S09.E09: It's My Party and I'll Die If I Want To

[Trini]

Team Flash throws a surprise birthday party for Barry but things go terribly awry when Ramsey Rosso (Sendhil Ramamurthy) crashes the festivities.

Danielle Panabaker directed the episode written by Sam Chalsen & Emily Palizzi.

Airdate: 4/26/2023

Edited April 23, 2023 by Trini

[Trini]

Also, many (male) guest stars!

 

[KittenPokerCheater]

Ollie ex machina.

[scarynikki12]

Why the farce of Barry turning 30 for a second time? Why can't it just be people wanting to throw him a party? 

Aw Dig and Wally. I missed you both. 

Surely there's something else of Oliver's Dig could give to Barry that would be more personal? The mask Barry suggested he wear back on Arrow season 2 for example?

The sound mixing is off for me. It keeps going faint and then coming back to normal.

Was Ramsey the only villain available for this episode? I can't imagine people were clamoring for his return.

Sigh, am I going to have to go on my "doppelgängers are their own people" rant again?

Based on the nonsense Ramsey is selling Wally I think I'll be doing my rant again.

I mean, Caitlin's right that it's ok Frost is dead but she doesn't mean it the way I do.

Why couldn't Barry and Wally have had this fight back when Wally was a regular?

Either zombie Wally just killed Barry and Spectre Oliver will resurrect him or this is another Ramsey manipulation. 

Oliver created another multiverse including doppelgängers. Then what was the damn point of getting rid of them in the first place?

Blue Streaks shows up and freezes everyone to save the day? How is freezing the water in everyone's body not killing them?

Why didn't Wally just open the breach in front of them? Did he know Ramsey wanted the theatrics of throwing his power a few hundred feet?

I knew Oliver brought back people he cared about and left out his father because it would mess things up too much. Glad I was right.

Oh no it's a shaky cam fight scequence. I did not miss you Bamboozle. 

At least Oliver's got some magical strength to join his Arrowing.

Of course they make Dig throw up on The Flash. God forbid he not do that.

I better get an Oliver/Diggle hug show.

I wish Wally had brought the Legends with him. But we need Barry to pep talk him back to sanity instead.

Big Reunion Time! WOOOOO!!! We got hugs people!!!!

Ramsey looks beyond stupid in Blood Monster form. If you're not going to do decent CGI don't do it at all.

Wiliam is old enough for college? I guess he's supposed to be super smart so it tracks. Little Mia's doing playing on Sally?! I'm so proud.

Lovely goodbye for Dig and Oliver. 

Has every crossover ended with Oliver and Barry at a bar? Maybe not but it feels like it. I know this isn't technically a crossover but it had that vibe once Oliver showed up.

Oliver leaving when Barry glances away was surprisingly poignant. I do like those kinds of moments generally so that may be why it worked for me.

 

[bettername2come]

Okay, I'm no expert on Buddhism, but trying to find out how you achieved enlightenment by talking to alternate versions of yourself seems like cheating. I'm glad they remembered Jessie Quick. I appreciate getting into some of Wally's issues but that could've been better explored 6 years ago. Preferably with Joe present. And probably could've used a flashback that wasn't from an erased timeline "brother-sister crimefighting unit."

Those few notes of Arrow music when they cut to commercial after Oliver's intro got me. "You're dead. Otherwise, why would I let you hug me so long?" Good speech. I had forgotten he was appearing as the Green Arrow so when he came through with Barry I was shocked. "Let's kick some ass." The music, the logo. God, I forgot how much I loved Arrow. That squeal I let out when Digg and Oliver hugged the first time. Oh, God, they actually said they loved each other. What a great goodbye. Nice conclusion to their story and glad they brought the Green Lantern story. I'm glad Oliver stuck around for the party and they had that nice moment at the bar. The callback to the pilot was fantastic. 

Khione's fake hair looked better. I love that she knew if we can only unfreeze one person, make it Diggle. But then they made it sound like it's Oliver 

I can barely remember evil Sendhil Ramamurthy's previous storyline, but I'm disappointed he doesn't sound more like Mohinder. 

I didn't realize before that Nora's crib is purple and yellow.

This was a legitimately good episode. Credit to writers, guest stars, Grant Gustin and Danielle Panabaker for pulling it off. 

