Cecile gets mind-zapped and Chester learns the ropes in a low-key Flash
It's a showcase for Danielle Nicolet that also features the return of a much-missed character
TV Reviews Flash
It’s an odd year for The Flash, thanks to the pandemic that cut the previous season short and delayed this one for months. We had three episodes to clear up old business, followed by another eight devoted to the Forces storyline, and now we’re in a transitional phase. With five episodes remaining after tonight, there really isn’t enough time to build up a full-length arc, and “Masquerade” has only a tenuous link (via Joe) to any larger story. It’s basically a one-off, but it does give a somewhat under-utilized member of the cast a chance to shine.
Cecile is at the center of the episode—or rather, several variations on Cecile. As it turns out, the weird throwaway moment during the Force-storm a few weeks back in which Cecile was hit by lightning but seemed to suffer no ill effects was actually a set up for this week. The storm merely provided cover for a sentient mask once belonging to Psycho Pirate, now stored in the Central City museum, to take Cecile as its human host. The real Cecile finds herself in a cell inside a bright white asylum of the mind, where Barry joins her once the Psycho-Cecile knocks him into a coma.
With Chester fresh on the job as Cisco’s replacement and preoccupied with redecorating and setting up a sweet sound system, it’s easy for Psycho-Cecile to manipulate him into thinking he’s come up with her plan: to break into the museum and steal the mask so they can disable it. Chester’s greatest idea is to call in Sue Dearbon (Natalie Dreyfuss), whose time on the show was cut annoyingly short by both the pandemic and Ralph Dibny’s exile from The Flash thanks to actor Hartley Sawyer’s old tweets. Her arrival gives the episode an immediate boost, and her balletic, cat-suited maneuvering through the museum’s security laser grid is simply a delight.
Also enjoyable are Nicolet’s many faces of Cecile, including terrified Cecile inside the mindscape (which turns out to be her own memory of being institutionalized after her mother died while she was at law school); a lunatic hallucination of Cecile, all runny mascara and over-the-top cackling; the slightly-too-manic version of the mask as Cecile; and the full-on supervillain Psycho-Cecile. She’s obviously loving the opportunity to cut loose in a variety of ways, and it’s fun to watch.
On the whole, however, there’s not a ton of excitement this week. It’s not a bottle episode, but it’s definitely scaled-down, with a minimal cast, few special effects, and virtually no super-heroics. This is necessary every once in a while, especially after a budget blowout like the finale of the Forces arc, but this one is particularly low-key. On the plus side, Barry is level-headed and reassuring despite his lack of super-speed. Maybe I’m grading him on a curve at this point, but he doesn’t say or do anything to make my eyes roll, and he correctly susses out that Cecile could lead them out of the mindscape if she faces her fears.
On the other hand, no points to Joe for going two weeks without noticing his wife wasn’t actually his wife. (Hey, there’s something he can discuss with Barry, who went much longer last season without noticing Iris had been replaced by her mirror duplicate.) As for Chester, he’s pretty easily duped by Psycho-Cecile, but he does redeem himself by short-circuiting the Thinker’s chair before she can bond with it. He’s not truly a member of Team Flash, however, until he gets a pep talk from Iris, who assures him he’ll get the hang of things before long.
The only real connection to an ongoing storyline is Joe’s investigation of Kristen Kramer’s service record, which reveals that she led her unit into ambush which she alone survived. Joe, who was calling her a good cop without much evidence recently, is finally starting to have his suspicions. Those will have to wait for another day.
Stray observations
- Chester stumbles on Barry and Iris trying to make a baby down in the STARchives, and it’s just embarrassing for all of us.
- Good news: It looks like Sue is going to hang around for a while, since “Ralph is still busy.” Nobody asks about him or seems to care how he’s doing, which is kind of sad. I mean, the character didn’t do anything wrong.
31 Comments
Compared to the absolute shit show that was the Forces storyline, the past two weeks have been a breath of fresh air, bring more case of the week episodes! And you aren’t fully a member of Team Flash until you’ve been duped into giving the villain of the week exactly what they need, so welcome to the team Chester!
I think the writing team really struggled with writing the show in a way that was Covid-protocol friendly, and are only now getting the hang of it.
I actually thought the Forces arc started off really good. Then Frost got arrested and everything just fell apart completely.
Team Flash Christening lol
I was right: That Psycho Pirate mask does make Cecile look like a Yautja (Predator). Maybe it’s her hair that makes the appearance complete. Plus, seeing her in the Thinker’s chair gets me thinking of a Yautja pilot. Not too shabby.
Well, I certainly hope Barry wasn’t going down to Iris’s STARchives, because as we all know, heroes don’t do that. They must only engage in missionary-style intercourse for the purposes of procreation.
for the purposes of procreation selling consumer toys.One of those, I guess.
