In 2032, a young Nora looks around the Hall of Villains and an exhibit dedicated to Cicada.
Now
Nora tells the others that what makes Cicada is that no one ever catches him. In her timeline, Cicada killed different victims, and the timeline has changed. Barry says that they have to catch Cicada before the timeline ripples and changes Nora's future. Joe calls to tell them that the CCPD needs help downtown, and Ralph volunteers to help while the others deal with Cicada. Iris suggests that they canvass some crime scenes and find any commonalities between Gridlock and Block. Nora tells them that she has a plan to fix things.
Downtown, a thief with a solar weapon is robbing a deli. Ralph disguises himself as a large fruit, punches out the thief when he comes over, and everyone laughs at him and posts his photo online.
The next day, Nora tells Barry, Iris, and Cisco that she's going to contact Wolfgang Wells. The team never brought in a Wells to help them catch Cicada in her future. Cisco figures that it's a terrible idea because Wolfgang is a jerk. Iris calls him anyway, and Wolfgang is impressed with Barry, Nora, and Iris. Cisco figures that Wolfgang is putting on an act, but Barry asks Wolfgang for help. Wolfgang says that he's busy and can't help them, but has called the greatest detective in all the multiverse and attached his coordinates. Cisco turns on the extrapolator and brings through the master detective: Sherloque Wells.
At the Central City Library, Cicada in his civilian identity researches Vibe and the people with him.
In the Cortex, Sherloque makes tea for 20 minutes, and Cisco figures that it's a waste of time. Sherloque deduces that Cisco has had a recent breakup, says that he can't remember the last time he cried about it, and walks off to cry. The detective then analyzes the others and figures that Iris is hiding something, and concludes that she has a tattoo from another lover. Iris interrupts him to say that they should put him on the case, and Sherloque tells them that his service isn't free. He figures that Caitlin is going to hire him for another case, and writes down his fee. It's a lot of money, and Barry shakes on it.
Ralph comes in and the others explain that Sherloque isn't Harry. Sherloque is impressed when Ralph says that he's a detective, until he learns that he hasn't been doing much detecting. Ralph complains that people aren't taking him seriously and 500,000 reposted the photo. Sherloque reviews the evidence and says that he can find Cicada, and tells Ralph to stay put while the rest of them go after the villain.
Once they're alone, Ralph complains to Cicada that Sherloque shut him down. She suggests that he solve her mystery. They meet with Caitlin's mother Carla, who figures that Caitlin suspects her of a cover-up. Caitlin demands the truth, and Carla tells her to let it be if she cares about her feelings. Carla tells Caitlin not to become obsessed with their death and leaves. Ralph tells Caitlin that Carla is a liar and Caitlin knows, and Ralph knows how to get what they came for.
Flash and XS speed to the building where Sherloque has located Cicada's base. The speedsters go in and Sherloque warns them that Cicada will have let a small booby-trap. XS disarms them and Sherloque finishes saying that they're a decoy. More bombs pop out of the ground, and Flash speeds XS outside as they blowup. A man runs and Flash easily stops him.
That night, Joe is reading at home and Cicada comes in behind him.
Flash and XS take the man, David Hersh, to the police station. Forensics links Hersh to several anti-government bombings, but no sign of the dagger or his mask. Nora tells her father to look at the facts that show that Hersh is Cicada, and wants to celebrate with everyone.
Cicada says that he wants to finish what he started, and tells Joe to call Vibe. Joe claims that he doesn't know him, and Cicada tosses down the newspaper articles with Joe in the background of Vibe's crime scenes. When Joe says that he doesn't have a phone to call Vibe, Cicada knocks him out.
Ralph and Caitlin break into Carla's company files and Ralph uses his powers to reach under the door. Lasers hit his hand and Caitlin finally gets the key code on the door. They go in and find a file on Thomas Snow. There's a fake periodic chart that Tom had Caitlin make up with fake elements, and she talks about how he taught her about science and life. There's a suicide note from Thomas in the file as well.
At STAR Labs, the team celebrates with Sherloque. Barry comes in and tells them that Hersh isn't Cicada. Cicada's boot print is three-times larger than Hersh's. Sherloque says that it's always Hersh and he's caught 37 Cicadas on 37 different Earths. Cisco figures that Sherloque made up the psychological profile, and Sherloque says that he just trotted it out to impress the client. Disgusted, Cisco says that he's a lazy detective, but Sherloque insists that Cicada shouldn't be anyone but Hersh. Iris says that Nora disrupted the timeline, and Sherloque complains that they didn't tell him, and Cisco demands a refund. Sherloque says that he already spent the money on alimony for his seven ex-wives.
After Sherloque walks out, Barry says that there's no indication that Hersh is a meta. Nora wants to kidnap Hersh and put him in the pipeline, and Barry tells her to sit it out if she can't see that's wrong. Once Nora speeds off anyway, the team hopes that they're not too late to save Cicada's next victim.
