5/22/2018
“Run Mr. Allen, Run.” – Clifford DeVoe/The Thinker
Barry faces off against The Thinker in an epic final battle. SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
I’ll be the first to admit Season 4 of The Flash hasn’t been the best. Its tone has too often felt unbalanced, and some of the character beats just didn’t hit, namely for Killer Frost and Elongated Man. That said, the finale did a good job in highlighting the awesome things about this season, primarily DeVoe and the mystery surrounding the coffee shop girl. In short, this wrapped up a rocky season in a pretty solid way.
The way Barry fights The Thinker is something straight out of the comics, and it’s something I’ve been waiting for them to do all season. Having him enter The Thinker’s mindspace was an awesome way to conclude a season that’s been all about the battle of the mind. The final fight scene with Flash and Elongated Man taking down an army of DeVoe clones was both hilarious and awesome at the same time. My only real complaint here was that the way Barry was able to escape (and subsequently free Ralph) felt odd and convenient.
Neil Sandilands continued to knock it out of the park as DeVoe. He’s calm, yet menacing all at once. The opening scene with him taking down all technology in Central City was incredible. No matter what your thoughts on this season may have been, it’s hard to argue that he’s been an excellent villain. There were some rough patches, particularly with some of the metas he chose to takeover, but overall I think the writers did a good job of handling a non-speedster villain. The biggest disappointment to me though came from how easy his plans were thwarted at the end. After Ralph took control, it seemed like the activated satellites would ensure the Enlightenment would still arrive, but all it took was Marlize doing some button mashing. Then later, when it’s revealed DeVoe transferred his consciousness into his chair to become completely digitized, Marlize simply just walked behind his chair and broke it’s generator. It would’ve been awesome if this had happened sooner, because it would’ve made the final fight even better, with him hopping back and forth between pieces of tech.
Speaking of Marlize, she finally got her chance to earn redemption in this episode. I’ve loved her this whole season, as she provided a link to DeVoe’s past, before he was the villain. You could tell it was hard for her to help Team Flash stop her husband, as it meant her having to give up on her husband forever. She provided the emotional resonance that DeVoe began to (intentionally) lack as the season progressed, and the story was better for it.
While something I don’t believe anyone was surprised by, I was happy to see Ralph back. His scene with Barry when we first see him was great and well acted by Hartley Sawyer. Some of the comedic lines that were given to him throughout the episode didn’t land though, especially when he was having to think about food he loved in order to defeat the DeVoe clones. Like, how the heck is that suppose to enable you to defeat him? At least the reasoning for him being the sole meta in DeVoe’s mind made sense, and in the end I’m glad we got him back. Hopefully the writers can find a proper place for him next season amongst the crowded cast.
Harry and Cisco had the most emotional scenes out of the whole episode. The scene where Harry, now hardly able to talk, demanded that Cisco give him the thinking cap so he can help the team, was well acted by both Tom Cavanagh and Carlos Valdes. The ending scene also had some solid acting from both of them, where Cisco manages to return most of Harry’s brain function back to normal. I say most, because unfortunately Harry is no longer a genius like he once was. But fortunately, I’d argue he’s a better person now for it. If all the goofiness of the Council Of Wells and the Council Of Harrisons, along with the thinking cap story, was leading to this, I believe this ending to that arc was a great payoff that made the whole better that it’s parts. Who knows if he’ll be back around next season, or if it will be some other Wells, but either way this ending mattered.
Almost everyone got a chance to shine here, including Joe and Cecile. It now makes sense why they decided to give Cecile those mind reading powers, as it worked to give her something to do and as a way for Barry to enter DeVoe’s mind. Joe was given an awesome scene where he managed to overcome DeVoe’s own mind reading powers, even though it still ended with him penned against a wall. I’m not sure where their story goes from here though. Since there’s the baby in the picture now, I can’t imagine either of them having much time for anything else. I guess their both gonna have the added complication of being grandparents soon as well, so at least that relationship will add something new to be explored.
How about that ending though? Let’s be honest, I don’t think anyone was surprised that the Mystery Girl ended up being Barry and Iris’ daughter, especially if you remembered the stuff Barry was spouting out after he exited the Speed Force. The thing I wasn’t so sure about was what her name was gonna be, but Nora was definitely one of my top guesses. The lack of surprise didn’t make her official appearance any less exciting though. The way she showed up was really cool, and the minute time was starting to unwind I thought “yep, this is where we see his daughter”. I’m definitely hooked for next season, and am really curious as to what “mistake” she has made and how that ties into whatever next season’s villain is.
(Side Note: I’m also looking forward to learning more about Caitlin’s backstory, as that line about Thomas intrigued me.)
IN SUMMARY:
I’ll admit this finale isn’t perfect. Some of the logistics of how DeVoe’s mindspace worked and how they were able to defeat him didn’t make sense, and the tease of DeVoe becoming a digitized villain was quickly wiped off the table. A handful of well acted scenes, coupled with Barry finally battling DeVoe in his mind like the comics and a huge cliffhanger for next season helped overcome the episode’s flaws.
Rating: 7.8/10
Pros:
- Strong emotional scenes with Harry and Cisco
- Barry’s mindspace battle against DeVoe
- Ralph returning
- Neil Sandilands stuck the landing as The Thinker
- Nora Allen!
Cons:
- The way Barry and Ralph were able to defeat DeVoe was a bit weird
- DeVoe’s Enlightenment and digitized form were defeated too easily, and squandered some great potential
- Some of Ralph’s humorous lines didn’t work
Walk The Multiverse 