Jessie Robertson reviews the tenth episode of The Flash season 4…
We left Central City with a murder on Christmas and to speak for myself, I was not enamored with the idea. As season 4 picks back up, things on The Flash are given a bit more room to breathe. Yes, Barry is on house arrest and his bracelet is hacked by Cisco so he can go anywhere, but the trial (while unconventional) is played out over a whole episode and really explored well for a TV trial.
While the trial sits center stage, each character gets just a bit of a moment tonight; Barry remains the hero, even when being prosecuted for a murder he didn’t commit (and even gets a plaque from the city police); Iris learns a lesson from Marlise about doing whatever’s necessary to protect your husband; Ralph gets to pass along a tough lesson about doing the wrong thing for the right reason to Joe; Caitlin perfectly showcases both sides of her duality, by being positive and working the meta problem of the week, while also turning Killer Frost when needed; even Captain Singh faces a tough moral choice during Barry’s trial in an intriguing scene.
Cecile represents Barry and we’re told she’s the best in the city, but she quickly asserts there’s not much hope for Barry and hinges his innocence on the idea that revealing himself as The Flash will exonerate him; it’s a funny position to take, and even more ironic that Barry repels the idea quickly and solidly, even though at one point, he was known for revealing himself to almost everyone that he seemingly came into contact with. The storyline ramifications would be hard to deal with or even quantify, but for this week alone, that would have derailed the trial and DeVoe’s plans, so we think (he later reveals there was a 12% chance Barry would reveal his secret identity) but that he still would have won the day.
I’m a bit more back in to being invested in what DeVoe’s plan is; now being the most intelligent person ever, along with the ability to read minds makes him a bit too powerful, but I liked the touch of having Marlise coached on if she was seen with DeVoe’s new body what the story would be. Also, how our bus-full of metas (Ralph more so than the others) will play into his large-scale ideas.
The Flash is off and running in its second half and I, for one, am glad.
Rating: 9/10
Jessie Robertson
