The Flash Season 5: 5 Ups & 2 Downs From ‘Failure Is An Orphan’

Downs...

2. Cicada Escapes (Again!)

Y'all just couldn't let Cicada ride off into the sunset without him escaping one more time, could you?

Barry's first run-in with Cicada during the episode came in the form of a clever plan that the team orchestrated to corner him, as Killer Frost took the place of his target and temporarily subdued him. Their trap allowed Barry to speak openly and, in turn, attempt to convince him to take the cure. Predictably, it failed miserably as Cicada simply punched him in the face and reclaimed his dagger. He then tried to kill the Scarlet Speedster before Killer Frost intervened and, yup you guessed it, he flew off into the sky.

While none of us were expecting Barry's plea to work right away because, well, the story would be over far too soon, having the pair face off so early into the episode set it up to fail as it meant that we had to watch the same recycled plot play out one more time: Barry confronts Cicada in dark alley, Cicada overpowers (and almost kills) him, Killer Frost comes to the rescue and Cicada flies away.

Considering that the episode revolved around major moments in which The Flash and Cicada were in the same place at the same time and eventually resulted in a significant progression of the plot, this may be seen as nitpicking. But given how many times we've already been treated to this same old formula, it's justified nitpicking.