'The Flash' Season 6 Episode 19 Review: Carver's Angels, Eva's plans and a doomed Iris highlight epic finale
Spoilers for 'The Flash' Season 6 Episode 19 'Success is Assured'
Should we thank Covid-19 for this ending? The CW's 'Riverdale' had a makeshift finale last week and it ended in a way that set up the tone perfectly for a new season and while the genre is completely different, 'Success is Assured' ends with messages of love and hope, while also dropping a major cliffhanger. Let's not confuse this episode with terms such as sappy or cheesy, because it isn't in any manner. There's some intense action, a cold-blooded murder and a ruthless evil genius that seems pretty invincible at the moment.
And Joseph Carver (Eric John Nenninger) is dead. For all the money, the tech and the debonair attitude, he couldn't make it past five minutes in a direct encounter with his wife, Eva McCulloch/ Mirror Master (Efrat Dor). Not even Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) could save him as Eva mercilessly kills Carver. Limited speed has been an Achilles heel for the Scarlet Speedster and one can clearly see it now.
Had this been the finale, there were at least two storylines that could have been skipped, but in a way, it's perfect that they didn't. Caitlin Snow/Killer Frost's (Danielle Panabaker) temporary exit from the show was well-crafted with a storyline involving her mother and Barry getting to say a heartfelt goodbye. As expected, Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes) was absent for the episode as he is in Atlantis searching for a missing component to help build the Perpetual Motion Machine.
Perhaps it's also that time we officially welcome Sue Dearbon (Natalie Dreyfuss) to team Flash after all that's happened. One of the major storylines of 'Success is Assured is when Sue takes the step of working with Carver, only to be convinced by Ralph Dibny (Hartley Sawyer) not to and while she denies the advice, Sue is eventually back assisting Ralph, Nash Wells (Tom Cavanagh) and Allegra (Kayla Compton) as they take on Carver's Angels— Esperanza, Sunshine and Kimiyo Hoshi/Doctor Light.
The multi-screen fight sequence has to be one of the most well-choreographed fight sequences in this season of 'The Flash'. Slick and authentic, it also features some badass one-liners, courtesy Sue and some hi-yah! action. By the end of it, with Eva emerging the winner, it's a bit of a retreat for the heroes. It is predictable though as 'The Flash' always has that re-grouping scene where the team bonds and readies to take on threats— as a team.
Emotions running high isn't new in 'The Flash' and the makeshift finale is a timely reminder of why Barry is the Paragon of Love. The unflinching affection to Iris West-Allen (Candice Patton) and his team have always been the source of his strength and it takes a heart-to-heart with Caitlin to realize that. And since we're talking love and relationships, safe to say that things are good between Allegra and Nash. By now, it is also safe to assume Ralph and Sue are in love although they may deny it. Season 7 may just fulfil the comic storyline by having a wedding episode.
But what of Iris? The final minutes see Team Flash ready to save some lives, but unknown to them, Iris, probably in a heightened state of neural dissonance just vanishes. Has Iris managed to break free from the mirror verse? It doesn't seem like it, but it is the only logical theory other than her dying. The character has been a pivotal figure in the series since inception and it would genuinely take some serious guts to end a character like that.
It may not be the finale we hoped for, but it isn't a disappointment either. Season 7 may not be coming in anytime soon and we don't need to hold our breath. But 'Success is Assured' does justice to what has been a scintillating season.
