Ep 5. Fear Me

After six seasons of battling meta-human villains and external threats, The Flash (2014) introduces new villains for its season 7. With the first four episodes setting the stage with storylines from Mirror Master to Iris West-Allen trapped in a mirror dimension, this episode, titled "Fear Me," introduces a new threat—an unknown villain who is causing citizens of Central City to experience their worst fears.

Season 7 episode 5, "Fear Me," presents members of Team Flash, including Barry Allen, Caitlin Snow, Cisco Ramon, and Chester P. Runk, trying to get to the bottom of a mysterious crisis: People across Central City are experiencing their deepest fears. Surprisingly, the victims aren't from the same area or the same age group or share anything in common. This unknown person responsible for making people so fearful remains a surprise, and most importantly, an unsolved puzzle that Team Flash aims to fix before it's too late.

As the pandemic still wreaks havoc across the world to date, The Flash (2014) does an excellent job tying in the fear factor that most people have felt in the past year and using it as a theme for an episode. To add to that layer of tension, this episode introduces the new villain, "Fear Me," which is the driving force behind the newly developed phobia that people face. The severity of the situation increases as even Barry feels his own fear. While Fears continue to manifest in unexpected ways, they team must fight it off and restore order.

The team quickly finds out that they are dealing with a metahuman who has the ability to amplify and manipulate fear, which brings the team together in a way that they're best at: Brainstorming ideas, and working together to come up with a plan. Meanwhile, Barry realizes that his strength comes from his family and makes it a point to ensure that his last bits of quality time with Iris were good.

The villain's look is imposing and makes an impression. The mask it wears is that of a creepy, giant doll face that goes well with the episode's horror elements. The fear, anxiety, and panic that "Fear Me" causes, mixed with a sense of uncertainty, is overall the driving force that makes this episode of The Flash (2014) season 7 stand out. The fear amplifiers that the villain has implemented causes everyday citizens to turn on each other, wrestle with their inner demons, and turn on the people they love.

As with every episode, this one comes with its twists and turns, and with a show like The Flash (2014), we can always expect the unexpected. "Fear Me" sets the standard that the rest of the season ought to follow. Fans of The Flash will appreciate how this episode plays nicely into the rest of the series' themes.