S07.E10: Family Matters, Part 1

[Trini]

Iris is pushed to the limit as she seeks to uncover the mysterious truth about Psych (guest star Ennis Esmer). Meanwhile, Barry initiates a new training system, that could potentially backfire, with devastating consequences. Joe and Cisco make life-altering decisions.

Philip Chipera directed the episode written by Lauren Barnett & Emily Palizzi.

Airdate: 5/18/2021

[Trini]

West-Allen family investigating in this preview clip:

 

[scarynikki12]

I miss Julian.

Beyond that I enjoyed Speed Force’s Dark Lipstick Of Villainy.

[bettername2come]

Say it ain't so, Joe!

Goth Nora, what have you done?!

Can people just stop killing Barry's family right in front of him? It's been (so sorry) done to death.

[cambridgeguy]

They really did watch X-Men 3 before coming up with this season, didn't they? 

So Cisco might end up working with Argus?  I hope he doesn't mind when they use his tech for morally questionable things.

Speaking of working, let's see how long he can keep his job when Joe isn't around to have his back.

[Primal Slayer]

I am tired of this storyline and this whole "your kids!" thing is just beyond...ugh. We've spent to much time talking down bad guys. I'm bored.

But I did enjoy Ciscos storyline.

[Lantern7]

I think it's time for this season to end. "Fury of the Forces" just feels so meh. They're trying to amp up the drama; meanwhile, I'm wondering where Fuerza's clothes come from when Alexa transforms into her. It's not bothering me, but I'm clinging onto it because I'm over the story.

Given how things have shaken out with his "kids," maybe Barry should get a vasectomy. Seriously, though, it's rough watching him run into the same wall over and over.

You think Kramer is related to whasherface from Black Lightning? "Hi! I'm a lady law official! I have a mad-on for metahumans, and I'm gonna run over anybody that gets in my way!" Oy . . .

[Jediknight]

16 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

I think it's time for this season to end.

You can say that again.

I have been bored with this show this season.  Didn't think I'd say that about The Flash.

[Lady Calypso]

Yeah, this season has been...not even just boring, but frustrating to watch. I am not all in on this whole Forces as the West-Allen Children angle that they're going for. I'm not into them acting like these people are their own children, literally calling them their daughters and sons (especially with Nora Speedforce looking like Barry's mother! Ick!). I am not into the whole Pep Talk of Love stuff that they keep hammering in. I don't mind Alexa as a character, but the whole Fuerza stuff is just laughable especially the CGI. The "fight" scene between Fuerza and Psych was downright terrible. Not to mention that they changed the Force storyline from last episode, with Nora planning to KILL all of them and suddenly, because Barry grounded Nora (since we're going with the stupid ass Children of the Forces stuff), she now wants to throw a temper tantrum and harm Barry's wife and "children", as if that's going to convince Barry to help her or whatever.

Speaking of a different force, Joe quitting his job was dumb. Great, now Kramer will most definitely wreck havoc with curing all metahumans, because you know it won't stop with just metacriminals. Joe thinks him stepping away due to a disagreement in tactics is going to be super helpful, but now the new police captain is most likely going to help Kramer.

Cisco's storyline is the only one that didn't piss me off. They're giving him a good sendoff. And Kamilla was somewhat useful with her talk.

[Trini]

Yeah, they're starting to lose me with this Forces storyline. And they're pushing too hard with the family theme -- yes, we get the metaphor. And I'm still waiting for answers about how these forces got attached to these people and why, and even how these forces came to be. Why is SFNora acting this way?? Why are they still calling it 'Nora'??

What foolishness are they doing with Joe? This is the story they finally give him? He's quitting his job (that we barely get to see him do) because he doesn't like Kramer's attitude?? Huh?

And am I supposed to think Kramer is the bad guy here? She's asking all the right questions. Using the cure against someone without their consent is definitely wrong, but how is Joe quitting going to help that? If there was a competent lawyer on team Flash, maybe they could sue for metahuman rights violations....

Well, at least Cisco's exit arc had some thought put into it. It was good to hear Cisco get to voice his fears and thoughts. With all the talk about family, I wish the show had invested in showing his own family.

