The team has had their hands full on The Flash. Barry and Iris’ wedding is just around the corner, there are seven more metahumans to find, and we can’t forget that Caitlin’s old boss Amunet Black is still on the loose. Add to that drama, Barry finally found DeVoe, but he’s not exactly what Barry expected. In ‘Therefore I Am,’ we learn more about DeVoe and Iris puts the finishing touches on her wedding to Barry…next week! Be ready, we’ll be ‘flashing’ back and forth through DeVoe’s time.
Read the Full Recap of THE FLASH, “When Harry Met Harry”
Clifford DeVoe (Neil Sandilands) used to be a college professor. And not a very good one. Four years ago, he was working at Central City University. The Mechanic (Kim Engelbrecht), unknown by any other name at this time, was working there too. They talk about how students don’t like to learn. The Mechanic calls DeVoe the most brilliant mind she knows. DeVoe wants to the Mechanic to build him a thinking cap. It’s a device that will help him teach better.
Present
Barry (Grant Gustin) and Joe (Jesse L. Martin) find that DeVoe is pretty normal. They tell him that his last name has come up in four separate criminal cases. DeVoe tells him a little about his past in education. Barry shows him a picture of the five metahumans that they have identified. The only one he knew was Mina Chayton, who was an anthropology professor at Central City University.
Barry notices a painting of a Samurai. DeVoe says samurais are formidable foes. He says some of his studies are in medieval Japan. He starts to talk about his passion for teaching, but Mrs. DeVoe stops him. She says he needs his rest and ask Joe and Barry to leave. Barry is very suspicious. Joe and the rest of the team feel that everything is coincidental. Barry says they need to dig a little deeper. And that’s what the team does.
Flashback
Clifford is watching Dr. Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh) talk about the particle accelerator. The Mechanic has a prototype of the thinking cap but says they don’t have the power to make it work. At that moment, Dr. Wells says once his particle accelerator goes online, it will change the way people think of science. There’s the solution.
Present Day
Clifford is teaching and sees Barry in the classroom. Barry asks him where he was the night the particle accelerator exploded. Clifford says he is starting to feel persecuted. Barry asks if he uses public transit. Clifford says he doesn’t. He asks Barry if he needs to go to the station to give a formal statement. Barry says he’s just being thorough. He hands Clifford his card and at the same time grabs Clifford’s coffee cup.
Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) examines the DNA on the coffee cup. She finds that Clifford is not a meta. Cisco (Carlos Valdes) found that he’s basically…basic. Barry doesn’t buy it. He says Clifford is too perfect. He asks Cisco to vibe the cup. Cisco only sees Clifford eating macaroni and cheese with his wife.
Iris (Candice Patton) pulls Barry aside. He says his spidey senses are way off the charts. Iris asks if he’s nervous about the wedding. Barry says he’s not worried about the wedding. He says Savitar and Abra Kadabra both warned them about DeVoe. Iris thinks he is seeing what he wants to see. She tells Barry she needs his help putting the finishing touches on their wedding.
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Flashback
Harrison Wells is giving a press conference about the particle accelerator. Barry and Iris are in the crowd. Someone steals Iris’ laptop. Barry runs to catch him. While they are gone, Dr. Wells starts taking questions. The Mechanic asks him about the dangers of the accelerator. He says he’s seen every possible outcome. He asks for her name. Her name is Marlize DeVoe. Dr. Wells is a big fan of Professor DeVoe.
Marlize tells Clifford that Wells is lying. She says the accelerator won’t succeed. Marlize thinks Wells wants an explosion, releasing dark matter into the atmosphere. She says they need to delay their plans. Clifford is willing to take the risk. It’s the only way to power his thinking cap.
Marlize is in a van and Clifford is outside in the rain. He watches as the rain starts to go up in the air. Explosions go off all around the building and people start to run away. He puts the thinking cap on. The accelerator explodes, powering the thinking cap. A bolt of lightning hits Clifford. Marlize runs out of the van to him. Clifford appears to be dead, but returns to life. He says he feels enlightened.
Present Day
Captain Singh (Patrick Sabongui) calls Barry into his office. Clifford and Marlize DeVoe are already there talking to the Captain. They filed a complaint against Barry. Captain Singh apologizes for the intrusion and makes Barry apologize as well. After they leave, Barry insists that he was not harassing the DeVoes. Singh tells him to stay away from them and then reprimands Joe for going along with him.
Barry is at the lab trying to figure out the whole DeVoe situation. Iris visits after Joe told her that Barry is having a bad day. She finds Barry’s murderboard. He’s been looking into Marlize DeVoe. She has two doctorates in Mechanical Engineering and Advanced Robotics. He says they are working together. Iris tells him to stop. Team Flash hasn’t found anything on DeVoe. And they are getting married in a week. He needs to let it go.
Flashback
After the accident, Clifford DeVoe is solving equations. He asks Marlize to quiz him and realizes he hasn’t lost any of his knowledge. He gets excited about the possibilities but something is wrong. Clifford collapses.
Present Day
Barry is at STAR Labs and hear a buzzing. It’s coming from the Samaroid head. He examines under the mask and finds the camera. Barry leaves STAR Labs for the DeVoesMarlize puts Clifford to bed and goes out. Barry races to their house and watches her leave. He goes into the house and looks around. Marlize comes home and Barry barely gets out of there.
