S04.E13: True Colors

[ruby24]

I wonder if DeVoe might want Ralph BECAUSE of his ability to shapeshift? Maybe that's how he plans to get his old body back?

Oooh, I wonder if I've nailed it. And then Ralph will be caught and possessed for the last run of episodes, perhaps?

[thuganomics85]

Another episode where Ralph doubts himself and needs a pep talk (this time from Killer Frost?)  He's already close to breaking Barry's need for pep talks at this rate.  I really hope they get past all of this soon, because it is really getting tiring.

Barry's little prison break was fun, but I should have known there was no way they were going to let all of the Bus Metas survive, after finding out that Barry is The Flash.  So, now DeVoe has killed them all and absorbed their powers, but for some reason he's now decided to stay in Becky's body?  I'm not sure what is going on now.  And now Marlize is understandably freaked out, so he's now drugging her to remain loyal/in love.  Kind not feeling this, since one of the things I kind of liked was that DeVoe/Marlize were a loving, if villainous couple.  Now, he's just evil and she's another victim.  Lame.

I have so, so many questions over how Ralph can now suddenly morph into other people (and other races), but I'll give Richard Brooks a gold star for his "Ralph pretending to be Wolfe" scenes.

I did love Amunet just noping out of there, once DeVoe arrived.

For all the crap I gave Cecile, this judge really is an idiot if he thinks "DeVoe" suddenly being alive is that crazy.  For this universe, this is nothing.  Get with the times, dude.

I see Tom Cavanagh had the episode off tonight!

At least Barry is out of prison now, so we no longer can deal with that aspect anymore.

[twoods]

Is this the last time we see beautiful Dominic? I'm still pissed he got killed off when he wasn't a bad guy. And now it's Becky's turn.

I never thought it was "racist" what DeVoe did to Dominic and then the metas and warden tonight because I see them as characters and not people of a certain race. There is outcry when minorities aren't cast on shows, and when there is a good show that does cast minorities the storyline has to be a certain way so people don't get offended. DeVoe is a crazy, sick bastard who made metahumans specifically to absorb their powers- their race shouldn't have an impact on the storytelling. 

[VCRTracking]

Poor Becky.

Ralph came through!

[Trini]

Another thing with the latest body swap: before it was just Dominic, and there was some slim chance that he could return, and possibly rectify this problematic twist; but if DeVoe is going to be body-hopping every few episodes (I doubt Becky will stay the face of The Thinker for long) then he's always killing his last body. When he wasn't really shown to be murderous before. I know, it's raising the stakes; but they still haven't shown how that helps his plans - or even what his plans are. I don't expect them to reveal everything, but we about as much as we did since the DeVoe backstory episode.

 

41 minutes ago, twoods said:

Is this the last time we see beautiful Dominic? I'm still pissed he got killed off when he wasn't a bad guy. And now it's Becky's turn.

I never thought it was "racist" what DeVoe did to Dominic and then the metas and warden tonight because I see them as characters and not people of a certain race. There is outcry when minorities aren't cast on shows, and when there is a good show that does cast minorities the storyline has to be a certain way so people don't get offended. DeVoe is a crazy, sick bastard who made metahumans specifically to absorb their powers- their race shouldn't have an impact on the storytelling. 

Answering in the Lightning Rods thread.

Edited February 7, 2018 by Trini

[Trini]

Last comment for now:

Also DeVoe shouldn't be able to transfer any powers since on the show they've established that powers are linked to metahuman DNA and specific mutations related to dark matter. (Only speedsters have slightly different rules.) So if you don't have that DNA, you shouldn't have those powers. Which makes me wonder if DeVoe still has his super-intelligence.

[TDT]

The whole"Barry in prison" arc kind of reminds me of that Supermax concept they planned for Green Arrow(i believe it was going to be a movie about him trapped in a prison with all the Rogues he helped put there..maybe they might revisit this idea for Arrow down the line)

I'll guess that neither Becky or Marliza will survive the season finale..

[johntfs]

5 hours ago, HunterHunted said:

I think people are disgusted by how messed up the DeVoe storyline is and having a white man steal the body of a Black man and the life force of all of those individuals. It is profoundly screwed up.

