Team Flash runs in way over their heads; a way into the Thinker’s lair? You bet. But, what will happen when they take this chance to exploit their enemy? Will Barry take advantage of this knowledge? Or, maybe a more important question…why is Harry being weird, and will Joe investigate instead of actually going out and doing real police work? Yes…yes, and yes!
The Flash S4 EP18 ‘Lose Yourself’
Director: Hanelle M. Culpepper
Writers: Jonathan Butler and Gabriel Garza
What You Need To Know:
Last week didn’t leave much of a mark on anything, really. We saw difficulties between DeVoe, his wife, and between Team Flash and themselves. They caught and locked up one of the last two bus metas. Now? Only one left, and with DeVoe having been hidden away for a while, Team Flash is taking this opportunity to search for the last bus meta. Then, there are the mysteries with Harry; he and his thinking cap are becoming quite the pair. The only question is…will it have the effects the rest of Team Flash are worried about? Harry is obsessed; Ralph is becoming more intolerable, and Barry is stuck.
What You’ll Find Out:
So, this episode starts out with a pretty low-toe beginning; Barry and Ralph visit the bus where it all happened, where Ralph and the other bus metas were born. Because they are completely in the dark about the very last meta, Edwin Gauss (who by the way matches his comic counterpart in ZERO ways), gathering clues is the logical thing to do. So, scanning for dark matter energy on a bus that was struck with dark matter itself and infused dozens of people doesn’t really make sense when you think about it; especially when they happen to single out the last guy using their scanners. For some reason, he had left behind a mark of dark matter, as if he had just been there.
CW tv logic comes into play quite a few times during this episode; this being one of them. But, trust me when I say, this episode is definitely worth the watch. So, Barry and Ralph exit the scene, not having gathered any information like they wanted to, unfortunately. Though, something I failed to mention; Ralph’s mind seems to float around the idea of stopping DeVoe…and by stop, he means kill. Barry detests this idea and refuses to acknowledge the thought of killing. Ralph is cool about that, but…once they find the energy left by the last meta, Ralph somehow recognizes him.
*Cue flashback* Pothead pays for Ralph’s bus ticked…
*End flashback*
So, our last bus meta is a hipster…
Back at STAR Labs, Harry has a surprise for Team Flash. Remember Ralph’s girlfriend who fell to DeVoe, and his currently the host body? Well, remember how her megasonic eruptions were able to affect DeVoe, not only physically but mentally? Well, Harry took that under consideration and created something to use against DeVoe; the sonic scepter. It has the ability to erupt sonic waves and affect DeVoe. Very nice, Harry! So, Harry is ecstatic with his new invention…but also with something else. His newfound obsession with growing smarter thanks to his Thinking Cap shows through a bright smile in this moment, as well as some exciting words. Hey, Harry being happy is a good thing…right? Well, Joe doesn’t think so.
As we have all noticed, Harry is getting a bit TOO much fun out of this thing that was only for certain predicaments; now, he uses it to make breakfast.
Okay, so Harry is going crazy; not out-of-the-norm for Team Flash. And certainly an entertaining sub-plot. Harry is one of the relatable members of Team Flash, and God forbid anything happens to Harry!
Anyways, onto other matters. So, another thing we haven’t seen nearly enough of is this relationship between Caitlin and Killer Frost, or herself. We pan to a small snippet of Caitlin studying herself, and what activated Killer Frost; it’s her adrenal glans. So, one shot of stuff that boosts her adrenaline and boom, it’s killer time! But, at this moment we get a soft scene where Caitlin mentions to Iris, who’s standing there with her as a friend, that she and Frost communicate. How? Through sticky notes!
*Inhales deeply* THAT’S ADORABLE!!!
No, not in the sexual kind of way. I do NOT ship it!
No; in the OMG she’s co-existing with herself in the most adorable of ways!
I was excited when Killer Frost was introduced, but their slow and meaningless attempts at turning her good were meh, and then she turned good…and I cried internally; and externally. But, this mixed relationship she has really does deserve more light then it gets. But, a show can only be so busy.
