If you would like to read my review of the last episode, click here.
Synopsis: Amunet kidnaps Caitlin and puts meta-dampener handcuffs on her to keep her from turning into Killer Frost. Amunet tells Caitlin she needs her to perform a tricky medical task and if Caitlin fails, Amunet will kill her. Meanwhile, the Thinker traps the Flash in a speedster-proof prison. With the clock ticking, the team doesn’t have the time or resources to track both Caitlin and Barry, so Iris is forced to choose who to save. (TVGuide)
Writers: Sam Chalsen & Judalina Neira
Director: Stefan Pleszczynski
Rating: TV-PG
Running Time: 43 minutes
Tonight marked the season 4 midseason finale of The Flash. The episode played out in a boring, mundane fashion but made up for it with a shocking twist in its final moments.
The episode centered around the Christmas holiday, with Cisco and Harry decorating S.T.A.R. labs. As always, Ralph was an obnoxious presence with his jokes. Despite his attempts to be a good friend this episode, he still feels like an unnecessary and annoying addition to the team.
Caitlin finds herself at Jitters when Amunet breaks in wreaking havoc. Caitlin is abducted by Amunet, while simultaneously The Thinker abducts Barry.
Before the Jitters debacle, Barry and Iris had just come back from their honeymoon in Bali. In the midst of opening presents (amongst them was one single knife—this is important to note for later), it was funny to hear Iris refer back to how Felicity and Oliver got married during their wedding (which was on everyone’s mind!). A sweet moment took place between Barry and Iris when Iris inquired about Barry not using his powers much anymore. He told her when he first got them, he couldn’t stop using them because of the peace they brought him. Since he’s been with her, he feels this peace all the time. ::Cue awws::
It appears Amunet needs Caitlin’s help as a doctor to perform surgery on a meta-human she has shot. We learn that Dominic was one of the bus meta-humans with the ability to read minds. Caitlin has to save his life, otherwise, Amunet will end hers.
Meanwhile, Barry finds himself stuck within a field force that stops him from using his powers to escape.
As the team frantically tries searching for Barry and Caitlin, Harry pushes Iris to make a decision on who to save. Knowing Barry is capable of fending for himself, she focuses their efforts on finding Caitlin.
Caitlin was able to jerry-rig herself an operating room in the abandoned hospital that Amunet brought them to. She managed to perform the surgery successfully but simultaneously tricked Amunet by gassing her and her men with anesthetic so they could escape.
Just in the nick of time, Dibny and Cisco tracked down Caitlin’s whereabouts and saved them. Meanwhile, Barry found a way to “not run”, and vibrate by standing still and getting through the barrier DeVoe had set up. However, DeVoe transported them outside of his lab and into the sky as Barry fell and fought for his life. Thanks to Cisco’s enhancements on Barry’s suit, the floatation mode let Barry land safely in the water, while DeVoe’s chair caught on fire and landed in the water. Was that the last we would see of DeVoe? Of course not!
With the whole team back together, they were still itching to celebrate Christmas. In a last-ditch effort, Dibny decided to surprise everyone by decorating the West house. There was another funny moment weaved into the scene when Cisco received his Christmas gift from Gypsy in the form of a sexy hologram of her dancing. Caitlin’s new meta friend even joined the party, much to Dibny’s dismay.
This is the moment where the mid-season finale went from boring to chaotic real fast, and not in a bad way. A security alert on Barry’s phone caused him to go home to check what was going on. As he entered the loft, he got a phone call from..Dominic? Very quickly we realize that Dominic isn’t himself anymore, and is in fact, DeVoe! Remember when Amunet needed this meta-human fixed for a reason? She was selling him to DeVoe and his wife because of his telepathic abilities. This allowed DeVoe to put himself into Dominic, giving him his abilities while retaining his own.
This all culminated in the biggest plot twist in DeVoe’s plan. Remember the random, single knife Barry and Iris got as a wedding gift? This knife was planted as a murder weapon to frame Barry for DeVoe’s murder, whose body was lying lifeless in Barry’s loft. With DeVoe no longer needing his physical body, it presented the perfect opportunity to frame Barry. With this reveal also came the CCPD, breaking into the loft, and arresting Barry for the murder, as he told himself to not run.
Although this episode started off very slow and uneventful, it took a complete 180 in its final few minutes. The underlying message of “Don’t Run” was echoed throughout the episode and was woven into the best moments of it. With half the season over, The Flash has proven to be a much better, comedic, and engaging show than the season that preceded it. Despite its slower episodes and sometimes “elongated” nuisances, we’re still along for the ride!
Score: 7/10
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