I get that.  For me the weird thing is how it sounds if you say it out loud.  It's like, "DeVoe paid to have Dominic kidnapped and then murdered him and stole his body.  It was evil.  It was murderous and worst of all, it was racially insensitive!"  It's pretty clear to me that whatever is driving DeVoe isn't racism or sexism.  He discriminates based on the requirements of his plan.

BTW, Mina Chayton isn't Asian.  She's Native American.

[VCRTracking]

Loved Barry's MacGyvering his escape.

Glad Iris wore the white coat from last week again.

The scene with Ralph as Warden Wolff was hilarious. I've never seen the early Law & Order seasons the actor was in but he was great here.

I have to repeat: poor Becky. She's had a raw deal her whole life and when she's finally gotten some good luck it causes chaos around her. I was so hoping she would escape for a better life like Big Sir or at least get her sentenced reduced.

At the end I thought "Did Devoe do his own makeup and paint his nails? Did his wife?" I then figured he probably went to a hair and nail salon and had it done while Marlize was in the courthouse.

10 minutes ago, johntfs said:

I get that.  For me the weird thing is how it sounds if you say it out loud.  It's like, "DeVoe paid to have Dominic kidnapped and then murdered him and stole his body.  It was evil.  It was murderous and worst of all, it was racially insensitive!"  It's pretty clear to me that whatever is driving DeVoe isn't racism or sexism.  He discriminates based on the requirements of his plan.

BTW, Mina Chayton isn't Asian.  She's Native American.

I figured at first he picked this handsome, fit dude for his wife but then he put his brain in Becky's which she clearly wasn't down for either and I thought "Nope, he didn't consider his wife at all in his choices."

Edited February 7, 2018 by VCRTracking

[cambridgeguy]

8 hours ago, Primal Slayer said:

Unless someone can prove that it wasnt Devoe there is nothing illegal about it. But he was still released the legal way. That's what is important to him. DeVoe played dirty and lied, Barry is playing dirty and lying.

???  So fabricated evidence is OK as long as no one knows it's faked?  In that case Barry should't have spent all of those years trying to prove his dad was innocent, he should have been whipping up some fake evidence.  Personally I prefer seeing Barry running around in the Flash suit to Barry sitting in a jail cell so I don't really care but this really is a two wrongs make a right situation. 

I'm still not sure why Amunet is the big bad crime boss.  Her powers could be overcome by a skilled non-meta (Oliver could easily take her out) or a decent number of cops yet somehow everyone is deathly afraid of her.

[ottoDbusdriver]

7 hours ago, phoenics said:

One more thing... haven't we seen Ralph go through this story already?  I mean - every episode it feels like a redux of "People in danger!"  and then Ralph is all "Meh - not feeling it for reason A B C D E" and then "pep talk for Ralph!" and then Ralph comes through.

It's the same writers.

Can we move on now?

This show is nothing without it's endless series of weekly pep talks.

You get a pep talk, you get a pep talk, everyone gets a pep talk.

[catrox14]

Shouldn't Barry still be on the hook for attempted murder? Like that evidence is still the evidence that got him convicted of murder is it not?  Wouldn't the prosecution have been like well someone stabbed Devoe even if he is apparently walking around now?

Wouldn't there need to be some evidence that Devoe is really Devoe, like a DNA test or something especially in a city filled with meta humans who are never quite what they seem? 

[benteen]

I enjoyed this episode.  Definitely liked the Becky character and still hope she'll one day join Team Flash.  I didn't expect her to be the one that Devoe took the body of but that was an interesting move.

I like Ralph but I've had it with the 80th in a row storyline where he doubts himself and needs a pep talk.  It's repetitive as hell.

Quote

So I refuse to believe this Barry-in-prison arc was planned out at all when the way he was incarcerated was dumb and the way they got him out was dumb. I mean, the real way to do it would be to prove Barry innocent. Plus, Marlize could have easily proven that Fake!Clifford was NOT her husband. I know it's TV, but they really didn't try at all when it came to this Trial arc.