Edited April 27, 2023 by bettername2come

[baldryanr]

So what exactly was Barry supposed to do with the bow, anyway?  Putting it in the Hall of Justice seems more reasonable than sticking in storage or hanging it on his apartment's wall.

[shantown]

Maybe I've just been away from this show for too long, but this... was not good? I loved the hug between Oliver and Dig, but it was pretty lackluster. They had been separated and Dig didn't even get to see him before he died, and now here's your formerly dead brother back in front of you and there was like zero emotional impact. Barry and Oliver sharing a beer together at the end was great, probably my favorite part of the episode. Ollie got in one last "you have failed this city." Thankful that Stephen Amell knew to come in and "play the hits" - for all his other faults he's always been good about advocating for the Arrowverse. 

I'll probably tune in again for the finale. But after over a decade of the Arrowverse this has been the definition of "going out with a whimper" for me.

[tennisgurl]

Did someone finally tell the writers that this is the final season of the show? Because this feels like the first time all season that it actually feels like a celebratory last season. Still no real forward momentum in regards to the plot, but I actually did find this episode very satisfying, even if some of that is my Arrow nostalgia talking. I missed Arrow and Oliver so much, even knowing it was coming I got a chill when we heard the Arrow theme for the first time. Death really has changed Oliver, he allowed for two hugs this time! I'm really glad that Oliver and Digg finally got to say goodbye and that Digg got that closure. He really struggled with losing Oliver and is one of the few people in his life who never got to talk to him before his died, seeing the guys reunited almost makes this whole crappy season worth it. They hugged! They said they loved each other! Digg got to tell Oliver how he's his brother! I still don't really love how Oliver's story ended, I would have much preferred him and Felicity raising their kids in a peaceful retirement, but I am glad to know that he's doing alright in the afterlife, watching out for everyone. 

"Your a billionaire!"

"You cant take it with you."

This was honestly one of the first episodes in ages where I have really laughed at any lines, I almost forgot how much fun banter Oliver and Barry had. The call back to the pilot was nice, and while Barry's survivors guilt issues have been done before, I can get why its on his mind lately.

It was nice seeing Wally again, even if his goal to find other Wally's to give him the cheat codes to enlightenment seems out of characters. Kind of missing the point I would think. I would have preferred to have Joe here to have a heart to heart with Wally about his issues considering they seemed to surround Joe, and it was weird that Joe wasn't there in the first place for the party. Wally has been such a wasted character with so much potential but the franchise has never known what to do with him. 

Nice that at least someone finally acknowledged that Caitlin actually died, it has seemed like no one really cared that their friend died because they have a new friend who lives in her body. It especially stands out next to all of the weeping and wailing over Frost, who everyone mourned like she was everyone's true love, whereas everyone went and had a dance party when Caitlin died. 

[thuganomics85]

So, Team Flash is using Barry's "extra years" as an excuse to throw him another birthday part for turning and thirty and Joe can't even bother to attend?  Yeah, I get Jesse L. Martin has limited availability now, but I really would have liked at least one throwaway line to explain his absence.  Especially since Wally was involved and I really don't see him not making an opportunity to see him again (hopefully Wally at least visited after-all.)

Definitely on the fan service side of things, but at least this episode did feel like it belonged in a final season for once and it at least had more of an impact compared to how they squandered Nia earlier.  Great seeing Oliver again and Stephen Amell not only slipped right back into that cowl, but he and Grant Gustin continue to have great sibling-like chemistry.  Also glad they were able to bring back Diggle and get a final good-bye as well.  Whatever issues Arrow might have had, it was the show that started this all, so I'm glad The Flash gave it a moment to shine.

I'm no expert in that field, but trying to find other selves in the multiverse to help with your enlightenment definitely seems like the easy way out there, Wally.  Glad he realized his error and will be putting more of an effort to look inside himself going forward.

Ramsey/Bloodwork might not have been the best villain to come out of the Arrowverse, but Sendhil Ramamurthy is always a treat to watch.

Singh!  And Singh alongside Kramer as well!!

Good episode for Danielle Panabaker since she not only directed it, but even in a more limited role this go around, Khione did a lot to help save the day.  Best of both worlds!

[Trini]

This was a good episode mainly because the rest of the season has been so uneven, especially compared to the last few ""interlude"" episodes. There were a bunch of things I liked, however, there's a 'but' with each of those things.

