If there’s anything The Flash has taught us, it’s that it always sucks to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.

The Flash returned this week with an all-new episode, leaving many holes and questions unanswered while stepping away from its main arc of the season. Last week showed Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) in a different light — one of facial hair and prison! This week, however, Barry is living his best life in Iron Heights, making friends and even cheating in poker! But like the good man he is, he didn’t cheat for himself — he cheated for his new bud Big Sir (Bill Goldberg). Barry not only lent a hand for Big Sir in poker but went out of his way to try to get him out of prison. In a flashback, we learn that Big Sir is in fact innocent, as he’s in prison for allegedly killing an unarmed officer. The metahuman of the week, Sylbert Rundine (Derek Mars), is actually the man behind the homicide, who also has the ability to shrink objects and people.

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In an attempt to relieve Big Sir of incarceration, Barry asks Team Flash to prove his innocence and track him down, which leads to a tiny problem — literally. Cisco (Carlos Valdes) and Ralph (Hartley Sawyer) are caught in the crossfire and are shrunk to miniature versions of themselves, which means more miniature than Cisco already is!

Cecile (Danielle Nicolet) deals with her own “problems.” In what is the biggest non-explanation ever, Cecile acquires the power of telepathy because her pregnancy may have triggered the latent dark matter that was in her DNA from the first particle accelerator explosion. Because of these powers, she gets to have a little fun in knowing what everyone is thinking. However, it isn’t quite fun for Joe (Jesse L. Martin).

In other news, we learn that Cecile is having a baby girl! This disapproves the theory that the baby she’s carrying is Daniel West, one rendition of Reverse Flash and Iris’s brother in the comics. Something still tells us the baby is not a girl as we are led to believe..

Here to discuss telepathy and more is our The Flash roundtable!

Vanessa (@westallenallure) – Rambling and Flash extraordinaire.

Jessica (@newsflash52) – Lover of all things DC, especially The Flash and Iris WestAllen, and podcast host for Ladies w Gumption.

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

Chelsea (@flezrasbarry) – Ezra Miller and Barry Allen fangirl.

Will Polk (@willmpolk)  –  Blerd @SceneNNerd podcast producer with host @sjbelmont, Flash fan.

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1. The Flash once again stepped back from the main plot this episode. What was your favorite moment from it?

Vanessa (@westallenallure): This episode was definitely filler and I hate how we know nothing about DeVoe’s plans, yet we focus on another filler. However, I actually really enjoyed this episode. I liked how everyone got to showcase their smarts and utilize them towards one goal. I feel like the team runs extremely smooth with Iris as the leader. I don’t know, the episode felt like everyone really fit in and complemented each other. If I had to choose a favorite moment, it’d be when Iris was having a heart to heart with Cecile and she told her to focus on what Joe is feeling, rather than thinking. I think that moment really showcased what makes her a fitting leader and why the team rallies behind her; due to her sense and sensibility.

Jessica (@newsflash52): This was a real light-hearted episode, and I loved a lot of little moments. Cecile’s excitement at being able to read everybody’s minds was cute, and I must admit I laughed when Iris stepped on mini Ralph (sorry, Ralph!). We got some really good character moments, like Iris giving Cecile advice about Joe, and some good Team Flash teamwork with Iris and Harry working together to un-shrink Cisco and Ralph– as well as take down DwarfStar. Barry even got to continue to be an inspiration of hope for Big Sir. And that ending!!!

Holly (@hollyanderson30): Miniature Cisco and Ralph definitely were my favorite, they had me laughing every time I saw them. I have to say the ending, even though I hated what happened to Barry and am so mad, it was so unexpected to me. It has me so curious and I can’t wait for next week.