Agreed.  But considering how silly it was for Barry to be thrown in jail and how bad a job Cecile did, it's par for the course.

But agreed, is anyone in the police or courts going to follow up with Fake!Clifford?

[KirkB]

21 minutes ago, benteen said:

But agreed, is anyone in the police or courts going to follow up with Fake!Clifford?

No. There's basically only one capable cop in the Arrowverse and he's in Star City.

[GHScorpiosRule]

9 hours ago, WindofChange said:

they kill men too in which case Sara/Laurel/Samantha/Moira/Baby Sara weren't a product of sexism because the writers also killed a lot of men

It's a small point, maybe even technical, but Baby Sara wasn't killed. She still exists, in another timeline. Or to get more technical, she never existed, so she wasn't killed. I don't give any figgedity fucks about Samantha, who was always a plot point and so unnecessary, but that's just me. And well, Sara is still alive. Out of this list, Laurel and Moira are the only ones killed, that count for me.

4 hours ago, VCRTracking said:

The scene with Ralph as Warden Wolff was hilarious. I've never seen the early Law & Order seasons the actor was in but he was great here.

Richard was hilarious. And he was AWESOME as ADA Paul Robinette. 

[marketdoctor]

In some ways, this was the most Flash episode I've seen:  it had a villain who was evil on a lot of levels (DeVoe--not just a murderer, but drugging the woman he loves), morally complex characters (the other prison escapees), Killer Frost slowly moving toward good, and a skewed comic book reference (Gingold as a drink, instead of as the chemical that gave Ralph his powers), and the funny moments in serious situations, like the way Ralph started losing his character.  Maybe they could give him a time limit, like in Darkman.

However, we barely saw any actual speed powers.  The exceptions were marking a number on the cell, and when he was testing if he was still a meta.

Also, did the bad guys not know that "a speedster" was the Flash?  I could see Becky not caring (or figuring it out) but the others?

Lots of good acting by the recurring characters.

[DearEvette]

9 hours ago, RedVitC said:

-Surprised what happened with Devoe. For a second I thought that Devoe would target Barry next when that thing went up again from Becky. My hope is that none of the metahumans are actually dead, but that when the Thinker is defeated their essences will float back to their bodies (I know that's a completely unrealistic expectation, we don't even know what happened to their bodies)

Marlize seemed upset and mad at the killing of Wolfe.  But not the metas.  She was only upset that whatever plan they had for the metas got blown to hell because he accelerated it before they got all the 12 bus metas.  This makes me think that it might not be that unrealistic to believe that the other metas might still be alive? 

From the beginning their plan seemed to be about some grand scheme to make something better. They were super intellectuals.  And yes while it is inevitable that there might be some collateral damage in getting to their end goal, overall I didn't get the feeling the Devoes were supposed to be evil murderers.  They were too cerebral for that what with their warm fireplaces, fancy brandy snifters, and mac & cheese.   But DeVoe is messing it all up now.  I wonder if somehow inhabiting Dominic's body and seeing all the additional insights he got from Dominic's psychic power somehow messed up his own thought processes.  He is no longer just thinking and calculating the odds.  The DeVoe we fist met doesn't seem like he would have roofied Marlize.

I do agree that I miss the actor who played DeVoe.  He was excellent and had the right amount of menace and just actually looked like he was super smart.

[KirkB]

Is this the first time Marlize has actually seen Clifford kill someone? Are these the first people he has killed? She seemed shocked. Which is odd considering everything he has done. Or was it more the brutality and glee with which he did it? Is she starting to see another side to her husband? He's clearly not the same man she married (and not just because he's in a woman's body now). But him drugging her is surely going to be the last straw.  When she turns on him (assuming he doesn't just kill her before she can) it will probably be her knowledge that helps Team Flash finally get the upper hand on Devoe, since they are clearly still at a loss.

Ralph being able to alter his appearance because of malleable cells is one thing. I get making himself taller, fatter, etc. But how does that translate to changing the pigmentation of his skin? I know, COMICS!

