Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for The Flash season 9, episode 8, “Partners In Time.”Khione, the new Snow sister introduced in The Flash season 9, was completely failed by the story of “Partners in Time.” Played by Danielle Panabaker, Khione has been a figure of mystery since her first appearance in The Flash season 9 premiere. Unfortunately, despite a shortened season of only 13 episodes, The Flash season 9 has dragged its feet in developing Khione’s character, and The Flash season 9, episode 8, “Partners In Time,” proved sadly typical of the poor treatment she has received.
Created as a new character for Danielle Panabaker to play in The Flash season 9, Khione was accidentally born as a result of Dr. Caitlin Snow’s efforts to resurrect her twin sister, Frost. A completely new personality inhabiting Caitlin’s body, Khione was shown to possess a deep love of nature and a kind heart, being ready to sacrifice herself to help Team Flash bring back their friends. However, Khione was ultimately convinced that she had value beyond her connection to Caitlin and Frost and that she deserved a chance to live her own life. She has also manifested numerous unexplained superpowers.
Khione Meeting Caitlin’s Mother Takes Place Entirely Off-Camera
Khione appeared briefly at the start of The Flash season 9, episode 8, “Partners In Time,” communicating to Barry Allen that she had been contacted by Caitlin and Frost’s mother, Dr. Carla Tannhauser. Khione was nervous about meeting Clara, fearful of being rejected because she wasn’t Caitlin or Frost, like when she met Frost’s boyfriend, Mark “Chillblaine” Blaine. Barry assured Khione that Carla had handled the unusual circumstances of Frost’s birth well and suggested she just take it slow. His faith proved to be well-placed, as Khione returned at the end of the episode, reporting that Carla only wanted her friendship. However, their entire meeting took place off-camera.
This was frustrating in several respects. The chief problem is that The Flash season 9 barely touched upon the fact that Caitlin died, much less how her mother reacted to the news. Despite this, reference was made to Carla Tannhauser, a noted biologist with extensive experience in researching metahuman powers, being contacted on two separate occasions during The Flash season 9 regarding Khione’s superpowers. A scene centered around the two meeting could have given Carla’s character closure and potentially addressed some of the mysteries behind Khione’s character.
Khione’s Story Is Better Than The On-Camera Events Of “Partners In Time”
Beyond being a golden opportunity to address Khione’s vague powers,The Flash season 9, episode 8, would have benefited from a scene showing Khione and Carla together because of how repetitive the rest of the episode was. The Flash season 9 has pacing issues, with the build-up to the final villain reveal coming too late. “Partners In Time” is a prime example of this, with most of the episode devoted to the artificial drama of Chester and Allegra’s awkward romance and Barry and Iris comedically coping with pregnancy. It would benefit The Flash to spend more time developing Khione and less time rehashing the same tired subplots.
The Flash season 9 continues on The CW.
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