Spoilers The Flash - Season 4

[Christopher]

But I'm not so happy with the body-swap. I like the actor Sandilands but I guess it will only be short, since Lance was already given a new name.

It's spelled Lanse -- which is good, since we've already got a Lance family, and there are too many recurring names in the Arrowverse as it is, what with the various Rorys and Rays and Joes and Dinahs out there. (For that matter, if Black Lightning is in the Arrowverse, we'll have two Jeffersons.)

I think Dominic/Brainstorm is going to be the Thinker for a while; Cisco giving him a name could be a sign of the team trusting him and thus being vulnerable to manipulation by him. (Although I can't blame Ralph for being miffed that he still hasn't been graced with a Cisco sobriquet.) But I do find the actor rather unimpressive so far.

 

[Velocity]

The Thinker's wife acted strange when she looked into her husband's host's eyes, so I wonder if the reality is harder than the plan led her to believe. Did the 2 change places or is the young guy still in there, too? If they changed places, then she murdered him, but it must have felt like she killed her beloved husband. I don't really understand this story line much.

 

[DarKush]

I skipped ahead several episodes to watch The Flash winter finale. I wasn’t that impressed with the episode until the end. It was a very good ending. But for the most part I thought the episode was lackluster.

I didn’t care for Ralph Dibny’s suit, Amunet’s accent (I looked her up on the DC wiki and saw that the character was originally American; not sure why they chose to make her British; I was wondering if it was a nod to Manchester or Vera Black).

I also thought the big fight between Flash and The Thinker was mostly a CGI fail. The twist with Brainstorm reminded me of “Get Out”. Though I did like the inclusion of this version of Brainstorm, from the Mr. Terrific New 52 comic. It probably won’t happen, but it would be cool to have Dominic meet Curtis.

It was the ending that really saved this episode for me. I like that The Thinker/Brainstorm is presenting a different kind of challenge that Barry just can’t increase his speed to beat, but so far I don’t feel the menace that Reverse Flash, Zoom, and Savitar possessed.

 

[Christopher]

The Thinker's wife acted strange when she looked into her husband's host's eyes, so I wonder if the reality is harder than the plan led her to believe. Did the 2 change places or is the young guy still in there, too?

Even if DeVoe's mind is fully in there, it's got to be hard for Marlize to adjust to her husband having a totally new face and voice. Remember, at the start of the episode, she was talking about how much she loved listening to his voice, and he reassured her that he'd still be the same person even when the voice changed. That tipped me off right there that his plan was to take over another body, although as I said, I assumed it would be Barry. But it also made it clear that Marlize would regret losing the face and voice of the man she loved. I think that adequately explains her reaction.

 

[Caretaker]

That was in "I Know Who You Are" (appropriately), episode 20 of last season. Joe froze up when Cecile said "I love you," and was on the verge of breaking up with her because he didn't think he could tell her about Barry's secret. Then she was kidnapped by Killer Frost, and Joe felt guilty. At the end, after she'd been rescued, Joe told her everything with Barry's blessing.

Thanks. I'm not sure how I missed that. I guess I overlooked the fact it happened because the revelation happened offscreen.

 

[Christopher]

By the way, it struck me that this was evidently yet another "Crisis"-adjacent episode that reduced Barry's screen time to free up Grant Gustin for the crossover. He had a few scenes in captivity, but he was sidelined for much of the episode, and scenes where he's just standing around on one set wouldn't take that long to film, comparatively.

I wonder just where the Thinker's lair is. The obvious assumption is that it's some sort of hidden chamber below the DeVoe house, but it didn't seem to take the Thinker long to change back into DeVoe and reach the door when Joe came knocking. And we saw at the climax that his chair could teleport out of the lair, so it could be effectively anywhere. Indeed, the large "circuitry patterns" design to it makes me wonder if its occupants have been miniaturized and are inside some small computer in the DeVoe house, with Joe and other searchers none the wiser. (Are the DeVoes investors in PalmerTech?) Or maybe it's in another dimension, either a parallel Earth or some sort of dimensional pocket. I've even wondered if it's all in the Thinker's head, but that seems unlikely.

 

[Scout101]

The whole thing DID seem to have a bit of holodeck simulation vibe to it. Of course, since Barry got out and went home, wouldn't it still have had to be real or normal sized? I guess there was the one *blip* where they changed locations to be way up in the air, so maybe that was a transition point...

 

[Christopher]

Of course, since Barry got out and went home, wouldn't it still have had to be real or normal sized? I guess there was the one *blip* where they changed locations to be way up in the air, so maybe that was a transition point...

Barry only got out because he was hanging onto the Thinker's hoverchair when it teleported out. And the Thinker obviously did that on purpose in order to stage his "death" and the infiltration of Dominic into Team Flash.

 

[Scout101]

uh, that's sorta the second sentence of the post you quoted, and I called out the transition point exactly. The blip (which felt like holodeck changing) is when they left whatever state they were in before (holodeck, miniaturized, pocket universe, whatever) and re-entered the real world.

