The Flash | Season 9 Episode 6 - "The Good, the Bad and the Lucky"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello people!

I know, I am super late with this review but I thought, because there wasn't a new episode this week, this would be a good way to remind you (and myself) of what happened last week in order to have it fresh in your mind when the new episode airs next week (that and I've just been busy, let's be honest). So, without further do, let's get to it.

I would say, overall, this episode was a bit of a disappointment. Having in mind that this is the final season, they basically wasted this episode on some dumb story that isn't relevant for the season as a whole. I mean, I guess they can connect it with the Cecile stuff, as well as the Khione stuff (which was the only interesting bit for me) but, overall, this was a waste of time. On top of that, there was no Barry in this episode, which just by itself is a huge red flag.

But basically this episode revolved around Rebecca Sharpe (who, if you remember, her power was being really lucky) and the fact that she was framed for attacking her fiancé Dominic Stewart. That and Cecelie not being able to make it to Jenna's birthday breakfast... Because, as you can imagine, Cecile was obviously the person they called to be Rebecca's lawyer. But of course, things aren't that simple and Rebecca ends up kidnapped by people with dark matter refractors that deflect Allegra's and Cecile's powers. 

Long story short, turns out Dominic's brother Tony embedded a refractor in Rebecca's engagement ring in order to manipulate her powers in is favor and gamble and make some money to pay some debts.

There's not much else I can add to this storyline to be honest. After realizing that Cecile telekinetically removes Rebecca's ring and leaves Tony for Kramer to arrest. It was that simple and they wasted an entire episode on that...

Luckily, at the same time, we also followed Khione and Mark, the later being convinced that Khione has powers. They don't find out anything but while they'e talking, after taking a number of tests and not getting anywhere, Khione conjures a snowfall which makes everyone (including the audience) believe that she must have some sort of powers... But I guess we'll have to wait and see. 

The episode ends with Cecile inviting Allegra to move into Joe's house and Team Flash having a baby shower. Lastly, Chester reveals that Khione is not a human or a metahuman (she's a godess, we know that). That's it...

Overall, as I said, this was a super lackluster episode and again, having in mind that this season is the last one, they really should not waste any episodes with these minor storylines. It might have been interesting in previous seasons, and I get it that this is a way to bring back old characters, but honestly - these aren't the characters we want back... We want Cisco, we want Wells, we want Caitlin... Heck I would love to see King Shark back maybe, or even Jesse Quick... I can't wait, again, for Oliver to appear, as well as Zoom so I'm looking forward to those appearances but, so far, the only one that added to this season was Hartley, who I've always loved and I'm happy he has a more prominent role.

But yeah, I guess that's it from me. Let's hope the next episode brings something new and exciting and, at least, I'm looking forward to finding out more about Khione (and I can't help but ship her with Mark so... there's that). Let me know what you thought of this episode and what are you looking forward for the remaining of the season and I'll talk to you next week!

Love,

Daniela

The Flash | Season 9 Episode 5 - "The Mask of the Red Death, Part 2"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello people!

Yes, it's real, I'm here on time, the day after the episode airs to talk to you about it so let's not waste any time and get to it!

This episode, unlike the last one, was so damn predictable! Predictable and so cringe! I guess they really stayed true to the essence of the show and made this one super cliché - full of all the things that we expect from the show - pep talks, Barry getting to the bad guys with words and people not really dying.

Remember what I said in my previous rant about Mark? Well, guess what?! He isn't really dead. Wow, I'm so suprised (not). Don't get me wrong, I'm actually really happy that he isn't, and his new storyline with Khione is looking really interesting (what can I say, I love a bit of romance) but let's be honest, no one really thought he was dead for real and, as per usual, The Flash plays it like it's a huge surprise when it really isn't.

Anyway, that's basically how the episode starts - with The Rogues attacking CCPD, capturing Kramer and, in order to find Red Death, they get help from Cecile which, with her powers, she finds Red Death but finds someone else as well - Mark. 

Post that, of course Barry plans to rescure Mark and, when he does so, he's attacked by Red Death, who drains him off his powers and creates psychic extensions of herself around the world, with the help of none other than Grodd.

I guess when it comes to bringing back big characters the show is doing a great job - incorporating Hartley, Goldface and all the other 'bad guys' and now Grodd is making the show more interesting. And let's not forget the fact that it's confirmed that Zoom, Eddie and Oliver are going to be in this season is what's making me a little bit excited for the remaining of it. 

But back to the episode, the story that I'm most interested in right now is Mark/Khione, because in this episdoe Khione awakens Mark with a kiss (really Sleeping Beauty like) and we see a cold breath getting out of Mark's mouth and basically into Khione's and we also see in the preview that Mark is going to start 'training' Khione so she can find her powers and, having in mind that I don't know anthing about this Khione character, I'm really looking forward to know what's going to happen with her. And, obviously, I would love some romance between them because the Frost/Mark romance was shortlived.