Back to important matters. A breach of time space has been opened! The team gets’s a notification and a location. Ever since they found out what DeVoe used to travel between different points, this tracker has been very useful, and now another ping has sounded. DeVoe is on the move!
Killer Frost, Vibe, Elongated Man, and the Flash are on the spot; and there they stand, awaiting DeVoe. To their surprise…a hippie in bathrobes walks casually from a breach in the dimension, whistling a tune. Okay, I mean Ralph’s little flashback (no pun intended) showed us this guy was gonna be some pot-head…but Team Flash was a little unprepared.
Frightened by this group of costume-wearing heroes, the man, Edwin, falls back, catching himself with a quick breach, and disappearing. Okay…that happened.
Team Flash goes over what they know now; well, what they know is there is a guy who opens breaches between pocket dimensions and travels places. What confuses them is, how to track him? Well, hm, I wonder how? How about the tracker that picked up the trace of breaching energy, to begin with? So, the excuse is made that they can’t track something like his breaches which are different than DeVoes…even though it picked it up to begin with. But, thanks to Harry’s heightened knowledge, he reconfigures the computers and tracks the current location of the certain source of dark matter used only by Edwin.
Harry shows continuous signs that he ain’t right in the head; or, he IS, just not in a good way. Caitlin volunteers to go with Barry and Ralph to get Edwin. Cisco staying behind with Joe and Harry…mostly because they are starting to worry about Harry.
Joe confronts Harry about the cap, and Harry becomes quite defensive. I think at this point we know where this is headed, but let’s humor ourselves. Harry is a good guy, right? So, this continued use of the thinking cap is messing him up, and Joe warns him about it. Well, Harry refuses to heed the warning…and plugs his cap into those odd devices that we witnessed at the end of the last episode. In Eobard Thawne’s old hideaway, he plugs his cap into a port, which charges it with dark matter.
Oooooh, so THAT’s why he’s going cuckoo. He’s got dark matter on the brain, every time he uses the cap.
Okay, at this point the episode is proving that well-played execution and storytelling is possible. Many of the previous episodes proved this as well, but it AAAAALL depends on the writers and directors. In this specific episode, there is a well-balanced play between multiple different predicaments. Barry, Ralph, and Caitlin arrive at, what looks like, a trailer park. But..full of hippies and drug-bound bums. In their search for Edwin, they ask a local and get a pretty “cool” reply, that really only helped them figure out what they already knew; Edwin was there. So, the group splits up, Caitlin goes off and Ralph and Barry in the other direction.
Sending Caitlin off alone wasn’t a very good idea, but due to the plot-build of the episode and it needs to expound on Ralph and Barry’s current relationship…it was necessary. Ralph starts up a conversation about killing DeVoe…and Barry just rolls his eyes and defies Ralph’s words. Doing something to end someone else wasn’t always the case…a contingency, maybe…but like Barry said…even killing in self-defense isn’t self-defense if you think about it ahead of time.
So, this dynamic between two characters is certainly building their relationship from what it was, and putting more of that Ralph Dibney fire into the Barry Allen furnace; it’s a fun thing to watch the two banter, mostly because they remind us or two siblings with differing opinions.
But, the moment is crushed when Caitlin alerts them that she found Edwin. He was making a run for it, but come on…he ain’t nothing compared to the fastest man alive! Edwin ends up on the ground, as the three try to explain who they are and why they need him to come with them. The guy is pretty chill…I think we all know why… but then, a gasping moment.
A samuroid, one of DeVoe’s, sneaks up…and stabs Caitlin through the shoulder. This had me gasping because I am a very sadistic individual and enjoy it when drama is added through pain and killing of characters. The samuroid is swiftly taken care of by a chop at the head, but Barry is on the run with Caitlin, leaving Edwin and Ralph. Then, the samuroid head speaks…reminding Ralph there is nothing that DeVoe will not do to get what he wants.
CHILLS! I had legitimate chills when I watched this, and they were the first of many.