The circuit board design to the floor was a sorta obvious tell that there were shenanigans going on

 

[Christopher]

^Yes, my point was that what you said in the second sentence refuted your first sentence. Since Barry didn't get out by himself but was freed by the Thinker, that means it could still be just about anything or anywhere. It could even have been a mental construct of some sort, with Barry just thinking he was imprisoned.

 

[Romulan_spy]

There is one other possibility: Barry "runs" but instead of leaving Central City he becomes the Flash full time. He'd still get to be with Iris, but only at Star Labs. This would still take a mental toll on everyone, especially Barry, so still better for DeVoe than the status quo.

Probably the best option for Barry would have been to use his super speed to clean up the crime scene. He could have cleaned the blood stains, gotten rid of the knife and hidden the body before the cops come in. Then, the cops have no physical evidence of a crime. Now, presumably, the Thinker would have already considered this possibility as well. Maybe The Thinker sent a letter to the cops about how Barry threatened him and he fears for his life? So the cops would have still arrested Barry for violating the restraining order and for possible homicide. In this scenario, Barry would still go to trial, just with a better chance of getting off since the evidence would be all circumstantial. But even this scenario might still be a win for the Thinker since it would distract Team Flash for awhile.

 

[Christopher]

Probably the best option for Barry would have been to use his super speed to clean up the crime scene. He could have cleaned the blood stains, gotten rid of the knife and hidden the body before the cops come in. Then, the cops have no physical evidence of a crime. Now, presumably, the Thinker would have already considered this possibility as well. Maybe The Thinker sent a letter to the cops about how Barry threatened him and he fears for his life? So the cops would have still arrested Barry for violating the restraining order and for possible homicide. In this scenario, Barry would still go to trial, just with a better chance of getting off since the evidence would be all circumstantial. But even this scenario might still be a win for the Thinker since it would distract Team Flash for awhile.

I like it that Barry chose to take the high road and not destroy the evidence. That's what makes him better than the bad guys.

It's also a smart move from a forensic standpoint, if you think about it. Barry knows the crime scene was staged. Therefore, no matter how damning it may look, there might be some piece of physical evidence proving it was staged, some detail or discrepancy that the stager (presumably Marlize) overlooked. If he destroys the evidence that points to him, he also destroys the evidence that could prove that evidence was falsified by the DeVoes.

 

[Romulan_spy]

I like it that Barry chose to take the high road and not destroy the evidence. That's what makes him better than the bad guys.

I forgot to type it but I do think that Barry's morals, especially his professional ethics as a CSI (tampering with a crime scene is a big no-no for anyone in law enforcement), is the main reason why he did not destroy the evidence. Yes, I like that.

 

[Christopher]

Another reason Barry told himself "Don't run," probably, is that if he goes on the defensive like that, he's playing into the DeVoes' hands. He knows he has to stand up and face this, not go on the retreat, if he wants to win.

His personal history, fighting for years to prove his father's innocence of a crime he was framed for, is undoubtedly a factor as well. He never stopped pushing to prove Henry's innocence, so that's his innate reflex when faced with an equivalent situation.

 

[The Realist]

I think Dominic/Brainstorm is going to be the Thinker for a while; Cisco giving him a name could be a sign of the team trusting him and thus being vulnerable to manipulation by him.

This would seem to be the plan, except for one thing: Dominic revealed himself as DeVoe to Barry on the phone at the end. So how is any Dominic/DeVoe infiltration supposed to work now? It isn't like Barry will be unable to communicate with anybody just because he's under arrest.

 

[Christopher]

This would seem to be the plan, except for one thing: Dominic revealed himself as DeVoe to Barry on the phone at the end. So how is any Dominic/DeVoe infiltration supposed to work now? It isn't like Barry will be unable to communicate with anybody just because he's under arrest.

Oh, good point. I forgot about that.

 

[The Realist]

^ Yeah, it's weird: revealing himself to Barry like that seems to be giving up a big strategic advantage and undercutting his own machinations to that point.

 

[Kai "the spy"]

I guess they need to play up the super-smart villain's vanity, as this traditionally turns out to be their weakness by which they are defeated by not super-smart heroes.

 

[ihno]

Was Ralph Dibney on the bus and got his powers in the third season or did he get them in the first season with most of the metahumans? The fake Dr. Wells lists up a number of people in 1x07 and Dibney is one of them. Maybe it was Ralf Dibney, since I thought Ralph was on the bus.

 

[Marc]

Was Ralph Dibney on the bus and got his powers in the third season or did he get them in the first season with most of the metahumans? The fake Dr. Wells lists up a number of people in 1x07 and Dibney is one of them. Maybe it was Ralf Dibney, since I thought Ralph was on the bus.

No he got them at the start of the current season from the dark matter that was a side effect of Barry's return from the Speedforce.