I did enjoy seeing Barry, Iris, and Joe together at a crime scene, and Team Citizen investigating, and learning more about Pysch/Bashir and seeing his face.

Iris' outfits were great.

Also, this isn't specific to this episode, but man, the stunt team really loves throwing Cisco's stunt double into things! Like 3 or 4 time a season they just launch that dude into a wall.  😬

Well, at least I have Painkiller on Black Lightning when I want to see punching.

[thuganomics85]

I totally missed it last week, but yeah, Speed Force Nora apparently dawning on the Goth eye-liner and lipstick is hilarious.  It's like even she knows she is evil now.  Again though, at least Michelle Harrison seems to be having fun with all of this.

For Christ sakes, Barry!  Despite my numerous complaints, I really do like the fellow (mainly thanks to Grant Gustin), but I swear anytime he's put into a mentor position, he just bungles it the worst way possible.  It was so obvious that he was pushing Alexa to the breaking point and she was at her wits end (and if he couldn't tell from her, he couldn't have certainly figured it out from Caitlin's nonstop mugging), but that fool just keeps barreling through everything like a Speedster Bull in a China shop.  Maybe I would be more understanding if I bought into the whole "they're kind of his children" bullshit, but since I don't, I just find him being obnoxious.  Even from a villainous standpoint, yes, they've done some damage, but they've had much bigger threats with an even bigger bodycount, and Barry still kept his cool better then he is here.

Anyway, we finally get the backstory/identity of Psych.  His real name is Bashir Malik and he was basically a guy whose rich parents died after they tried to flee the country after embezzling money, and then when he thought his friends abandoned him also, he broke bad as well (even though apparently only one of them was actually truly bad, but he just assumed the worst.)  So, now he's killed a few folks and mentally scarred numerous others, but thanks to a pep talk, he's already going into "snarky, wisecracking anti-hero" territory!  It was good seeing Enis Esmer without the mask at least and he was great as always.

I'm not sure how long Alexa will be sticking around (especially after the way things ended tonight), but I hope she isn't out of the picture because I really do enjoy the character and the actress.

Cisco's mixed emotions over his likely exit was well done at least and Carlos Valdes seems to be going all out here, thankfully.

So, Kramer isn't out of the picture after-all and is still content to go forward with her plan to take out all meta villains.  And since she continues to be one of the few antagonist that knows what she's doing, she manages to go over Joe's head to get permission, so he.... quits?  Really?  And where is Singh in all of this?  Isn't he the commissioner or something?  I would have thought he'd be more involved with all of this.

Was kind of fun seeing some glimpses/photos of faces from the past like Patti and Julian.  Man, do I miss Tom Felton's snark here.

[Trini]

1 hour ago, thuganomics85 said:

For Christ sakes, Barry!  Despite my numerous complaints, I really do like the fellow (mainly thanks to Grant Gustin), but I swear anytime he's put into a mentor position, he just bungles it the worst way possible.  It was so obvious that he was pushing Alexa to the breaking point and she was at her wits end (and if he couldn't tell from her, he couldn't have certainly figured it out from Caitlin's nonstop mugging), but that fool just keeps barreling through everything like a Speedster Bull in a China shop.  ...

But they're writing him like this, deliberately. And it makes no sense seven seasons in. Of course a story has to have a bit of conflict, but this ain't it.

Edited May 19, 2021 by Trini

[Cthulhudrew]

Ugh. Add me to the bored camp. And the camp that thinks this parent/kid stuff is just silly. Why would these grown adults call Barry and Iris parents (because some force inside them is pushing them to do it, I guess?). And why would Barry and Iris call them their kids? Didn't we already get the Barry/Iris parent storyline with Nora?

I think one of the worst things is they have this whole new cast of characters they're trying to give storylines for, and the rest of the new characters (Alexa, Kamilla, Chester- who wasn't even in this episode) get the short shrift, not to mention the classic characters. It's too much, and it doesn't seem to have any real stakes.

[Jediknight]

3 hours ago, Cthulhudrew said:

I think one of the worst things is they have this whole new cast of characters they're trying to give storylines for, and the rest of the new characters (Alexa, Kamilla, Chester- who wasn't even in this episode) get the short shrift, not to mention the classic characters. It's too much, and it doesn't seem to have any real stakes.

