The Flash sends off another original cast member in appropriately goofy fashion
Carlos Valdes is moving on and taking Cisco Ramon with him
TV Reviews The Flash
The Cisco Ramon farewell tour finally concludes in “Good-Bye Vibrations,” which mostly manages to find the right tone for his sendoff. There are sentimental moments, because this is The Flash and that’s always going to be part of the package. But this is not an angst-ridden departure, or an attempt at a heart-rending final bow in which Cisco sacrifices himself to save the team/the city/the multiverse (though it briefly feints in that direction). At his best, Cisco brought humor and heart in equal measure to Team Flash, and that’s how he departs it.
Cisco’s announcement that he’s taking a job with Argus in Star City certainly doesn’t preclude Carlos Valdes from making the occasional guest appearance, and at first it doesn’t appear to faze the rest of Team Flash at all. Instead of the tearful farewell he’s expecting, Cisco mostly gets an indifferent response, except from Chester, who is thrilled to be introduced to the STARchives, home of the speed treadmill, Captain Cold’s gun, the Thinker’s chair, and other artifacts from seasons past.
A chance for the O.G. Team Flash (minus Thawne/Wells, of course) to solve one last case emerges when Rainbow Raider 2.0 strikes. Carrie Bates is a former collections agent who uses her meta powers to infuse people with euphoria, as she demonstrates on a loans officer who cheerfully writes a check for $10 million out to cash. As it turns out, Rainbow Raider 2.0 is awesome; she’s a modern day Robin Hood who steals a blimp in order to drop cash and jewels on the poor people of Central City. It’s a little hard to root for our heroes in this scenario, even though Barry tries to make it right by arranging for her to serve out her sentence as part of the mayor’s economic development team. (That’s a thing? The Flash can arrange that? Okay!)
The villain isn’t really the point of the episode, just a vehicle for Cisco to vent his feelings about feeling unappreciated and for Carlos Valdes to get really goofy one more time. When Cisco is blasted with Rainbow’s euphoria lightning, he starts singing, dancing, and sending cat memes to Barry’s Flash suit when he’s in the middle of trying to fight crime. Barry gets zapped too, and soon he’s back at STAR Labs laughing it up and breakdancing at super-speed. Anytime Grant Gustin gets one of these rare opportunities to break free of mopey Barry and cut loose, he looks truly liberated. The show’s characterization of Barry Allen has really boxed him in, and it takes moments like this to show what a disappointing choice that is.
Chester proves his utility to the revamped Team Flash by using Cisco’s tech to create a device that will stop Rainbow long enough for Barry to cuff her, but it’s up to Cisco as Mecha-Vibe to save the day by piloting the blimp to safety. No surprise that the rest of the team does appreciate him after all, but were just putting on a brave face to make their parting less painful. In his last minutes at STAR Lab, we get a quick montage of classic Cisco moments from over the past seasons (including his naming of many Flash rogues), and it’s a rare moment of feeling the weight of all the years the show has been on the air.
So let’s raise a glass to Carlos Valdes. His commitment to the show may have been spotty over the past couple of years, but who could blame him? Cisco was one of the key ingredients when The Flash was at its best, and the likeability and comic timing of Valdes were a huge part of that. The best scene is saved for last, as Cisco hands out a few of his treasured Comicon t-shirts for the gang to remember him. After that, it’s karaoke time, with Cisco, Barry, Caitlin, and even Joe teaming up for a rendition of Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face.” This feels like a scene straight out of a wrap party from seasons past, a tribute to both character and actor, and the best possible sendoff as the genuine camaraderie is palpable. Carlos and Cisco, you’ll both be missed.
Stray observations
- Oh, and Kamilla is also leaving. Does anyone have a favorite Kamilla moment? It’s certainly not Victoria Park’s fault that the writers never really got a handle on this character in any memorable way.
- “You suck forever but I love you anyway.” Frost really is a softie underneath it all.
- Carrie Bates is a reference to DC Comics writer Cary Bates, who wrote many issues of The Flash, including one from 1979 in which Iris is killed.
- Next week: creepy Cecile shenanigans.
