'The Flash' Recap: 'The Trial of the Flash'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

​When we last left Barry Allen on The Flash, Central City’s greatest hero found himself in quite the sticky situation. Because in the closing moments of the midseason finale, Barry was placed under arrest for the murder of Clifford DeVoe, an act that Clifford himself had orchestrated behind the scenes in order to get Barry out of the way and well, I think it’s safe to say we knew in that moment that dark times were ahead for the Flash.
 
As it turns out, last night’s midseason premiere, ‘The Trial of the Flash’, confirmed this because as the title indicates, the time had come for Barry to face a jury of his peers for his ‘crime’ and while it seemed for a moment there that this entire hour was going to be devoted to Barry Allen’s trial, the Writer’s Room clearly understood that this would in fact, be a boring way to go for the midseason premiere. So rather than give us Law and Order: Central City, the story instead focused upon the impact this whole mess had on those closest to the man.
 
Joe for example, struggled mightily with the notion that his surrogate son might be going to jail, which prompted him to do anything and everything to keep Barry from spending the rest of his life behind bars and well, that led to quite the stunning moment, wherein Joe was ready to plant evidence to keep Barry free. Thankfully, a quick discussion with Dibny changed his mind on pulling something like this and really, it was downright heartbreaking to see just how much this whole mess rattled Joe, and he wasn’t alone when it came to making desperate moves to save Barry. Because Iris was ready to reveal his true identity in the courtroom, all in the hopes of inspiring the jury to acquit him.
 
But Barry stepped in to make sure that Iris didn’t reveal his alter-ego and really, all of this should have rattled him too, but Barry was calm, cool and collect throughout the entire episode, and he even took the time to step away from his trial, knowing full well it would make him look bad in the public eye in order to save the city from a surprise Meta that could generate incredible amounts of radiation with his body and well, all of this just went to show that Barry has finally reached his apex as a hero and understands his role in life and what sacrifices are now necessary to maintain the mythos of the Flash.
 
However, despite all the good that Barry projected in this episode, he was still found guilty of First Degree Murder and sentenced to life in prison for his ‘crime’ and well this one ends on an equally sour note, with Barry in jail and DeVoe/Dominic free to execute whatever the heck he’s planning and well, I honestly loved this episode through and through. It’s just so rare to see the bad guy win in shows like this, but The Flash was bold enough to let that happen and now DeVoe has the upper hand and it’s going to take a monumental effort from Barry’s friends to clear his name so that he can stop this madman before it’s too late. Until next time. 

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