They need to take lessons from the crew of Legends and the crew of Supergirl.  They're loaded with characters that we know a lot about, give them plenty of storylines, and all the characters are liked.  Well, with the exception of Andrea and William on Supergirl, but those two aren't even close to main cast.

[Trini]

6 hours ago, Jediknight said:

They need to take lessons from the crew of Legends and the crew of Supergirl.  They're loaded with characters that we know a lot about, give them plenty of storylines, and all the characters are liked.  Well, with the exception of Andrea and William on Supergirl, but those two aren't even close to main cast.

Can't speak on Legends, but Supergirl has been excellent at developing their supporting characters and their relationships so that they can actually carry an episode when the lead has less screentime. Here, supporting characters are mainly (or only) here for plot, even the original cast members.

[tennisgurl]

The two themes of this season seem to be "Barry tries to solve problems while his team gets all in his face over it" and "you can get away with all kinds of evil as long as you listen to enough love talks" with the overarching theme of boredom. The forces had potential to the start with, but this whole "they're Barry and Iris's children" thing is just so stupid. It not only makes no sense whatsoever, its just so silly the way everyone is talking about them like they're literally Barry and Iris's offspring and its just leading to more and more of these stupid "you don't have to do this!" speeches to deal with every supervillain they see, while apparently letting these murderous people just go about their merry way never having to answer for their crimes. I also find the nature of the forces to be really confusing, for all that everyone is calling each other brother and sister and mom and dad, its seems like they are mostly talking to the actual humans that got the forces jumped into, who are just random people and most certainly not Barry and Irises kids. So are the forces and the people mixed now as the same person, or can the forces jump into other hosts? Its just the forces who are the "kids" and not Alexa or anyone, and even then, they aren't just normal people, they're cosmic concepts of nature, you cant exactly ground them. Its confusing and its dull. Also, while no one has brought it up, it must be hard for Barry and Iris to get all of this talk about taking responsibility for their "children" when not too long ago they watched their actual child disintegrate into nothingness. 

Speaking of, when Caitlin was giving Barry shit for pushing Alexa, what did she say about "pushing away another child"? Did he mean the SF, or was he talking about Nora, his actual daughter? The one who he and Iris held as she basically died? If that is what she said, fuck you Caitlin, that is a horrible thing to throw in someone's face, especially a close friend. What a massive dick move, my jaw actually dropped. This is yet another episode where the show wants me to think that Barry is being an unreasonable jerk, but to me it seems like he's the only one who is actually taking this threat seriously and is actually coming up with plans besides "offer hugs and hope for the best". Even if his plans aren't great, and he was being a bit too pushy with Alexa, he knows that if she isn't ready to defend herself she is absolutely going to die, and they need all the help they can get to stop the guy who is putting people into fear comas, and, like with last time, its at the very least an actual plan. There is a time for kid gloves and a time to get things into high gear. But this is the season where all problems will be solved by big sappy speeches and communing with your inner self, not by actually coming up with real plans to stop these powerful forces of nature, so Barry is wrong every time he tries to be pragmatic. Normally I love how idealistic and sweet this show is and how the cast is so open to giving people second chances, but this season is one rainbow away from being a Care Bears show. Especially when it involves letting so many people who have done awful things get away with everything after they pinkie promise to stop killing people and get a few cheesy love speeches. 

That meta cure isn't looking so hot these days, huh Cisco? So are all the Arrowverse writers in the same groupchat, the plot with Kramer and her hate on for metas is literally the exact same plot they are doing over on Black Lighting. Crazy eyed female law enforcement officer who has a personal beef with metas due to some personal tragedy involving metas wants to use her position of power to destroy all metas using some kind of serum that affects their powers, and is opposed by a more reasonable male officer that is secretly in league with the local meta hero. What good does Joe think quitting will do? Now Kramer can apparently just do anything she wants, because the Arrowverse has never bothered coming up with any laws regarding how meta human criminals can be handled, without Joe running interference. I know that Kramer is the bad guy, but she actually is raising some good points about how to deal with extremely dangerous people who are really hard for law enforcement to deal with. I don't approve of her forcibly taking peoples powers away, but it seems like this could at least be some kind of ethical debate, but the show has just told us that she's the bad guy and everything she says its bad and that's that. 