[shantown]

7 hours ago, Trini said:

Last comment for now:

Also DeVoe shouldn't be able to transfer any powers since on the show they've established that powers are linked to metahuman DNA and specific mutations related to dark matter. (Only speedsters have slightly different rules.) So if you don't have that DNA, you shouldn't have those powers. Which makes me wonder if DeVoe still has his super-intelligence.

I need to go back and re-watch, because now I'm wondering if DeVoe's whole outburst about how he didn't know what to do because he's imagining more variables than atoms in the world or whatever is not because he's so super-smart, but because he's lost his super-smarts and now only has whatever meta-power he gained most recently. Does anyone remember if he still had Dominic's mind-reading when he was Becky? 

[GHScorpiosRule]

9 minutes ago, shantown said:

Does anyone remember if he still had Dominic's mind-reading when he was Becky? 

Yes, he did. He could hear Marlize humming that song in her head; then he roofied her drink and got her to say "I love you," and stop humming in her mind.

[Primal Slayer]

3 hours ago, cambridgeguy said:

???  So fabricated evidence is OK as long as no one knows it's faked?  In that case Barry should't have spent all of those years trying to prove his dad was innocent, he should have been whipping up some fake evidence.  Personally I prefer seeing Barry running around in the Flash suit to Barry sitting in a jail cell so I don't really care but this really is a two wrongs make a right situation. 

I'm still not sure why Amunet is the big bad crime boss.  Her powers could be overcome by a skilled non-meta (Oliver could easily take her out) or a decent number of cops yet somehow everyone is deathly afraid of her.

Well he didn't have any shape shifting friends back then so he couldn't do anything. But when your dealing with a villain who faked their death, you can't keep playing the moral high ground in every single situation. 

[johntfs]

3 hours ago, cambridgeguy said:

???  So fabricated evidence is OK as long as no one knows it's faked?  In that case Barry should't have spent all of those years trying to prove his dad was innocent, he should have been whipping up some fake evidence.  Personally I prefer seeing Barry running around in the Flash suit to Barry sitting in a jail cell so I don't really care but this really is a two wrongs make a right situation. 

I'm still not sure why Amunet is the big bad crime boss.  Her powers could be overcome by a skilled non-meta (Oliver could easily take her out) or a decent number of cops yet somehow everyone is deathly afraid of her.

The only way evidence (even fabricated evidence) gets Barry's dad out of jail is if it shows that "some other dude done it."  So, any evidence Barry fabricated would have to frame some other innocent person, given that prior to the reveal that "Harrison Wells" was Eobard Thawne, Barry would have no reason to suspect him.  In this case the "fabricated evidence" showed an actual truth - Devoe was actually alive, so Barry couldn't have murdered him.  Presumably Ralph as Devoe also had to confess that Barry wasn't the person who attacked him either, to prevent attempted murder charges from being filed, but whatever.

 

As for Amunet, powers don't make the person.  Think about Walter White on Breaking Bad by the fourth season and consider that he started out as just a high school chemistry teacher with zero superpowers.

[jay741982]

11 hours ago, VCRTracking said:

Poor Becky.

Ralph came through!

Poor Becky AND Dominic!?

[catrox14]

1 hour ago, johntfs said:

Presumably Ralph as Devoe also had to confess that Barry wasn't the person who attacked him either, to prevent attempted murder charges from being filed, but whatever.

 

I'm no legal expertso feel free to correct me if I'm wrong here but Even if he did say it wasn't Barry , doesn't the prosecution have  the prerogative to question DeVoe in depth about how the attack did happen?   Barry is a special case but to me they would have been like okay, we get you sayBarry Allen didn't kill you and you don't know who did, but the physical evidence on which Barry was convicted would still need to be addressed? Wouldn't they investigate all of that before releasing Barry. Wasn't it the state that filed charges against Barry so regardless of DeVoe being alive someone still stabbed him and would they state have an interest in this.?

Also, wouldn't they consider the possibility that Barry or someone could have paid off DeVoe to say Barry didn't do it but he doesn't know who did?

ETA  before releasing Barry that is.

