As someone who’s been a devoted viewer of The Flash ever since the pilot episode first aired, it pained me to see the series turn into a flat-out comedy with its fourth season. But after weeks of cringing, I was happy to see the show recapture its former glory with the compelling episode that was “Therefore I Am,” before astonishing us all when participating in the Crisis on Earth-X crossover.
To be honest, there’s no doubt in this writer’s mind that the Thinker played a big part in the resurgence of quality. As actor Neil Sandilands was given more screentime, he chilled us to the bone with his nuanced performance as the calculating Clifford DeVoe, thus presenting Team Flash with a threat unlike anything they’d ever seen.
Still, DeVoe’s declining physical condition presented a problem, with that having been rectified in the closing moments of last night’s midseason finale, “Don’t Run.” You see, the mad genius actually managed to transfer his consciousness into the freshly introduced Brainstorm, played by Kendrick Sampson. And considering that Sandilands had signed on as a series regular, it’s probably safe to say that none of us saw this twist coming. But, who knows, maybe he’ll remain on in flashbacks or in some other capacity.
Furthermore, he complicated the life of the Scarlet Speedster by framing him for murder, placing his recently discarded body in the apartment of Barry Allen. With a knife wound in his chest and cops storming the door, it looks like our hero won’t get out of this one so easily as he’ll be on trial when the series resumes.
Having said that, we can’t help but address a plot hole so massive that you could fit several dozen Waveriders inside it. Seriously, we’ve seen Barry completely bedazzle Joe West’s house with Christmas decorations in the blink of an eye in the past, so why couldn’t he clean up a crime scene just as fast? It’s downright maddening.
The Flash returns with new episodes on Tuesday, January 16 on The CW.
