Welcome back to another episode of The Flash! Last week Barry was  convicted for murder (not shocking) and placed in his father’s old cell.  Where will this leave the team this week as the Trickster looks set to wreak havoc on the city.  Can the team handle the threat without The Flash?  Read on to find out!

(Photo Courtesy of The CW.)

Inmate Barry — At the beginning of the episode we find Barry in prison while a riot is occurring.  He obviously helps diffuse the situation then carves another notch into the wall showing how many days he has been there. In prison he runs into Axel Walker (The Trickster), prior to his escape with the help of his mother, Prank (at least it isn’t a new meta this week). Iris comes to visit Barry each day at 1:30.  She let’s him know that she doesn’t want this to be their life, and Barry assures her that she will find some evidence to prove his innocence.  Barry is actually putting a good deal of pressure on the team.  Not only do they need to find a way to manage the crime and never-ending metas of the city, but they are also in charge of proving his innocence.  How is this a noble move, or the “right” move by Barry?  If anything, it merely protects his identity, which I get is a big deal, but it is a large amount of pressure for the team.  He is forcing the team into action on numerous fronts. As Barry is about to be attacked he is saved by Goldberg… I mean Big Sir (would have loved to see a spear!).  We come to find out the Barry’s dad actually helped him, which lead him to help Barry.  Big Sir is later jumped by they men he saved Barry from earlier.  Barry uses his speed to help take down the men.

(Photo Courtesy of The CW.)

“Stretchy Man” Takes Center Stage — With Barry a bit preoccupied, Dibny takes the center stage by stopping a man with a bomb and hostages.  Was it just me, or did the scene with Dibny and the bomb remind anyone else of The Mask? He shares some similar quirks as Jim Carrey.  As Dibny answers the call out from The Trickster, his arrogance eventually gets the best of him as he is stopped by some acid and Cisco has to come save him.  I am a bit confused why they keep sending Dibny out on his own.  Yes, he has to learn, but why alone?  Barry had to because no one else had powers at the time.  Wally trained with Barry, so why would Cisco or Caitlin not go with him?  After being hurt, Dibny second-guesses his role with the team.  He goes to break Barry out of prison, but ends up having a good heart-to-heart talk.  Cisco and Caitlin attempt to apprehend Trickster and Prank (as they should have before) yet are caught.  Man, they are really struggling without Barry aren’t they?  Luckily, Dibny decides to step up and save them.  Thank goodness this happened because otherwise Iris was about to go into battle with a gun I’m sure she is somehow proficient with…After a speech, Dibny saves Cisco and Caitlin by kicking The Trickster and awkwardly pushing Prank to the ground while Wells shuts down the axid.

 

(Photo Courtesy of The CW.)

The Return of The Trickster — As Prank breaks Axel out of prison, we find out that his father, Jesse, is actually a deadbeat.  He hasn’t cared to look for Axel so Axel devises a way to get the attention of the man he idolizes.  I really like how they have used images, and actors, from the 1990’s Flash show.  I loved the show as a kid, and it’s fun to see a nice nod to the series in which Mark Hamill obviously stole the show.  The Trickster goes viral and calls out Dibny. Eventually, Prank decides not to take her medicine and helps Axel with a new scheme to call out Team Flash. They went back to the original formula from Season 1 with this episode. I think the season would have been better if they had villains such as this, with some type of consistency or purpose, leading up to the reveal of DeVoe.   Revealing DeVoe so early in the season has resulted in a lack of suspense.  Sure, we all want to know how DeVoe set set up Barry, but there still isn’t the suspense of who the main villain is, or how they are connected.  I’d also still like to see a portion of a season devoted to the Flash’s Rogues Gallery working together in the future.

At the end, the socially awkward girl Barry encountered at the wedding reception shows back up and is writing down some distinct coding in a journal.  Could she be Barry and Iris’ daughter from the future as many are speculating?  What could she bring to the show?

What did you think of this week’s episode?  Is Dibny the answer to fill The Flash’s shoes?  How long do you think Barry will be in jail?  Will they rush this storyline, or have they learned from the past?  Leave your thoughts in the usual place, and thanks for reading!

The Flash returns next Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.

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