Bloodwork isn't really a great villain, but Sendhil R. is always an entertaining performer, so I did like seeing him again. With a threat to the multiverse and so many fan favorites present, this really should have been at least a two-parter. More of this and less of the stagnant filler plots we had before. Was never really an Arrow or Oliver fan, so I did not need to see that show and character get eulogised for like the fourth time years after they died. However, it was nice to see Barry and Oliver interact again; Grant and Stephen have good chemistry.

Speaking of familiar faces; it was great to see Wally, Singh, and Diggle again. But it made no sense that Joe wasn't at the parties.

I liked that Wally had a little subplot of his own, BUT I just thought it was redundant and maybe a bit out of character for the show to be revisiting the issues with his parents that I'm pretty sure were already resolved. In any case, I'm glad we had scenes with Wally and Iris, and with him and Barry. Again, it sucks that we never got more Kid Flash in the show.

I did like that Iris can share powers with her unborn speedsters kids, as I've always speculated. But it seems we're never going to actually see her with a pregnant belly, for some reason??

Hate that this particular showrunner keeps wanting Barry to feel guilty for every other death/villain that wasn't actually his fault. But also, why are we doing this same plot for the sixth time? Barry himself has died/"died" so many times; can they just let him be over it and happy with life?

The few minutes where it turned into a TV show with Bloodwork as director was a weird but funny surprise! I'm assuming most of those "crew members" were actual crew for the show.

So the "big" action piece that everyone was talking about was just Green Spectre punching a bunch of cops(?) that luckily didn't have any guns? Lame. But speaking of action, it's been really disappointing in this final season that they've hardly had Barry/The Flash do any spectacular speedster heroics. I was really hoping for something here, since this was clearly the episode they were saving the budget for.

I did like the final scene with Barry and Oliver and the callback to the Pilot.

 

On 4/26/2023 at 9:00 PM, KittenPokerCheater said:

Ollie ex machina.

Also Khione ex machina. Which I guess is officially her power? Also that's not how freezing works -- and yes, I know this show's laws of of physics are ... questionable; but that's not even how that works going by what the show itself has shown. But then again, why would there be any consistency when it comes to the Snow sisters?

[KittenPokerCheater]

Yeah, Khione displayed some Frost in this episode (or has Khione already frozen people before?)

[Trini]

On 4/26/2023 at 9:00 PM, scarynikki12 said:

Surely there's something else of Oliver's Dig could give to Barry that would be more personal? The mask Barry suggested he wear back on Arrow season 2 for example?

That already happened 3 seasons ago.

[7kstar]

On 4/26/2023 at 8:00 PM, scarynikki12 said:

Why the farce of Barry turning 30 for a second time? Why can't it just be people wanting to throw him a party? 

Aw Dig and Wally. I missed you both. 

I will admit I was so confused.  I didn't even remember why Barry had extra years.  This is the flaw of the series later years.  Things are too easily forgotten.

 

I did like seeing Dig, Wally, and Oliver.  I wanted more time with Wally.  Shame we couldn't have explored his character a bit more. 

On 4/28/2023 at 6:15 PM, Trini said:

Khione ex machina

Her character is confusing as her powers seem to mimic Frost but is supposed to be different.  Also too much tell in this last season.  We should have shown them missing Caitlyn and creating conflict with this new version.  It's part of the reason that I'm not invested in the show anymore.

 

On 4/28/2023 at 1:49 AM, thuganomics85 said:

Definitely on the fan service side of things, but at least this episode did feel like it belonged in a final season for once and it at least had more of an impact compared to how they squandered Nia earlier.  Great seeing Oliver again and Stephen Amell not only slipped right back into that cowl, but he and Grant Gustin continue to have great sibling-like chemistry.  Also glad they were able to bring back Diggle and get a final good-bye as well.  Whatever issues Arrow might have had, it was the show that started this all, so I'm glad The Flash gave it a moment to shine.

 

I agree.  I didn't mind the fan service—definitely a better ep for this season but so many flaws as well.  The weird TV show moment took me out of the show.   I get why Flash is ending.  I just wish it would go out with a bang and not a whimper.

I want to see Flash be an important member of his show. lol.

I did like that Kid Flash and the Flash helped fix the big problem and it wasn't all given to the Green Arrow.

I was kind of hoping we would see Cisco one last time but I guess it isn't meant to be.  At least a line that he called or a pretend phone call could have fixed both characters that were missing, Joe and Cisco.

I did like the ending and it was a nice throwback.