Edited February 7, 2018 by catrox14

[JapMo]

Barry was kick ass last night, not to mention super hot.  He is really looking good.

[Kate45]

6 hours ago, catrox14 said:

Wouldn't there need to be some evidence that Devoe is really Devoe, like a DNA test or something especially in a city filled with meta humans who are never quite what they seem? 

Well, since the prosecution never actually met its burden by having an Medical Examiner testify to say that DeVoe was confirmed dead, when he died, and how he died, why would they start now?

They have had shape-shifters before, but I don't think the courts dealt with that? Harrison Wells used Bates, but I don't think he was ever taken to Iron Heights or convicted of any crime. Therefore, as far as the legal system is concerned, shape-shifters don't exist. 

[DavidJSnyder]

4 hours ago, johntfs said:

The only way evidence (even fabricated evidence) gets Barry's dad out of jail is if it shows that "some other dude done it."  So, any evidence Barry fabricated would have to frame some other innocent person, given that prior to the reveal that "Harrison Wells" was Eobard Thawne, Barry would have no reason to suspect him.  In this case the "fabricated evidence" showed an actual truth - Devoe was actually alive, so Barry couldn't have murdered him.  Presumably Ralph as Devoe also had to confess that Barry wasn't the person who attacked him either, to prevent attempted murder charges from being filed, but whatever.

Based on this, they didn't need to frame anybody. They could have just had someone impersonate Barry's Mom and the judge would have let his Dad out without any further investigation.

Fabricating evidence is illegal, no matter whether it can be proven to be fake or whether the person being framed is actually guilty. When Barry said he wanted to be cleared via legal means, he apparently just meant he didn't wanted the illegality to be provable or that he really just didn't want to be a fugitive.

I hope we don't see any more attempts at legal drama.  Barry is prison was fun, but all the actual court stuff was embarrassing. 

 

 

2 hours ago, catrox14 said:

I'm no legal expertso feel free to correct me if I'm wrong here but Even if he did say it wasn't Barry , doesn't the prosecution have  the prerogative to question DeVoe in depth about how the attack did happen?   Barry is a special case but to me they would have been like okay, we get you sayBarry Allen didn't kill you and you don't know who did, but the physical evidence on which Barry was convicted would still need to be addressed? Wouldn't they investigate all of that before releasing Barry. Wasn't it the state that filed charges against Barry so regardless of DeVoe being alive someone still stabbed him and would they state have an interest in this.?

Also, wouldn't they consider the possibility that Barry or someone could have paid off DeVoe to say Barry didn't do it but he doesn't know who did?

ETA  before releasing Barry that is.

 

The idea that this would pass muster, they're just going to clear Barry without any further investigation stretches credulity beyond my normal fairly broad acceptance levels.

I assume Barry is going to go back to his normal job and life and Devoe disappearing as mysteriously as he reappeared won't ever come up.

Edited February 7, 2018 by DavidJSnyder

[johntfs]

3 hours ago, catrox14 said:

5 hours ago, johntfs said:

 

I'm no legal expertso feel free to correct me if I'm wrong here but Even if he did say it wasn't Barry , doesn't the prosecution have  the prerogative to question DeVoe in depth about how the attack did happen?   Barry is a special case but to me they would have been like okay, we get you sayBarry Allen didn't kill you and you don't know who did, but the physical evidence on which Barry was convicted would still need to be addressed? Wouldn't they investigate all of that before releasing Barry. Wasn't it the state that filed charges against Barry so regardless of DeVoe being alive someone still stabbed him and would they state have an interest in this.?

Also, wouldn't they consider the possibility that Barry or someone could have paid off DeVoe to say Barry didn't do it but he doesn't know who did?

Presumably Barry wouldn't have paid DeVoe off because otherwise why was he in jail for DeVoe's murder?  As for the rest of that stuff, fuck it, it's The Flash, not Law and Order (and they've got Jesse L. Martin to tell them the difference if there was any question).

[johntfs]

1 hour ago, DavidJSnyder said:

Based on this, they didn't need to frame anybody. They could have just had someone impersonate Barry's Mom and the judge would have let his Dad out without any further investigation.

