The Flash season 6, episode 3 review: Dead Man Running

“I have to prepare them for what’s coming. They have to be ready to go on without me.” Spoilers for The Flash season 6, episode 3 follow.

Team Flash now knows about the incoming Crisis and they must prepare for the upcoming battle ahead of them… and perhaps even a world without The Flash.

In the present though, a zombie is on the loose, made after he was killed by Ramsey, who now has powers.

To Prep a Crisis

Last week’s episode was excellent in its establishment of the upcoming Crisis. For any seasoned comic book reader, there were familiar ideas presented, but still enough mystery to intrigue. For those who have no knowledge, it would be horrifying. Either way, the set-up is fantastic. Now, both the characters and the audience need to prepare for it.

That said, this prep isn’t the focus of this episode. Rather, it’s Team Flash attempting to continue on with their normal lives. Well, at least as normal as their lives can be. It’s disappointing that it’s not prepping as much given what last week’s episode was about, but it makes sense that the team would need time to gather their thoughts.

By taking a step back from the Crisis as well, it also helps to establish Ramsey as the over-arching villain of the season. And for a relatively small villain in the comics, this season has already done a solid job of establishing this character as something more than the comics. By establishing Ramsey and Barry as two men both on their way to the grave, vying for life in vastly different ways, there’s a much more personal connection to the two. Death has always been a part of the show, but this season is really emphasizing that, leaning heavily into its thematic “fear of death” elements, thanatophobia if you will.

Killer Frost in the Field

As much as it seems like the first half of this season feels like set-up for Crisis on Infinite Earths, it’s still The Flash. It has its formula, which can heavily be to its detriment at times. However, so far with this season, there’s been enough changes and tweaks to its formula that each episode feels fresh, at least in part. This episode isn’t perfect in that part simply because there are too many characters featured in those show.

With this episode, bringing Killer Frost, now going solely by Frost, into the field is such a novel idea. At first, it’s really fun because she’s not taking anything seriously, but is still very competent. But then, when Ramsey comes into the picture, things change drastically.

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Frost goes back to her old ways, to a point, much to the chagrin of Barry. It’s a quick change in tone that doesn’t quite work, but it’s not noticeable to really dwell on.

And just like Barry and Ramsey, Frost is dealing with her own fear of death. Hers is even more tragic though as she has only recently begun to truly live. The way that they play her fear in this episode is really solid as well. By focusing on the little things that she wants to do rather than the larger, more obtuse things, it really gets into the mindset of Frost in a funny, yet serious way. Danielle Panabaker easily could have botched the delivery on this nuanced dialogue, but she delivers it perfectly for what it needs to be.

A New Harrison Wells Arrives

Just like every season, we have a new Harrison Wells or, as this one is called, Harrison ‘Nash’ Wells. This version of wells, as Cisco sarcastically calls him, is very reminiscent of Indiana Jones. It’s a version that feels drastically different than any other version before, and yet, it’s always nice to meet another Wells.

There’s not much done with him with this episode, but there’s plenty of potential to use him as the season goes on. This may even be the Wells that becomes Pariah in “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” Instead, this is used to build the bond between Iris and Alegra, which is good thing to build Alegra’s character.

As for Ralph and Cecille, they’re on a mission to clear Ralph’s mother of a robbery. This is really where the episode falls flat on all fronts. Hartley Sawyer gives a good performance, but it really would’ve benefitted the episode as a whole to cut it and give a couple more minutes to Iris and Frost.

The Flash delivers another solid episode that does a good job of setting up the villain for the season, as well as the thematic elements.