TV Review: "The Death of Vibe"

Season 5 of The Flash has been moving at a good pace, changing the formula from past seasons in a welcome breath of fresh air. Multiple plots are being handled well, creating chapters around them and can be allowed to stop or take a backseat for an episode or so. But we're only three episodes in. Twenty more to go.

Team Flash is anxious to find Cicada (Chris Klein), who Nora (Jessica Parker Kennedy) says has arrived earlier than the accounts she was used to state. The metahumans he killed weren't killed in her original timeline. Barry (Grant Gustin) enlists the help of another incarnation of Dr. Wells (Tom Cavanagh) to find Cicada before he can kill again. Sherloque Wells isn't exactly the most noble version of the doctor we've met, though.

And it seems that Cicada has his sights set on a member of Team Flash: Cisco (Carlos Valdes) who he knows as Vibe. Spotting Joe West (Jesse L. Martin) in a couple photos, he tracks down Joe in his home to confront him.

Meanwhile, Ralph (Hartley Sawyer) is disappointed to see a photo of him after stopping an armed robbery becoming a meme shared around Central City (perhaps a tease into Ralph's love of publicity from the comics?), however it doesn't stop him from helping Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) continue to investigate what became of her father.

Since this is an Elongated Man blog, I'll just say that after seeing Ralph only suit up previously in the season, seeing him back in action was very welcome, and he uses his powers twice this time. I'm enjoying seeing a potentially more complex version of Ralph come together throughout the show. Hopefully we see him properly return in the comics.

Anyway, the main episode continued the better pace, with me being surprised how fast the episode seemed to go by, but so many elements came together, including a big revelation about Cicada. In addition to having one of my favorite heroes on the show, this season has really become better. I hope they can keep it up.

Viewers in the US may view "The Death of Vibe" at no charge during a limited availability window on the CW website and app. With the current licensing agreement, the entire fifth season of The Flash will be available on Netflix in June, 2019. Digital versions of the episode may be purchased on iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, Vudu, Google Play and other retailers of digital video content. Blu-Ray and DVD copies of the season are expected to be available for sale in or by September, 2019.

Non-US viewers should check their local listings, the websites of the channels that air The Flash, and digital video retailers.