The Flash season 4 episode 7 review: The backstory of Clifford DeVoe
As it turns out, DeVoe did receive some of his powers as a result of the particle accelerator so many years in the past, but as a result of that there was a significant physical downside. Almost all of his ability went straight to his brain, which meant that, in turn, his body started to fall apart. He began to lose his ability to walk and he and his wife (a.k.a. the Mechanic) began to struggle facing the reality that he could descend into permanent paralysis. While he could change the entire world in theory, he may not be around nearly long enough in order to do it.
The thing that made this story so interesting is that we knew where it was going — eventually Clifford’s wife was able to build him a machine that could help him stay alive.
In one way, we’d consider Clifford and his wife a beautiful love story — or at least it could be were it not for some of his dark intentions.
As for the present
Things were bad for Barry Allen — while he was getting married to Iris West in one week’s time, he was absolutely so intent on stopping DeVoe that he risked his own career in the process. Barry recognized just how dangerous Clifford was but this guy was different — he was able to operate with almost no detection or evidence that he was somehow different from the average person.
With that, DeVoe was able to use some of his own power to fuel Barry’s paranoia and, in turn, get him suspended from his job when he broke into his home looking for some sort of answers. He unfortunately didn’t find any until near the end of the episode. Barry, despite having a restraining order against him, still paid DeVoe a visit and looked him in the eye. That’s when Clifford determined that the time was right to just tell him the truth about everything. Clifford saw that coming, which proves yet again that this is a man more than capable of seeing into almost any future for any character.
Who else found both his costume and that cup, which he fused right into his brain, particularly creepy? For now, DeVoe is letting the two get married … but who knows how long that will last?
Reinforcements
Hey, Wally West is back! Hopefully, he can help somehow in taking this guy out.
CarterMatt Verdict
The Flash season 4 episode 7 was a perfect demonstration of some of what this show can be when smartly written and with the right characters. “Therefore I Am” was one of the best episodes in a while just because the central villain was so different than any other we’ve encountered over time. This episode really belonged to Neil Sandilands, who is making Clifford into the perfect sort of villain for this season and someone who will challenge the entire team in new ways.
What did you think about Tuesday night’s The Flash? Did you appreciate getting all of the great backstory on The Thinker? Be sure to share now in the comments!
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