Chelsea (@flezrasbarry): I think I might have two favorite moments! First was Iris stepping on Ralph and then them having a good laugh about it later on. It was very akin to the humor we saw in “Honey I Shrunk The Kids” and I think Candice and Hartley both have great comedic timing! I would have loved to see more of them as miniatures trying to find their way around things, but I imagine there were budgetary constraints. My other favorite moment was definitely Barry saying being married to Iris was his movie ending. They still have so many odds stacked against them. Darkness and constant suffering seem to always follow them around, but they love each other so much, they can find lightness in every predicament. That, in my opinion, is so beautiful and what TV relationships should always aspire to show.

Will (@willmpolk): My favorite moment in the episode was the finale of Team Flash working together to take down Dwarfstar. It was good seeing the team use all their collective expertise in taking him down. My second favorite was when Cecile was reading everyone’s mind in Star Labs and Cisco is thinking about Bulbasaur, it was vintage Cisco.

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2. Joe and Cecile went to therapy, courtesy of Iris! How would you feel if your significant other had the ability to read your mind?

Vanessa:  I’ve considered the ability to read other people’s minds before and I’ve always initially thought it’d be cool, but then vote against it. I think it takes away from the authenticity/spontaneity of people’s actions and strips them of their privacy. Which is exactly why I would hate it. Not so much because of what Joe said about vulnerability but because I’d feel like I’m being scrutinized and that it’d  affect how I act around that person. It’s a ‘no’ from me.

Jessica: I think it would be unsettling, to say the least. Do you know how much random stuff I think about over the course of a day?! Your mind doesn’t come with a filter, and sometimes there’s such a thing as “too much information.” I completely understand Joe not wanting to share all of his thoughts and fears with Cecile.

Holly:  I would hate it if my boyfriend could read my mind, some things are meant to be private.

Chelsea: I think I would freak out if my boyfriend could read my thoughts. I think like every couple there are times I tune him out or find some of his interests, well boring. I actually think of Teletubbies to block him out. While it was funny watching Joe and Cecile go through it, I personally would not want that for myself. Just the amount of pacifying and making up to, I would have to do!

Will: It would definitely be an adjustment, I think many people would feel like Joe at first, but I think the show handled it well and reminded us why we all like Joe West so much.

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3. Cecile is having a baby girl! Did you expect that?

Vanessa: I’m still voting that it will be a boy, specifically comic canon villain, Daniel West. It’s the speculation that has been going around and I honestly don’t see any reason as to why we’d have Cecile and Joe be pregnant, have powers when she’s not a meta, and put so much focus on it; if it’s just for the sake of adding another ‘normal’ member to the West family. The writers are trying to make the audience believe it’s a red herring that Iris will be pregnant this season or that Dawn isn’t actually Westallen’s future daughter even though there are thousands of clues as to why she is. I think they’re trying to insert that doubt in people after giving them what seems to be the perfect by-product of Barry and Iris and now having Cecile have a baby girl when this “mysterious” girl who seemingly knows everyone on team Flash appears.

Jessica: I had assumed it would be a boy, but, hey, we had a 50/50 shot right? I’m happy for Iris to get a baby sister.

Holly: I actually never really thought about it to tell you the truth but the chances were 50/50.

Chelsea: I definitely thought it would be a boy and it would be Daniel West setting up the big bad for next season. It was a surprise to learn it was a girl and a non-meta. Even as unexpected as it is, I’m really looking forward to it! It would be so cute to see Joe and Cecile with a daughter, giving glimpses into how Joe was like with Iris. It would also be wonderful to see WestAllen babysitting the kids! And this gives WestAllen breathing room before having kids, but we also get to see them adorable with a baby.

Will: Yep. My theory on mystery girl possibly being their daughter is still somewhat alive, assuming she is not a meta.

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4. Iris got to do it all this episode! Do you think Iris could do well out in the field fighting bad guys more often?

Vanessa:  Iris can do anything. I’m convinced. She may not have powers but her desire and determination to help can get her a long way. Sure, she’d have to be way more careful and doesn’t have abilities to give her an advantage over metas but she’s smart enough to know when she can put herself in the line of fire and devise ways in which she can come out unscathed. Also, the fact that she doesn’t seem to fear getting hurt or to put her life on the line for others, makes her pretty metahuman to me.

