Spoiler Alert! The new season of The Flash races into high gear as the mystery surrounding the Scarlet Speedster’s newest adversary deepens and Barry and the team work to save the Speed Force — but it comes at a terrible price!
Run Barry! Run! This became one of the more resonating themes of The Flash to emerge during the series’ premiere season especially recited by Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh), who was also duplicitously undermining Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) as the villainous Reverse-Flash, our hero’s most ardent nemesis. Through each season of The Flash, the audience was introduced to a new version of Harrison Wells, the most popular among them came in the form of Earth-2’s Harry Wells, who was also conspiring with that season’s “big bad”.
As we jump headlong back into Season 7 of The CW’s most pop primetime DC show, Barry is still wrestling with the consequences of his diminishing speed. Last season, Barry inadvertently caused the Speed Force to “die” and in the process has been tapping out his power source. Now our hero resorts to cryogenically freezing himself until it is absolutely necessary for him to suit up and act as Central City’s own Scarlet Speedster, as he continues to hunt for his newest adversary — the cunning Eva McCulloch, the Mirror Mistress (series regular Efrat Dor) who is holding his wife prisoner!
In order to keep pace with the nefarious Mirror Mistress, an enemy that is able to traverse the space behind reflective surfaces and commands an entire “mirror-universe”, Team Flash has been working around the clock to resuscitate the Speed Force. The latest incarnation of Wells, “Nash” has stumbled on a solution, but after having played a role in unleashing the Anti-Monitor during the “Crisis on Infinite Earths” event, this far more selfish persona is afflicted with a multiple personality syndrome that allows him to access the Wells of the pre-crisis multiverse.
They all come to one conclusion: in order to jump-start The Flash’s powers they’ll have to use the multiverse energies inside of Nash in order to charge the Artificial Speed Force (A.S.F.) contraption, but Nash is hesitant, aware that it would cost him his life!
Crisis Control!
There are several returning faces further establishing themselves among the halls of S.T.A.R. Labs this season. The most significant change to the continuing narrative is the obvious departure/omission of one Ralph Dibny, The Elongated Man. The actor who portrayed the malleable super-sleuth was dispatched at the end of last season after several unflattering racists and inappropriate tweets were uncovered. Leaving the dangling participle of Sue Dearbon (guest star Natalie Dreyfuss); the adventurous socialite has been framed for the murder of Eva’s husband, Joseph.
The hopeful outcome is that the show recasts Ralph, and the pair can be reunited. Right now, it’s being written that Sue is on the run, and Ralph is tagging along to keep her safe as they work to clear her name. In the meantime Citizen “cub” reporter, Allegra (Kayla Compton) and the newest brain of the bunch, Chester P. Runk (Brandon McKnight) have been elevated to full-time S.T.A.R. Lab employees this season, filling out the spaces left by Cisco “Vibe” Ramon (Carlos Valdes) and Caitlyn “Frost” Snow (Danielle Panabaker). Both veteran cast mates will be returning soon.
Another significant upgrade this season is the most apparent “cosmetic” changes to Barry’s suit. His cowl electrically activates whenever the hero is ready to spring into action. It’s not clear how this occurs, or if it’s a byproduct of his “Post-Crisis” rebooting. Barry had come into possession of his iconic and very-familiar ring that jettisoned his red suit at the top of Season 5 when he encountered his “future-daughter” Nora (Jessica Parker Kennedy), who happened to be carrying it with her. The much-more streamlined “one-zee” version of the suit was replaced in Season 6.
Mirror Darkly
Meanwhile, Iris (Candice Patton) remains a prisoner of Eva’s “mirror universe” — a construct of which the origins are becoming much more apparent, even as it slowly begins to chip away at Iris’ psyche driving her mad. While continuing to evolve her plans to cleanse Central City of Black Hole’s technological Blackmarket influence, McCulloch finds a recording of the fateful night the particle accelerator explodes and apparently “kills” her (more to be revealed). Iris faces down against Mirror Mistress and makes another attempt to send a message to the outside world…
A sizable challenge for Patton, who has been largely separated from the rest of her cast mates and thrust into solitary in Eva’s prison. She has still managed to really drive the terror of her isolation and make the most of navigating scenes that are designed to slowly crack at Iris’ mental state. Sometimes playing this maddening cruelty can come off as comical, but Patton has certainly stepped up and mustered all of Iris’ ingenuity bringing the audience along as she seeks out the proper lightning rod to signal to the team that she’s still in the game!
As the episode approaches its climax, Nash decides that he must make the ultimate sacrifice and become the conduit by which the A.S.F. is given life so that The Flash can continue to save the day. It’s certainly a very heroic end to Nash, and in effect every Wells that’s come before, but given that the multiverse wasn’t destroyed but reconstituted at the end of the “Crisis” is it truly the last time fans have seen the end of Tom Cavanagh’s well of a thousand Wells? Snapshot moment of the episode includes Grant Gustin as Wells, before Cavanagh’s “final” good-bye!
The Flash | starring Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Danielle Panabaker, Carlos Valdes, Jesse L. Martin, and Tom Cavanagh airs Tuesday nights @ 8pm on The CW and is followed by the new Original Series Superman & Lois.
S07 E01 | “All’s Well That Ends Wells” is written by Sam Chalsen & Lauen Certo and directed by Geoff Shortz | Original Airdate: Tuesday, March 2.