84 Comments
Yeah, I don’t know exactly if that episode was good, but it was the exact mood (dare I say vibe?) that the show should always be striving towards, and Poker Face karaoke was chef’s kiss perfect. Though if I did have a quibble, it’s that they had three damn fine singers present and they didn’t let them show their stuff. Oh, and speaking of quibbles, a hydrogen filled blimp? Really?
I initially had the same thought about the blimp, but the fact that he said, “…two tons of compressed hydrogen…” implies that it’s the fuel source, not the lifting gas.
Maybe the Earth Prime never had the Hindenburg disaster so they still figure what the hell because obviously they know these things are flying bombs just waiting for a spark.
Don’t they have a warehouse for all of that stuff? One that Iris had to sneak into to get something for Eva?Isn’t Snart’s gun on the Waverider?Who’s helmet was that? I almost thought that it was Zoom’s.“Can I have your ID?” Wooooooooow. That is appropriately cold for Caitlin. And hilarious.I’ve known her for about 10 seconds, and I already love the new Rainbow Raider.Vibrational power…of light?Caitlin, why give Cisco a babysitter? You could just induce a naptime for him. I’m just saying.Super happy Cisco is annoying.The villain is a person with a good agenda, and the Flash must stop her. Once again, the purpose of the superhero isn’t to help people, but to maintain the status quo.Was that the Medusa Mask?She wasn’t even in this episode, and Killer Frost still had the best line of the night.
PS – Chester DOES NOT create an item to stop Rainbow Raider. Allegra counters her light with her ultraviolet rays.
Chester did create the device that removed the whammy from Barry and Cisco though.
Love Allegra. Still waiting for a fight scene where she’s goes all out.
The helmet was Barry’s from his first proto-costume. There’s even a scene showing it during the final montage.
Not that one. The blue one that was in the background, on a shelf, when Chester and Cisco were talking.
The villain is a person with a good agenda, and the Flash must stop her. Once again, the purpose of the superhero isn’t to help people, but to maintain the status quoI guess they justify it by saying dropping the money into a crowd of people is likely to cause chaos/stampeding, which is a valid point.
Except, she didn’t go to jail, and instead was given a job where she COULD help people without being directly responsible for who know how many deaths and untold amounts of property damage. How is that maintaining the status quo?
Well, it’s working for reform through the system – and to many people, anything involving working with the system is an unacceptable surrender to the status quo…
She was going to drop a lot of valuables into a crowd. No way that could go wrong…
What’s up with the notifications? They no longer take me to the comment I’m getting notified about. DAMN YOU, KINJA!
The drama about Kamillah leaving is somewhat lessened by me not being able to remember a damn thing abut her other than that she is Cisco’s girlfriend
She has a necklace shaped like a K, to help us remember her name. That’s all I’ve got.
I never noticed that
Wait she does?
Did she used to be a barista?
You are thinking of one of Cisco’s other, worser, love interests
True, Kamilla used to be a bartender. (And I had to look that up because I remember nothing about her)
I don’t dislike Kamilla though. I mean, I would have to be able to remember who she is in order to do that
You mean Hawk Girl? She used to be a barista? It’s so weird that she never mentioned that…
Hey now, you’re leaving out all kinds of important characterization such as:* She’s a brilliant photographer (whose photos we never see),
…Aaaand I’m done.
Hey, we saw that one photo that outed the fact that something was wrong with Cecile. And that other photo- the one that wasn’t really a photo- that outed Mirror Master. That’s not a lot…
Wait, what happened the chick from the other universe? I checked out of Flash sometime ago so I’m lost.
She is also a photographer. That’s literally everything.
Please please please let the rest of the season have this tone.Also holy smokes Superman and Lois’s twist!
So wait how did Cisco know that coma-Barry liked “Poker Face” if he did not post it on his facebook page? Though doesn’t everyone like that song?
Barry was just joking around about his Facebook page, specifically saying that he didn’t put it on there as a favorite song and it must have somehow been someone else who did.
Okay that tracks, thanksBut that song is awesome, why deny liking it even jokinglyA few months ago I had an appointment to meet a friend and he was a little late & apologized & I said it was okay, since in the intermediate time “Poker Face” came on & I just listened to that & I love that song & he said he did too & of course he did
Would have been funnier if they used Leather Pants instead.
