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The Flash 4.11 Review – “The Elongated Knight Rises”
Image Credit: The CW
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Last week’s episode of The Flash featured a big status quo change for the show. After being framed by DeVoe, Barry went to court. Despite Cecile telling Barry the only way he could win the case was to reveal his secret identity, Barry was adamant about not doing that. Despite everyone’s best efforts, Barry was proclaimed guilty and sentenced to Iron Heights. That is where The Trial of the Flash left off. It’s an intriguing change of pace. Today’s episode, “The Elongated Knight Rises” (now there’s a title), picks up with Barry in prison and the team having to deal with the return of Trickster. The episode is not as strong as “the Trial,” but it’s still an overall fun installment.
The opening takes place at Iron Heights, where we see Barry contending with prison life. If it’s one fantastic thing that can be said about this episode, it’s the prison scenes. Iron Heights provides a unique setting. Seeing Barry helping the guards stop a riot (without the guards noticing) and dealing with bully inmates was great. Inside the prison, Barry runs into “Big Sir,” later named Dave. Dave jumped in to help Barry as inmates were beginning to gang up on our protagonist. We learn that Barry’s father had helped out Dave years ago when they were in prison together. The bond Barry builds with Dave is well developed. This is a good thing, because next week’s episode looks to focus on Dave.
The prison scenes account for just about half of the episode. The other half is back with the team. There are some things to like, but also some grating aspects. So, the opening of the episode continues the rather somber tone from last week. But, after the opening, we jump to a Central City hostage situation… which ends up being a comedic scene. Perhaps you recall earlier in the season, the episode “When Harry Met Harry…” The opening scene featured a mugger attempting to rob Barry and Ralph; what followed was almost slapstick comedy. We see that here as we have a supposed-to-be-serious hostage situation. But, the robber is shouting demands to police, like wanting a salad because he’s “counting calories.” Meanwhile we have the goofy background music making sure viewers know that this is supposed to be a laughing moment. Did anyone actually think this was funny? The CW did, apparently. Anyways, Ralph comes in and saves the day.
Ralph has come a long way since his early appearances. He’s went from being the worst character on the show to actually being serviceable. This is the episode where he transitions to become a full-fledged hero. While him quitting the team after getting injured came off as a bit sudden, it can be forgiven because it leads to one of the show’s strongest moments. Ralph sneaks into prison in hopes of breaking Barry out to fight the Trickster. Barry gets to the heart of the problem: Ralph’s reluctance to be a hero after getting hit with acid from the Trickster’s gun. This is one of Barry’s strongest scenes in the entire show. He tells Ralph that it’s about rising above fear and making a difference. (Barry also manages to sneak in a non-cringey “stretch” pun.) After the pep talk, Ralph returns with a new costume, saving Cisco and Caitlin.
The antagonist is the Trickster. Sadly, no Mark Hamill this time – Devon Graye’s younger version is the star. To give credit where credit is due, Graye gives a fun, and sometimes slight unhinged portrayal of the character. He’s a lot of fun. We also get the character called Prank, Trickster’s mother, whom was into murdering people with the original Trickster. The two are fun to watch as villains, and while the viewer may be tempted to call Prank a copy of Harley Quinn, Prank actually predates Harley. Though it ends with Trickster and Prank being sent to prison, at the very least Trickster was far more interesting than any of the meta humans-of-the week this season.
On some last notes, the exchanges between Barry and Iris at the prison were genuinely heartfelt. The two work extremely well together as husband and wife. On the comically negative side, do you remember last week, how Killer Frost was brought in for the action but contributed practically nothing? The same thing happens here. Cisco brings Killer Frost to the Trickster’s hideout, and she contributes nothing. They both get captured almost instantly. It’s definitely a negative how the show is using Frost now, but one can’t deny the unintentional humor of it all. Oh, and another thing – where is Wally? He literally came back to the show some episodes ago, where is he? Is it not odd that no one makes mention of bringing in Kid Flash to help while Barry is in prison? The cliffhanger features the mysterious girl whom talked to Barry at his crashed wedding back in “Crisis on Earth-X.” It should be interesting to see where this goes.
Overall, “The Elongated Knight Rises” is a fun episode. There are some annoying comedic moments and filler dialogue, but there’s also a lot to like. The prison scenes are always interesting, and the Trickster made for a fun antagonist. Ralph is also actually turning into a decent hero. If Season 4 can deliver the quality drama, and downplay the filler comedy, the remainder of the season will be excellent.
