the flash abra kadabra

So how do you follow-up an all-out musical taking place in the head of our titular hero (and his National City partner-in-justice, of course)? Well, you bring in a time-travelin’, mass murderin’ magician trying to get to when he calls home—the 64th century.

Abra Kadabra is this week’s villain who, as we see pretty early on, has made enemies on multiple Earths. In this case, it’s Gypsy and it doesn’t take an Einstein to realize that her crushing desire to see Kadabra meet with a sudden drop and short stop is a bit more on the personal side. Turns out, the gleeful baddie took out her former partner (in both the personal and professional sense) and Gypsy’s been hunting Kadabra ever since. She’s all about the superhero team-up and, on the surface, it’s a pretty simple get. That is, until Kadabra says the magic words.

He knows the identity of Savitar.

He may have been ineffective in he exploits, but Abra Kadabra's presence will be remembered for weeks to come...maybe longer.
He may have been ineffective in he exploits, but Abra Kadabra’s presence will be remembered for weeks to come…maybe longer.

And herein lies the near entirety of the conflict in “Abra Kadabra”. Once the baddie drops that bit of information, Team Flash is torn, not wishing to give up a potential source to save Iris West. Naturally, Gypsy isn’t too keen on Barry and team’s point of view, especially if it means letting Kadabra go in exchange for the information on Savitar. The scenario is a good study into how two people can both be on the right side, fighting for different things and yet both have viewpoints that we can relate to. We know the authorities often use confidential informants, lawbreakers all, to catch the bigger fish. In a way, this is what Barry and the gang are trying to do: use Kadabra’s intel to take down the self-proclaimed god of speed while saving Iris in the process. But to do that, not only would they need to let Kadabra go but would have to take him at his word with no recourse should he lie to them. And though she doesn’t make that point in shunning the chance for survival, Iris does stand tall for what she believes. She doesn’t wish to exchange her life if it allows a vile character like Kadabra to go free. But Iris isn’t the only one faced with a choice…

Thanks to Kadabra’s initial escape from the lab, Caitlin is skewered by a stray bit of pipe. Though her initial prognosis is good—thanks to Julian’s deft hands and her own badassery (staying awake in addition to directing someone how to perform surgery on you?!), though it was touch and go for a bit. SO much so that Julian suggested she bring forth the Frost in order to heal. Her response of “I’d rather die” not only ran parallel to Iris’s thoughts of freeing Kadabra to save her own life but was a rather obvious foreshadowing to the longest “post-credits” scene in the show to date, we get what we’ve been waiting for since Barry was vibed into the future and caught a particularly killer headline. Caitlin Snow is no more…Killer Frost is here and she makes her presence known with an impressive explosion of her powers.

Gypsy's confrontation with the team leaves her and Cisco in a viber's limbo.
Gypsy’s confrontation with the team leaves her and Cisco in a viber’s limbo.

I’d be remiss though if I didn’t touch upon the prelude to Caitlin’s transformation. With the clock ticking on Iris’s date with death, Barry comes to a realization on how Savitar has been so far ahead of them from the start—he knows the future. I admit, it’s pretty sweet playing cards when you know the deck is stacked in your favor. Barry knows he has to even the odds but to do that he’ll have to once again break all manner of Speed Force rules and run to the future.

What could possibly go wrong?

Flash Facts

  • Considering he’s from more than three thousand years ahead of Team Flash in the tech department, Abra Kadabra is one of the least intimidating villains this season. He never had what I’d call a distinctive advantage against the team—save for when the metas weren’t around. In that regard, he was a bit disappointing…and yet, he did make up for that toothlessness on two separate occasions. First off, he indirectly resurrects the Killer Frost (more on that in a bit) but it’s his final words to Barry that show the evil within his façade of technology-driven magic tricks. While he may die, Abra Kadabra cannot contain his sick joy knowing that he has what Barry needs but refuses to help the Flash save Iris. “But now,” he says, “it’s like I get to kill her, too.” Now that’s cold.
  • And yet, it pales to the true Frost. Prior to Caitlin’s crisis, she was doing all that should could to apologize to Julian for her part in Savitar getting free of his Speed Force prison. Julian has difficulty letting it go, that is until he nearly loses her. He loves her and, like all our comic book characters, crosses the line to save his love, removing the power dampener in order for the dying/dead Caitlin to channel her inner meta to become Killer Frost. What that means for Julian and the team is up for grabs but one thing is certain; Frost’s appearance and probable escape adds another notch in the future Team Flash is so desperately trying to avoid.
  • Barry’s heading back to the future. Again. It may not be changing the past but there have to be gobs of issues that Barry may cause in his drive to save Iris and stop Savitar. The question on my mind is whether or not the intel he receives will be worth the consequences. And you can bet your bottom dollar there will be severe consequences…most likely coming to light in season four.

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