The Flash S04 EP19 Review
This week's Flash episode, titled "Fury Rogue", sees the return of several older characters and propels the plot forward with some major ramifications being revealed from last week, and several revelations popping up to further the story going into the next few episodes. Some stuff worked better than others, so lets dive in and talk about it all.
The primary plot of the episode revolved around Barry refusing to accept Ralph's death, and it was done wonderfully as we saw him trying to tell himself that he had seen so much death that he knew how to deal with it at this point (which was also a chance for the show to remind us just how many people have died in just under four seasons). We saw his refusal to grief Ralph result in him losing his cool in tense situations, and at the recommendation of Citizen Cold Barry finally broke down to grief Ralph's death, blaming himself, crying on Joe's shoulder, and giving us one of the more heartwarming emotional performances of the season.
Citizen Cold also returned this episode as a bid for Team Flash to pull a wild card that Thinker would not see coming; however, Devoe evidently predicted the arrival of the Earth-X Cold, and Siren-X. I have always had a bit of a problem with Captain Cold on this show which boils down to the actor's portrayal of the character, the way the character acts has never meshed with me and that primarily refers to how cartoony the character talks, and him constantly having his eyes closed or on the ground so that they look closed. He managed to generate emotional value though this episode with him recounting how he remembered each and every rebel that died under his watch, and he was the one who helped Barry to accept Ralph's death. I also wondered why Cold didn't shoot Devoe when the truck got attacked, he pretty much just yelled at Barry as Devoe came closer. Siren-X was a cheesy cheese-fest, though had a cool use of her powers. Ultimately, she was throwaway and worked to have a minor crossover with Arrow, and I think seeing Earth-X versions of Weather Wizard or Trickster would have been much more welcome, given that we haven't seen them in a while, and Siren-X played very similarly to Black Siren who is still around in the Arrowverse. Just a stray observation, Siren-X was talking to herself in the middle of a random street after hearing Flash's plan...probably looked real dumb if anyone had seen her.
Fallout was another character we got more dosage of tonight, and to my surprise he made it out of the episode alive and well. The final bus meta on Devoe's hit-list, he was one of my favorite's, and while he didn't get much to do in this episode it was nice to see him again. His virtual reality simulator that stuck him on a beach was a swell scene, showing them keeping him calm so his powers don't end up blowing, but apparently him reaching that safehouse is still a part of Devoe's plan.
Devoe was another strong point in the episode, and a weakness of his has been found. As he pushes himself further from human emotion, he is unable to calculate for it, meaning that his ability to plan out what will happen is starting to deteriorate, which will no doubt be key for stopping him. His relationship with his wife is also questionable, as she is obviously not on board with having no love in their relationship, and this time Devoe doesn't suspect her betrayal to reverse it. Devoe is beginning to be the start of his own undoing, he just is not smart enough to see it. I do give him props though for his line in which he told his wife, "Leave the thinking to me," as he is the Thinker, kinda punny.
The two other storylines going on in the episode was Caitlin mourning the "death" of Killer Frost, though by the end found that I guess she is still inside of her despite Caitlin's meta DNA being gone, don't quite understand that? The other was much more compelling and dealt with the fallout (pun intended) of Harry's overload with the Thinking Cap last episode, as his brain is now effectively regressing and he is getting dumber. So far Cisco is the only one to know about it, and seeing Harry blow up about losing the only thing that matters about him, the only reason he is on the team; his intelligence, was powerful for how he sees himself, and even better for Cisco telling him how they see him. Cisco suggested that they might be able to reverse that problem later on, but I have more doubt about this one than the writers bringing back Killer Frost. I have been on the prediction that Harry would die this season, and this only makes me think it will happen even more, as even when he is getting dumber he will find a way to out-think the Thinker but perish in the process.
Last night's episode brought us plenty of good scenes and moments, pushing the story forward with Marleez's uncertainty about following Devoe, Harry's brain regressing, and Barry mourning Ralph, though it wasn't an episode without fault. Flash returns next week and the promo features Gypsy, in the hands of Devoe; will Team Flash suffer another loss so soon?