Flashback
Clifford’s doctor tells him that his legs muscles are degenerating. Clifford thinks it’s ALS, but the doctor says it’s something else. Clifford figures out that the sensors that make his legs work are not working…or something like that. Marlize asks the doctor to give him a moment. Clifford says his mind is drawing the energy from his body. He’s going to be paralyzed soon. Marlize believes that they can fix the problem.
Present Day
Barry shows Team Flash about the camera in the samaroid head. Harry thinks Barry was able to trace the camera IP address back to Clifford DeVoe. Barry says he didn’t. Cisco says the camera isn’t even working. Barry tells them that he heard a buzz and it was coming from the head. He found the camera and tried to find if it belonged to DeVoe, but Marlize come home too soon. They know he broke into the DeVoe’s house. Barry says Clifford is smart. He wants them to think he’s unassuming. He’s one step ahead of them. The team tries to calm Barry down. He says he knows it’s DeVoe. He could have cameras everywhere. He’s always watching them.
Barry gets a call from Joe to get to the police station. When he gets there, Marlize is waiting for him in the captain’s office. She’s crying because she doesn’t feel safe. She accuses Barry of breaking into their home. She shows him a picture of Barry inside. Captain Singh says this will end immediately. Marlize hits Barry and tells him to leave them alone. Captain Singh suspends Barry. He tells him to consider his future in law enforcement.
Iris returns home to find Barry staring out the window. Clifford put a restraining order on Barry. Barry says Clifford scares him. He feels more dangerous than the other foes they have faced. Iris says they have faced the unknown before. Barry says it’s different. He says everything is going so well for him and everyone he loves. He has so much to lose than ever before. Iris says there will be more to lose as time goes by. He can’t let it consume him. Iris says she’s not scared because they are the Flash.
Flashback
Clifford tries to stand up from his wheelchair to get a book off the fireplace. He falls and is upset because he is weak. He tells Marlize to let him die. She helps him up into his chair. She shows him something that will help him live longer.
Present Day
Barry goes back to Professor DeVoe’s classroom. He asks Clifford who he is…for real. Clifford asks who is asking. Barry Allen or The Flash? Clifford reveals that he was affected by the particle accelerator explosion too. He says he has nothing to fear from Barry. He knows everything about Barry and his team…including the Council of Wells. There’s nothing Barry can do to defeat him. He says Barry is the fastest man alive, but Clifford has the fastest mind. DeVoe’s students come into the classroom ending their conversation, but beginning the game. DeVoe ends by wishing Barry congratulations on his wedding.
Barry confesses to the team that he confronted Clifford. They start to scold him until he tells them that DeVoe knows Barry is the Flash. The team realizes that Barry was right from the beginning. Barry tells them that DeVoe has orchestrated everything they have been doing. He has super intelligence and they might not be smart enough to stop him. Cisco starts working a villain name. The Thinker. Iris says it will take them all to stop him.And that includes Wally! Wally West (Keiynan Lonsdale) is back! Barry says they need to take their time to formulate a plan. Until then, Barry and Iris are getting married.
The Mechanic tells Clifford he was right about everything that happened. Clifford says he had a lot of scenarios that could have happened…one where they called him the Teacher. He prefers The Thinker. Clifford’s body starts shaking. He’s been unplugged for too long. The Mechanic removes his hair and the thinking cap connects to his brain. The Mechanic says his body is deteriorating faster than the chair can handle. He says it can survive long enough. She asks if he’s going to allow Barry and Iris to get married. He asks her ‘what is knowledge without love?’ And they watch Barry and Iris prepare for their wedding.
Thoughts
For weeks I’ve been wondering why The Thinker was messing with Barry. I think it has everything to do with Barry’s ability to heal faster. Maybe Barry’s sensors that tell his legs to move fast are what the Thinker needs to make his body start working again. It’s just a theory.
I’ve always hated seeing someone be right about something and everyone around them treats them like they are crazy. It’s frustrating. But I’m glad Barry was able to convince his team that he was right about Clifford DeVoe. I feel bad for the guy, but he’s creepy. How many cameras does he have on Barry? Should Barry be filing a restraining order on DeVoe? And what’s all of the new metas got to do with DeVoe’s plans?
All of that is going to have to wait. Crossover week is next week! GET EXCITED!
News Editor, Senior Contributor, and Press Editor. Coordinate breaking news, trailers and press releases. I also contribute reviews, recaps and interviews. Creator of the Indigenerd Wire, a column dedicated to the Indigenous creatives in pop culture.
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Strangely, this most interesting part of this episode for me was when Barry talked about his “spidey senses,” which implies that Spiderman as a Marvel character was part of the DC universe at least as a comic book (or perhaps a potential cross-over?).
Honestly the rest of the episode was meh. The amping up of the villain power level is best avoided, but it seems the writing seem is pushing faster than ever towards it. There is so much more to Barry Allen, and with how new superhero TV shows are dealing with more serious problems but on a less epic scale, The Flash should probably evolve towards investing in the relationships between the characters and the villains rather than moving towards some lineup of gods and goddesses battling it out in the name of good and evil.