Jessica:  I would love to see Iris out in the field more often. In fact, I would like seeing the team outside of Star Labs in general. However, specifically, with regards to Iris, I think it’s good to see more of her strategizing as the leader and being more integrated in the action plots.

Holly: I think Iris would be great out in the field if, given the chance, you don’t need to have superpowers. I would love to see Iris get out more, especially if she is working with Team Flash. I think they should give her a chance.

Chelsea: Yes! She’s an investigative journalist. She was raised by a cop dad who gave her defense classes. She has great instincts. As we have seen in the past, Earth 2 Wells doesn’t have any powers but he has proven himself on the field! I would love to see Iris get more in on the action like this! Plus it will also give her insights when helping the team from Star Labs because she has field experience and knows what to expect. Also, Iris is a great driver and the way she dodged all those cars, she can do it all, what can I say!

Will: It was good seeing her out of the lab. I was beginning to think that was the only place she spent all of her time since they never show her doing her “day” job anymore.

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5. Iris and Cecile did a little bonding! Since Iris’s biological mom is no longer with us, do you hope to see more scenes between them in the future?

Vanessa: My favorite scene was the Cecile and Iris heart to heart, so definitely. I think they have good chemistry and their scenes translate organically in a way that makes you think, “It’d be great to have Iris’ biological mom be here with her but this REALLY works.” They also really look like like a healthy stepmom-stepdaughter duo. I actually really appreciated this in the episode.

Jessica: When Iris mentioned working with Cecile to go over Big Sir’s case files earlier in the episode, I had hoped we would actually get to “see it” because so often many of her investigative scenes or scenes where she interacts with other characters tend to happen off-screen. Unfortunately, so did that one, but the conversation about Joe at the West house more than made up for it. Candice Patton and Danielle Nicolet have an easy, effortless chemistry that makes Iris and Cecile’s stepmother/daughter relationship believable, and I do hope we continue to see that relationship grow and develop.

Holly:  It was nice to see some bonding between Cecile and Iris, seeing as they are going to officially be family soon. Also, I feel there is never much female bonding in the show, which I suppose is understandable considering there are not many female characters. It is nice to know that there is more of a relationship building between the female characters.

Chelsea: Yes, Cecile and Iris’s scenes were great to see. She’s always taking care of everyone around her and prioritizing others. She lost her mom at a very young age and then lost her again. It’s nice to see her experience that maternal love. I remember in Season 2, she mentioned she never liked the Runaway Dinosaur book, and it alludes to her abandonment issues. Seeing her bond with Cecile, would hopefully also help heal some of those wounds.

Will: I do hope they do. The writers are getting better and having the female characters of the show spend time together and building those relationships. In addition, she is going to be her step-mom so they would hopefully have a good relationship.

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6. Cecile has the ability to read minds! Would you love to have those powers? Why or why not?

Vanessa: Despite my adamancy about that ability invading people’s privacy, I’d like a couple of people to have that ability. I’d have Iris have telepathy and see how she digests that and works with their views to keep on being such an efficient leader; even though her not having that and still being so delicately authoritative is something I love. Next, I’d like for Caitlin to be able to read Killer Frost’s mind specifically, just so both Caitlin and the audience could know a little bit about ‘wtf’ is going on, lol. There’d be no cons, we need this. Lastly, I’d have Barry, just so I can hear him spit poetics about Iris all day… like I know he does. So maybe just to confirm that.

Jessica: Cecile made being a telepath look like fun. She was so cute, spilling all the tea on the dirty little secrets on the citizens of Central City! Personally, though, I think being able to read people’s minds would become more of a burden than a blessing, especially since you can’t turn it off. Hearing everybody’s thoughts running through my mind 24/7 would give me a headache.

Holly:  Honestly, there are times I would do anything to know what a person is thinking but overall I think I would hate it.

