The Flash: Season Five Premiere Restores Hope After Disappointing Seasons
The season five premiere of The Flash, “Nora,” is the best premiere so far since Season One.
The Flash was at its best in Season One, but since then, the quality of content has diminished somewhat, and the Season Four finale almost caused me to lose hope altogether, but “Nora” reignites my passion for The Flash.
The opening narration changed for this premiere from Barry Allen’s voice to Nora West-Allen’s. Nora, who arrived from the future at the end of last season, is the daughter of Barry Allen and his wife, Iris West.
Season Four was full of easter eggs about Nora, which made her appearance all the more mysterious.
“Nora” picks up seconds after Season Four ended, when the Nora appeared during a celebration of the birth of Joe and Cecile’s daughter and Team Flash’s success in saving the world once again.
Nora explained that she is stuck in 2018, which Barry discovers is a lie later in the episode. In truth, Nora came to 2018 because she wanted to stay with her dad, who is missing in her version of the future.
With Nora’s appearance, the audience gets the opportunity to experience the most mature of Barry and Iris. Iris’s characterization as a mom who met her adult daughter has returned to more of the Season One dynamic, rather than the team leader or “we are the Flash” dynamic of the middle seasons.
Barry is free of the self-doubt and suspicion that characterized his behavior in previous seasons.
Most importantly, Barry’s position as the student has changed, and he is now the mentor. While battling the villain of the episode, Barry shows the audience his maturity by teaching Nora to phase through objects. The show even used a flashback from Season One, when Reverse Flash taught Barry how to phase, to demonstrate Barry’s transformation and growth.
The devastating news that Barry vanishes from existence does not affect him as such news has in the past. For once, Barry is not selfish about the news, and he views it less as a tragedy for himself and more as a tragedy for Nora, which displays his selflessness and maturity.
At the end of the episode, Barry decides to let Nora stay in 2018 and give her the fatherly love she never had. Barry will likely as Nora’s mentor for the rest of the season, giving them both a chance to grow.
In the post-credit scene, the main Season Five villain revealed his purpose – he plans to kill all the meta-humans.
Overall, the show is back on track, bringing back many themes of Season One, the best season of the show. In Season Five, I believe the characters will learn from mistakes made in Season Four and, once again, The Flash will be a fan-favorite.