Joe wakes up and finds himself tied to a chair. Cicada says that Joe is gambling his family's future and Joe would cherish them more if he knew the future that Cicada knows. Joe promises that he won't lure Vibe into a deathtrap, and Cicada says that he should be afraid even if he isn't and tortures with him an energy blast from his dagger.
Barry and Iris go up on the roof and Barry says that his training with Nora isn't sinking in. Iris tells him that Nora blames herself for the ripples and Cicada's early arrival. She just wants to try to fix her mistakes, which reminds Iris of Barry. Nora signals saying that there's an emergency in the pipeline. they go there and find Sherloque vaporized into ash because of a fusion cell going critical. Cisco comes in and says that the cell couldn't have blown without the other cells exploding as well. He tastes the ash and realizes that they're tea leaves, and tells Harry to check the building as superspeed. Barry quickly finds Sherloque and shows Cisco the extrapolator. Cisco figures that Sherloque was trying to sneak out without repaying them and takes Sherloque off.
Barry and Nora hang back and Nora admits that she thought Sherloque's death was her fault. Her father says that he understands he feelings, and Nora can't stop feeling guilty because she carries. Barry tells her that she can't rush in to fix her mistakes and she has to have a little more patience and fix the problem the right way.
As Ralph and Caitlin drive back, Ralph apologizes for pushing Caitlin into investigating her father's disappearance. Caitlin thanks him for giving her closure, and assures him that he's a great detective. Ralph asks what the code was on the keypad, and Caitlin says that it was her birthday.
At the West House, Cecile is trying to sleep and wakes up, gasping. She goes downstairs and finds Cicada torturing Joe. Cicada tells Joe that he'll kill him, and the baby cries. The villain advances on Cecile, who sends a distress beacon to STAR Lab. Cisco sees it first, dons his Vibe costume, and leaves.
Vibe breaches into the West house, and Cicada tackles him back through the portal. Flash arrives a second later and Cecile tells him what happened. Flash tells Iris and Nora what happened, and they reach vibe as he runs through a forest. He doesn't know where he is, and can't breach out. Cicada throws his dagger at him, just missing, and Vibe continues running. Flash starts searching the forests at superspeed. Sherloque has Iris ask Vibe what kind of trees are around him, and Vibe describes the trees. The detective hears field crickets and has Iris cross reference the specific trees and the crickets to find Vibe's location.
Cicada attacks Vibe, and Flash arrives but his powers short out. They fight and Cicada easily overpowers Flash. Nora remembers Barry telling her that it takes time to hone her skills, then tells Iris that she can fix it and won’t mess up. Iris says that she trusts her and Nora speeds to the pipeline and gets the power cell.
As Cicada prepares to kill Flash, XS arrives, knocks Cicada down with a lightning blast, and tells Vibe to use the cell. Vibe throws it at Cicada, and he deflects it back at Vibe and the cell explodes. Once the aftermath fades, Cicada looks down at Flash and then realizes that he's wounded. He slips away, while Iris monitors Vibe's heartbeat via the sensor in his suit.
Barry goes over to where Vibe's suit is lying. Cisco comes in via a breach, and explains that Nora remembered there was more than one way to open a breach. XS figures that Cicada wouldn't leave until he thought Vibe was dead, and Barry assures XS that she did good.
Later back at STAR Labs, the team read a report of Vibe's death. Sherloque says that there are new variables, and Cisco tells him that he's sticking around until he pays them back. Cisco has locked away the extrapolator and leaves with Cisco in tow. Barry suggests that he, Iris, and Nora have a family dinner night and they agree. Iris says that afterward they can help Nora move into their place. Barry and Nora both agree. Once Nora goes, Barry tells Iris that it could be just the thing to bring her and Nora closer together.
Ralph finds Caitlin going over her father's files. She figures that Thomas would have left her another form of message, and Ralph gives her the periodic chart from the lab. Once Ralph leaves, Caitlin realizes that the elements on her father's chars don't exist and spell out a message. She decodes it and discovers that it says "Caitlin Come Find Me". As she works, Caitlin is unaware that someone is watching her on the monitors.
At the West house, Joe gives a sketch of Cicada to Iris, and says that he got the feeling that Cicada is a father.
In his civilian identity, Cicada goes to a hospital room and Dr. Ambres greets him by his name: Orlin. He asks if there's been any progress, and Ambres says that the patient--a girl—isn't coming out of it. Orlin opens his shirt and reveals a cut glowing with energy. Ambres warns that it's not healing and that he has to stop. Orlin refuses until he's finished, and once Ambres leaves he kisses his daughter's forehead.
At the loft, Nora goes to find her purse and comes across Sherloque. Sherloque asks her if she came to the decision to alter history on her own. As Nora stares at him, Sherloque says that of course she did and Nora agrees. She then leaves, looking concerned, as Sherloque stares at her suspiciously.
Written by Gadfly on Oct 24, 2018