Ralph saves the dagger and stops Thawne’s plan. The team track Cicada and do battle with her mentally and physically. Meanwhile Thawne is far from done…

This is a typically massive season finale but it’s also one which embodies the best of the show. Every family member, including the often overlooked Joe and Cecile, get moments to shine this week and none of them feel cheap. Joe and Cecile help save the day on the ground, Nora discovers the cost of being a hero and accepts it and Cisco discovers that he doesn’t have to accept it at all. It’s all emotional, grounded stuff and it all works really well.

Best of all, the episode manages to balance the demands of character with a plot that’s both resolved and very much ongoing. It’s resolved in so far as Cicada is stopped, or rather stops existing. There are some nicely handled combinations here, especially the way that Cicada is defeated as much by her idealized version of her uncle as the team. Likewise the complex way that the timestream changes roll out is a larger version of the show’s hardest won lesson: that time travel has consequences.

But strange as it sounds, the best moment here comes from Captain Singh. As the episode closes, he reveals he’s been promoted, he names Joe his successor and tells Joe and Barry he knows Barry is the Flash. It’s a genuinely very touching moment, as this man who has been a paragon of duty and upstanding civic service quietly reveals that he’s been in their corner the whole time.

Verdict: That’s the big take home from this year. Even in the middle of multiverse destroying crossovers (and the Monitor makes an appearance here just like he does in every other show) The Flash is fundamentally kind and character-driven and remains a jewel in the CWVerse. 10/10

Alasdair Stuart