Well, after that stuff with Khione and Mark, we get back to the Grodd storyline and, after that usual talk between Joe and Barry, Barry goes to Grodd to appeal to his soft/hero side to help The Flash. After Barry agrees to help Grodd find his community, Grodd helps to restore his speed and they dispel Red Death's doubles. And, in the end, with the help of Hartley's group and the main timeline's Ryan, Barry defeats Red Death and she's locked up in an A.R.G.U.S. facility. 

Two weeks later, Joe moves to the countryside with Jenna while Cecile stays on Team Flash, and at his farewell party, Chester and Allegra continue their relationship and Khione announce Iris' pregnancy, which wasn't supposed to begin for another three months. 

With all of these set ups, it's really a shame that the only thing I'm excited about is what I mentioned before - Mark/Khione. It's a shame that Joe won't be around that much anymore and that Cecile is the one staying because, honestly, I don't find her character interesting at all. Her powers are really big, yes, but I guess that's the main issue, she's 'too powerfull' which takes the fun out of things (plus, I don't think Danielle Nicolet is a great actress, at least, not as Cecile so... it always puts me off). On top of that, I don't really care about Allegra and Chester's relationship, although Barry's comment in this episode was gold, and as far as the pregancy goes... I guess we'll see what happens. This comming three months earlier will definitely mess things up so we'll see...

All in all, I'm curious to see where the remaining of the season goes and if everything else fails, we will at least have Stephen Amell to look forward to so there's that.

But I guess that's it from me. Let me know what you thought of this episode as well as this Red Death storyline which I assume is done by now and tell me what are you looking forward to in the next episodes.

Love,

Daniela

The Flash | Season 9 Episode 4 - "The Mask of the Red Death, Part 1"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello people!

Okay, I lied. I wasn't able to post this early... I'm so sorry. I'm not even going to explain anymore, let's just get to the episode.

Last week's episode was actually sort of interesting. Some parts were kind of lame but, overall, I was pretty invested and it kept be guessing the whole time. 

Everything starts with Barry being caught by the Red Death and finding out that Mark is working for him/her. Barry also learns that the Red Death uses artificial speed which is a big deal - it means that it isn't the avatar for the Negative Speed Force - it's someone else entirely new. That's when Red Death tries to trick us (and everyone) multiple times. 

While Barry is imprisoned, the Red Death goes to Iris and tries to trick her into saying she's Ryan Wilder that something happened to her when she went after Red Death but Iris figures out pretty quickly that she isn't who she says she is. After that, Ryan reveals that she is from an alternate timeline where she and the Flash became enemies. After being rejected from the Speed Force, she landed in Iris' timeline and wants to use the Cosmic Teadmill to get back to her timeline. However, she wants to take Iris with her in order to trick her timeline's Flash. 

Post that, Red Death brings Iris to her hideout and threatens her life in order to coerce Barry into powering the treadmill, causing a huge lightning storm. And well, because this is The Flash afterall, Barry is able to get to Mark and he sabotages Red Death's plan, helping Barry to get out and destroying the Treadmill in the process. However, not everything ends well for Mark because after that, he is beaten to death by the Rogues and Team Flash evacuates Barry and Iris, leaving Mark and making us believe that he's dead. Personally, I don't think he's really dead but I've seen the actor post some 'farewell' pictures on Instagram so... That made me question my belief, but I guess we'll see in the upcoming episode.

But that's pretty much it. There were other things surrounding Cecile and Joe, and Allegra and Chester but honestly, none of those storylines are that interesting. This whole thing with Red Death looked better than it is turning out to be, but maybe the next episode will surprise me. As I said, this episode was very engaging and I was interested, but there were a lot of The Flash clichés... I honestly hope they can make the story more edgy and not so predictable... I'm tired of Barry just talking to people and everyone just turning good out of a sudden. I'm also tired of those revenge plots and speedsters going after Barry... I want something new, please give me something different!

Anyway, let me know your thoughts on this whole Red Death situation and what you think is going to happen from now on and I guess I'll see you on my next rant!

Love,

Daniela.

The Challenge: Ride or Dies | Season 38 Episode 21 - "Reunion Part 2"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello people!

So here we are with the final episode of Season 38! 

Overall, I would say this Part 2 was more interesting than part one but, once again, they didn't exactly give us many things... Still, I'm obviously going to talk about the most important moments (in my opinion), starting with... Turbo, of course!

We ended last week's episode with Turbo coming to speak his mind on the whole thing and, of course, he wasn't really there but he wasn't video chatting either - instead, he sent a video and, honestly, it was one of the funniest things that The Challenge has ever put out! Yes, some of it was in bad taste and a lot of it was pretty cheesy, but we can't deny the fact that it was super funny... I don't necessarily agree with a lot of the things he said, besides Fessy, obviously, but it was still funny...

