The Flash 7x11 : Family Matters, Part 2 review

 

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

After the pretty much disaster that was last weeks episode can The Flash close up it's Forces storyline in a big way or will it once again just fall flat? the episode begins right after last weeks ending which saw both the Strength & Sage and Iris all being killed by Nora with help from Dion. Well turns out it was all just an illusion from Bashir who used his Sage Force powers without even telling anyone. He done this in a way to throw Nora of their scent even if it is only for a short period. With every back together and seemingly on the same page can they co-exist to finally stop Nora and put this all behind them? first things first and that is to find a location that is basically a dead zone. A place in time that Nora can't reach them. Barry rushes them to the place where the Speedforce originally died not so long ago. Inside they are safe. Barry won't be spending time with them there however as he needs to find Dion and convince him to join them and help stop Nora. After some searching he does find the Still Force inside a football stadium that was meant to be Dion's playground, the place where he became a star. He agrees to help Barry at first but soon goes against him again as Barry doesn't want to kill Nora rather find a different way around it all. As all this is going on Central City has become a city wide panic zone as lightning strikes hit the city nonstop and a giant storm is brewing. This is because of all the Forces not just Nora coming together to destroy the city. They not only target Cecil who gets hit with a bolt of Sage Force lightning but also Iron Heights gets hit by lighting which causes mass prisoners including Frost to get out. But it's not all bad as Frost uses this as a way to get into the DA's good books by stopping various criminals in return for some parole time. 

In all honesty this episode was a tad confusing a times. At one point Nora is the villain who is hellbent on destruction on both the city and the Forces but the next it's the Forces who are bad and hellbent on destruction on the city. It's all confusing and doesn't exactly feel organic or natural. Speaking of Nora she soon comes face to face with the other Forces as Dion shows her a possible future where she is the only Force remaining. The world is totally empty and barren almost like a wasteland with nobody in sight. Could this truly be the future?? not if the other Forces have anything to do with it all. But before all of that we did get a sort of final showdown inside of the Speedforce itself as The Flash and the other Forces tried their best to stop Nora but they were overpowered. It is then back outside where the before mentioned vision of the future happened. But what about The Flash what is he doing while all of this is going on?? well..

The episode draws to a close as The Flash has a mere 3 minutes on the clock to stop a giant almost tornado like vortex of clouds and energy from destroying everything and everyone in the city. If not stopped it will snap like a rubber band reversing the entire Forces process which we're shown once again. Inside the cloud of energy The Flash who isn't aware that all Forces are on the same page now begins to get hit with all their energy. This causes a giant surge within him which leads to him running much, much faster. So fast that he literally runs through the cloud almost gobbling it up thus stopping the destruction from happening. This was more like something The Flash would do and it was done really well. As for the Forces they all soon meet with Barry and they are all on the same page now. Delighted by this development Barry and Iris who are still very much stronger together all are soon seen with the Forces inside of the area from earlier that was used as a dead zone to hide from Nora. This time however it's a bit different as everyone is inside of the house that is now more brightly lit and full of positive energy. Nora thanks Barry for all that he has done and also says that they're now going to rebuild. With them all now striving towards the same goal Barry will also become a lot faster as with all their energies combined the universe will be shifted into a better balance. Hopefully this leads to The Flash not really needing as much help anymore because that would be just great. Unlikely however as this show seems to love the idea of a Team Flash. The episode ends back at Barry and Iris's apartment where they talk about the Forces and about starting a family. Barry is game to start trying whenever so it's a bit surprising when Iris suggests that they start right away. ''Love that Impulse'' Barry says as he rushes off to the bedroom. A nod to Bart Allen aka Impulse who will be showing up on this show in the near future. And that was the episode. It wasn't exactly great but it was nowhere near as bad as last weeks was so that's a positive at least. The show now goes on a week hiatus and will return on June 6th with a farewell episode for Cisco. That is sure to be emotional. But for now the Forces storyline is surely wrapped up which means a new story arc will begin soon. And given set photos and footage it's going to be all about Godspeed and the introduction if Bart Allen (Impulse) who also a Speedster like his father Barry. He won't be the only Speedster as Nora Allen yes XS will also be back and apparently Jay Garrick aswell. Let's hope that it turns out better than the Forces story which started off well but just went further and further down the rabbit hole of nonsensical moments. I await your return on June 6th Flash!

★★★