The primary plot of the episode revolved around Barry refusing to accept Ralph's death, and it was done wonderfully as we saw him trying to tell himself that he had seen so much death that he knew how to deal with it at this point (which was also a chance for the show to remind us just how many people have died in just under four seasons). We saw his refusal to grief Ralph result in him losing his cool in tense situations, and at the recommendation of Citizen Cold Barry finally broke down to grief Ralph's death, blaming himself, crying on Joe's shoulder, and giving us one of the more heartwarming emotional performances of the season.
Citizen Cold also returned this episode as a bid for Team Flash to pull a wild card that Thinker would not see coming; however, Devoe evidently predicted the arrival of the Earth-X Cold, and Siren-X. I have always had a bit of a problem with Captain Cold on this show which boils down to the actor's portrayal of the character, the way the character acts has never meshed with me and that primarily refers to how cartoony the character talks, and him constantly having his eyes closed or on the ground so that they look closed. He managed to generate emotional value though this episode with him recounting how he remembered each and every rebel that died under his watch, and he was the one who helped Barry to accept Ralph's death. I also wondered why Cold didn't shoot Devoe when the truck got attacked, he pretty much just yelled at Barry as Devoe came closer. Siren-X was a cheesy cheese-fest, though had a cool use of her powers. Ultimately, she was throwaway and worked to have a minor crossover with Arrow, and I think seeing Earth-X versions of Weather Wizard or Trickster would have been much more welcome, given that we haven't seen them in a while, and Siren-X played very similarly to Black Siren who is still around in the Arrowverse. Just a stray observation, Siren-X was talking to herself in the middle of a random street after hearing Flash's plan...probably looked real dumb if anyone had seen her.
Fallout was another character we got more dosage of tonight, and to my surprise he made it out of the episode alive and well. The final bus meta on Devoe's hit-list, he was one of my favorite's, and while he didn't get much to do in this episode it was nice to see him again. His virtual reality simulator that stuck him on a beach was a swell scene, showing them keeping him calm so his powers don't end up blowing, but apparently him reaching that safehouse is still a part of Devoe's plan.
Devoe was another strong point in the episode, and a weakness of his has been found. As he pushes himself further from human emotion, he is unable to calculate for it, meaning that his ability to plan out what will happen is starting to deteriorate, which will no doubt be key for stopping him. His relationship with his wife is also questionable, as she is obviously not on board with having no love in their relationship, and this time Devoe doesn't suspect her betrayal to reverse it. Devoe is beginning to be the start of his own undoing, he just is not smart enough to see it. I do give him props though for his line in which he told his wife, "Leave the thinking to me," as he is the Thinker, kinda punny.
The two other storylines going on in the episode was Caitlin mourning the "death" of Killer Frost, though by the end found that I guess she is still inside of her despite Caitlin's meta DNA being gone, don't quite understand that? The other was much more compelling and dealt with the fallout (pun intended) of Harry's overload with the Thinking Cap last episode, as his brain is now effectively regressing and he is getting dumber. So far Cisco is the only one to know about it, and seeing Harry blow up about losing the only thing that matters about him, the only reason he is on the team; his intelligence, was powerful for how he sees himself, and even better for Cisco telling him how they see him. Cisco suggested that they might be able to reverse that problem later on, but I have more doubt about this one than the writers bringing back Killer Frost. I have been on the prediction that Harry would die this season, and this only makes me think it will happen even more, as even when he is getting dumber he will find a way to out-think the Thinker but perish in the process.
Last night's episode brought us plenty of good scenes and moments, pushing the story forward with Marleez's uncertainty about following Devoe, Harry's brain regressing, and Barry mourning Ralph, though it wasn't an episode without fault. Flash returns next week and the promo features Gypsy, in the hands of Devoe; will Team Flash suffer another loss so soon?
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