So, thanks to the Killer Frost in her…Caitlin suffered little. Darn it…
I mean…YES! Thank God!…
It’s hard when most of our heroes are metahumans who can heal quickly, it takes the fun out of when they are supposed to suffer.
Again, I apologize for my sadistic nature.
Unfortunately, Ralph ISN’T okay about this. Edwin ends up agreeing to come with Ralph off-screen, and everything seems fine. But Ralph…he wants to end DeVoe, and that feeling is getting to him. I have to say, I know his pain; DeVoe is that villain you love to hate and…don’t hate to love! The Thinker is no doubt one of the best villains to date in the Arrowverse, but Ralph’s need for revenge and want for death is understandable (or perhaps it’s just me). Barry and Iris, the team captains, refuse to allow Ralph to even think of this, and it just fuels the fire inside. He makes a remark about if he was team leader, and Barry gives him a look like, “As if…”. It is really a hard moment for the characters, especially Ralph to have nobody to see from his point of view. He insults them and barges out of the room, leaving Barry and Iris to wonder if Ralph will ever understand.
Ralph needs to think, and eating = thinking. Remember how I said Harry was ONE of the relatable members of Team Flash? Yeah, Ralph is another. A sit-down in ‘The Pipes’, which is their prison cells below the STAR Labs compound, was what Ralph needed. But, interruption by hippie with a man-bun was, again, unexpected. A few words of soul speak and Ralph just sorta chuckled and offered a Pringle to the last of the bus metas. Edwin is a pretty chill guy, again, we all know why, but in these moments we see two of a kind. The last of two people who a psychotic villain was out to kill. It is an interesting scene. Especially when Edwin mentions being in DeVoe’s lair.
HANG ON…WHAT!
Ralph thought the same thing and asked if he had been there. Well, of course, Edwin confirms this and gives Ralph a spanking-new idea. If Edwin could open personal rips into the pocket dimension and jump from place to place…he could get back to where DeVoe’s lair was! This was an EXTREME upper hand, and Ralph decided to take advantage of it! He wanted to murder DeVoe…and he had the abilities, the tools, and the way to him to do it. Ralph went from loner to hero, to loner again. This time, ready for the extreme. He had the Sonic Scepter, and he was ready to use it. One blast would take DeVoe down, the second…would kill him. (Yeah, that wasn’t really explained HOW or WHY it could, just that it could kill him.)
Ralph suits up, and sneaks Edwin down to the lower levels, ready to breach to DeVoe’s lair. But, Barry predicted this move…and was there waiting. To protect the Scepter, Ralph implants it into his body, and attacks Barry, refusing to let him stop him. Barry, being the obvious elite, avoids the attack and, with a single punch, knocks Ralph to the floor. Edwin just enjoys the whole thing ’cause…he’s Edwin.
It isn’t an episode of the Flash until we get a complete and utter nerd-moment with Cisco. In this episode…he’s building a model of the S.S. Enterprise, from Star Trek. Little fangirl moment for me, there…
But, as he reenacts dialogue from Star Trek, Harry bursts into the small lab and begins wrecking things, looking for his precious. (Sorry, I had to sneak that in there…)
Cisco tries to tell him off, but Harry is convinced Cisco stole it and attacks him and his model. I know I should have been worried about Cisco…but that model was gorgeous, and with one fell swoop, it was on the ground. (NOOOOOOOO!) But, Joe interrupts and pulls Harry off of Cisco…and reveals he had the Thinking Cap. He shows him that his warnings should have been taken into consideration by Harry…because what he was willing to do to find his Cap was homicidal…and unlike him at all. Joe and Cisco leave a dumbfounded and sorry Harry alone…with the one thing he thought he needed, the only thing.
