The Flash S04 EP22 Review
Flash hit the ground running on the second to last episode of season 4. There were many revelations and plot points that occurred during the span of last night's hour, and it does not bode well for our heroes in the coming episode. One things for sure, it certainty feels like this season is reaching a climax. Spoiler warning out of the way, let's look into the episode, "Think Fast."
It began with a wicked opening scene during which Devoe used his multitude of powers to barrel past the guards of ARGUS on his way to Fallout. It was a delightful scene to watch and all encompassed in one take, with each of the powers being used in a clever manner. It truly showed the danger that Devoe poses and was almost more satisfying to watch than how the speedster villains would just blast through with a bolt of lightning and everyone would fall down. Devoe didn't need super speed in order to take out everyone without a problem, and he was able to simply walk into the facility without needing to hurry his stride one bit. I was surprised to see him take a hold of Fallout so soon in the episode, but it worked, and the rest of the episode was spent with team Flash trying to figure out how to get in and save the hostages while still catching Devoe in what split second they would have to do so.
Their solution to being able to do so many things at once? (Racing against an explosion that would go off once Devoe moved to leave) Flashtime, the concept introduced earlier in the season in which Barry could pull others into super speed with him and this episode clarified that he is in fact sharing his speed with others. This is a huge comic power, and awesome to see put to use on the live action screen. It was comedic at first to watch Cisco and Caitlin try and fail to use Flashtime, but the situation became more grim as the episode went on. We were treated to an argument between Barry and Cisco that truly gave depth to the situation and reminded the viewers of how dangerous everything truly was, and reminded us all of Ralph's loss. It was a great scene, and portrayed the heroes' frustration perfectly after losing numerous times.
A small point in the episode but one that seems to be laid for a future event; Cecil's mind reading abilities have evolved so that she takes on the traits of anyone she steps into the mind of. It was used primarily for comedy, but I can't help but wonder whether or not her mind powers will somehow clash with Devoe's own in the next episode, or be used for some other plot device. They gotta pay off this story line somehow. This subplot wth Joe also gave a shout out to Wally who apparently may not show up on time to his little sister's birth, despite being on a time ship. Was that to tell us not to expect him in the finale?
Iris and Harry teamed up in this episode as they looked further into the mystery of Marlize and where she had gone. Harry's new focus on empathy helped him convince Iris that bringing Marlize over to their side was a good idea, and they set out to find her. Eventually they tracked her to the first home that she and Clifford lived in in Europe, and after a very brief confrontation it appears that Marlize will turn to the side of the good guys. The thing that seemed to turn her mind the most was Harry's dumbness, as his loss of intelligence is what the Enlightenment will do to everyone on Earth. I will admit, Harry's intelligence loss hasn't been done quite how I expected it. At first I thought it would be a cool concept but I guess I just didn't expect it to happen so fast and drastically, it has almost become cartoony and Harry's usual anger and pessimism are gone. We'll see what becomes of him next episode.
The finale side plot going on in the episode was off course Caitlin/Killer Frost centered as she realized that she had suppressed memories after getting thrown down training for Flashtime (hasn't she had worse injuries in the shown that could've reminded her of her childhood trauma?). Apparently, she was hit by a car when she was younger, and Killer Frost has been with her since then. The split personality from trauma I understand, but how does being hit by a car generate powers? Unless she was born with them, which is a concept not previously explored on the Flash if I remember correctly. No doubt this means that Caitiln will somehow find Killer Frost within herself in the next episode, and be happy about it, even though by this explanation Devoe should have simply stripped Caitlin of her powers, not a duel personality. If Caitlin is able to regain her frost powers without getting them back from Devoe, then Flash should have been able to just will his back too instead of getting them back from Melting Point.
Getting back to the main bread and butter of the episode, poor Fallout seemed to explode and die into a giant cloud of nuclear gas within his chamber. Devoe shrunk down the chamber with Fallout inside and now having his power source for the Enlightenment satellites he moved to leave through a pocket dimension. Flash, Cisco, and Caitlin arrived in Flashtime to save the hostages, breaching them all out just before the explosion ripped through ARGUS, while Barry ran after Devoe and made it through the portal after him. Devoe launched his five satellites, but Barry's entrance on the scene meant he was able to catch one mid launch and use Amunet's grenade to blow it apart. It seemed to be victory for Flash; however, Devoe did not seem to care, which Barry picked up on. Through their short argument we learned the true reason behind Devoe's enlightenment, and that being that he does not believe that technology is the true evil of the world, but emotions are. Emotions rule us and cause us to do the wrong things that lead to people being hurt, and the Thinker wishes to remove emotions from everyone as his primary goal; the riddance of technology being secondary. The real sting comes when Devoe stated that he experienced how emotion can impede progress first hand, referring to his marriage with Marlize which he deemed a misstep.
Devoe teleported from the scene, and by the time Barry returned to STAR labs they found that Devoe had hacked the STAR labs satellite and from the time room used Gideon to launch the Enlightenment, while Barry and the others were helpless to stop him.
What an episode, at first it didn't quite feel like it had reached the end of the season for me but by the end of the episode the stakes and the situation weighed heavily and next episode looks to feel truly like a season finale. From the opening scene where Devoe took out the soldiers I knew it would be a great episode, and despite some minor missteps it truly was, especially with the Enlightenment being launched and Team Flash being unable to stop him. Thinker won, and now we are left to wonder how it will be reversed in the next episode, and how Barry will finally stop the Thinker who they still have no way of truly fighting. Season 4 has been a wild ride so far, and I hope that they managed to stick the landing in next week's season finale.
