“I’m not going to run. I won’t be a fugitive. If I’m convicted, I have to go to prison,” says Barry (Grant Gustin) to Team Flash about his upcoming trial. “We’re not going to let that happen,” replies Joe (Jesse L. Martin) in season four episode 10 of The CW’s comic-book inspired series, The Flash.
As the episode begins, Barry is in S.T.A.R. Labs telling Team Flash they basically fell right into DeVoe’s trap and that he had planned to frame Barry for his murder before he even got out of the Speed Force. Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) asks why he created other metas and Harry (Tom Cavanagh) believes it must be part of a bigger plan.
Iris (Candice Patton) has Cisco (Carlos Valdes) bring up the video of Barry when he was at the CCPD right after he got out of the Speed Force and was speaking what they thought was gibberish. Barry sees himself saying, “Your honor I didn’t kill anyone,” and says he doesn’t remember any of it. Harry and Cisco decide to go over more of the video and what he says to see if they can find more clues to help them.
Barry and Iris head off to court to meet Cecile (Danielle Nicolet) who’s taking a leave of absence to represent Barry at his trial.
Over at the DeVoe house, Marlize (Kim Englebrecht) is still uncomfortable with her husband taking the body of Dominic Lance (Kendrick Sampson). It’s evident she’s uncomfortable when he tries to touch her. When he asks if she’s still having issues with his new body, she tries to be supportive and says no. However, he reveals he not only has his brilliant mind but also Dominic’s power to read others’ minds as well. He reminds her they’ve never lied to each other and they shouldn’t start now. He adds that even though she sees Dominic’s body, it’s really her husband’s mind and soul inside. That seems to calm her nerves.
At Barry’s trial, prosecutor Anton Slater (Mark Valley) tells the jury in his opening statements that Barry is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He accuses Barry of using his CSI skills and police connections to stalk and murder poor professor Clifford DeVoe in cold blood.
Elsewhere in the city, a bank is attacked by a new meta whose powers can knock out everyone. Joe and Cisco receive an alert while in court about the attack and have to leave to investigate what happened. When they arrive, Capt. Singh (Patrick Sabongui) asks if Joe wants to work the case and Joe says he can handle it. During their conversation, Singh tells Joe the prosecution has called him to testify to arresting Allen.
At the court, Singh admits to finding Barry over DeVoe’s body. But during Cecile’s cross-examination, he tells the court why he hired Allen five years ago as a CSI. “It was something he said during the interview. He said he wanted to help the innocent, the victims. Allen is one of the good ones,” says Singh, standing up for his co-worker.
Slater redirects and points out all Barry’s absences and the 72 times in the last two years Allen showed up late to work. Slater makes the argument that it seems Allen has a double life and that he seems to do what he wants and Singh lets him get away with it. By the end of Singh’s testimony, Cecile warns Barry the trial is going badly for him.
During a break, Cecile advises Barry to tell the court the truth that he’s The Flash. That way he can explain everything to them and the jury will believe him. Barry says no; he won’t testify and he won’t admit he’s The Flash.
Meanwhile, Joe and Ralph (Hartley Sawyer) spy on Marlize and watch through her window as she and Dominic kiss. Ralph takes photos of the kiss to present in court.
At S.T.A.R. Labs, Caitlin tells Cisco and Harry she has studied the medical reports of everyone who passed out at the bank and knows what was wrong with them. They all suffered from radiation poisoning. Seems the new meta’s powers are escalating radiation. Harry tells Cisco and Caitlin they need to find him fast because he could end up going nuclear – something which earns the new meta the nickname, Fallout.
Back in court, Marlize testifies that Barry stalked and terrorized her and her husband. Even the restraining order didn’t slow him down. She testifies (through crocodile tears) that she begged Clifford not to go see Barry on Christmas Eve, but he thought with the holidays he might be able to reason and reach Barry. It’s a devastating blow to Barry’s defense, with both the judge and the jury shooting him daggers.
Ralph gives Cecile the photos and she introduces them into evidence. The prosecution puts up a fuss but the judge allows it. Cecile shows Marlize the photos of her kissing Dominic, while also showing them to the jury. She asks who the man is she’s kissing after pointing out they were taken on the current day.
Marlize doesn’t falter and explains her husband suffered from ALS and they met Dominic at an ALS function. Seeing her connection to Dominic, Marlize says Clifford encouraged her to turn to Dominic for “needs and comforts” that he could no longer fulfill as a way to strengthen their marriage. Cecile tries to imply that perhaps Dominic murdered Clifford at her behest, but it’s clear the jury isn’t going for it.
Marlize is excused and leaves the courtroom and Iris follows her out. Iris tells Marlize to drop the act and asks why she’s trying to destroy them. Marlize tells her she’s doing what she needs to for her husband and asks her what she is willing to do for hers. As she leaves, she tells Iris to enjoy the show.
Iris returns to the courtroom and yells at the judge she has something to say that the court needs to hear. “Barry Allen is…“ but she doesn’t get to finish because Barry uses his super-speed to go to her and make them move so fast it’s as if time has stopped for them. Barry tells Iris he’s keeping his identity of being The Flash a secret to protect her and everyone else who works with them and knows his secret. “I would be putting a target on all their backs,” says Barry to a frustrated and scared Iris. She tells him she’ll be strong for him and agrees not to tell. (Nice..Iris finally respects Barry’s decision!) Barry zips back to his seat and Iris quickly tells the judge and the court that Barry is innocent and sits down.
Joe’s determined to save Barry from going to prison so he has Ralph go with him to DeVoe’s house to use his stretchy powers to unlock the door. Joe wants to plant carpet fibers from Barry’s loft to frame Marlize for dumping DeVoe’s body. In the best scene in the episode, Ralph gives a powerful speech commending Joe for his dedication and solid plan, telling him he’ll sleep sound for taking down a “bad, bad, chick,” and that he’ll ride that feeling until they catch him and take his badge and gun. Then Joe’s anger will change into self-pity.
