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The Flash: 10 most disliked storylines, ranked

The Flash took on a lot of awe-inspiring storylines over the years but not all of them were a hit with audiences.

By Michael Patterson

The Flash -- "The Curious Case of Bartholomew Allen" -- Image Number: FLA816b_0346r.jpg -- Pictured: Grant Gustin as The Flash -- Photo: Colin Bentley/The CW -- © 2022 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
The Flash -- "The Curious Case of Bartholomew Allen" -- Image Number: FLA816b_0346r.jpg -- Pictured: Grant Gustin as The Flash -- Photo: Colin Bentley/The CW -- © 2022 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved. /
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The Flash -- "The Death of Vibe" -- Image Number: FLA503c_0192b.jpg -- Pictured: Chris Klein as Cicada -- Photo: Katie Yu/The CW -- © 2018 The CW Network, LLC. All rights reserved /

9. Cicada's reign of repetitiveness

Cicada's monotone reign of terror felt like it went on for an eternity and it really spotlighted The Flash's struggles to maintain its momentum for a full 20+ episode season. It was an issue that reared its head in season 4 when DeVoe needed a bunch of metahumans (and villain-of-the-week episodes) to extend his own arc, but it was far more obvious in season 5.

I think the reason that the fans were more vocal about this one was the fact that Cicada was on-screen for most of the season (while DeVoe's absence could be explained away in filler episodes). He would show up, mumble about how this would "end now", lose the battle, and fly away with a groan. It happened every week, diluting the villain further and making the show's heroes look stupid because they repeatedly allowed him to escape.

Cicada also wasn't a great villain, so the moment the Reverse-Flash subplot was introduced, he completely lost our attention. And yet the show continued with the arc right through to the end of the season. Cicada may have told us that "it ends now", but my goodness, it never ended with him.

The Cicada plot wasn't offensive. It was just dull, and it remains one of The Flash's most infamous, simply due to the fact that it went round in circles for far too long.

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