The Flash 5x17 : Time Bomb review

Be warned there will be *SPOILERS* involved in this review. With that being said let's get into it.

Another week and another Cicada heavy episode of The Flash. That's not to say it's bad by any means as much like last week I really enjoyed this episode. Beginning in 2049 we see Eobard Thawne standing in his cell once again. Nora zips into the scene frantically and tells Thawne about the Cicada that showed up at the end of last week's episode. She says that once they gave Orlin the meta human cure which they did that everything would end and the madness would stop. Thawne says the same thing. And without hesitation tells Nora that he can't help her any longer. Nora stunned by this is even more surprised by what he says next. Thawne says that she should tell her father all about what has been happening and how / why she traveled to the past in the first place. Well Nora's secret might not be safe for much longer as Sherloque is still looking into her journal and trying to work out the messages in her notebook. We skip to a cabin or sorts and inside we see Orlin who is resting. He awakes and sees the Cicada from last week standing in front of him. And as predicted it is Grace his niece from the future. All grown up and sharing his previous hatred of meta humans. Previous hatred?? well Orlin looks like he's turned over a new leaf in his complete disgust of meta humans after taking the cure. He even tells Grace to stop her plot to kill her parents murdered as it will only cause more damage and pain not only for him but most importantly for her. She disagrees however and as we're shown just how Grace's parents were killed she sets off in hot pursuit of the meta who did it. 

So just who did it then?? well after visiting the crime scene Cisco vibes the wall that surrounds an ATM and sees not only Grace's parents murder like I mentioned but a mysterious hooded woman run from the ATM just seconds before the explosion. So Barry, Joe and Nora go pay her a visit. Turns out she's a family woman who has been keeping the secret of her being a meta from not only her husband but daughter also. She is quite rude to the team and basically tells them to go away as she is having a birthday party for her daughter. The reason the team is here though is because Cicada is coming for her and they are here to protect her. They fail as expected but the woman manages to fight of Cicada but this leaves her open to getting her powers revealed to her husband and daughter who gets hurt in all the scuffle. At the hospital Cecil says that young Grace's mind is so full of rage and hatred that it even hurts her own powers. Not minutes later though Cicada shows up again this time taking her target's husband hostage in an attempt to coax her out to facing her. Barry and Nora come up with a plan. XS lures the dagger away while The Flash tries to reason with Cicada. Grace overpowers Barry before Orlin shows up and again tries to tell his niece how much of a mistake she would be making by going through with her plan. It looks like she's going to surrender and leave with him but with his back turned she summons her dagger hitting him right into the back. Falling to his knees the previous Cicada dies a hero's death of sorts as his character really comes around full circle. I wish he would've stuck around a little longer to see the more human side of him but nevertheless I did like this scene. 

The episode draws to a close back at Star Labs where everyone meets after the fallout of what just happened. Cicada has seemingly gone off the radar and is in hiding. But something bigger is about to happen. As I mentioned at the start Sherloque was continuing his research on Nora and her notebook. He went looking further in Star Labs storage and found Dr Harrison Well's wheelchair. He imagines himself as Harrison Wells and wonders what kind of man he was. He says he would have kept all his secrets close and that's exactly what he did as Sherloque presses a hidden button on the wheelchair to reveal a secret hidden USB. At the time vault he gets Gideon to play it for him and after stopping and analyzing the footage of Harrison Wells talking about the timeline and how it is malleable has Gideon check and scan the symbols he has drawn on a board which match those in Nora's notebook. So back at the main room where everyone is gathered in Star Labs Sherloque drops a bomb. A Time Bomb if you will (sorry that was terrible) and reveals to everyone just what Nora has been up to. Completely stunned by what he's just heard Barry runs Nora into one of the cells below Star Labs and after she apologizes he says he's sorry also before the episode ends. So once again The Flash delivers. Both this week's and last week's episodes while not perfect have been thoroughly enjoyable. Nora's secret is finally out and a time travelling Grace as Cicada works for me. I don't know what it is but I'm genuinely loving this season. It's not perfect but definitely better than season 4 which was a bit messy. The Flash now sadly goes on break again until April 16th. Until then Team Flash!

★★★★