Chelsea: No, absolutely not. As much as it can be helpful at work or when trying to make deals with someone, I would always feel like I’m prying on their privacy. I’m a reasonably private person, and I would absolutely hate it if someone were to know everything about me. Especially a stranger, so I wouldn’t want to exercise that on anyone else. Private thoughts are private for a reason!

Will: No, I would not actually. Just being bombarded with everyone’s thoughts would not be fun at all.

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7. Poor Barry Allen can’t even catch a break in jail. Do you think his good heart bites him in the butt sometimes? 

Vanessa: His heart does get the best of him and today when the episode ended I said aloud, “Dammit, Barry!” I don’t think it’s necessarily that he’s a kind person, just the fact that he’s willing to do so much for people without giving things too much consideration. I mean, it works for him though because he does always get out of the conundrums he gets himself into, so.

Jessica: I love how Barry always has the best intentions, looks for the good in others, and believes in helping people. Does it backfire on him sometimes? Yes, but Barry’s good heart does always seem to come back and as you say, bite him in the butt.

Chelsea: I think we’ve seen the villains time and again take advantage of his good heart. He’s been through a lot, but we can see Iris and the happiness she gives him is his source of hope in all the dark times. I would always want Barry to be that hopeful and optimistic guy. That’s what sets him apart from all the brooding villains and their aloofness. Does this mean there will always be times when people take advantage of it and make him vulnerable? Yes. But he also always at the end of the day is victorious. That story is so important to tell. Don’t let this world filled with vicious, vile people take away what makes you and your hopeful optimism!

Will: Totally, but I think we are getting closer to Devoe’s grand plan as to why he created all the new metas and Amunet’s role as a harvester of those metas. Part of that was to get him a supply of potential host bodies for him as he needed one due to his illness, which was accomplished with Brainstorm “Dominic,” still formulating what the next step will be.

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Final Verdict: The Flash continues with another filler episode, leaving us wanting more of the main plot.

Barry Allen has to go through the wringer in some way and nothing showcases that more than being in prison for a murder you didn’t commit. However, the man can’t even catch a break in prison! After Barry selflessly sped Big Sir to Jia Ju, China (never mind the fact that he’s considered a fugitive now, and can never return to the U.S.), Warden Wolfe (Richard Brooks) discovers Barry’s secret identity by installing cameras specifically near his cell. Remember that pudding Barry was enjoying so much? Turns out Wolfe put a little something in it, which resulted in Barry fainting. Wolfe then rings up Amunet Black (Katee Sackhoff) for some “business.” Not only should we free Barry, we should also give the man a break!

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Season 4 has been a light one — for the most part. And while the show has promised to keep the season as light as possible, sometimes too much fun is… too much. It’s okay to get a little dark! By stepping away from the main plot once again, it leaves us wanting more of it. Although, we have to give a huge shoutout to Danielle Nicolet for bringing the comedic chops this episode! It was awesome getting to see Cecile as the A-plot this episode.

Instead of the season taking forever to reveal the identity of the big bad, this season, it’s taking forever to reveal Devoe’s (Kendrick Sampson) plan. Harry (Tom Cavanagh) was dealing with the fact that he’s not the smartest man alive, as he’s been outsmarted by villains before, but it’s different this time. At the end of the episode, he brought the main storyline back into focus and asked what really is Devoe’s plan?  Did he know Barry would use his powers in prison and ultimately get caught, so he’d be at the hands of Amunet — who we know auctioned a metahuman to Devoe before? Is it one big giant cycle? So many questions!

This episode left us wondering what is next in terms of his plan, and we certainly can’t wait to find out. Seriously.

As mentioned above, Wolfe called Amunet for some “business” and since we know she auctions metahumans, it’s clear she wants The Flash as her next victim. In the promo for next week’s episode, Barry teams up with the bus metas to find a way out of Amunet’s hands. It will be interesting to watch considering these are the same metahumans that Barry worked so hard to put away this season!

The Flash returns Tuesday, February 6th on The CW.