Fabricating evidence is illegal, no matter whether it can be proven to be fake or whether the person being framed is actually guilty. When Barry said he wanted to be cleared via legal means, he apparently just meant he didn't wanted the illegality to be provable or that he really just didn't want to be a fugitive.

I hope we don't see any more attempts at legal drama.  Barry is prison was fun, but all the actual court stuff was embarrassing. 

Who would "they" have been in the first case?  11 year old Iris and Barry?  One of the main reasons this worked was that Mrs. DeVoe went along with it.  Because if she'd tried to call them on it, there would have been a more thorough investigation to sort everything out - and said thorough investigation might have some secrets the DeVoes want to hide right now.

As for the "legal means," sure Barry would have preferred to prove his innocence the right way.  That said, if he raised objections to what his friends did, not only does he stay in jail, but his friends (or at least Ralph) also end up in jail.  Sometimes you have to pick your battles.

[catrox14]

7 minutes ago, johntfs said:

As for the rest of that stuff, fuck it, it's The Flash, not Law and Order (and they've got Jesse L. Martin to tell them the difference if there was any question)

Okay, no one said it was Law and Order but they could at least have tried a little bit to make it semi palatable. Arrow is not much better in their legal shenanigans but at least jury tampering was not as contrived as this.

[johntfs]

8 minutes ago, catrox14 said:

Okay, no one said it was Law and Order but they could at least have tried a little bit to make it semi palatable. Arrow is not much better in their legal shenanigans but at least jury tampering was not as contrived as this.

With that ridiculous trial Barry had, you knew this storyline wasn't going to end well, but at least it's ended and that's good enough for me.

[tennisgurl]

21 hours ago, ruby24 said:

Oooh, I wonder if I've nailed it. And then Ralph will be caught and possessed for the last run of episodes, perhaps?

Thats what I think is going to happen. I haven't figured out what he wants with all of the metas, or if he can combine their powers (including the ones he nabbed last night), but now I totally think he wants Ralph's body/powers so he can reform his old body back before he lost the ability to walk. Then the last few episodes can have the original actor back while Team Flash tries to defeat DeVoe while not killing his body while still wearing Ralph. maybe that also means that, since I assume they wont want to kill Ralph off, maybe poor Dominick and Becky can still be saved too! Plus, with his whole Smartest Man Ever thing, I wouldn't be surprised if he told Barry that he picked the bus people because they weren't worth as much as DeVoe and sacrificing their lives so DeVoe can be happier because he is "better" or some kind of crazy Darwinian justification.

And maybe Marlize will finally realize her husband giving people powers and then wearing their skins like a super powered Buffalo Bill is kinda totally creepy. Plus the date rape. Gross. 

Also, shallow note? Prison looks super good on Barry. 

Edited February 8, 2018 by tennisgurl

[Trini]

5 hours ago, DavidJSnyder said:

Based on this, they didn't need to frame anybody. They could have just had someone impersonate Barry's Mom and the judge would have let his Dad out without any further investigation.

Fabricating evidence is illegal, no matter whether it can be proven to be fake or whether the person being framed is actually guilty. When Barry said he wanted to be cleared via legal means, he apparently just meant he didn't wanted the illegality to be provable or that he really just didn't want to be a fugitive.

I hope we don't see any more attempts at legal drama.  Barry is prison was fun, but all the actual court stuff was embarrassing. 

 

 

The idea that this would pass muster, they're just going to clear Barry without any further investigation stretches credulity beyond my normal fairly broad acceptance levels.

I assume Barry is going to go back to his normal job and life and Devoe disappearing as mysteriously as he reappeared won't ever come up.

I mean... ::siiiiiiiiiiiiiigh::

They screwed up this and Flashpoint, they should not let them use more major comic stories.

[phoenics]

10 hours ago, JapMo said:

Barry was kick ass last night, not to mention super hot.  He is really looking good.

This deserves more discussion. 

Has GG been working out?  He looked on the slim side of buff in prison.  I'm almost sad they put him back in baggy sweaters and converse when he got out.  Put that man in some long john shirts with a henley crewneck over it show!  And give him a bulky overcoat too...  and some Timbs.  Cause damn.

