise Barry, Nora, and Wally into some quality speedster action, and then he gets the hell out of the way. I mean, permanently, but that’s fine, too. I’m having trouble thinking of a single The Flash season premiere that, even at their best, delivered an organic, triumphant “hell yes” moment, but the bit when our three speedsters successfully phase the plane is a legit one, and it is so refreshing seeing Barry completely at ease with his role as a leader, and at this point, a true veteran superhero. This is a level up moment for both the character and Grant Gustin, and both wear it well.
The humour, which felt over the top and forced for so much of last year, is back in line with the tone the show has usually adhered to. It still has a sense of humour, but it’s immediately more balanced than what we got throughout season four. In fact, it has perhaps the single funniest line delivery Hartley Sawyer has ever given as Ralph Dibny, with “Earth, also.” I was never advocating for The Flash to become a navel-gazing mopefest (that’s what I watch Daredevil for!), but if you’re gonna have jokes, they had better land. So far, so good. I’m not thrilled that the series is going to continue on with the ‘Caitlin wishes Killer Frost will come back’ thing, but I can’t really fault this episode for it. And hey, new season/clean slate, right?
The Flash season 5 starts in the UK on Thursday the 18th of October at 8pm on Sky One.
Read Mike’s review of the season four finale, We Are The Flash, here.