The Flash season 6, episode 10 review: Marathon

“So Black Hole made her into an evil light doctor?” Spoilers for The Flash season 6, episode 10 follow.

The Crisis has come and gone leaving Team Flash to pick up the pieces of this new universe. And with Oliver dead, Barry must come to terms with his guilt over Oliver’s sacrifice.

While he does so though, Iris continues to build on a story that would blow the roof off of Central City’s criminal organizations.

What a Reboot Will Do to You

Man, poor Jitters coffee. Even after a reboot of the entire universe, they can’t escape bad things happening to it. But hey, the more things change, the more they stay the same. And boy, so much has changed since the end of Crisis on Infinite Earths. The multiverse no longer exists, at least as far as Team Flash knows, which is wreaking havoc on their emotions, specifically Cisco.

For all intents and purposes, this really is a Cisco-centric episode in many ways. He’s both the exposition machine explaining the changes to the universe, while still being more than like. Just like Barry always does, Cisco blames himself for everything that happened in Crisis while taking it out on Nash. Some of this is very much warranted, but it also is Cisco hurtful things just to say them. This leads to a solid exploration as to why he is doing this, as well as leading Cisco to have a new mission. Cataloging all the changes Post-Crisis.

It’s a great development for the character and very fitting. If anyone in the universe would do this, it’s Cisco. Luckily, he also extends an olive branch to Nash before leaving. It’s great character development for the two and it also leads to a new revelation for Nash. On his Earth, that version of Allegra was either his daughter or partner, which is why he cares for her so.

It’s also revealed in this episode that Cisco believes that Jesse and Harry from Earth-2 are dead, just like the rest of said Earth. Unlike the audience, who saw the different Earths that were created Post-Crisis, none of them know this. It’s a tragic little detail that’s added into this episode that could possibly be changed, but more than likely won’t be.

Enter the Black Hole

It really looks like this season is taking a ton of influence from Joshua Williamson’s still ongoing run of comics. First Godspeed and Bloodwork show up and now the villainous organization Black Hole appears in Central City. Except here’s the thing, apparently, they’ve been around since before Barry became The Flash. This a bit of retconning that can be a bit annoying if done wrong, but that isn’t the case here. The mention that Black Hole has existed before the first appearance of The Flash is a one off line that does nothing, but establish the potential history of the organization. Is it possible that this could change in the future? Absolutely, but as of now there’s not a compete revisionist history going on.

With Black Hole in play though, it’s a great excuse to bring Doctor Light into the fold, in this case the Kimiyo Hoshi version. It’s a bit of fun irony that a group called Black Hole, aka the absence of light, would use an assassin with light powers. It’s a bit disappointing that this version of Doctor Light, who was introduced as a hero in the comic Crisis on Infinite Earths, but it fits with other versions of the character.

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Regardless of that disappointment, she is used effectively and is a genuine threat throughout the episode. The use of her powers is often quite brutal as well, which really helps create high stakes in this episode. No one feels safe and the way that the episode is directed and edited really amplifies that. There are a couple sequences in this episode that are quite tense in a way that is unusual for the show, which is great.

The Legacy of Oliver Queen

In the aftermath of Crisis, it’s not a surprise that Oliver Queen’s death is having a ripple effect throughout the Arrowverse. He’s had ties to just about everyone and none more so outside of Arrow as Barry Allen. So, when Diggle shows up with a “gift” for Barry, it’s very unsurprising for Barry to see a conspiracy of a “last mission” that he needs to complete for Oliver. It’s very much Barry’s personality, as well as his guilt complex, to see this as a way to repay Oliver’s sacrifice. Thankfully, Diggle is with him as the voice of reason.

Diggle and Barry were some of Oliver’s closest friends, so to see them bonding over his death, it’s both sad and uplifting. Diggle gets to act as a confidant and mentor to someone he cares about once again, while Barry learns the lesson that Oliver never did, there’s more to life than the mission. It’s a wonderful nail in the coffin to Oliver’s sacrifice and what both really needed to begin to cope with their grief.

The Flash comes back from its midseason break to a wonderful Post-Crisis episode that explores the new world and the old, while almost flawlessly continuing the already established story of the season.