A+++ for character portrayals in this episode. Perfectly nailed emotion, especially in the next scene. So, Ralph awakens on a medical bed, and Barry greets him with a bottle of alcohol; suspecting they were friends. Ralph politely declines, both his alcohol and suspected friendship. And he unwinds, and let’s go. Ralph wanted to kill DeVoe, and Barry knew THAT…he just didn’t know why. Ralph has come from selfish, ignorant, and jerky to a hero, who has his moments. But what do you do when someone says they are willing to kill because of their family; Ralph has a home now, a new family who cared about him, and he got to bond with. He used this to justify his need to keep DeVoe away…to put him down because everyone DeVoe has gone out to get has failed to avoid him. His new family…Team Flash; he couldn’t watch the same happen to them.
This…this was great. It almost felt unlike Ralph, but when you think about it, he really has learned how to care, and who to care for. It was a very deep moment, and Barry countered with an understanding nod and a comment. “We like hero Ralph…and we don’t want to see him gone, either.” Barry knew what family felt like, but he couldn’t let Ralph risk his to end the life of a higher individual. And they are left with their thoughts…
The Team has a way to beat DeVoe, they have a way to get to him…and thanks to Ralph, they had that plan. Killer Frost, Vibe, the Flash…everyone was ready to end this. Edwin was in their hands, not DeVoe’s and they knew how to handle it. So, they were ready, and off they went.
Into the Thinker’s lair, what’s the worse that can happen? OH…I know! The THinker being one step ahead of them. They are immediately met with the Thinker, and Barry takes action with the sonic scepter. But…it doesn’t work. Why? Well, usually physical objects have no effect on holograms…
Well, crap! The Flash, Killer Frost, and Vibe…the powerhouses, trapped in DeVoe’s lair; and THAT was his plan from the start. Wonder why he didn’t go after Edwin? Or why he didn’t do anything about Team Flash getting Edwin? Because he had already prepped himself for this EXACT situation and countered their plan. But, the real question pops up…where is DeVoe? Well, if they are in his…then he must be in theirs. DeVoe and Marleze appear in STAR Labs, and DeVoe hacks into their computer networks, taking over the entire building. Harry, Joe, and Iris are trapped in the training room; they end up figuring out they are in the same building as DeVoe, and Harry gets to work on trying to unlock the doors that are keeping them in the room. But, the Thinker’s algorithms are too strong, and Harry doesn’t seem to be smart enough.
Luckily, Iris plays her part as needless but occasionally useful character; the earpiece in her ear happens to be a contingency bomb for occasions like this. BAM! The doors are blasted away by this backup plan that Iris had made by Cisco. How convenient…(typical CW).
Harry heads for his Cap, Iris heads for DeVoe…and Joe takes on a Samuroid that made the journey with DeVoe and Marleze.
DeVoe walks the halls of STAR Labs until he comes to the Pipes. Finally, he’d have Edwin. But, someone was waiting for him. Ralph stood, protecting the cell Edwin was in and confronted DeVoe. His mind may have been puny, but his will was ready and able to take on DeVoe. So, some quick banter between the southern chick who was now Thinker and Ralph…then he pulled it out; something Ralph really wasn’t expecting. With his ability to make things grow and shrink…he had a backup and well, and threw it at Ralph, blasting him into the particle accelerator; it was a dinosaur skeleton, which somehow came alive…
This is where that CW tv logic comes into play again.
Iris hurries into the main room and rushes for DeVoe’s chair, but Marleze awaited her patiently, with a sword. When did Marleze become a ninja? I have no idea, but she doesn’t hesitate to take Iris down. Iris, who happens to be out of earpiece bombs, runs for a hidden laser blaster under the computer desk; the lasers just happened to be able to be blocked by Marleze’s energy-bound sword. This was DEFINITELY a comical scene, but it was still pretty fun to watch! It quickly switches back to Ralph, who is being chased by a giant, skeleton dinosaur. Using the classic long-legs stretch, he outruns the dino but stops ahead of it. Closer, closer, closer…and Ralph let’s loose a pretty punny line, and a giant fist to meet the fossil.
