The Flash recap of season 4, episode 17: Null and Annoyed
By Paul Zuniga
Just when we thought DeVoe couldn’t get any more evil, he outdoes himself. On the latest episode of The Flash, he proved so. At the same time, the episode hitting many more subplots.
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In a refreshing turn of events, last night’s episode of The Flash touched on a number of plot threads in an efficient manner. A lot of Season 4 has focused on Team Flash being outsmarted by Clifford DeVoe but now, things are changing. What I mean is that the subplots and character arcs that made The Flash so popular in the beginning are making a comeback; last night’s episode is the biggest evidence of this.
As expected, the first portion of the episode dealt with Team Flash’s hunt for the last two bus metas. The team managed to uncover their identities with HR’s help, finding the newest, Janet aka Null. She actually gains the team’s attention when one of her robberies goes live. Barry and Ralph are sent to handle the situation but Null eludes them.
Back at Star Labs, Barry benches Ralph for not taking the job seriously enough. With Ralph constantly cracking jokes, at a time when Barry thinks inappropriate, he comes off as careless. We later learn that Ralph’s jokes are a coping mechanism he created in times of fear, so there’s reason to his madness.
Cisco to become the next “breacher” on The Flash?
In the other corner of the building, Cisco is busy helping Breacher (Danny Trejo) with his power issues. He reports to Cisco that his powers stopped working all of a sudden, requesting his help. When Cisco and Caitlyn run a diagnostic on Breacher, they figure out his age is affecting his powers. Cisco lies to him at first, and it doesn’t go over well, but in the end, he tells Breacher the truth, which doesn’t go over well either. Breacher returns at the end of the episode, realizing he was wrong for lashing at Cisco and apologizes. He also offers Cisco a job at the company with Gypsy. Cisco doesn’t give him an immediate answer but the look on his face says he’s considering it.
If he were to leave, that wouldn’t mean goodbye to Team Flash, Cisco would just spend more time on solo missions. Ralph Dibny does appear to be phasing Cisco out as Barry’s right-hand man, on the street. Therefore, Cisco’s departure is possible. Keep in mind that there’s no guarantee that Cisco will take Breacher up on his offer.
Has DeVoe been manipulating his wife the whole time?
As for DeVoe, he spent a majority of the time off-screen. It was Marlize who played a prominent role in the episode, digging into the secrets DeVoe was hiding from her. After a bit of researching, she discovers that DeVoe had been drugging her and erasing her memory to hide the fact that he was manipulating her. DeVoe even went as far as to set up the same schematic that would lead Marlize down the path to discovering the truth. It’s unclear why he did so but the only reasonable explanation is that his intelligence has made him extremely sadistic.
DeVoe could easily erase all of Marlize’s memories, efficiently wiping any semblance of rebellion or curiosity within her. In doing so, he’d be able to manipulate Marlize however he likes. Of course, he allows for the convoluted scheme to play out. What this says about DeVoe is that he wants her to know the lengths of his depravity, as well as how she can’t get out. What DeVoe is forgetting here is that all doomed villains fall prey to their own hubris. In DeVoe’s case, it’s most likely going to be Marlize who brings about his downfall.
Next: How to watch The Flash Season 4, Episode 17 online
Nevertheless, Team Flash’s final fight with DeVoe is fast approaching. Only five episodes are left in Season 4, Barry and his friends are going to have stopped the mad scientist in that span of time. Unless DeVoe manages to evade capture for another season, they’re going to stop him before then. But, who really expects DeVoe to make it into Season 5?