Thawne knew from the future that the Flash’s favorite song was “Poker Face”, so he hacked Barry’s Facebook account to update it with correct information.
That would not be the craziest thing Thawne has ever done
I’ve never heard it before, but then I don’t listen to pop music. I was not impressed.
I’m pretty sure the Joker would’ve liked Carrie Bates, the way she’s making people smile a lot. 😉
Is it just me, or is Cecile being hunted by a psychic Yautja (Predator)?
I totally got Joker vibes when Barry walked in grinning after being whammied.
My first thought was that it was the Psycho Pirate’s facemask, but nothing else tracked with him.
Rainbow Raider 2.0 is a moron if she didn’t think that literally dropping cash and very hard jewelry into a crowd of people would immediately cause a riot and massive injuries.
They’ll be OK…because…er something something speed force?
She’s a moron, period. Stealing property to distribute to others doesn’t make you a good person.
Also, if she wants to help the poor, they probably can’t afford tickets to major sporting events.
Damn it Barry Rainbow Raider 2.0!
If she were just dropping cash, I could see her not thinking of or not caring about the repercussions. But when you start dropping sharp rocks on people from hundreds of feet up …
And GOLD BARS! There were literally gold bars in that net with the jewels. She was going to cave people’s heads in!
The thing that bugged me more was NO ONE bothers to mention to her that a riot is the reason they’re trying to stop her.
“As it turns out, Rainbow Raider 2.0 is awesome; she’s a modern day Robin
Hood who steals a blimp in order to drop cash and jewels on the poor
people of Central City.”
As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.
A rather fun episode. No, it’s not super ultra amazing, but it was a lot of fun. A big step up from the last few episodes. I appreciated all the continuity nods that showed just how much Cisco has done on the show.
I did find it weird that Frost didn’t even appear at the party scene. I’d figure she’d love karaoke. I guess Danielle didn’t want to get in the makeup that day?
Like when I watched Orphan Black, for a second I thought that they were saving money by not having to pay the actress that plays Frost to appear in this episode.
Who tells their best friends (and boss in Kamilla’s case) that they’re leaving town…tomorrow? ARGUS is getting to be a retirement home for departing superheroes.So in a quick re-watch I guess it’s possible that everyone could be putting on a brave face for Cisco and Kamilla, but it’s just weirdly coordinated given Iris, Barry and Caitlin just found out at that moment. I’d buy it a bit more if they were told at the end of last episode and decided to put on a front on Cisco’s last day. For the first half of the episode I thought the reveal would be they had been secretly manipulated by Rainbow Raider 2.0 somehow (and technically there was never a Rainbow Raider 1.0, Cisco shot down the name and called him Prism).Overall better than some recent episodes, but the idea of a ‘low stakes goodbye’ just didn’t fully come together here (Legends nailed it much better with Routh’s departure). The Poker Face karaoke was the perfect final scene though, I wish they’d left us with that instead of trying to set up the next arc.
Maybe they should give us a “DC’s Agents of A.R.G.U.S” show.
I remember when these reviews cursed Vibe’s dopeness. Now we will miss it.And Carlos Valdes laughs again.
This was fine. Nothing overly dramatic that upped the stakes too much, and the montage at the end was nice. Would’ve been nice to get a scene with Wells/Harry, but perhaps that’ll be in the finale when Cisco comes back one more time.
It was a stand alone episode that did a decent job of writing off a character. So what will be next for Carlos Valdes? Will he be the next Bond bad guy? Be a Marvel man? The next Mandalorian? Hardcore gangster in a Denzel Washington movie? Sidekick to Indiana Jones in Indy 5? Join WWE? Will he cut his hair?
Unfortunately, the usual answer to “what will this star of a mildly popular genre TV show do next?” is “nothing that anyone will notice”. A couple of them break out, but for most it’s going to be a steady diet of guest star roles in third-rate police procedurals… things are beginning to change (greater respect given to TV and just there being more TV) but most TV stars only get one big shot.
Even if this was better than the previous bunch of episodes, it really does feel to me like the show that I loved and all the potential it had is never coming back now. Unless they make some sweeping changes, they will probably ride this out in a similar “Hmm, huh, okay, well that one’s alright, that blows, hurm. Oh that was it?” trajectory until the end, which couldn’t be any more than 3 seasons away.