It began with a wicked opening scene during which Devoe used his multitude of powers to barrel past the guards of ARGUS on his way to Fallout. It was a delightful scene to watch and all encompassed in one take, with each of the powers being used in a clever manner. It truly showed the danger that Devoe poses and was almost more satisfying to watch than how the speedster villains would just blast through with a bolt of lightning and everyone would fall down. Devoe didn't need super speed in order to take out everyone without a problem, and he was able to simply walk into the facility without needing to hurry his stride one bit. I was surprised to see him take a hold of Fallout so soon in the episode, but it worked, and the rest of the episode was spent with team Flash trying to figure out how to get in and save the hostages while still catching Devoe in what split second they would have to do so.
Their solution to being able to do so many things at once? (Racing against an explosion that would go off once Devoe moved to leave) Flashtime, the concept introduced earlier in the season in which Barry could pull others into super speed with him and this episode clarified that he is in fact sharing his speed with others. This is a huge comic power, and awesome to see put to use on the live action screen. It was comedic at first to watch Cisco and Caitlin try and fail to use Flashtime, but the situation became more grim as the episode went on. We were treated to an argument between Barry and Cisco that truly gave depth to the situation and reminded the viewers of how dangerous everything truly was, and reminded us all of Ralph's loss. It was a great scene, and portrayed the heroes' frustration perfectly after losing numerous times.
A small point in the episode but one that seems to be laid for a future event; Cecil's mind reading abilities have evolved so that she takes on the traits of anyone she steps into the mind of. It was used primarily for comedy, but I can't help but wonder whether or not her mind powers will somehow clash with Devoe's own in the next episode, or be used for some other plot device. They gotta pay off this story line somehow. This subplot wth Joe also gave a shout out to Wally who apparently may not show up on time to his little sister's birth, despite being on a time ship. Was that to tell us not to expect him in the finale?
Iris and Harry teamed up in this episode as they looked further into the mystery of Marlize and where she had gone. Harry's new focus on empathy helped him convince Iris that bringing Marlize over to their side was a good idea, and they set out to find her. Eventually they tracked her to the first home that she and Clifford lived in in Europe, and after a very brief confrontation it appears that Marlize will turn to the side of the good guys. The thing that seemed to turn her mind the most was Harry's dumbness, as his loss of intelligence is what the Enlightenment will do to everyone on Earth. I will admit, Harry's intelligence loss hasn't been done quite how I expected it. At first I thought it would be a cool concept but I guess I just didn't expect it to happen so fast and drastically, it has almost become cartoony and Harry's usual anger and pessimism are gone. We'll see what becomes of him next episode.
The finale side plot going on in the episode was off course Caitlin/Killer Frost centered as she realized that she had suppressed memories after getting thrown down training for Flashtime (hasn't she had worse injuries in the shown that could've reminded her of her childhood trauma?). Apparently, she was hit by a car when she was younger, and Killer Frost has been with her since then. The split personality from trauma I understand, but how does being hit by a car generate powers? Unless she was born with them, which is a concept not previously explored on the Flash if I remember correctly. No doubt this means that Caitiln will somehow find Killer Frost within herself in the next episode, and be happy about it, even though by this explanation Devoe should have simply stripped Caitlin of her powers, not a duel personality. If Caitlin is able to regain her frost powers without getting them back from Devoe, then Flash should have been able to just will his back too instead of getting them back from Melting Point.
Getting back to the main bread and butter of the episode, poor Fallout seemed to explode and die into a giant cloud of nuclear gas within his chamber. Devoe shrunk down the chamber with Fallout inside and now having his power source for the Enlightenment satellites he moved to leave through a pocket dimension. Flash, Cisco, and Caitlin arrived in Flashtime to save the hostages, breaching them all out just before the explosion ripped through ARGUS, while Barry ran after Devoe and made it through the portal after him. Devoe launched his five satellites, but Barry's entrance on the scene meant he was able to catch one mid launch and use Amunet's grenade to blow it apart. It seemed to be victory for Flash; however, Devoe did not seem to care, which Barry picked up on. Through their short argument we learned the true reason behind Devoe's enlightenment, and that being that he does not believe that technology is the true evil of the world, but emotions are. Emotions rule us and cause us to do the wrong things that lead to people being hurt, and the Thinker wishes to remove emotions from everyone as his primary goal; the riddance of technology being secondary. The real sting comes when Devoe stated that he experienced how emotion can impede progress first hand, referring to his marriage with Marlize which he deemed a misstep.
Devoe teleported from the scene, and by the time Barry returned to STAR labs they found that Devoe had hacked the STAR labs satellite and from the time room used Gideon to launch the Enlightenment, while Barry and the others were helpless to stop him.
What an episode, at first it didn't quite feel like it had reached the end of the season for me but by the end of the episode the stakes and the situation weighed heavily and next episode looks to feel truly like a season finale. From the opening scene where Devoe took out the soldiers I knew it would be a great episode, and despite some minor missteps it truly was, especially with the Enlightenment being launched and Team Flash being unable to stop him. Thinker won, and now we are left to wonder how it will be reversed in the next episode, and how Barry will finally stop the Thinker who they still have no way of truly fighting. Season 4 has been a wild ride so far, and I hope that they managed to stick the landing in next week's season finale.
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