The Flash – Failure Is An Orphan

By starrymag | March 19, 2019

By: Malasha Parker

 

Nora (Jessica Parker Kennedy) meets with Eobard Thawne (Tom Cavanagh) to tell him that the cure is ready and can be used on Cicada (Chris Klein) to break the dagger. However, Thawne shows her an article with Cicada and The Flash’s (Grant Gustin) last confrontation and it seems that a new timeline is trying to break through. They deduct that they need to find Cicada before the timeline changes again and Thawne tells her that someone big is coming.

 

Iris (Candice Patton) is in the hallway talking to someone about an article she’s writing when Barry rushes in with a contract that she needs to get the statement from the caller. They get ready to find Nora when they hear her flushing out ways to stop Cicada. Everyone listening looks thoroughly annoyed, while Barry and Iris look confused. They can’t make any moves right now because everything is being checked. Nora asks Barry if he is ready to convince Cicada to take the cure, but he isn’t quite sure how that’ll happen yet. Nora starts freaking out about him having to be sure he can make this happen when Iris blurts out that something big is happening at Jitters. Nora asks if they think it’s a meta and she rushes down while Barry and Iris follow after her.

 

Joe (Jesse L. Martin) is going through the Cicada sighting reports when Cecile (Danielle Nicolet) joins him. She asks about files from the Cicada task force and he tells her she’s standing in it. He asks her about Dr. Vanessa Ambres (Lossen Chambers). They see that she treated Grace and Orlin, so Joe thinks that she has been the doctor helping Cicada. Cecile offers her help on this case and the two head to the hospital to question the doctor.

 

Iris and Nora are sitting in Jitters when Barry walks over with an “XS-presso.” Nora gets so excited that she has her own drink and Barry starts talking about more things that could happen for XS. Barry and Iris start talking about all the things they haven’t been able to do with Nora. Nora asks to see the list that they are talking about and when she looks at it she realizes there are a lot of things on it. Iris tells her that they have time, but then Barry gets an alert from a lab. Nora and Barry race off to the site. When they get there a man is stealing chemicals from a cabinet and drinking them. The Flash and XS show up, but the man blasts them with acid. The chemicals go through the walls and the floor. He escapes, but Nora remembers the acid man was in the article photo from the future. She tells Barry that today is the day he has to stop Cicada.

 

Nora’s briefing everyone on how the photo matters now. Sherloque (Tom Cavanagh) asks her how she can be sure that what she saw was real this time and she tells him because everything is happening the exact same way. However, he’s still suspicious of her. She starts explaining how there was the same kind of burn mark by Flash’s feet that she saw in the picture. Today is the last day they will confront Cicada if he goes after this last meta. Everybody breaks off to do their different tasks. Sherloque mentions to Iris that if this is their last chance at Cicada then Nora will be leaving sooner than they expected. Iris looks saddened by this.

 

Iris finds Nora in the hallway and mentions how Nora may be going home. Iris offers to teach her the famous West family right hook, but Nora is distracted and flashes off to go see Barry.  

 

Cecile is so happy to be working with Joe because this is the first time she’s gotten to do so with her abilities. Cecile tells Joe some quirks she will do to see if the Dr. Ambres is lying and they head off to talk to her. They start to talk to her about the stolen medications that Orlin has been using. Cecile starts feeling things from her, but Joe lets the doctor walk. Cecile and Joe get into a small argument because of it so Cecile leaves.

 

Barry and Nora are in the speed lab trying to figure out how the plan will go to get Cicada to take the cure. Nora says that her journal will help because it has The Flash’s legacy. Barry’s trying to figure out what he’s going to say to Cicada, so Nora gives him some examples from his past villain speeches. However, Barry can’t grasp anything from it because those times were different and Cicada doesn’t care whether he lives or dies.

 

Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) asks Sherloque if he’s ready to go back home and he says he is, but he feels he still has more work to do there. Cisco (Carlos Valdes) thinks it’s because of his lady friend, so he starts trying to give him a device to help with long distance relationships. Sherloque cuts him off and tells them how he figured the solution for the conversation between Cicada and the Flash.

 

Cicada is chasing down Phillip Master, but when he thinks he has him it turns out to be Killer Frost. She blasts him and freezes his gun in midair so that The Flash can talk to Cicada. The Flash tells him that they have a meta-cure and they want him to take it. Cicada asks why he would agree to it and Barry tells him it’s because of his legacy. To their dismay, Cicada punches Flash into a car and tells him that he doesn’t care about his legacy. He grabs his dagger and then gets blasted by Killer Frost. He escapes again.

 

They’re searching for Cicada, but Barry thinks it was his last chance to catch the villain. Iris and Sherloque think they still have time, but Barry is beating himself up because he thinks he wasn’t convincing enough to stop Cicada. He leaves to check files at CCPD. Nora gets stressed again and leaves the room, too.

