After season 3 of The Flash received a mixed response from fans due to its gloomy nature, season 4 has gone in the opposite direction and delivered a slew of light-hearted episodes. Unfortunately, this has drawn a similarly conflicted reaction, but this new poster (seen below) seems to assure viewers that things will be speeding up quite soon.
The image of the Flash smirking at us with lightning fizzing around him comes with the tagline: “Speeding towards a showdown.” It sounds a bit odd, if we’re to be honest, and would probably make more sense if this was released in the run-up to the finale rather than towards the beginning of the season.
Perhaps it’s an effort to correct a common criticism that fans have had, then. That being that the show’s increase in humour and weekly storylines has diminished the importance of the ongoing narrative, meaning there isn’t much driving the season forward right now. If that’s the case, then this tagline reminds us that each episode is bringing the Scarlet Speedster ever closer to a face-off with his latest nemesis, DeVoe AKA The Thinker.
Five weeks in and The Thinker has been mostly relegated to tiny 30-second scenes at the end of episodes. However, the synopsis for episode 7, titled “Therefore I Am,” confirmed that we’ll see Barry finally come face to face with his foe for the first time in two weeks. From then on, we’d expect the season to ramp up the drama and excitement.
In the meantime, next week’s episode, “When Harry Met Harry,” will continue Barry’s training of Ralph Dibny AKA Elongated Man, as he tests out his new crime-fighting partner on the field. Elsewhere, Cisco and Harry will gather a “Council of Wellses” from across the Multiverse to crack the mystery of The Thinker’s identity.
Be sure to catch The Flash every Tuesday on The CW.