“O Come, All Ye Thankful” Delivered All The Feels

“O Come, All Ye Thankful” delivered all the feels and more! 

This week on The Flash, Team Flash celebrated Thanksgiving and one another in “O Come, All Ye Thankful.” Not only did the episode deliver some feels, but it also set the tone for season one nostalgia. The infamous Weather Wizard (Liam McIntyre), the metahuman in season one’s iconic episode “Out of Time,” returned this episode — unwillingly, if you will. His return made way for the introduction of his daughter aka Weather Witch (Reina Hardesty), who set her sights on breaking her father out of prison, but not for the reasons you might think. Her one and only mission was to kill him, for being a deadbeat dad, of course.

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It’s safe to say The Flash hones episode seven of each season to dive into the villain’s origin story, and the show did exactly that. Fans were treated with flashbacks of Orlin (Chris Klein) aka Cicada’s past, getting hints throughout the episode of his motives. Earlier in the season, when Joe (Jesse L. Martin) was held captive by our beloved villain, Joe revealed that Cicada may be a dad. In the episode, we learned that he’s right — at least almost. Turns out, Grace Gibbons, the young girl in coma, is Orlin’s niece instead of his daughter. After a tragic accident that resulted in his sister’s death, Orlin was forced to take Grace in and get his act together. This also resulted in his vendetta against metahumans, as Grace was put into a coma due to The Night of the Enlightenment.

The episode did a great job in paralleling Orlin’s origin story to our present day Scarlet Speedster, as Nora (Jessica Parker Kennedy) is still dealing with the fallout of Barry’s (Grant Gustin) future disappearance. Her sadness turns to anger, as she realizes that Barry will do anything to save Central City, even if it means losing himself. Kennedy and Gustin’s scenes together became the heart of the episode, giving us all the feels and making it difficult to decide who is right in the situation. All in all, we rank the Thanksgiving episode a B-, with all of its daddy-daughter issues galore.

Here to talk daddy issues, backstories and more is our The Flash roundtable!

Tatiana (@myrcellasear) – Entertainment journalism wannabe and an avid pursuer of comics.

Dori (@dorigrayskies) – Way too passionate about too many things, but, like.. in a chill way.

Will Polk (@willmpolk) – Blerd, Flash fan, and producer of @scenennerd podcast with host Sarah Belmont @sjbelmont.

Muna (@candiceswest)  – First lady of The Flash enthusiast.

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1. So many feelings this week! What was your favorite moment of the episode?

Tatiana (@myrcellasar):  There were quite a few! I think the moments that hit hardest were Iris telling Nora about the times Barry has been lost to her and how it keeps her up at night, as well as Nora begging Barry to give up being the Flash because she needs her dad.

Will (@willmpolk): I think my favorite moment was Killer Frost getting Cisco and Wells to go to the West-Allen’s Thanksgiving dinner. My other favorite moment is when Barry and the Weather Witch have their final face-off was a good callback to the pilot episode.

Dori (@dorigrayskies): I had a few favorite moments: Iris and Nora’s mother-daughter mani-pedi bonding, Nora opening up to Barry about her anger in regards to him constantly putting his life on the line for the city, learning Cicadas backstory, and Cisco having an “awakening” and realizing the harsh truths behind the American Thanksgiving holiday.

Muna (@candiceswest): My favorite moment was the scene where Nora and Iris were bonding and talking after getting mani-pedis together! Iris’s little hair flip when Nora posted them on Instagram was really cute. It was super sweet to see them bond after so much tension. I also loved the part when Nora mentioned how thankful she is to get to know Iris!

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2. What do you think about Cicada’s motives in killing every metahuman?

Tatiana: I think he’s going overboard, as extremists tend to do, but his pain was easy to connect with.

Will: I have to admit it still seems thin and it may be that Cicada is only there for half a season because this doesn’t seem to be able to carry over 20 episodes. It seems the last two seasons the show has had a problem with the motivations of their villains.

Dori: I think he’s channeling his anger into the wrong outlet. I mean, I completely get why he may be mad at life and the cards he’s been dealt, but what is mass murder going to solve?? Also, the scene where the doctor suggested that metas are the root of all current evil —consequently sending the soon-to-be Cicada into an All Metahumans Must Die rage so violent it activated his link to his meta-dagger— was kind of cheesy.

Muna: I understand that he’s hurt and has a personal vendetta against metahumans, but he shouldn’t hate EVERY single meta because of what happened with the satellite. I mean isn’t he contradicting himself by going out to kill every meta but at the same time is a meta himself?

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3. Do you agree with Nora that Barry should stop being The Flash to save himself? 

Tatiana: I don’t think Barry is physically capable of not being a hero, and if he tried he would just be torturing himself and making his family unhappy in the process.

Will: No. Barry has a special gift and has grown and shown the maturity to embrace his role as the Flash.

Dori: Somewhat. I have to be honest, Nora made some good points. Barry is way too careless when it comes to his life, and Iris has tried to tell him this as well. I don’t necessarily think he needs to just quit and leave Central City to fend for itself, but he needs to be more careful. Like, I get that he’s a superhero and “life-threatening situations” & “impending doom” are a part of the job description, but he has a family to think about. They need him too, as both Barry Allen and The Flash.

Muna: No I don’t. The Flash’s whole legacy is saving people, no matter what the situation is. He’s always have sacrificed himself for the city and I was surprised Nora said that to him in the first place. I expected her out of all people to understand that since she’s a speedster herself. I’m just glad that Barry and Nora talked through it all and listened to what the other had to say.

