Title: The Flash: “All Doll’d Up” Review
Release Date: November 13th, 2018
Network: The CW
Genre: Superhero, Drama, Action
After a down year, it seems that the Arrowverse is in a strong resurgence. Arrow has been killing it with almost every episode and The Flash is not that far behind in terms of quality.
Something both shows have done well is juggling its storylines. Cicada has taken up a large chunk of screen time over the past few weeks. So has Nora. Even though the relationship between her and Iris was at the forefront in “All Doll’d Up”, she didn’t play a huge factor into most of the episode.
The main focus this week was on Barry and Iris (mostly Iris though). These two don’t get to share scenes outside the Star Labs hallway or their loft together often. It was nice to just see these two as a couple for once. The slo-mo shots at the Gala were unnecessary though as they just took me out of the scene.
I hadn’t even thought about Iris’ mother until she brought it up to Barry. Her fears that Nora would push her away, just like Iris did to her mom, made a lot of sense. On Nora’s end, she got to see a different side of Iris courtesy of Cecille.
Taking nothing away from Cecille as a character or Danielle Nicolet’s acting chops but I can’t help but think that her role in this episode was meant for Joe. For those of you who haven’t heard, Jesse L. Martin, who plays Joe West, is reportedly taking a medical leave of absence from The Flash due to back problems. It was obvious from the past few episodes that something was bothering Martin as most of the time, he was either sitting down or leaning against a wall. He will be sorely missed and hopefully, he’ll be back on The Flash soon.
Getting back to the episode, I’ve really enjoyed how the show has handled the drama in the West-Allen household so far. The way they both ended up accepting each other on their own terms was also a good call.
The highlight of this episode has got to be its villain of the week, Peter Merkel AKA Ragdoll. This guy was just straight up creepy. A lot of this credit goes to the actor, Troy James. James is a contortionist that is best known for his work in the thirteenth season of America’s Got Talent. There are some scenes from him in this episode that I won’t forget in a long time.
The climax of the episode was also something I’ll remember when discussing The Flash season five. Not only did we get an amusing homage to Spider-Man with Ralph but Iris actually got to have her own heroic moment by jumping off of a freaking building to unlock the power-dampening cuffs on Barry.
Before we move on, did Ralph eat Rag Doll there at the end? Or was Rag Doll just buried under him? I really hope it wasn’t the first one.
A theory I’ve had regarding these new meta-powers is that all of the villains we will see over the next few weeks have abilities from our season four bus metas. Spin’s abilities (well, technically her phone’s abilities) were reminiscent of Kilgore. Ragdoll’s ability to contort and stretch his body is akin to Ralph. It’ll be interesting to see if this trend continues.
As our B-story, we had some developments in Caitlin’s search for her father. First off, I’m loving the dynamic between Ralph and our new Wells. The Elongated Man is known to be one of the smartest people in DC Comics and it was cool to see Ralph show off his detective skills in front of the overconfident Sherloque Wells.
What’s probably the most compelling aspect of this B-story is what’s going on with Cisco. As I predicted in “The Death of Vibe”, it seems that Cisco’s powers are diminishing as a result of his battle with Cicada. Every time he Vibes, Cisco increases his chance of death. It’ll be interesting to see if Cisco will return to his old role on Team Flash? Or is he going to push through and further damage himself in the process?
Finally, it appears that we are gearing up for the culmination of Caitlin’s storyline next week. The whole arc has had its ups and downs over the past few weeks but it’s probably for the best that we put this story thread to rest before it overstays its welcome. Next week’s episode looks to be amazing though.
Verdict: “All Doll’d Up” was another episode that further demonstrates how well The Flash has been this season. A focus on Barry and Iris was much needed as was the developments in Caitlin’s search for her thought-to-be-dead father. What sets “All Doll’d Up” apart from other “Good” episodes of The Flash is its terrifyingly creepy villain, Ragdoll. With next week’s focus on Caitlin, it looks like the series won’t slow down anytime soon.
The Flash: “All Doll’d Up” Review
Ragdoll
Barry and Iris teaming up
Cisco losing his abilities is an intriguing story to explore
Major developments in Caitlin’s story
Cecille’s advice to Nora
How Iris and Nora come to grips with each other
At this point, it’s best not to think about the time travel of this show. It makes no sense
The slo-mo shots at the Gala