Besides that... Well, they talked about the hook ups (surprisingly they didn't say anything about Moriah and Bananas) mainly the whole thing with Nelson and Olivia which they didn't develop it much but I got a sense that something else happened (and after that clip of them talking backstage, it really looked like Nelson was pushing and Olivia was just not in the headspace to have a relationship which is totally fair and she should definitely work on herself first.). They mentioned Messy Fessy of course, as well as some other hook ups but, to me, The Challenge isn't about the hook ups. Yes, they are the main things to create problems between people, but I don't care about them that much to be honest.

Something more important that they talked about was Tori and how much she talked about her mental health this season which is something really important, however, I feel like The Challenge only did that to look good and be relevant... Still, it is never too much to talk about mental health so I'm all here for it! Plus, Amber revealed that she's autistic which opened a whole another conversation. I don't know how I feel about that though... In a way, yes, it's important and we should raise awareness and I know what autism is a spectrum, but part of me feels like Amber revealed that also to have a reason for people not vibing with her. I always liked her and I never understood why people kept on pocking at her and disliking her... Maybe there's something else that they didn't show us... I don't know... I'm happy for her to finally find out this about herself and for raising awareness, but something feels wrong about this being revealed at the Reunion... 

And yeah, I guess those were the highlights of this Reunion Part 2 - hook ups, Fessy still being Messy with friendships, relationships and with the game and thinking that he's way better than he actually is, Horacio being the exact opposite of Fessy and not really realising how good of a player and a person he is, emotional connections between people and raising awareness for different struggles. 

Post this, we have a new season coming next week already - The Challenge: World Championship so the rants will keep coming. In the meantime, let me know your thoughts on Season 38 as a whole and what are your expectations for the new season! I'll talk to you later with the new The Flash rant!

Love,

Daniela.

The Flash | Season 9 Episdoe 3 - "Rogues of War"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello people!

I am so so so sorry for being so late with this rant! It's not even that I disliked the episode that much, because I didn't... Life just got in the way, I guess... But I'm here now so let's not waste any time and get to it!

So, needless to say, that my details on this episode are a little foggy but, I do remember that I enjoyed it overall. It started a little slow - not exactly what I wanted when the preview talked about a theft but then they got to that part and I was super into it. Everything ended up being super cliché and predictable but I'm curious to see where this goes because the end of the episode we see who is the "Red Death", and it is none other than Ryan Wilder aka Batwoman! The only unfortane part about that is that I still have two seasons of Batwoman to watch and I feel like I'm going to miss so many references and whatnot but... We'll see...

But back to the beginning of the episode, the Rogues group (aka the people that are working for Red Death) steal a temporal scanner which makes Barry realize that they're building a Cosmic Treadmill and are only missing one piece. In order to prevent that, Barry decides to steal that piece first, but he realizes he needs some help, so he asks Hartley, Mark, Jaco Birch and Goldface for help. They agree to do so but things go a little sideways when they're trying to come up with a plan but Barry can't fully trust them, so they all decide to do the missing without Barry. 

Of course, thing being The Flash, Barry does end up trusting them and they do get on with the plan but, surprise surprise Mark betrays them in exchange for Frost's resurrection.

The Rogues intercept Barry's group while the speedster temporarily disables his speed and escapes with the piece that they needed.

At the same time all off this is happening, we follow a little bit more of Khione and how she's making connections with everyone, including trying to help Allegra to stop avoiding Chester (after the whole kiss thing). 

Well, the episode ends with Hartley, Jaco and Goldface agreeing to keep helping Barry (aka new Team Flash) and Chester informs that the Rogues' equipment are Wayne Enterprises designs and that Ryan Wilder aka Batwoman is missing. After that that's when we see Red Death unsmaking itself and revealing someone that looks like Ryan (which we don't know just yet if it really is her or not). Personally, I would prefer not being her just because that way they could just use the actor but not get the whole Batwoman storyline involved with this last season of The Flash (otherwise I will miss a lot of things), but we'll see...

The whole thing with the Rogues, although great for fight sequences, as I said, was a little cliché, mostly the whole thing with Mark, but I am happy that Hartley is more involved because he's a delight! I have always loved his character and making him more relevant was the best decision the creators did for this season. As far as the whole Khione thing goes... Unfortunately, I kinda miss Caitlin. I also miss Frost though, but Caitlin has been here since the beginning and either Danielle Panabaker was tired of playing her or the producers just gave into the hate and decided to 'create' a new character for Danielle. It does make sense with the story, but I don't think it was the right move for this final season. 

But let me know what you think of everything - What are your thoughts on the whole Khione thing? What about Mark betraying Team Flash? Tell me everything in the comments and I promise I'll be back earlier this time with the next episode!

Love,

Daniela.