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4. Weather Wizard returned! What did you think about the introduction of his daughter?

Tatiana: I wish she had been given more screen time and backstory to shine because she was kind of forgettable as it was. Her nonchalant truck drop was hysterical, though.

Will: A pretty good villain of the week. Plus I like how they are using the meta tech this season.

Dori: It was super random but enjoyable. The scene where she dropped a car on “Mardon” was absolutely hilarious. Girly was pissed and had one goal one goal only— kill her deadbeat dad by any means necessary. I guess I admire her sense of commitment?

Muna: His daughter was an interesting add-on to this episode. I was shocked when she tried liking her father because this whole time I thought she wanted to save him.

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5. Nora kind of snapped at Iris in a scene. Do you think it was warranted? 

Tatiana: I think it was a good example of her misdirected anger and a window into what life in the future was probably like for the West-Allen girls.

Will: It was a normal and realistic way of how people interact with each other. Not every day is going to be conflict free, I think moving forward how the West-Allen’s grow and learn from these moments will be the key. Not only for them but also to get the show interesting.

Dori: No, I think it was a product of misplaced anger/frustration. One of the many reasons why Iris is such a great team leader is that she is able to put aside personal feelings in order to make executive decisions that will benefit the greater good. She never wants to see her best friend/husband hurt, but, unfortunately, in that situation, it was necessary in order to keep the city safe. Barry agreed. It was disappointing to see Nora reflexively go back to disrespecting and condemning her mother after they’d been making so much progress these past few episodes.

Muna: I understand where Nora is coming but like Barry mentioned, it was a call made by both Iris and Barry, so she shouldn’t take it all out on Iris. She had to experience Barry dying in her arms, which is terrifying, but Nora needs to understand that Iris is the team leader and she knows what’s the best decision to make in most situations. Nora just needs a little getting used to how things run around here, but I’m positive she’ll come around.

6. Do you think Orlin’s backstory makes him an interesting villain? 

Tatiana: Yes, it’s clear that he considers Grace to be everything good in his life and that he’s doing all of this for her. Of course, he’s wrong, but his perspective was grasped easily.

Will: He seems to be a good villain of the week right now. When you’ve had layered bad guys like Reverse Flash, Zoom, Captain Cold and others he just seems kind of a face in the crowd right now.

Dori: Yes. I enjoyed learning his backstory, and I felt the devastation of his life being derailed by DeVoe’s Enlightenment attempt right when things seemed to be looking up for him and his niece. But, I still don’t see what aspiring to kill every metahuman is solving. I do enjoy how Orlin’s backstory is finally giving the citizens of Central City a point of view because I’m sure being a casual bystander to all of the ridiculous happenings in Central City since the original particle accelerator explosion has been anything but a cakewalk.

Muna: YES! I am definitely more interested in his plan now after we got some backstory of how his whole vendetta came to be. He’s going to be a tough villain to beat, because Barry really doesn’t know much about him or his motives, yet.

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7. What do you think is next for Killer Frost, now that Caitlin seems to be able to control her? 

Tatiana: Probably a showdown with her own father and then, I don’t know, hopefully, a vacation in Antartica. She’s earned it!

Will: She will become the full anti-hero that they’ve been trying to make happen but took the sort of retconned backstory for this to happen.

Dori: I truly never know what they’re going to do with Caitlin/Killer Frost. The writers have changed her/their origin, motives, and story too many times for me to even attempt to predict where they’re going with her/their storyline. Hopefully, the writers have a solid plan for both characters this season. I suppose this means Killer Frost will actually participate in fights, etc. now, but I still don’t know if they’re trying to make her a hero or an anti-hero or what. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

Muna: I guess she’s back to helping again, but I don’t really care because like I mentioned a couple weeks ago, her storyline is confusing.

“O Come, All Ye Thankful” had just enough humor and heart to make the episode special 

One thing we always love about The Flash? It’s endless ability to create great parallels between the storylines. Last year it was the Devoes vs the Westallens, and this year, it’s Orlin’s vs. Barry’s ability to do anything for the ones they love. Heck, even this episode, Weather Witch’s vendetta against her father provided a nice parallel with the other two.

As mentioned earlier, Nora and Barry’s scenes are what made this episode special. Nora was able to take her misplaced anger on Iris (Candice Patton) and actually place on her father’s recklessness. Nora pleaded with Barry, asking him to quit being The Flash to save himself in the future — if not for himself, but for her. “I need my dad,” Nora said, and that line struck the biggest chord in our hearts. Barry was able to make his own case and said that his family is the reason he is The Flash, and that he’s not choosing one over the other. Their deep-rooted conversation shed light on both of their pain, and in the end, we have to admit that both Barry and Nora have a point. Well done to both Kennedy and Gustin for their beautifully acted scenes!

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The episode also had a great balance of humor, as Cisco (Carlos Valdes) and Caitlin’s (Danielle Panabaker) mission was to get Sherloque (Tom Cavanagh) to the West-Allen’s place to celebrate Thanksgiving. Though it seems the writers weren’t sure what to do what those three this episode, their scenes provided some lightheartedness that was desperately needed while we cried over Barry and Nora. On the bright side of things, Nora and Iris finally hit it off and Nora (rightfully) apologized for judging Iris so quickly.

Next week, the show reaches its 100th episode milestone and to celebrate it, Barry and Nora travel back in time to figure out how to stop Cicada. We can’t wait to see some familiar faces!

The Flash returns Tuesday, December 4th on The CW.