Again, this was definitely meant to be comical; but it was no less entertaining to watch pieces of dino rain through the air. Unfortunately, his time was only being wasted. Ralph finds the metas Team Flash had gotten; including the man who could suck a metahuman’s powers away, Floaty-Girl(?) and Edwin. Ralph was too late…and DeVoe was too powerful. Ralph rushes for DeVoe, and they breach into the training area. Ralph had no chance against DeVoe, and he knew it. DeVoe knew it too and was ready to take Ralph as his own.
Ralph had it though…and he knew what it was time for. Okay, so this moment is weird. Remember how Ralph put the Sonic Scepter into his body beforehand, when Barry caught him? Well, he reached inside himself as if it was still there…but it wasn’t It was an IMPRINT of the device, and he molded his hand into it. SOMEHOW (…cough, cough, CW tv logic, cough cough…) he was able to mimic the sonic disruption the device was supposed to resonate…and knocked DeVoe down. NICE ONE, RALPH! How you did it…yeah, I have no idea, it really didn’t make sense. But I don’t care, it was cool!
Where is Harry?! Well, exactly where you’d think; he’s thinking. He grabs his thinking cap, and plugs it into his dark matter battery, ordering Gideon, his supercomputer, to go full dark matter. But it fritzes out the helmet and leaves Harry for dead; alone.
Harry was down, Joe was preoccupied. Ralph had DeVoe, but Iris had his wife, and the tables were turned. So, a sword-wielding ninja-woman is hard to beat with a blaster, and Marleze proved this, knocking the gun from Iris’s hands, and trapping her. Her love was stronger, and she made sure Iris knew that. Marleze and Iris have only had a few confrontations, and each time it’s usually been about their support for who they loved; but in this case, Marleze beat Iris, and proved to her and herself that her love for Clifford was stronger. A single thrust and Iris would be down. But, she failed to notice they were RIGHT next to DeVoe’s “thinking chair”. (I’m sorry!)
Again, CW tv logic comes into play. SOMEHOW, Iris…who has had little to no training the use of heightened technology. Yet, she reached for DeVoe’s chair, thrusting Marleze’s sword into her right shoulder to do so, and opened the breach for Barry and the others to get back through, and Marleze to get the h*** out of there.
This just had me with my mouth on the floor. Iris freakin’ stabbed herself to get the others back! Something Marleze and even DeVoe didn’t expect from her, t be able to best Marleze through her dedication! And so, Barry was back, with Killer Frost and Vibe. Iris didn’t look to be TOO injured…so she urged them to go after DeVoe, and hurry!
And Flash did what he does best…he hurried. He had the sonic scepter, ready to attack…but was caught by a surprise; Ralph had cuffed him down, and both of them were alive and well. Barry was surprised by Ralph, and Ralph admitted that killing wasn’t the answer. This was it! They caught DeVoe, after episodes and episodes of planning and counteractions…DeVoe was theirs.
Then, something happened, as it usually does. Something the CW likes to do…and that makes little sense out of situations so the heroes don’t win. And that’s what happened…DeVoe broke free. Somehow he broke from the dampening cuffs because, and I quote, “They were the wrong color.” Am I missing something here?
Okay, but forgetting that, EVERYONE…this. This is it.
DeVoe caught Barry and Ralph off-guard and paralyzes them with two blasts that used to be Floaty-Girl’s(?). The blasts weighed them down, and they were helpless. DeVoe had Ralph, and he stared into Barry’s eyes, with his hand on Ralph’s head. Barry knew what was about to happen, but Ralph was just still and dumbfounded. Barry begged and pleaded to DeVoe, but Ralph waved him off. Barry made a promise he knew he couldn’t keep, he yelled, “I will save you!”
But that’s just it Barry…after everything you two had gone through, after all, you tried to do to keep everyone safe after Ralph tried to do the right thing…you couldn’t save him; because “You already have.” Ralph uttered his last words and faded as his eyes clamped shut. After everything, after Ralph’s need to save everyone and everything he has come to love and care for…he died for them, because of them; with them. Barry witnessed Edwin’s body collapse, and Ralph’s arise. But, it wasn’t Ralph, not anymore.
DeVoe inhaled through his new nostrils and smiled evilly at Barry. He had unlimited power…
The power to shift into anyone.