“In a few more years your life will be a shell of its former self and then one night it’s going to dawn on you that you did the wrong thing and ruined everything. Your colleagues won’t talk to you, your friends have vanished and your family – it will be like you were never born because you turned into the very thing you swore to protect them from,” continues Ralph. Then he unlocks the door and tells Joe, “Good luck with that,” and walks away. Joe stands there for a few seconds looking at the bag of fake evidence and closes the door shut, changing his mind.
The new meta, Fallout, gets off a bus and starts to glow, causing everyone around him to pass out. Caitlin, Cisco, and Harry get an alert at S.T.A.R. Labs of the quick rise in radiation and realize they found their meta.
In the courtroom, Cecile is delivering her closing statements when Barry gets a text about the threat. He stands and apologizes to the judge but says an emergency has come up and he has to go. He shows Cecile the text and she tells the judge there’s no law requiring Barry be present during closing arguments and that he’s free to leave. The irate judge agrees but warns Barry to be present for sentencing.
Barry races to Fallout’s location and takes the passed-out police from harm’s way. Harry tells Barry not to get too close due to the radiation. Fallout, who really doesn’t want to hurt anyone, accidentally hits Barry with his radiation and knocks him out. Harry and Cisco realize they need Killer Frost to cool him down, but Caitlin says she can’t just change 1, 2, 3 – she has to be angry or scared.
Cisco tells her everything will go boom and die because her alter ego won’t show up for work. Even puppies will die! It’s just the incentive Caitlin needs as her eyes start to glow. Cisco opens a breach and he and a changing Caitlin go through. They arrive to face Fallout, and Frost asks if this is a social request or business. She sees Fallout and hits him with an icy blast but he melts through it and blasts her. Barry, as The Flash, runs circles around Fallout, containing his radiation energy while Cisco opens a breach to Earth-15 which is a dead Earth, according to Harry. They send the radiation energy there.
Back at S.T.A.R Labs, Barry’s being checked over by Caitlin. She tells him his radiation burn will heal. He hears on the news that he’s been found guilty of first-degree murder.
Heading back to court, Barry sees Dominic and talks to him briefly. Dominic aka The Thinker rubs it in Barry’s face that he’s lost. Mockingly, he wishes Barry a good life and Barry assures him he’ll find a way to beat his sentence and stop him.
Back in court, Barry stands for sentencing and speaks the words he said when returning from the Speed Force. “Your Honor, I’m innocent. I didn’t do this. I didn’t kill anyone.” As the judge berates Barry for being the worst criminal he’s ever seen, betraying the city’s trust and being so cold, over at the CCPD Capt. Singh delivers a press conference praising the heroics and selflessness of The Flash for once again saving the city. Singh presents the Award of Valor to The Flash for the cameras at the same time the judge sentences Barry to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The last scene has Barry being escorted to his cell in Iron Heights. He’s locked in and told by the warden to get comfortable. Barry sits on his prison bed and sees some writing on the wall which reads “HENRY ALLEN WAS HERE.” Barry touches the carving his own father made when he was in the same cell for a crime he didn’t commit.
The Flash Season 4 Episode 10 Review:
Dramatic but uneven and rushed, episode 10 titled “The Trial of The Flash” is sadly a missed opportunity to delve into a real courtroom drama of defending Barry Allen and giving the entire cast a chance to shine. Instead of having Caitlin and Cisco testify as character witnesses on Barry’s behalf, Team Flash is forced to take on a new meta who unfortunately is purely one-dimensional. Also, the storyline, which is inspired by a full story arc in the comics, could have been and easily should have been at least a two-part episode.
The stand-out performance is delivered by Jesse L. Martin who conveys wonderfully his concern and determination to save Barry from going to prison for a crime he didn’t commit, like his father did. The scenes he has with Ralph are the best in the episode.
Another performance worth highlighting is delivered by Hartley Sawyer as Ralph. The scene in which he gives his compelling speech to Joe about framing Marlize reveals what he himself has gone through and just how much he regrets his actions. It’s the best scene in the entire episode.
With Barry locked up in Iron Heights, it’s going to be up to Team Flash to find a way to clear Allen’s good name. Hopefully Vibe, Elongated Man, and Killer Frost are up to keeping the city safe in The Flash’s absence.
GRADE: C+
More on The Flash Season 4:
– The Flash Season 4 Episode 1 Recap
– The Flash Season 4 Episode 2 Recap
– The Flash Season 4 Episode 3 Recap
– The Flash Season 4 Episode 4 Recap
– The Flash Season 4 Episode 5 Recap
– The Flash Season 4 Episode 6 Recap
– The Flash Season 4 Episode 7 Recap
– The Flash Season 4 Episode 8 Recap
– The Flash Season 4 Episode 9 Recap
– The Flash Season 4 Episode 10 Recap
– The Flash Season 4 Episode 11 Recap
– The Flash Season 4 Episode 12 Recap
– The Flash Season 4 Episode 13 Recap
– The Flash Season 4 Episode 14 Recap
– The Flash Season 4 Episode 15 Recap
– The Flash Season 4 Episode 16 Recap
– The Flash Season 4 Episode 17 Recap
–The Flash Season 4 Episode 18 Recap
– The Flash Season 4 Episode 19 Recap
– The Flash Season 4 Episode 21 Recap
– The Flash Season 4 Episode 22 Recap
– Grant Gustin Interview
– Danielle Panabaker Interview
– Candice Patton Interview
– Todd Helbing Interview
– Tom Cavanagh Interview
– Keiynan Lonsdale Interview
– Carlos Valdes Interview
