While Barry battles an old nemesis, Cisco encounters a new one, and Joe is mysteriously glowing

This week marks another episode in a string of silly fun for The Flash. This week, Barry (Grant Gustin) discovers that his ex-coworker has developed some interesting powers as a result of the dark matter exposure on the now infamous bus ride. You can practically feel the fun the special effects team had this week, as our metahuman’s body stretched and squished and wiggled. The SFX team isn’t the only one who got to flex their creative muscles this week, as Tom Cavanagh took the reigns as director and excelled in his artistic choices – most notably, an entirely dialogue-less scene in which Joe (Jesse L. Martin) reveals that Cecile is pregnant. The scene makes use of cultural knowledge (the traditional association of cigars with fatherhood) to say so much with no words at all.

Related | The Flash Roundtable 4×03 “Luck Be A Lady”

Honestly, Joe’s face alone said a lot. A running gag this episode involved various characters telling Joe that he was glowing – a compliment typically reserved for pregnant women. Joe wasn’t the only one dealing with a new aspect of fatherhood, as Gypsy’s father, Breacher, came to down to literally hunt Cisco. Danny Trejo is delightful as ever in the role, comically threatening Cisco (Carlos Valdes) while continually referring to him as “Ciscy” – yeah, that name is going to stick. Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) stepped into the light a bit more this week, as she morally opposed Barry’s tendency to see things as purely black and white. Meanwhile, Iris (Candice Patton) stepped back, which begs the question – is The Flash incapable of highlighting both women at once?

There’s so much more to discuss in this week’s Flash, so let’s turn this over to our roundtable!

Holly (@hollyanderson30) – Social Media Addict who runs two fan pages and loves everything CW, especially The Flash

Fowsia (@iriswestallens) – Lover of all things Iris West and Westallen

Will (@willmpolk) – Blerd, Flash fan and producer of the @SceneNNerd podcast with host @sjbelmont

Avelina (@aveiestweets) – Huge Flash fan and supporter of Grant Gustin

Reagan (@reagandpierce) – DCTV fanatic, TV After Dark writer and editor, all-around geek

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1.  Harry and Cisco are friendship goals. What’s your favorite friendship on the show and why?

Holly (@hollyanderson30):  I will confess Barry and Cisco are my favorite friendship.They will do anything for each other and they never give up on each other.

Fowsia (@iriswestallens): I really enjoy the banter between Harry and Cisco. I think Cavanagh and Valdes play really well off of each other, and that their off-screen relationship shows up on screen. While I do love their repartee, my favorite friendship on the show goes to Barry and Iris. Before they were a couple, we got to see their shared love for another through friendship — they were best friends before anything else. They have a rich history from childhood that shines in their romantic relationship and I think the basis for every great love story begins with friendship. They have a relationship filled with mutual respect, belief and trust. The love they have for one another is actually one I strive for in real life one day!

Will (@willmpolk): I think my favorite friendship on the show beside Harry and Cisco are Caitlin and Cisco. While Barry and Cisco have a great relationship, to me Cait and Cisco are the heartbeat of Star Labs and Team Flash. No matter what the situation they are always there for each other and despite Caitlin going Killer Frost last season and may have killed Cisco, I think their friendship helped her keep her from going the way her Earth 2 counterpart did.

Avelina (@aveistweets): My favorite friendship is Barry and Cisco because of the brotherly love they share and the humour of those two together is good too.

Reagan (@reagandpierce): Although I do adore Harry and Cisco’s total “bromance,” I also really love the trio vibes around Barry, Cisco, and Caitlin. It’s where it all started, so the three of them will always hold a special place in my heart.

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2. What would you do if Gypsy’s father turned to you, said, “I’m going to hunt you,” and suddenly started counting? Would you react like Cisco did?

Holly:  I have to admit Cisco handled it way better than I ever would have, if he said that to me I most definitely be running but I doubt I would immediately have thought of a plan like Cisco seemed to. He may have panicked some but who can blame him!

Fowsia: Ha! I would definitely act like Cisco did, though I think the “I will hunt you to see if you are worthy of my daughter” is a bit extreme. While Cisco and Breacher (can’t believe his name is Josh!) had an episode full of cat and mouse, it was really fun to see Danny Trejo work alongside Valdes. The juxtaposition was great in how Breacher was tough and abrasive, while Cisco is light and funny. Their “relationship” this episode stuck to the lightheartedness that the show is really aiming for this season. I really enjoyed it!

Will: Hell yes, it was some good comedy and even though the overprotective parent trope is overdone, I thought they handled it well here and dealt with it in a very good way of having Cisco think his way out of it (with Harry’s help). Plus having him come help save the day showed that Cisco as the meta Vibe is coming into his own as a hero in his own right.

Avelina: I’d look him dead in the eye and say “Don’t even try it you can’t catch me!” Then run out of there super quick.

