Every hero has their moment in the light on The Flash. In “Keep It Dark,” Allegra’s (Kayla Compton) leadership is tested when the Citizen is attacked while the Flash (Grant Gustin) visits an old nemesis. Um … Hello! Iris (Candice Patton) is still missing!
Danielle Panabaker directed this episode of The Flash.
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NEW KID IN TOWN
Team Flash gets an alert about a fire at Ivo labs. When Flash gets there, he discovers the fire is out and everyone in the lab is safe. The staff thanks him for his quick heroism, but it wasn’t the Flash who saved them. There may be a new speedster in town. Barry tells Joe (Jesse L. Martin) about the new speedster. He’s also worried about Caitlin, who hasn’t returned any of his calls. Joe has to deal with a frantic Cecile (Danielle Nicolet) who’s more concerned about getting their daughter into kindergarten.
Meanwhile, Allegra has everything under control at the Citizen. Taylor (Rachel Drance) says she wants to do a story on the light meta who helps the Flash. Allegra doesn’t want to do the story, for obvious reasons. Taylor already ran it by Iris who said it was an interesting angle. Allegra decides to wait until Iris return to make a decision.
Allegra gets a text from former inmate and friend Lydia (Kaitlyn Santa Juana). Their former gang, the Aranas are trying to get Lydia back into the gang. The’ve taken over Keystone and are moving in on Central City and want Lydia to run things. Their new leaders are Sunshine (Natalie Sharp) and Dr. Light (Emmie Nagata).
Allegra asks Lydia to do an interview, but Lydia wants to run as far from Central City as possible. Allegra promises to protect and get her out of town if anything goes wrong. Lydia reluctantly agree. A member of the Aranas sees Lydia with Allegra and takes a picture. She shows the picture to Dr. Light and Sunshine. They decide to stop them from exposing the gang.
SEARCH FOR TRUTH
The Flash — “Keep it Dark” — Image Number: FLA817b_0124r.jpg — Pictured (L-R): Brandon McKnight as Chester P. Runk and Kayla Compton as Allegra Garcia — Photo: Bettina Strauss/The CW — 2022 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Barry and Chester (Brandon McKnight) investigate the fire at Ivo Labs. They think the speedster was the combustion force. The friction from the super speed could start a reaction. And that explains how they go there before the Flash. Barry finds a container that held the Newton Battery, a very strong electrochemical cell. The fire may have been a distraction. Barry wants to visit Thawne (Tom Cavanagh) to find out who this could be. And to make sure he’s still locked up.
Allegra tells Taylor, Vanya (Lindy Booth), and Aariz (Shayan Bayat) about the Arana gang and why she wants to a live interview Lydia. She doesn’t tell them that she used to be in the Aranas or that she’s the light meta. The Citizen team has their reservations about the story. Taylor wonders how Allegra knows so much about the gang. Allegra tells them to trust her. Chester also helps to hide Lydia’s identity during the interview. But! Dr. Light and Sunshine arrive before they even get started.
Chester puts up a make-shift force field to keep them out of the building. Dr. Light and Sunshine block communications so they can’t call for help. Allegra tries to come up with a plan to keep everyone safe. Lydia decides it’s not worth everyone dying and tries to surrender. Allegra and Chester won’t let her.
KEEP IT DARK
Flash finds Thawne in shambles. He can barely move without breathing hard. Flash sees what he needs to see and decides to leave. Thawne needs the interaction so he starts taunting Flash, first about Frost. Flash tells him about the new speedster. Thawne refuses to help him and Flash says it’s because he’s jealous. He’s jealous that there’s a new speedster to replace him.
Thawne loses it, saying no one can replace him or the hate he feels for the Flash. This new speedster doesn’t care about the Flash. The reason this speedster doesn’t wan to be found is because they can’t control their speed. Flash realizes the fire was an accident and leaves.
Taylor wants to give Lydia to the Aranas. Vanya backs up Allegra saying they have a duty to protect their source. Taylor says they don’t need an ethics lesson from Allegra. She tells the others why Allegra knows so much about the Aranas. She had someone look at Allegra’s sealed juvie records and found out Allegra used to be in the Aranas. The others turn on Allegra, saying they can’t trust her.
Allegra has a breakdown, saying she’s not a leader. She tells Chester and Lydia about how her and Esperanza ended up in juvie. They were going to rob a bunch of semi trucks at a rest stop. One of the drivers shot at the girls and one of her girls almost died. All for lawn furniture. Lydia says Allegra gave her the courage to leave the Aranas. She is a leader and Lydia believes in her. Chester agrees. He says she can’t lead if she’s trying to stay in the dark.
INTO THE LIGHT
The Flash — “Keep it Dark” — Image Number: FLA817b_0042r.jpg — Pictured (L-R): Kayla Compton as Allegra Garcia and Kaitlyn Santa Juana as Lydia Sanchez — Photo: Bettina Strauss/The CW — 2022 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Taylor continues to argue with Vanya and Aariz about whether or not to turn over Lydia. Allegra says they aren’t going to give her up. She has a plan. First she comes clean about why she hid her past. She was afraid they would lose their trust. And it was hiding the truth that made her lose their trust. She shows them her light and admits to being the light meta. Everyone gets on board with her plan.
Dr. Light says the shield is photokinetic. Using Sunshine’s light on a bullet, she is able to bring the shield down fast. Allegra is waiting for them inside. She fights them while Chester and the others set up Lydia’s interview. Allegra is able to hold them off long enough to get enough footage to put on the internet. Lydia names Sunshine, aka Millie Rawlins and Dr. Light, aka Kimiyo Hoshi as the leaders. Allegra warns the villains that if anything happens to Lydia, her or her staff, the whole world will know.
The CCPD arrives to assess the situation at the Citizen. There’s an APB out on Rawlins and Hoshi and their accounts were frozen. Lydia decides to stick around to help capture Dr. Light and Sunshine. The interview has over 20,000 views. It’s their biggest story to date. She thanks the Citizen team for helping. They decide not to expose Allegra as the light meta.
Taylor warms up to Allegra, calling her boss. Allegra asks where she got the photos of the Flash and her. Taylor says there’s a site called Chirper. She also asks Allegra how long can she hide from the rest of the world.
UNMASKING
When Barry comes back, Chester tells him everything that happened. Caitlin sends them a video message saying she’s not coming back anytime soon. She’s staying with her mother, for real this time. But she does love everyone.
The unknown speedster returns the battery to Ivo Labs. The Flash catches up to the speedster and chases her around to find out who she is. The Flash is faster than the new speedster and has more control. She even throws lightning at him and he jumps over it.
The new speedster is Dr. Meena Dhawan (Kausar Mohammed), a brilliant engineer who invented the Newton battery. She also found a way to generate her own speed source, but her speed only lasts a few minutes. She borrowed the battery to extend her speed time.
Flash fan girls over the doctor. She’s the CEO of Fast Track Labs now. She says she wants to use the gift to help people. Flash offers to be her mentor and she accepts. And Iris is still missing.
RELATED: Catch up on all of The Flash recaps here
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