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Breakups and Breakthroughs on THE FLASH

The Flash’s 20th episode (“Therefore She Is”) reveals a lot. First of all, we were treated to several Marlize and DeVoe flashbacks, which kind of showed that his caustic personality was not due to his illness. Or the dark matter. Nope, he was definitely was a zealot-y jerk, with romantic tendencies. Although, I’m still trying to figure out how Marlize’s cellphone ringing prompted them to randomly start dancing. And why she thought it was totally cool to rifle through his things when they moved in together, discovering his manifesto of NOPE. Honestly, their relationship backstory surprised me, both in seeing DeVoe have very few redeeming qualities AND seeing Marlize be, well, radicalized after a single incident. She was so vehemently against his plan for turning the world into a horde of Pinky.

That said, I liked seeing Marlize find her moral compass, even if it took a few dead security guards too many. Seeing her FINALLY reclaim her own power, throwing his quip back at him (“Oh, Clifford. You are nothing without me.”), before exiting? It was satisfying. I’m also glad she was able to save Gypsy. Because I adore her.

Speaking of Gypsy, I hated that she and Cisco broke up. But I also liked how it was handled. Sometimes, people want different things. No one is the bad guy. Cisco wanted more (“I don’t want to have to breach to see the woman I love. I want to wake up next to her, every morning.”) than she could give. And while she immediately blamed herself, he sweetly and RIGHTLY reassured her that there was nothing wrong with her. When someone is so good and awesome, but it still doesn’t work? Man, it smarts like hell. I appreciate how respectfully it was handled.

Having Caitlin be helpless in the face of DeVoe was difficult to watch. But Barry didn’t fare any better, even with his powers. I hope that don’t drag out her lack of Killer Frost for too long. Same goes for Harry and his diminishing mental capacity. (Side-note: I really rather loved his interactions with Cecile and how she helped him.) I really love what Tom Cavanagh has been able to do with the character in this incarnation. The nuances and fumbling for words in this episode were well-executed. He’s also lost some of his sharp edges, a quiet softening of his general alacrity. It’s a great character choice.

And, lastly, let’s talk about DeVoe’s master plan. He hates technology, so he wants to render everyone on earth stupid. And I just…that is his big motivating factor? It seems like a bizarre reach, and I wish more of this had been established in early episodes. This felt too much like “SURPRISE! Let’s telegraph everything, because we forget to build things slowly.” It also reminds me of that terrible Bond villain from Tomorrow Never Dies. I wanted more from the villainy, I suppose.

But I guess it can’t rain all the time. Later, nerds!

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