The Flash Season 6 Premiere: 9 Ups & 3 Downs From 'Into The Void'

1. Barry's Eccentric Positivity

Barry's behaviour in the first half of the episode was a little infuriating. With smiles all around and a refusal to see things any other way but positively, it was clear that he was masking his grief by attempting to convince himself that everything was wonderful.

In spite of the fact that this kind of loud behaviour was quite on-the-nose, it would have been believable if Barry hadn't done this exact same thing before... with dire consequences.

Remember 'Invincible' - the Season 2 episode in which Barry returned from the Speed Force with a renewed sense-of-positivity and crossed paths with Black Siren? Remember how that overwhelmingly naive positivity was regularly mistaken for arrogance by those who told him not to let his guard down? And remember how that led to his father's death at the hands of Zoom?

Barry went down this route before (and it was annoying back then too), so it just seems unlikely that he would do it again. More than that, he's an incredibly considerate person, so his attempts to make Cisco work during their family barbecue or overwhelm Caitlin with grins instead of consoling her when she almost died just felt very out-of-character.

Now, for the positives...