‘The Flash’ Finally Ups The Ante

Since coming back from its winter break, The Flash has been floundering slowly. The first couple episodes were decent at building character, but it struggled as it slowly built up tension towards this season’s main villain. There had been snippets and hints as to what was to come, but it wasn’t enough to make each episode shine on its own. That is until this week, when it was finally able to deliver on the threat and danger promised by this very menacing bad guy.

In last week’s episode, Deathstorm was a force to be reckoned with. From a visual and plot standpoint, he delivered very real stakes as he massacred dozens. But his CGI form failed to connect with the characters on a personal level. This week’s episode corrected that fault as his human form (Robbie Amell) returned along with some ghosts. He was the grounded force this villain needed to return the show to its roots and truly wreck havoc on Team Flash. Furthermore, one of their own hanged in the balance as Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker) suffered from all of their grief while Deathstorm sought to make her his bride. Meanwhile, her other half, Killer Frost, elevated herself to a new form to take on Deathstorm physically. It culminated in a battle that fans have been waiting several weeks for in classic Flash fashion.

The one downside is that the season isn’t over yet. The show had been slow for several episodes only to climax too quickly. There is still the plot line of Iris’s (Candice Patton) time sickness to deal with, so perhaps the stakes can remain high as that story takes center stage. But I don’t think I’m alone when I say I hope the threat of Deathstorm hasn’t faded from the show just yet.

The Flash airs Wednesdays on The CW.