Iris you lucky bish, lol.

Too bad this show thinks kids can't see make out sessions - after what Iris/Barry have endured, they SHOULD be all over each other.  

[kitmerlot1213]

15 hours ago, johntfs said:

With that ridiculous trial Barry had, you knew this storyline wasn't going to end well, but at least it's ended and that's good enough for me.

This!  Barry got put away on planted evidence, it seems only just desserts that the Devoes get to watch Barry walk free on a fabricated witness.  It was a rigged game from the beginning and Team Flash was never going to win playing it straight.  

[Jack Kerouac]

On 2/7/2018 at 12:12 AM, thuganomics85 said:

I did love Amunet just noping out of there, once DeVoe arrived.

Smartest one of the bunch.

On 2/7/2018 at 7:31 AM, catrox14 said:

Shouldn't Barry still be on the hook for attempted murder? Like that evidence is still the evidence that got him convicted of murder is it not?  Wouldn't the prosecution have been like well someone stabbed Devoe even if he is apparently walking around now?

Wouldn't there need to be some evidence that Devoe is really Devoe, like a DNA test or something especially in a city filled with meta humans who are never quite what they seem? 

You would think, but everyone, especially the cops and the court system are idiots in Central City. The murdered guy's wife was having an affair? She says the hubby was okay with it, but there is absolutely no proof of that? No problem! Dead guy is back, even after the body was autopsied? No problem! Nope - don't bother exhuming the body just to make sure - Barry, you're free to go!

[tallykat]

You know, Barry was all "I can't run. I'm staying in prison until I can leave legally" but sneaking out of prison was exactly what Barry Allen needed to do! He could've been at Star Labs all the time and not worried about being late for work ever again. Or no one would ever say "Did you ever notice how Barry Allen and The Flash are never in the same room at the same time?" But then, he could never be seen in public as Barry Allen. Just keep growing that beard...

Also, every time I heard someone say "Aren't you the guy who killed that teacher..." I could hear Jack Sparrow in my head: "It's Captain--Captain Jack Sparrow!" I'm surprised when Devoe showed up he didn't say: "And for the record, it's *Doctor* Devoe." At the very least, people should have been calling him that professor. I don't know why it just always sounded a little off to me.

[Quark]

Really enjoyable episode.

Amunet is brilliant. I hope she is a recurring villain throughout the series.

That scene at Joe's when Barry got out of prison was so sweet. The happiness was rather infectious.

So Barry is going to be facing a super powerful metahuman by the end of the season. That should be fun. I assume Marlize will have switched sides by then and help Barry get rid of all those powers that Devoe is absorbing.

Can we assume that Devoe is also getting the memories from all the people that he is absorbing? The conversation he was having with his wife about the song I think kind of implied that. 

[quarks]

On 2/6/2018 at 11:42 PM, Trini said:

So I refuse to believe this Barry-in-prison arc was planned out at all when the way he was incarcerated was dumb and the way they got him out was dumb.

The amazing thing is that these are still the episodes scripted prior to AK's firing - well, this one probably didn't go through final network/affiliate approval until afterwards, and presumably had the same rewrites on set as other episodes, but still. 

It makes me a bit worried about the upcoming episodes blocked prior to the firing, but scripted immediately afterwards.

[Trini]

28 minutes ago, quarks said:

The amazing thing is that these are still the episodes scripted prior to AK's firing - well, this one probably didn't go through final network/affiliate approval until afterwards, and presumably had the same rewrites on set as other episodes, but still. 

It makes me a bit worried about the upcoming episodes blocked prior to the firing, but scripted immediately afterwards.

I honestly never thought there was going to be much difference with the writing after Kreisberg's firing. There's still the same writing room and other showrunners. I'm not saying he didn't have an influence; but I think the general outline for the season isn't changing.

[quarks]

59 minutes ago, Trini said:

I honestly never thought there was going to be much difference with the writing after Kreisberg's firing. There's still the same writing room and other showrunners. I'm not saying he didn't have an influence; but I think the general outline for the season isn't changing.

