The Flash season 6, episode 6 review: License to Elongate

“Put the ring away, this is how we suit up tonight.” Spoilers for The Flash season 6, episode 6 follow.

The Flash and Elongated Man lose their suits and put on tuxedos in order to possibly find the whereabouts of Sue Dearbon.

Back in Central City though, Chester Runk has awoken from his coma, only for Frost to be the first to discover him.

The search for Sue Dearbon

Just as the name suggests, this episode of The Flash is very heavily influenced by James Bond films, so if you’re a fan of that franchise, it’s an incredibly fun episode to watch. Everything from the way it’s shot, to how Ralph delivers his lines, not so much Barry, to the score, is extremely Bond-like. The Flash sometimes stumbles when it takes inspiration from other franchises, but that definitely isn’t the case in this episode.

This really feels that it comes down to Danielle Panabaker. This is the second episode of The Flash that she has directed and it’s easy to tell she’s having fun behind the camera. It truly feels that Panabaker is a massive Bond fan because she absolutely nails the style and tone of the early entries into that franchise, while adding twists apropos for The Flash. It’s a wonderful combination of styles that works well for this episode.

This is decidedly more light-hearted episode than the rest of the season has been, which helps this episode massively. The jokes, especially the ones ripped directly from Goldfinger, are played very tongue in cheek which provides a lot of humor for the episode in a way that also pays reverence to the Bond franchise. When the episode needs to get serious though, it does so beautifully. There are heartfelt conversations between Barry and Ralph that play very well, really bringing Ralph closer in line to the Ralph of the comics.

Chester is awake

Where this issue falls flat though is when it focuses on Chester’s newly awakened life. It’s a part of the episode that’s attempting to give Cecille something to do and it falls completely flat of than Frost’s involvement. The entire storyline is awkward and very poorly written from concept to execution. Seriously, don’t try to ask people who work in the service industry out while they are working, it’s a bad idea and it shows in this episode.

Really, this part of the episode feels like the most “CW” thing to happen in this season, which is incredibly frustrating. The season so far has been excellent in its handling of characters, showing a maturity that it hasn’t shown in the past. This part of the episode echoes a time that had seemed to be long gone for the show though.

The scientist and the intern

Two characters that really haven’t gotten much play this season so far are Nash Wells and Alegra. While this episode doesn’t complete focus on them, it provides enough material for the episode to build them better than they have previously.

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Nash has been shown as distant and unreliable, but here, because of his interactions with Alegra, there’s a new, almost paternal side shown to him in this episode. It’s nice to finally see him truly as another Wells rather than an Indiana Jones rip-off.

As for Alegra though, in her attempts to prove herself, she still has yet to discover who she truly is. Nash helps her along that path though in this episode, helping the character move away from her past and instead focusing on who she wants to be. There’s not a lot of time devoted to this portion of the episode, but it doesn’t need the extra time. The point and emotions are brought forth effectively thanks to excellent performances and solid directing.

The Flash puts its best foot forward for two-thirds of this episode, but the other third is flat out bad.