Reagan:  Oh Hell yeah. I’d be out of there so fast that everyone would probably think The Flash was around! That moment was seriously terrifying in a hilarious way. It was so ridiculous that it seemed like a joke, but Trejo delivered it with such a serious look on his fast that the contrast was amazing. I’m not a huge fan of the “dad with a shotgun” trope, but this was a fun spin on it, so I’ll allow it.

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3. Barry seems to have a very black and white outlook on “goodness.” People are either good or bad, and he doesn’t seem to see much of a “gray area.” Why do you think Barry sees things this way, and do you agree with him?

Holly:  This did kinda shock me some, I knew he believed in right and wrong but I always thought there was grey area. We seen there be grey areas for him in earlier seasons for example Farooq Gibran in “Power Outages” who accidentally killed his best friends.He killed people and was trying to kill them and others but Barry still tried giving him a second chance. I think when he was in the speedforce with moving past the guilt he felt and his parents deaths he now has a different perspective of right and wrong.

Fowsia: I think Barry’s reasons for not trusting Ralph were valid this episode considering he planted evidence. Though it seems Barry has that “black n white” outlook in terms of good vs. evil, I’m really proud of him to admit that him and the team have gotten to decide what’s right and wrong on their own, locking up metas, etc. In the end, he chose to evaluate his outlook and even went on to ask Joe if he was wrong. He took his stance and realized that Ralph’s past mistake resonated with his personal life — which is why in the end he invited Ralph to the team, instead of turning him away. Barry has done a lot of growing since Flashpoint, and I’m satisfied to see how much he’s changed.

Will: Barry seems to have a very black and white outlook on “goodness.” People are either good or bad, and he doesn’t seem to see much of a “gray area.” Why do you think Barry sees things this way, and do you agree with him? Barry has been burned many times and it is clear while the sunny Barry is here now in season 4, the lessons and betrayals of the last 3 seasons are still not to far under the surface for Barry and I think the time in the speed force may have caused that to harden.

Avelina: Barry has had so much trauma in his life it’s hard for him to see the middle line, anyone in his situation could relate to his way of thinking.

Reagan: Barry has such a good heart. His motivations in life are always so pure, he truly wants to do the right thing anytime he can. I think that, because of this, he has a hard time seeing the gray area of things. Barry’s little “morality” alarm went off when Ralph broke the law – he didn’t really take the time to evaluate the bigger picture, because he focused intently on the initial act of breaking the law, which he categorized as “wrong.” It is wrong to break the law, of course, but once Barry took the time to evaluate the motivations behind the “wrongdoing” and see that it benefitted the greater good in the long run, he realized that things are not always black and white – which is a thing that is sometimes hard for him to see because he himself is so morality good.

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4. Cisco wore a #octothorpe T-shirt this week. It’s only one in a long line of unique and hilarious T-shirts. Do you have a favorite T-shirt of Cisco’s from any of the show’s seasons?

Holly:  I have to admit I love Cisco’s “Don’t Take Me To Your Leader” shirt he wore in the season 4 premiere.

Fowsia: Cisco wears a lot of funny t-shirts, so much so that I don’t have a favorite. However, the one that I remember — and actually one of the most recent — is the one he wore in episode 3, “Luck Be A Lady.” His shirt stated “Haikus are easy. But sometimes they don’t make sense. Refrigerator.” It’s hilarious to me simply but it’s an actual haiku that makes zero sense lol!

Will: Cisco wore a #octothorpe T-shirt this week. It’s only one in a long line of unique and hilarious T-shirts. Do you have a favorite T-shirt of Cisco’s from any of the show’s seasons? My two favorite are Entropy Happens and Schrodinger’s Cat “Wanted Dead or Alive.”

Avelina: I can’t remember what it said, but it had a big cat on the front. That’s my favorite t-shirt.

Reagan: “Save Earth, it’s the only planet with pizza” is a slogan I can get behind 100%. I love that one.

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5. There were some unique directorial choices tonight, such as the montage with the cigars and Cisco looking directly into the camera. Did you like the style of this episode?

Holly:  They were very unique but if anyone could pull off directing them it’s Tom Cavanagh. With Cisco speaking into the camera it was almost like watching a video he left in case Breacher caught him so I was caught off guard at the actual scene that came after it.Now their celebration I absolutely loved that, it was touching and it was sweet and it showed that Joe considers all of the StarLabs gang family.

Fowsia: I actually did like the direction this episode! Directed by Cavanagh, I think he made great choices. I thought Cisco looking directly into the camera made it more real, in that he was speaking to me directly — if that makes sense. It really humanizes it and it feels like they are actually with me, instead of watching them!

Will: There were some unique directorial choices tonight, such as the montage with the cigars and Cisco looking directly into the camera. Did you like the style of this episode? I did, Tom Cavanagh seems to be very comfortable behind the camera and has directed two of the best episodes of the series, this one and “The Once and Future Flash.” I like his style and has great pacing in directing the story.

