The Flash: Nora Matures as the Mystery of Cicada Develops
The third episode of the Flash season 5, “The Death of Vibe,” was filled with desperation as the main villain, Cicada, hunting down fan favorite character, Cisco Ramon.
The episode reveals more about Cicada’s powers, motive, and identity, deepens the mystery of Nora, and brings us a new Harrison Wells.
A flashback from Nora’s childhood gave insight into Cicada’s identity and motive.
According to Nora, Cicada is a “metahuman Jack the Ripper” who has appeared at various points in future DC Arrowverse history. Because of his power-dampening dagger and his fighting techniques, no heroes had ever officially defeated or caught him.
It is also revealed that Cicada is a man named Orlan whose daughter is in a coma, which makes him seem much more human.
Cicada’s true identity is a father whose daughter is in a coma. The idea of making Cicada a father gave a different angle to the character, a more human being angle.
More about Nora’s character and journey came to light in this episode, including the Cicada appeared earlier in the timeline than he should have because she messed with the timeline.
This is just one example of Nora’s immaturity that was revealed in this episode. As the season progresses, Nora will develop as a character, making mistakes and learning from them.
Team Flash captures David Hersh, who was Cicada in a different timeline, and they attempt to gain more information from him.
They also uncover Cicada’s plot to kill Vibe, and Nora suggests faking his death to throw Cicada off.
Sherlock Wells brought a fresh new comedic perspective and detective theme to the show. The characters will have much more investigative work to do as the season progresses.
Wells suggests that Nora may have lied about her true intentions in traveling back in time – that she might have wanted more than just to help her father.
This is reminiscent of Reverse Flash and Barry’s attempts to save his parents. At the end of the season premiere, Nora said that she would do her best to keep Barry from disappearing, possibly using the advice of Reverse Flash. This could be the biggest mistake she will make and the biggest lesson she will learn in this season.
