First off, it's so great to see so many positive reviews for Season 6 so far. I personally loved Season 5 so the impressiveness of 6 isn't a relief for me as I pretty much expected I'd enjoy Season 6 but it is still great to see a lot of people liking it as much as me!
No, onto the review.
"Dead Man Running" is the best entry of the already really, really great sixth season of The Flash.
First off, I have to applaud the writers. Last episode wasn't a fluke, I'm enjoying Caitlin again. While the writing and storyline for her isn't amazing or anything, I'm definitely beginning to not hate anytime she's on screen which is an improvement for sure. There's just something really fun about seeing Killer Frost come to terms with how she's feeling and how that plays off of Barry in this episode.
I also adore the concept of the villain of the week. Seeing team Flash go up against a literal zombie was so cool. So often the villains of the weeks are these wise cracking and dumb metas with no personality other than cheesiness so I'm glad we got something different and really interesting for a change. The way he tied into the Bloodwork story was also downright great.
Speaking of Bloodwork, my oh my am I really digging this now. I mentioned in my review for episode 1 of this season that Ramsey thoroughly interested me and I'm glad to say that in his second full appearance (he was barely in episode 2) he's done even more to win me over.
One thing I really loved about Cicada (yes, I loved Cicada. Sue me.) was that his dynamic with Team Flash was really new and fresh. It was fun seeing Cicada being Team Flash's villain while Team Flash was barely anything more than an occasional annoyance to him. It's just one of the many things that really makes me enjoy that character.
BUT - I did really miss the personal villain/hero dynamics we got in the first few seasons so I am definitely thankful that they're back here. Grant and Sendhil play off of each other so well and the writing is just so damn good. I love how the parallels between them are so well displayed even in this first interaction. It raises a super interesting question about whether or not it's truly more courageous to fight death until the end or accept the inevitable and I am so excited to see how that plays out.
The introduction to Nash Wells isn't anything particularly interesting. His search for eternium is a cool easter egg to Shazam (do we think we'll see him at any point?) and I'm already feeling a better first impression of him than Sherloque, but that plot was just kind of there. Nothing too terribly exciting.
I loved that the entire cast had something to do, too. It was really exciting and refreshing to see a meta of the week plotline go by without some characters knowing about it. I feel like too often in this show we have characters just sitting around in Star Labs waiting for their cue to do something so it's exciting to see the characters balanced so naturally. However, this did happen in early Season 5 before falling apart and running into old habits then so let's hope it stays consistent here.
My only major issue with this episode comes in the form of the Ralph plot. I do genuinely enjoy this plot. I think it adds a lot to the character of Ralph and develops him in a great way. His mom is also a pretty fun character, even if she can be a bit too annoying. My main issue with this plot point is that it clashes with the rest of the episode's tone. The tone of this subplot feels much like Season 4 and while I don't mind season 4's campy nature (I actually think it adds a bit of charm and identity to that season) it really doesn't mesh with Season 6's more balanced tone. The payoff was good, in the end, though so it doesn't matter too much.
Lastly, it is a HUGE breath of fresh air to see Barry come clean about his death so soon. This is a plot line that would've been stretched out until the start of Crisis (or maybe even DURING Crisis) in a previous season so it was great to have Barry come out with the secret here and now.
Overall, "Dead Man Running" is a pure fun, emotional and exciting look forward for The Flash. Bloodwork continues to impress, the characters are working super well and I can't get enough of the Crisis set up. 9/10.
No, onto the review.
"Dead Man Running" is the best entry of the already really, really great sixth season of The Flash.
First off, I have to applaud the writers. Last episode wasn't a fluke, I'm enjoying Caitlin again. While the writing and storyline for her isn't amazing or anything, I'm definitely beginning to not hate anytime she's on screen which is an improvement for sure. There's just something really fun about seeing Killer Frost come to terms with how she's feeling and how that plays off of Barry in this episode.
I also adore the concept of the villain of the week. Seeing team Flash go up against a literal zombie was so cool. So often the villains of the weeks are these wise cracking and dumb metas with no personality other than cheesiness so I'm glad we got something different and really interesting for a change. The way he tied into the Bloodwork story was also downright great.
Speaking of Bloodwork, my oh my am I really digging this now. I mentioned in my review for episode 1 of this season that Ramsey thoroughly interested me and I'm glad to say that in his second full appearance (he was barely in episode 2) he's done even more to win me over.
One thing I really loved about Cicada (yes, I loved Cicada. Sue me.) was that his dynamic with Team Flash was really new and fresh. It was fun seeing Cicada being Team Flash's villain while Team Flash was barely anything more than an occasional annoyance to him. It's just one of the many things that really makes me enjoy that character.
BUT - I did really miss the personal villain/hero dynamics we got in the first few seasons so I am definitely thankful that they're back here. Grant and Sendhil play off of each other so well and the writing is just so damn good. I love how the parallels between them are so well displayed even in this first interaction. It raises a super interesting question about whether or not it's truly more courageous to fight death until the end or accept the inevitable and I am so excited to see how that plays out.
The introduction to Nash Wells isn't anything particularly interesting. His search for eternium is a cool easter egg to Shazam (do we think we'll see him at any point?) and I'm already feeling a better first impression of him than Sherloque, but that plot was just kind of there. Nothing too terribly exciting.
I loved that the entire cast had something to do, too. It was really exciting and refreshing to see a meta of the week plotline go by without some characters knowing about it. I feel like too often in this show we have characters just sitting around in Star Labs waiting for their cue to do something so it's exciting to see the characters balanced so naturally. However, this did happen in early Season 5 before falling apart and running into old habits then so let's hope it stays consistent here.
My only major issue with this episode comes in the form of the Ralph plot. I do genuinely enjoy this plot. I think it adds a lot to the character of Ralph and develops him in a great way. His mom is also a pretty fun character, even if she can be a bit too annoying. My main issue with this plot point is that it clashes with the rest of the episode's tone. The tone of this subplot feels much like Season 4 and while I don't mind season 4's campy nature (I actually think it adds a bit of charm and identity to that season) it really doesn't mesh with Season 6's more balanced tone. The payoff was good, in the end, though so it doesn't matter too much.
Lastly, it is a HUGE breath of fresh air to see Barry come clean about his death so soon. This is a plot line that would've been stretched out until the start of Crisis (or maybe even DURING Crisis) in a previous season so it was great to have Barry come out with the secret here and now.
Overall, "Dead Man Running" is a pure fun, emotional and exciting look forward for The Flash. Bloodwork continues to impress, the characters are working super well and I can't get enough of the Crisis set up. 9/10.