I agree, but the showrunners do review the scripts and at least in theory try to grab some questionable bits like "Uh, did the Medical Examiner not prove that there was an ACTUAL DEAD CORPSE and did no one do an autopsy and give the autopsy reports as part of this trial?"  We got this even with that element there, which makes me wonder what will happen in the next few episodes, which only have to keep to the overall outline for the season, which doesn't schedule/plan specific elements.

[Trini]

There's still a whole bunch to nitpick, but this episode did have some good things going for it.

I thought Barry's prison break plot with the bus metas went really well. (Snart would have comments, but would still be proud!) Becky standing up for him was great, and I liked the scene showing how her power took down everyone with her just standing there!

"Dr. Hallway"

No Harry.

Cecile's powers still present and being used for the plot.

More hints that DeVoe might be defeated through his wife. We got to see Neil Sandilands one more time.

The party at Joe's. They should occasionally show the Team hanging out more.

Edited February 15, 2018 by Trini
conjunctions are important

[VCRTracking]

Watching her as Amunet this season I really believe after Katie Sackhoff didn't get the role of Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel she wanted so much and was offered this role in a superhero show she was like "Fuck it, I'm going to go full ham, chewing scenery, IDGAF anymore."

[athelyna]

Didn't Ralph say as Devoe something about hearing someone after they hit him say they were trying to frame Barry?  So presumably that's why Barry isn't being accused of attempted murder.

I like Amunet as the slimy secondary villain who always manages to slip away, but they probably should at least hang a lampshade on how awful selling people is.

[RobertDeSneero]

When Barry says he wants to get out legally, he means he wants to get out in a way that doesn't make him a fugitive.  He's operating as a vigilante, so coloring completely within the lines is not something he is prioritizing.

I wouldn't put it past the show to think that this latest body switch for Defoe is believed to convey something about transgenderism, but which they won't address explicitly.

Comic book Ralph has had the ability to change his face, but I don't know if he had built-in blackface capabilities.  He's an old enough character that it is a given that some writer would have come up with the idea of contorting his face.  I think it took a couple of decades for someone to come up with that.  How long before he uses this power to help prove that Barry is not the Flash.?

As soon as the warden told the metas that Barry was the Flash, it was obvious they were all going to die.

[johntfs]

On 2/10/2018 at 10:57 AM, athelyna said:

I like Amunet as the slimy secondary villain who always manages to slip away, but they probably should at least hang a lampshade on how awful selling people is.

Do they really need to?  Can we not just take it as a given that people understand that selling other human beings is awful and wrong?

On 2/10/2018 at 7:27 PM, RobertDeSneero said:

As soon as the warden told the metas that Barry was the Flash, it was obvious they were all going to die.

I'm hoping they just got mind-zapped so they'll forget that bit.  Meanwhile, Amunet got away and she still knows Barry Allen is the Flash. 

Edited February 16, 2018 by johntfs

[Trini]

Quote

I'm hoping they just got mind-zapped so they'll forget that bit.  Meanwhile, Amunet got away and she still knows Barry Allen is the Flash.

I don't think it's definite that she knows he's The Flash; she showed up after the reveal. It should be easy enough to figure out, but I don't think we're supposed to think she knows.

[Maverick]

 How was Devoe-as-Becky looking so fab at the end of the episode?   Being a dude and all, how did he know how to make himself up and do his hair?   Did he take a Me Day the spa after his killing spree at the prison?  

[DigitalCount]

4 hours ago, Maverick said:

 How was Devoe-as-Becky looking so fab at the end of the episode?   Being a dude and all, how did he know how to make himself up and do his hair?   Did he take a Me Day the spa after his killing spree at the prison?  

Well, he does have great luck, technopathy and telepathy among other things.

[mac123x]

I enjoyed this episode for the most part, but Barry Allen is a monster for the way he was counting days in his jail cell.  It's 4 vertical hashes, and one diagonal across, NOT 5 vertical hashes in a row.  Granted he had spaces between the groups of 5 (unlike Rey in The Force Awakens) but it's still harder to count that way.