The expanding white asylum corridors prove spooky doesn’t rely on darkness.
The finally did something with Psycho Pirate’s Medusa Mask, squandered since Elseworlds. I appreciate Sue ballet dancing around lasers.
Cecile’s backstory was sad.
They’ve spent a few episode lampshading Chester as a replacement for Cisco through his insecurities. Hopefully they can move on from that now.
Her ballet dancing around the lasers was nifty, but the whole time I kept thinking she really should have secured her hair.
Yes to securing the hair!
So glad they got Natalie Dreyfuss back, after getting the short end of the stick when Hartley Sawyer got fired. Wasn’t she originally slated to be promoted to full time cast this year? If not I’m sure she was meant to be recurring more than this. The laser scene was genuinely well done (the two of them not wearing masks, not so much).If there was an episode this season that earned its heart-to-heart moment, it’s this one between Iris and Chester. Insecurities aside I still need Chester to not feel like a clone of Cisco, but now that he’s not just the assistant guy he should have more room to grow.Overall really enjoyed this one, Cecile and Barry pair surprisingly well and yes glad they finally did more with the Medusa Mask.
The Hartley Sawyer thing annoys me, in that he was so perfect for the role. I’m not arguing that he shouldn’t have been let go, just that it left a big, stretchy hole in the show. Not sure why they haven’t already cast a new actor; they certainly laid the groundwork for the change. Regardless, glad to see Natalie Dreyfuss again.
Not sure why they haven’t already cast a new actor; they certainly laid the groundwork for the change.They might have missed a good opportunity. I assumed when Ralph got his face melted it would open up an excuse to recast, with some handwave of him not being able to restore his original appearance or something. But nope, this episode seemingly implies Ralph is perfectly OK and off having adventures offscreen, so now I’m not sure how they’ll justify a change.
Granted, they could handwave it away with a “Oh? Did I not mention he has a new face?”I miss EM. He was one thing that this show absolutely nailed.
I’ve seen people mention that they are going to recast Ralph eventually. They’re just having the character sit on the shelf for a while. Sort of like how they didn’t immediately recast Kate on Batwoman.
I love Danielle Nicolet as Cecile and am glad for her to finally have a showcase episode, she deserved it & the show this season frankly needed it
We just watched an episode of Stargate SG 1 called Menace in which a very young Danielle Nicolet guest starred.
I, uh, fully approve of Psycho Pirate becoming a prominent and recurring villain. I also would love to see Sue become a main cast member; that actress is delightful.
Joe & Barry definitely ain’t no Sara Lance. She immediately know it wasn’t her Ava.And it was nice to see goofy Barry (getting caught with Iris by Chester) and level-headed, helpful Barry.
Joe & Barry definitely ain’t no Sara Lance. She immediately know it wasn’t her Ava.
That’s why Sara Is The Best.
Is Jesse Martin’s back issue not better at all? The overwhelming majority of Joe’s appearances on the show are still seated.
So, I’m always driving home during the first half of the show and catch up with it the next day. Normally that’s fine and I don’t miss too much. But this week it was sufficient to make me think/hope/worry that it was Dr. Fate’s mask with a new look that had possessed Cecile. I was both let down and relieved to learn I was wrong.
Joe West’s mental health speech in regards to the black community? #bravo. Curious if some the ask had a convo with the writers room.
I find it weird that they separated Caitlin and Frost seemingly just to dump Frost completely.
While an overall great episode, I have to say that one thing bugged me. Chester seriously completely redecorated the lab before he finished painting!? Like, wow. How much wet paint is on the various equipment or those paintings?
I heard that the actress that plays Frost does not get along with the actress that plays Caitlin, and they can’t be on set together.
Using main cast members only and pre-existing props! Guess you have the pay for mid-season finales somehow.Why does a museum have state-of-the-art security but STAR Labs doesn’t?
I liked the ballet lasers… however… I know it’s unfair to compare animations and live-action, but Carmen Sandiego did the classical music laser dance better.
They need to just recast Ralph. Next season, he pops back in with a different face due to the accident he needed the suit to heal from. He can’t get his original face back. Perfect pseudo science arrowverse explanation.
As pivot episodes go, focusing on two POC characters, especially in the context of mental health and insecurity, was a welcome choice by the show this week. It was also good to see not just Barry’s empathy but his experience shine through in reassuring Cecile in how to deal with the mind prison.
Chester got fooled by not-Cecile for a couple of hours, her husband didn’t notice for two weeks. He’s fine.
Maybe it’s my age showing, but if we could stop doing person does ballet/gymnastics/dance through a field of laser beams scene, that would be great. It was dumb when Catherine Zeta Jones did it, and every version since has been just a dumb.
This show is tediously bad