Of all the Arrowverse midseason finales to have aired last week, it was probably the cliffhanger The Flash left us on that amazed me most. As you may recall, Clifford DeVoe AKA the Thinker pulled the old switcheroo by inserting his consciousness into the mind of the newly introduced Brainstorm. Not only that, but his freshly discarded body was planted in the apartment of Barry Allen – complete with a stab wound – effectively framing the Scarlet Speedster for murder.
Upon the conclusion to that very episode, we were treated to a trailer (seen above) for the midseason premiere, which, at the time, remained untitled. But now that the network doesn’t have to worry about spoilers, they’ve revealed said title: “The Trial of The Flash.” It’s pretty obvious, sure, but you have to admit that if it’d gotten out before the fall finale had aired, the cliffhanger just wouldn’t have had the same impact as we’d have known that Barry was going to find himself between a rock and a hard place in the closing moments.
Of course, this isn’t the first time the series has paid homage to a beloved comic book arc. Season 3 opened with the game-changer that was “Flashpoint,” which took the concept of Geoff Johns’ modern classic and applied it to the world the TV show had already established.
Similarly, that’s what we’ll be faced with when we rejoin the gang in 2018 as this won’t be a straight up adaptation. We say that because Barry obviously isn’t on trial for the Reverse-Flash’s murder, Abra Kadabra won’t be brainwashing any jurors (though Brainstorm might), and we highly doubt that our hero will find himself in the 30th century when it’s all said and done. Still, it should make for some great television.
The Flash returns with new episodes on Tuesday, January 16 on The CW.