They should definitely end it now. At most, give themselves one more season, if they really have something good planned for it. The key cast are departing, the writers are going through the motions, they’re recycling villains, the multiverse of shows that it was linked into is collapsing rapidly… I know every show wants to keep going forever, because it provides a steady paycheck to the cast and crew, but at this point it’s just hurting its own reputation.
This show has been terrible for years, but I thought this season has been turning it around. The Forces story was decent, Frost’s trial was OK.
My best friend and roommate (at the time) did that once. Came up to me and told me that he was moving to another state the next day. Except he told me this on April 1, so I didn’t believe him for like an hour while he tried to convince me it was real.Chester was the new blood that the show really needed to just geek out over things again. It’s a shame that he only gets 2 seasons.There are so many reasons why that thing wouldn’t be filled with hydrogen, but mainly, well, Hindenburg.Those bars of gold she wants to drop on top of people from a goddamned dirigible weigh 27.5 lbs each.This is probably the first karaoke session where every person weirdly has their own microphone.
Chester didn’t need to get zapped with the happy-party eye-beams because he’s always like that.
Also it would have required him leaving Star Labs, something that he didn’t even do at the end when everyone else was partying.
It did seem weird that Chester would rather stay at Star Labs and look at all the tech in that room instead of attending a farewell party for someone he considered a friend, especially since this would be the last time he would see Cisco and he would have endless time to look at that tech after Cisco was gone.They can’t even use the excuse that Chester is more comfortable being alone working on science than interacting with people, since we’ve seen him do both and like each equally.The simplest explanation is that they told Chester that the party at the loft was only for original Team Flash members.
This show has gone all Heckle and Jeckle, meaning it swings from deep dark angsty despair to light fun with no real consequences other than whiplash for the viewer. I prefer the latter approach, but the literal “Get out of jail free” approach doesn’t really work. I don’t want her to go to Iron Heights, but Carrie is still unstable and probably needs to be monitored (though she’d be handy to have on Team Flash: “Barry, Thawne is back!” “Carrie?” “Oh, hi, Barry. I was going to kill you, but you just want to chill?”).
This was a nice sendoff for Carlos & Cisco. I will miss that character.However, I am unhappy that this episode is probably going to be the only time we see the amazing Rainbow Raider 2.0! She could be such a great antihero, like we know Flash has to try to stop her but we kinda want her to win sometimes though. And some prize, going from being Robin Hood to Leslie Knope suffering through the bureaucracy of city government. Sitting through task force meetings in a stuffy old city office building talking minutia when you literally have the power to make people write $10 million checks would be absolutely maddening. If I was her, I would have just asked to have been put in a meta holding cell instead, it’s more humane.
I hope she could use her powers in a more toned down fashion to make the rest of the committee agree with her and cut through red tape.
80% sure she’ll be back.
Best episode of the Flash in 2 seasons. Glad it was silly and then sad but the ending was awesome. Kudos to making me want to give the show another chance, so far it was a slog this season.
Good! Bi-Vibrations.
While I was watching this, I couldn’t shake this feeling about how fluffy and inconsequential the ep was, and how the villain was sort of pointless and even didn’t really turn out to be much of a villain…And then after about half an ep it hit me… THIS IS HOW THE SHOW WAS WHEN IT WAS GOOD. It seems impossible to think so now, but there was a time when the Flash was the goofy, fun, counterpart to the more serious Arrow. It wasn’t the expanding/rotating cast or the pacing or the actors that made the show bad, it was the total shift in tone. Even though the first season still had a homicidal villain trying to kill the Flash as Barry still dealt with the murder of his mother… it was fun! And then they left the creepy/plot stuff for the tag at the end. Which is exactly how this ep went.
Unfortunately, it looks like they’re going right back to slogstown next. The fact that the clearly remembered how to make the show fun kinda just makes me even more disappointed in the show now…
Really hope they remember how to have fun like they did in this one as the season moves on. I’m always excited for a Cecile storyline, so here’s hoping it goes better than the first half of the season.
Still never understood why Cisco gave up his powers but then became Mecha-Vibe.
