The Flash season 5 midseason report card: The story so far

In this edition of our ongoing Midseason Report Card series, we are putting the focus on a series in The Flash that did take a heck of a big risk for its fifth season. After all, how else do you describe bringing in Nora West-Allen into the mix? Bringing in Barry and Iris’ daughter from the future is something that allowed the producers to explore some interesting new emotional avenues … but there was certainly also potential that it could have turned out a little bit differently.

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One of the reasons why bringing on Nora was such a risky gambit relates simply to the fact that kids, by and large, are not always the biggest draw. At times they can be pegged as being irritating and not altogether useful for the story.

Yet, we do think that the story of Nora has had some of its merits. For starters, learning the truth about her history with Eobard Thawne in the midseason finale was a big reveal. They’ve set this character up with her own secret and with some of her own motives … but it is not entirely clear just how some of that will pan out. This helps to compensate for some of the character’s flaws, including a few episodes that slanted too much on emotional angst rather than the typical superhero drama.

Also, for a guy who has been doing this for a good while now, it does seem like Barry is almost always in a form of peril.

What else is working?

We do think that the series did a pretty good job with the backstory for Caitlin and her father. They probably could have done more in order to establish the Icicle character over time, but at least the origin of her powers makes a little bit more sense now. Add to this another fun side story for Wells and we’ve got a few different reasons to smile.

So what needs work moving forward to the second half of the season? Well, we would like to see some more personal stuff for Cisco, since it feels like he’s been on the back-burner as of late. Also, if you are throwing Ralph Dibny on the show as a main cast member, why not use him a little bit more? He’s mostly been around so far to provide a combination of witty one-liners and also a little bit of exposition.

Midseason Verdict

While  not perfect, at least The Flash season 5 has shown itself to be more or less enjoyable from start to finish. The story is absolutely set up in a way that could pay off big down the road.

Related News – Be sure to get some other information when it comes to The Flash, including some discussion on the future

What did you think about the first half of The Flash season  5 as a whole? Be sure to share right now in the attached comments. (Photo: The CW.)