I suspected that Cisco lied about the vision he had, and it is kind of funny that, while Frost dreamed about being betrayed by her sister, and Barry dreamed about losing everyone he loved, Cisco...is stressed about his quarter life crisis. I am sad to see him go, but they are giving him a pretty good exit, albeit one that is going on for a really LONG time. Kamilla's speech was nice, but I feel like she is so excited about moving (and I thought they were moving to the west coast because she had a job? I guess not?) and is no nonchalant about leaving she didn't notice at all that this is hard for Cisco. Even if he's ready to move on, leaving is still going to be hard on him. 

[rmontro]

18 hours ago, Primal Slayer said:

I am tired of this storyline and this whole "your kids!" thing is just beyond...ugh. We've spent to much time talking down bad guys. I'm bored.

Seriously, the whole thing is ridiculous.  When I'm watching it, I can't stop thinking how stupid it is.  Not really the experience you're looking for when watching a TV show - except maybe Riverdale  :)  Sorry to say this, but I think this show is past its expiration point.  People are leaving or getting written out anyway.

Nora is Barry's mother, but she's also his daughter.  Maybe he's his own grandpa.

[shantown]

Just adding myself to the list of people a little squicked out that SpeedForce!Nora took the form of Barry's mom and is now calling herself his daughter. And to the list of people really not digging this whole "We created these children" plot for several reasons - 1) Barry and Iris (recently? not sure on the timeline) lost their actual child, and 2) The forces aren't children, and 3) They weren't just created, 3 out of 4 of them were actual people with actual lives before becoming forces. It's all just weird in a way that can't be overlooked with a Power of Love speech. I'm hoping this whole storyline ends next week, which is supposed to be the end of this "3rd graphic novel" in the current season structure they have going.

[Quark]

I thought this Forces storyline had so much potential, but since it's been established that they are basically Barry and Iris' kids, it's not been particularly engaging. Having said that, Michelle Harrison is superb.

I had to laugh when Cisco mentioned that his greatest fear is getting old in Star Labs and Barry's was having everyone he cared about dead.

I laughed even harder when all Alexa had to do to get control of Fuerza was speak a bit of Spanish.

[immortalfrieza]

On 5/18/2021 at 10:39 PM, Trini said:

What foolishness are they doing with Joe? This is the story they finally give him? He's quitting his job (that we barely get to see him do) because he doesn't like Kramer's attitude?? Huh?

Yep. Now there's absolutely nobody around to rein Kramer in. No doubt Kramer will pull some strings to have Joe replaced by some yes man who will do everything she says. The only way this would make any sense is if Joe is banking on something horrible happening and forcing Kramer to go down a "My God What Have I Done..." trip for him to swoop in and say "I told you so." Though if so Joe that's a really bad thing to hope for.
 

Quote

And am I supposed to think Kramer is the bad guy here? She's asking all the right questions. Using the cure against someone without their consent is definitely wrong, but how is Joe quitting going to help that? If there was a competent lawyer on team Flash, maybe they could sue for metahuman rights violations....

Honestly I think the whole idea that this is somehow wrong is stupid. They should've had every last cop in the CCPD have a clip of those cure bullets on hand years ago, maybe then they wouldn't always need The Flash to constantly show up and save everybody all the time. Metahumans that are criminals deserve to have their powers taken away, they're a danger not just to themselves or others, but anything up to city or even planet wide threat. Shooting them with the cure is just taking their massive advantage away so they can be arrested and charged like regular criminals would be.

It's obviously not what's going to happen, but I would find it hilarious if Kramer gots her cure bullets to the officers and then the whole thing went off without a hitch with Central City being basically Meta free for the first time in 7 years. The police force have really been lackluster in their response to people becoming godlike beings and causing havoc to the city on a regular basis, though that's par for the course since if they didn't there wouldn't be a show.

Edited May 24, 2021 by immortalfrieza