The Flash has been teasing the mystery of Caitlin's father for a while now, so in some respects, it's refreshing that the show is offering answers so early in the season with "The Icicle Cometh." Unfortunately, those answers are delivered via some of the show's clunkiest dialogue and most predictable plot twists in recent memory. After losing her fiance, having a decidedly chilly relationship with her mother, and sharing her body with a murderous alter-ego, it's just Caitlin's luck that her long-lost father would also be a despotic villain.

Loading

The Flash: "The Icicle Cometh" Photos 15 IMAGES

The bad guy dad twist would be forgivable if it wasn't so painfully obvious, but between Cisco's suspicions and Caitlin's blind hope that she'll finally get a happy reunion with her long-lost pop, the episode telegraphs Caitlin's heartbreak from the jump. And while none of the Arrowverse shows are known for their nuanced writing, having a villain dramatically explain every attack they launch (or awkwardly declare, "more superheroes to freeze!" when the heroes show up) is even more egregious than Arnold Schwarzenegger's dialogue in Batman & Robin. (Puns are way more forgivable than stating the obvious.)The Flash has never really known what to do with Killer Frost - to the detriment of both the villain and Caitlin herself - and the episode is a little too murky on when Thomas experimented on Caitlin as a child versus when he experimented on himself (did he have the evil Icicle alter-ego even before he went to the North Pole, tainting all of Caitlin's idyllic childhood memories?), but the confirmation that Caitlin's ability isn't tied to the particle accelerator or potentially even Flashpoint is an intriguing development - does she even count as a meta at this point? (We've got more on the origin of Caitlin's Killer Frost powers here .)The episode's most valuable contribution may be the fact that Caitlin's dad namedrops scientists Louise Lincoln (who was a previous iteration of Killer Frost in the comics) and Victor Fries (aka the villain Mr. Freeze). The Mr. Freeze reference is particularly interesting considering that the upcoming Arrowverse Elseworlds crossover will introduce the character of Nora Fries, Victor's wife, meaning that the chilly villain could make an appearance this season too.The episode also tries to explore the bonds between parent and child via the B plot, with Iris and Nora getting some quality time now that Nora has decided that her mom is actually pretty schway. Those scenes are a lot more charming than the episode's attempt to pair up Ralph and a cabin-feverish Cecile as a way to hide the fact that Jesse L. Martin is on a leave of absence from the show , which is clearly going to require a lot of narrative hoop-jumping. (How often can the poor guy be out on a walk when the other characters need him?) While the odd-couple pairing has its moments of humor, for the most part, you can't avoid how contrived it all feels.