Avelina: I love it because it’s directed by Tom Cavanagh so it’s always good when he’s directing.

Reagan: Cavanaugh made some creative choices this episode, and I personally loved them. First, I loved the cigar scene. I’m not sure how much of that moment came from the script and how much was a directorial choice, but it was such fantastic storytelling – it really made use of our own cultural knowledge surrounding the significance of cigars. Joe didn’t need to say a word for the audience to know exactly what he was revealing to Iris and Team Flash. The moment was directly followed by Cisco’s direct address to the camera, and it was almost jarring. Where the cigar scene completely separated the audience from the moment, distancing us through lack of dialogue, the next scene pulled us back in hard by directly addressing us and pulling us right into the action. One minute, we aren’t even privy to the dialogue, in the next, the dialogue is (seemingly) directed at us. It was excellent work, in my opinion.

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6. How about the episode in general? The storytelling, plot, action, ect? Did you enjoy it?

Holly:  This has to be in my top 3 favorite episodes, it was funny, they managed to introduce new characters and they kept pushing the story forward. I very much enjoyed the Cisco hunt and it was great to see it was the man himself that really won (if that’s possible) Breacher over. Barry and Ralph together were great tho it shocked me to see Barry lose his temper and hit him, I love that they brought an old enemy back and by the end of the show they were working together. Seeing Barry take charge of how to save Joe with Ralph’s help was awesome.

Fowsia: This episode was a filler in my opinion, but I did enjoy the hilarious moments in watching the CGI with Ralph. It wasn’t as great as the last three episodes, but I wouldn’t go as far as to say this episode sucked. I really adored the scene where the gang was dancing with the cigars, indicating that Joe told them about Cecile being pregnant. It was really run to see them dance and smile!!

Will: I did enjoy it, I think they finally hit the right balance with this episode with a right amount of fun and silly moments and good action and not being just a procedural show going through the motions. I thought last week’s  “Luck be a Lady” was one of those and easily forgettable so it was good to have this one follow on it.

Avelina: Yes!

Reagan: This was a good one. It felt a bit like a filler, but there’s nothing wrong with that. Filler episodes are a crucial part of TV – every episode can’t be groundbreaking and life-changing, or the truly big moments would lose significance. This episode fulfilled every expectation one has when watching a comic book show – it was lighthearted, funny, entertaining, and you left it feeling a bit lighter than you did when you went in.

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7. Aside from the quick flashbacks we got tonight, does “DeVoe” mean anything to you? Do you have any knowledge of the character or theories about his involvement in this season’s plot? Spill!

Holly:  If they stay with the comics DeVoe is The Thinker (who we have already seen) is a failed lawyer turned criminal. I think he will use Barry/Flash to collect the all 12 of the metas from the bus. Other than that I am not sure.

Fowsia: Usually I have theories at hand, but I’m honestly not sure what’s going to happen! Obviously Barry’s going to tell the team about the information that Ralph gave him and let me say that I’m really glad the show decided to have the team find out his identity this soon. I think the show’s problems in the past revolved around how the writers dealt with the main villain. They were always revealed to the team late into the game, which led to the team not reaching their full potential in how to defeat them. Now the team can start to figure out how to stop them early, and I think the show learned from their past mistakes for this very reason. Whatever happens, I’m excited to be along for the ride.

Will: I am glad that they got right to Barry learning how his adversary is for at least this part of the season. The 3rd season just dragged the whole who is Savitar way too long and we all had figured it out pretty early that it was some version of Barry.  I’m looking forward to seeing how they use “The Thinker,” this season. He actually goes back all the way to the Silver Age as a foe of the first Flash, Jay Garrick.

Avelina: All I know on DeVoe is that it’s a villain Barry hasn’t faced yet and sounds like it’s gonna be a tough one.

Reagan: I’m going to be honest here, I’ve got nothing. My The Flash comic knowledge is minimal – I’ve read a few of the iconic silver age books, but I’ve never encountered The Thinker (that I remember.) I’m totally along for the ride with Team Flash, I know just as much as they do about their new nemesis.

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This episode was, for lack of a better word, adequate. It was entertaining, if not memorable, and it was a fun way to spend an hour

They can’t all be life changing episodes, right? We loved this episode of The Flash for what it was. It was an hour of entertainment that gave us some unique directorial choices to discuss, as well as teased the coming arc to get us excited for what’s next. Even if it doesn’t go down in history as one of The Flash’s more memorable episodes, we will certainly take it over any of season three’s. We just can’t get enough of the new lighthearted Flash – even the worst episode of this show would be better than the best of dark Flash. It’s just a whole lot of fun. There really isn’t a better word to describe The Flash’s new lease on life, and who doesn’t want an hour of fun every week? Don’t overthink it – leave that to The Thinker. Let’s just enjoy the ride.

THE FLASH returns next Tuesday, November 7th at 8/7c on THE CW.