If you would like to read my review of the last episode, click here.
Synopsis: As Barry’s trial for the murder of Clifford DeVoe begins, Iris and Joe must decide how far they are willing to go to keep Barry out of prison. (TVGuide)
Writers: Lauren Certo & Kristen Kim
Director: Philip Chipera
Rating: TV-PG
Running Time: 43 minutes
After its brief winter hiatus, The Flash returned with…well not quite the bang. After the mid-season finale ended on a cliffhanger with Barry being framed for DeVoe’s murder, we anticipated that the return of The Flash would bring its A game. However, this episode played out in a rather slow, uneventful manner until the final moments of the episode.
This episode focused on Barry’s trial after being convicted of murdering Clifford DeVoe. However, as the audience we know he was framed by DeVoe and his wife. However, DeVoe isn’t technically dead due to the Black Mirror-esque transfer of his consciousness into Dominic (whom we met before the winter hiatus).
As the team prepared for Barry’s trial, they realized that the odds were against him. But with Cecile as his lawyer, they clung to some hope. Clearly, Joe didn’t exactly feel the same as he sought out Ralph’s expertise as a private investigator.
While Barry’s trial was in full swing, a new meta-human graced The Flash in the form of a human version of a nuclear bomb. His mere presence would send those around him into radiation poisoning sickness.
As if being on trial wasn’t enough, Barry had to face his friends and family take the stand. A particularly heartbreaking one was Captain Singh who testified against him due to the “obsession” he witnessed when Barry was investigating DeVoe.
With the trial pushing their backs against the wall, Cecile suggested that their only way out may be for Barry to tell everyone he is the Flash. Barry, of course, rejected this idea and chose to ride the trial out.
Joe and Ralph decided to stake out the DeVoe home to spy on Marlize, which is where they spotted her in a lip-lock with Dominic. Pictures in hand, they attempt to use this as leverage in court which doesn’t exactly play out as they had hoped. Another failed attempt to save Barry was the moment when Iris was about to reveal to the court that Barry is the Flash. However, Barry found a way to slow time around them before she could say anything.
The Joe/Ralph stakeout session gets more complicated when Joe decides he wants to plant evidence to frame Marlize. However, Ralph gives him a soliloquy in an attempt to make him realize that would not be the wisest decision.
Perhaps, the oddest part of this episode was towards the end of the trial when Barry asked to leave the court to battle the meta-human. Granted he was trying to save the world from a meta-human nuclear explosion, it was still weird he left before the trial officially ended. After fighting the meta-human and directing the radiation to Earth 15 (a dead Earth), Barry learns that the jury convicted him guilty of murder in the first degree. Not only this, but he was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole and would be sent to Iron Heights.
The final moments of the episode showed Barry being escorted to his prison cell, only to find out that he is in the same cell his father was once in.
This episode was unexpectedly slow for a spring premiere, especially one that was stepping into a trial accusing Barry of murder. While the premise was strong, the execution of the episode failed to live up to it. There wasn’t much excitement to grasp onto and watching the trial didn’t quite grasp the attention it may have intended to.
Even the meta-human situation felt like it was randomly inserted as a filler for moments not focused on the trial. Some positive moments from the episode were Ralph’s monologue to Joe, asking him to reconsider his decision to plant evidence and Barry discovering he was in his father’s cell. As we look ahead to next week, let’s hope the quality of the episodes improve and some light is shed on just how the team will get Barry out of this predicament.
Score: 6.5/10
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