The Flash (7×13) Masquerade Review

For our review of the last episode of The Flash, click here.

Synopsis: Cecile is forced to confront her past in order to break free from a psychic prison; Chester takes over for Cisco but makes a mistake that puts Barry in serious danger; Joe investigates Kristen Kramer’s old military ties. (IMDb)

Now that Cisco is gone, his responsibilities have fallen to Chester. Admittedly, the loss of Cisco will take some getting used to but luckily Chester is there to fill the void he’s left behind. During this week’s episode, the focus is on Cecile. A part of her past that we never knew about resurfaces, and it was certainly unexpected.

Cecile was seemingly possessed by a golden mask, aka Psycho-Pirate, after last week’s episode, and this week, we see her trapped within the confines of her mind. She’s stuck in a psychiatric hospital within a room with the dreaded white walls. As it turns out, Cecile was once a patient in a mental institution. After her mother passed away, she had a mental breakdown and admitted for treatment. No one, not even Joe, knew this tidbit about her past.

What was commendable about this character reveal is that we’ve always seen Cecile as a positive, upbeat person. We would have never known that she had demons in her past, which goes to show that everyone is or has struggled with something.

At some point, Barry gets stuck in the same hell Cecile is after he is attacked by the possessed version of her. In order to get out of this predicament, it falls to Chester to come up with a solution. The fake Cecile shares that comatose Barry is linked to Psycho-Pirate now, who is currently in Arkham Asylum and whose mask is at the Central City Museum. This is all part of fake Cecile’s plan who hopes that Team Flash will go steal the mask to save Barry. Sue Dearbon shows up in town and ends up assisting the team with the planned heist. From the get-go, however, Sue can sense something isn’t right.

Inside of the mental prison, Barry learns that Cecile has been locked up there since the new Forces wreaked havoc on Central City. While in the prison, Barry is attacked by the fake Cecile which causes his actual body to deteriorate. At some point, Team Flash realizes that there are two brain signatures on Barry’s neuro scan, and from that (apparently?), Iris concludes that the Cecile they’re interacting with isn’t the one they know.

But the fake Cecile gets her hands on the mask they took from the museum. Meanwhile, Barry figures out how they can get out of the mental prison and realizes the power lies with Cecile confronting the trauma she once endured. Things get chaotic as the imposter goes to S.T.A.R. Labs and sits in the Thinker’s chair to increase the power she possesses. Iris fights with the imposter while Chester finds a way to deactivate the chair. Meanwhile, Cecile is battling her evil alter ego in the mental prison, eventually defeating her and securing her and Barry’s freedom.

By the end of the episode, Sue reveals she’s joining Team Flash (at least for now) as the mask is sent away to a confinement facility. Cecile tells Joe everything, and in the process, they realize that Kramer’s case file may have more information hinting at her shady activity.

This Cecile-centric episode was okay but it still didn’t deliver as has been the trend for The Flash for the past few years. Sigh, until next week!

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Ariba Bhuvad