 

Joe comes to see Barry in his lab at CCPD. He tells Barry they will get him, but Barry is more worried about what will happen when they do capture him because of how the first chance at convincing him went. Joe tells him that instead of trying to convince him as The Flash, he should try talking to him as more of a person than just superhuman. Barry thanks him and then Joe mentions how Cecile uses her powers. He feels like Cecile’s powers are stopping him from doing what he needs to do on the job. Barry tells him that if he lets her do what she’s great at it’ll only allow him to do what he’s great at, too. Joe thanks Barry for the talk and mentions how great he’s become at giving advice. Barry says he’s had a great teacher.

 

Iris walks into the speed lab while Nora is listening to sped up comm recordings to help Barry gather a speech to convince Cicada. Iris offers to get her mind off of that and leave it to Barry. She asks Nora if she would like to go clear her mind on the Jitters rooftop, but Nora is annoyed that Iris is still trying to get her away from stopping Cicada. Iris tells her that this is the last time they may have to spend together because she will be leaving once they get Cicada. Nora doesn’t understand, but Iris tells her it’ll be different for her. It will feel like no time has passed, but for Iris it will feel like decades. Iris leaves teary-eyed and tells her she will catch up with her later.

 

Joe tells Cecile he let his pride get in the way and asks her to join him in Dr. Ambres’ interrogation. She accepts with a kiss. They go into the interrogation room and tell Dr. Ambres they will find proof of what they’re accusing her of on the security footage. Joe says that she has motive because of what happened to her fiance, Darius. She admits that it hurts and begins to break. They tell her about the cure and ask for her help in getting to Cicada. She doesn’t want him to go to jail. She says she can make contact and share the location. They ask her what she’s keeping hidden. Dr. Ambres then reveals that Grace is a meta.

 

Barry relays the information to the team and now they need to figure out how to get to Cicada again. They brainstorm some crazy plans, but Barry tells them he can get to him on his own.

 

Nora finds Iris in the lounge. Nora tells Iris about the list that she made when she came back in time– the wedding, the baby shower, etc. She wanted to have memories with all of them. Barry stands out in the hallway and listens as Nora apologizes. Nora’s main reason for coming back was so she could spend time with her parents and she’s going to keep that mindset from now on. The two are hugging when Barry walks in. He tells them he thinks he’s just going to talk to Dwyer, father to father.

 

The Flash catches Dwyer and tries to use Grace as a convincing method. The Flash tells Dwyer that Dr. Ambres is afraid she’s going to do the one thing he can’t come back from– killing Grace. He tells Dwyer not to let Grace grow up in fear and to just take the cure. Dwyer asks him why he should believe him and Barry reveals himself to Dwyer. Barry tells him that he is a father too and he would do anything to make the world a better place for her.

 

Barry brings Dwyer to S.T.A.R. Labs for the cure and Dwyer tells him he is not doing it without Dr. Ambres. They will have to suture his chest shut once the cure takes over. He keeps the dagger by just in case. They have Dr. Ambres there ready to administer the cure. Joe says once the cure is in he’s talking Dwyer to jail. Dr. Ambres tells Dwyer that she wanted to tell him about Grace. They administer the cure and it starts to work. Barry’s powers return.

 

Sherloque sits with Nora in the lounge and starts to question her about how she knew a meta was coming. She lies and says she just had a feeling. While the doctor is suturing Dwyer, the lights start to flicker and Cecile feels that someone is coming. A masked villain in Cicada’s attire stands inside the lounge.

 

They hold Cecile and Nora up in electric constraints and blast Sherloque. Sherloque gets to the alarm button and the team inside the med bay try to figure out what is going on. Barry gives them light to finish patching Dwyer up and they go to get the other Cicada. They see Cicada walking their way and they all go to the cortex where they stand at the ready to fight. Joe, Iris, Cisco and Killer Frost start to shoot while Barry races around everyone so that he can throw a lightning bolt. Cicada manages to dodge them all with blades and eventually hold The Flash up against the wall as well. Cicada blasts everyone else and starts to throw objects in the room around. Cicada destroys the cortex. They walk into the med bay and stab Dr. Ambres with the dagger and take Dwyer.

 

The team is in the cortex when Caitlin announces that Dr. Ambres didn’t make it and Barry tells them that he can’t find Dwyer anywhere. Nora is wondering who that was if they took Cicada’s powers from Orlin.

 

In a cabin in the woods we see Dwyer laying on a couch with Cicada watching over him. They say, “I’ve missed you, uncle Orlin.” Cicada reveals herself to be a future Grace (Sarah Carter).