'The Flash' Recap: 'The Elongated Knight Rises'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

I think it is safe to assume that fans of The Flash everywhere, were extremely curious as to what the show was going to look like for a little while with Barry Allen finding himself in jail after being framed for the ‘murder’ of Clifford DeVoe and with good reason. Because this little twist to the overall season four plot line brings forth all kinds of fascinating questions. Will Barry be able to adjust to prison life and be safe considering how many people he’s helped put behind bars? Not to mention, who will keep the city safe in his absence?
 
Well thankfully, last night’s episode, ‘The Elongated Knight Rises’, took the time to answer all of those questions and the answer to the first ones that I posed, is that Barry did indeed struggle with prison life, but not because he was constantly in danger. Sure, there were people that meant to do him harm, but his gentle nature and ability to take care of himself solved that problem. No, what made his time in Iron Heights tough, was the sheer fact that he in essence, felt helpless. He was itching to get out and do something good for the world and it was simply fascinating to watch him play the hero in tiny ways from time to time in order to get his fix.
 
As for who would keep the city safe, well that job fell to Mister Ralph Dibny, who was more than happy to play the hero through and through (in reckless fashion of course), while Barry did his time, but the show offered up a lovely twist when it came to Ralph’s journey as well. Because in this particular tale, the younger iteration of the Trickster was busted out of jail by his mother and fellow criminal, Prank, and in the hopes of impressing his father, Trickster Jr. started a reign of terror that targeted Dibny and one of their encounters resulted in Ralph heading back to S.T.A.R. Labs with a nasty injury, and the possibility of facing greater injury, or losing his life in the line of duty was a burden that Ralph could no longer bear and he walked away from the mission and the team.
 
Thankfully however, Barry Allen has truly become an icon at this point in his superhero career, and after a visit with the Flash, Ralph found some newfound inspiration in what he does, and finally came to terms with the fact that every time he goes out there his life is on the line, but people are depending on him regardless and that realization allowed for him to hustle and join the team in their showdown with Trickster 2.0 and Prank and he was finally able play the hero through and through, and bring this dastardly duo to justice. As an added bonus, Ralph also snagged himself a fancy new nickname in the process as well, and it would seem The Elongated Man is here to stay as Central City’s new champion. 
 
Yet, what truly made this episode so impressive is that it was in fact a transitional/filler episode, that turned out to be incredibly entertaining and engaging thanks to Dibny’s transition from doofus to true hero and his story was so damn good that it was able to completely overshadow the fact that zero progress was made on getting Barry out of jail and the DeVoe storyline as a whole. Either way, Central City has a new hero to embrace and I’m certain it’s just a matter of time before the battle with DeVoe continues, but in the meantime, we have this wonderfully uplifting and hopeful episode to bask in until next week’s adventure arrives. Until then. 

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