'The Flash' Season 6 Episode 14 Review: 'Death of the Speed Force' rings in a bold change in the Arrowverse
Spoiler alert for 'The Flash' Season 6 Episode 14 'Death of the Speed Force'
Perhaps this is the biggest repercussion post 'Crisis'. The Speed Force has been an integral part of 'The Flash' and the writers deliver a shocking blow by disintegrating the source of the speedster's powers. There is a comprehensive and detailed history behind the inter-dimensional energy source and 'Death of the Speed Force' attempts in bringing the whole concept to a close. It's a lot of detail and multiple plot points in one episode and it doubles the main plot by adding to a storyline that sees the return of Keiynan Lonsdale as Wally West/ Kid Flash and Carlos Valdes' Cisco Ramon.
The return of the old foes continues and with the whole concept of the Speed Force dying, Eobard Thawne/ Reverse-Flash makes a comeback and somehow manages to get himself trapped inside Harrison Nash Wells (Tom Cavanagh). That's one point where the credit goes to the writers who manage to give Nash the two important roles this season. If it was him as Pariah during 'Crisis', he's now back as Barry Allen's (Grant Gustin) dreaded foe.
Kid Flash's return stirred up the comic and 'The Flash' fan fraternity, especially when showrunner Eric Wallace teased a new and improved Wally West. The upgrade is visible right up front as we see some fancy moves from Kid Flash and also a change in attitude. This version is a lot stronger, compassionate and has a certain zen-like aura around him which comes in stark contrast to the Wally we've seen before.
The Speed Force's death has Barry to blame. While betrayal would be too harsh a word, harnessing the Spectre's energy within the Force causes the entire dimension to crash and be pulled apart. It's heartbreaking to see his mother, Nora Allen (The Speed Force's assumed identity when it communicates with Barry) die again and Wally blaming him for always being the one to make the call. With the speedsters' source of energy now obliterated, Wally and Barry just have enough residual speed that they need to use while Thawne has lost all his powers.
The other old enemy is a gender-swapped version of The Turtle or in this case, Turtle 2.0 and this meta's Russian. While there isn't much of a threat from the character, she's mostly there to show that Barry and Wally still have it in them to control their speed and use their smarts.
The Eva McCulloch-Iris (Efrat Dor and Candice Patton) storyline gets a continuation and in the most unexpected of casualties, Kamilla Hwang (Victoria Park) is a victim of Mirror Iris as she's blasted into probably another mirror dimension. No official word if she's actually dead, but if so, that would make her the first character death in team Flash post 'Crisis'.
'Death of the Speed Force' is fast-paced. It does its job by focusing on returning characters. There's no sign of Ralph Dibny (Hartley Sawyer) yet, but the OG team Flash gets a reunion even if its a rather brief one. By bringing an end to one of the lasting concepts, the Arrowverse has taken a bold step that signals a massive change. With another eight episodes left in the series, it's interesting to see how the series addresses the post 'Crisis' conundrums.
'The Flash' Season 6 airs Tuesdays 8 pm on The CW.