The power to open breaches anywhere he wanted
the power to hack technology, hack minds, steal abilities away, and more.
He was THE supervillain…
And he used them. Vibe and Frost showed up and attacked. But, DeVoe countered each attack with ease and took them down. He took Frost down in the worst way, though…he used his ability to suck the power away from a meta…and killed Killer Frost…leaving Caitlin. He bashes the two, and then onto Barry, who he uses the sonic scepter to blast away. With a final smirk and good-bye…DeVoe breached away…and left Barry amongst a war zone; a death field.
What Just Happened?
We witnessed the fall of Team Flash and the rise of the Thinker. The Thinker, I believe, deserved more build-up to these moments where he supposedly was able to outthink them all. But, in these moments, he bested what the entire team tried to fight from occurring. Killer Frost is no more, he stole her dark matter. Ralph…is gone; the last one on the list and Barry failed to protect them.
We get to end this episode with Barry, cleaning out Ralph’s private investigator office…all his files, all of his things; unneeded. Iris longed to comfort her husband, but something broke inside of him, we could all sense it. He knew she was there for him, but all he wanted was to be alone with what was left of Ralph. A cleaned out office, and a glass of alcohol…
DeVoe and Marleze celebrated the occasion the same way; alcohol. Two glasses, and two happy people. I love the fact that we see Ralph Dibney in this villainous role, he uses the PERFECT DeVoe voice, the actor I mean. Though…we don’t see much of it. The Thinker had gained all he sought after, and Marleze gained something as well. Ralph was able to shift his shape…and what do you think DeVoe shifted into???
THE ORIGINAL DEVOE! Neil Sandilands reprises his role as the Thinker, and I have never been so happy in my life. Marleze welcomed her husband back, his appearance was one that made for an amazing surprise. We could all tell Marleze longed for her true husband back, and now he was there with her. But, this longing, as we discovered…was false. He still had her wrapped around his pinky, and the pure evil and sadistic nature that Neil delivers is definitely welcomed back warmly by myself. His plans aren’t over yet, though. Gaining numerous abilities was needed for something, and a mysterious container of concentrated dark matter obtained from Harry’s machine. Everyone was for one purpose; the undertaking.
Wait, the Undertaking? You mean like Malcolm Merlyn’s undertaking? (Arrow, S1) Or just a general undertaking? Or perhaps I heard it wrong? Hmm
The end of this episode is one that I did NOT see coming; but just so, am happy with. Everything changed, and everything fell. Everything took place in such interesting and surprising events. Like most of the episodes so far; if it comes after a crappy episode, it’s almost guaranteed to be good. And this week’s episode is proof of that.
Rating: 9/10
Final Thoughts:
So, as for the CW tv logic, some things didn’t make sense and I didn’t like it. I do wish we got more DeVoe and his build-up and twists and turns, instead of popping him in and saying he outthought everyone without initial build-up. BUT, for what it was, it was an amazing episode. Great acting, the scenes were shot in perfection; some held meaning, others really captured the emotion. The fight scenes, though there were few, felt real and genuine, not forced and faked. Saying goodbye to Ralph and Killer Frost was a nice touch, and really what the show needed to move forward; the utter loss alone will have a DRASTIC effect on things. Neil Sandilands return really, REALLY made me happy; his Thinker was irreplaceable, and the fact he sought after Ralph solely for the purpose, I believe, to show his wife his true face again was a touch of beauty. The dialogue wasn’t crummy and things escalated quite well, as well as adding new problems to fix along this new journey.
This season is a different one. I either love an episode or hate it, but the majority of them fall into my heart and really meant something to me. This episode was amazing and will turn the tides quite a bit as the show nears its end. #RIPRalph #ElongatedKnight
(Things I geeked out over:
Caitlin’s sticky notes
The Star Trek Model
Neil Sandilands’ return
Ralph’s death ((in a sad way of course))
and DeVoe’s deviousness.)
The Flash airs Tuesday nights on the CW Network. Check your local listings for times.
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