Right?!?! I thought that whole storyline was stupid. He spent the early seasons wishing he had powers, he thought it was the coolest thing in the world when he got them, and then all of a sudden he takes the cure for literally no good reason and 5 seconds later he becomes Mecha-Vibe. It makes no sense whatsoever.
There has been rumors of Cisco leaving the show for years, so when he took that cure awhile back I was convinced he was leaving then, because it would make sense for his character – he wanted a normal powerless life so he took the cure and moved away (even though his decision to want to lose his powers made no sense and came out of nowhere).But it’s like the show did this but convinced him at the last moment to stay on the show for a couple more years and realized they were losing lots of Vibe scenes, so they came up with Mech-Vibe.
Some dumb excuse that he felt more like Vibe than Cisco.
I wouldn’t rank “Good-Bye Vibrations” as an all time best, but it’s easily one of this season’s best.
Why can’t either Rainbow Raider control the full emotional color spectrum? Neither is living up to Rainbow half of their supranym.
Carrie’s plan to drop money & jewels onto a football stadium is a terrible idea. Aside from the greed riot, plenty would be injured by falling gems. I can’t be mad at her stealing a stealth dirigible though.
Was that the Medusa Mask at the end?
The whole thing about no one feeling sad Cisco was leaving and also it being a big deal that this is final episode would’ve maybe meant a lot more if Carlos Valdes hadn’t been completely checked out for at least two years.
Ever since the end of Arrow, the writers of Flash have tried to pick up the slack on the “dark and broody” front, and since Batwoman has so quickly turned into such a dumpster fire (first ep was pretty good, and Ruby Rose played the character well enough, but clearly the writers were trying waaaayyy too hard to earn brownie points from a niche group in a mass market) and Supergirl is nearing the end of its run, the burden has fallen to the Flash (Superman & Lois may yet be the outlet for some of that weight, but we’ll have to wait and see) to do the heavy lifting, and the show has suffered because of it.the last 2 seasons, while solid, have lost some of the slightly campy, tongue in cheek “awwe shucks” humor and light heartedness the first four or five seasons had, and Barry & Cisco, playing off of absolutely everyone, was a BIG part of that that I actually enjoyed, even when it was just a tad cringe.with Cisco leaving, I have quickly shrinking hopes that the older form of the show will ever return.Grant Guston is being boxed in far too much with the writing of the last 2 seasons, and also, the new haircut sucks ass.
Gives off major “Emo Parker” vibes.
There’s something that has bothered me for a long time. Has Cisco actually met the real Harrison Wells, or at least spent anything more than a few passing moments with him? From what I remember (barring any screwing with the timeline by Barry or Crisis that I may be overlooking) it was Thawne/Wells that hired him to work at Star Labs and who he bonded with, not the actual Wells, who was “dead” by then. When the “arisen” actual Wells showed up earlier this season, he acted like Cisco was dear to him yet I don’t think they ever really met.
I have to tell you, I laughed so hard when Barry appeared in the lab with an idiot grin. All the following goofiness was spot-on, and I just wish the show could find ways to work it in without it having to be the result of a meta’s power.
So what’s up with that gold mask face in the mirror? We know Cecile can manipulate people’s emotions now, is she turning into Psycho Pirate?
Ok, so whilst I agree with her in principle, this was a bad plan. Team Flash was not only right about people beating the shit out of each other for the money, but also, dropping gold bars and giant jewels from a blimp is going to kill people on the ground. When they showed that giant net full of gold bars and jewels I was like, are you kidding me? You’re about to crack some craniums open!
We’ll miss you Cisco. What a 8 year ride
Anyone else notice Cisco call Flash “Barry” when they were on the blimp and he was trying to convince him to let him land the blimp while Flash saved Alegra and Rainbow Raider 2.0?I know it’s a trope on TV to have 2 characters talking and people in the same room only feet away can’t hear them. But I was waiting for RR to say “Your real name is Barry?”
While I am all for superheroes not calling other heroes by their secret identity names while in public, I found it funny (and awkward) when Cisco got whammied by Rainbow Raider and Flash said “Mecha-Vibe, are you all right?”Because “Mecha-Vibe” is a silly name, especially since he had gone by Vibe for years. Why tell villains by your name that your powers are tech based so they’ll know that they can render you powerless by taking out your tech?