By Mayur Somalinga – Staff Reporter

“The Flash,” ever since its pilot episode aired on October 7, 2014, has been a favorite among comic fans alike as a dynamic extension of the “Arrowverse.” However, in recent years, namely in 2016 when Season 3 debuted, the love for the show began to die out due to retcon inconsistencies, repetition, a lack of lightheartedness that made the previous seasons of the show successful, amongst other issues. Season 6, however, so far, seems to be an impetus for redemption for the show as a whole that has allowed for the return of viewers that were not fond of previous seasons.

[WARNING: This review contains minor spoilers for “The Flash” Season 6 Episodes 1 – 11 and Crisis on Infinite Earths. Read ahead at your own risk.]

The show features Iris West-Allen played by Candice Patton, Dr. Caitilin Snow/Killer Frost (Dr. Snow’s alter ego) played by Danielle Panabaker, Cisco Ramon played by Carlos Valdes, Joe West played by Jesse L. Martin, Cecile Horton played by Danielle Nicolet, Ralph Dibny (aka Elongated Man) played by Hartley Sawyer, Harrison Nash Wells (this season’s rendition of the Harrison Wells character), Allegra Garcia (the newest addition to “Team Flash”) played by Kayla Compton, and last but not least, Barry Allen, or better known as the fastest man alive, The Flash, played by Grant Gustin.

Season 6, while humorful, starts in a dark place as it begins right after the disintegration of Nora West-Allen (played by Jessica Parker Kennedy), the daughter of Barry and Iris that traveled back in time to see them. Although Nora is quite distant and mysterious in the beginning, especially with Iris, she eventually develops a tight-knit relationship with her parents which makes it all the more difficult for them to say goodbye after Nora disappears into thin air after a confrontation with The Flash’s archnemesis, The Reverse-Flash. To add insult to injury, Barry and Iris discover that Barry is fated to die during Crisis on Infinite Earths, an event that threatens the very existence of the multiverse.

However, no season of “The Flash” would be complete without a formidable antagonist and for this season, the directors introduced Ramsey Rosso (played by Sendhil Ramamurthy), a seemingly mild-mannered doctor who after witnessing his mother fall at the hand of HLH (a rare blood disorder), and knowing that he also will contract the disease, goes mad trying to develop a cure which leads him to break the Hippocratic Oath and become the villain known as Bloodwork. Bloodwork is unlike any of the other villains seen in past seasons as he is not a speedster but rather he is a meta-human that possesses the ability to infect others to create invincible henchmen that he can command. Overall, due to the uniqueness of the character and his motives, Bloodwork has proven to be a worthy adversary of The Flash so far.

As stated before, Season 6 of “The Flash” is more of a reboot for the show in terms of its reputation amongst its fans. The primary reason for this being the case is the fact that this time around the show has been made to mirror the cheerfulness and humor that was the cause of Season 1’s enormous success. Also, in past seasons, namely Seasons 4 and 5, Iris has played the role of leader of “Team Flash,” and while there is no doubt that Iris and Barry are soul mates, most fans would agree that the role of leader does not highlight Iris’ strengths as a character and that showcasing her as the intrepid investigative journalist that she is by nature would be a lot more beneficial to the show which is how Iris has been portrayed thus far in the season. Another highlight of this season, in particular, has been the version of The Flash suit Barry has donned which compared to the previous 5 seasons, is the most comic-accurate and aesthetically pleasing with the reintroduction of the chin strap and overall minimalistic design. This season also displays the adept acting ability of the cast through the perfect combination between intense emotional scenes and those that present the dorkier and more hilarious sides of the characters. All of the previously mentioned high points of the season are worth discussing, however, the most impactful was the fact that as a result of the aftermath of Crisis on Infinite Earths, the multiverse was destroyed which means that all the superheroes and villains now reside on one Earth, known as Earth-Prime. Of course, this is also quite unfortunate as many of the fans fell in love with the concept of the “Arrowverse” characters being able to travel to other worlds, often intensifying the plot. However, with all that being said, it is quite an exciting installment as at the end of Crisis of Infinite Earths Barry creates a union amongst the heroes, much like DC Comics’ “Justice League.”

Although just above, the death of the multiverse was stated as a positive, there is one repercussion of the end of the multiverse that makes the event seem very indecorous, indeed, which is that, with the multiverse being a construct of the past, it eliminates the possibility of another Harrison Wells character being introduced. This is quite upsetting to fans as the introduction of a new Harrison Wells character every season has garnered the affections of many fans and has been very helpful to “Team Flash” as they work to quell their ever-expanding rogues’ gallery. In contrast, now, “The Flash” is left with Harrison Nash Wells being the only version left to assist “Team Flash,” however, the accuracy of that statement may need to be furthered examined as at the end of Season 6 Episode 11 (“Love is a Battlefield”) there is a shot in which Harrison Nash Wells sees Harrison “Harry” Wells (first introduced during Season 2) for a quarter of a second before he disappears. It is currently unclear what the implications of this happenchance are, however, fans theorize that it may be a hallucination caused by the guilt he faces since he incidentally started Crisis on Infinite Earths out of hubris leading to the subsequent destruction of all other worlds and thus all versions of Harrison Wells, also. 

Although most viewers have stopped watching since Season 3 onwards, as alluded to previously, Season 6 is a perfect opportunity to return without any feelings of regret with the introduction of the Season 1 inspired approaches to plot construction and character development.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars