Its that time of the week again Flash fans. The Flash is back once again on The CW, but the character himself was not. This issue of Flash Fix will focus on season four episode eleven “The Elongated Knight Rises.” While it may be nowhere near as good as The Dark Knight Rises, The Elongated Man certainly received a welcome return after his mid-season break.

Recap

The trial of Barry Allen ended with The Flash headed to the prison where his father spent nearly his whole adult life. Devoe managed to trick the team into capturing evidence that would only support his side of the trial. It was through Devoe’s body swap that he was able to lead the judge into thinking that Barry was further harassing Devoe’s family even after his passing. Barry was sent to prison while Devoe and his wife went home. The Flash was honored as a hero at the Central City Police Department while Barry was declared a disgrace to humanity by the court. Barry was sentenced to the same cell in Iron Heights that his father was once imprisoned for leaving him with a nostalgic punch to the gut.

Episode 4×11 “THE ELONGATED KNIGHT RISES” Review

Ralph Dibny, the cowardly poltroon, finally received the spotlight. He’s the hero Central City certainly does not want, but it needs. Ralph had been absent for the last few episodes due to the actor being contracted for another television show. Ralph has received a more positive reception than Wally West, however, my biggest question was whether the hero would be able to hold his own reputation without the need of Flash. The quick answer is he did. Ralph Dibny was surrounded by a feeble villain this week, but he was still able to hold his own without the help of Barry and even the rest of the team. The Elongated Man created a slightly entertaining episode this week. On the other hand, a recurring main villain was not able to hold up his own weight without the help of his father.

Axel Walker, The Trickster, returned this episode, but sadly his father was absent. While Mark Hamill was off on a press tour for his newest space opera, Axel managed to find a replacement. If the father can not help the son, then who else better than the mother? The acolyte of Trickster,  Zoey Clark, known as Prank, found herself returning to Central City in order to bail her son out of prison. Zoey Clark certainly did not live up to her predecessors. The bland villain was practically tacked onto Axel. The actor provided a decent performance at the very least. The chemistry between the two characters was nowhere near as interesting as the father and son bonding time. Prank only held down the potential of The Trickster and degrades the character. The Trickster was portrayed as a weakling this episode, which is the complete polar opposite of his character. This was the same guy who was able to defeat The Flash multiple times without the help of his father. It’s unfortunate and regrettable for the writers to turn a popular villain that rarely appears into a complete laughing stock.

Mark Hamill has had a staple role for The Flash television series since the original series with John Wesley Shipp played Flash. While it may be understandable as to why Hamill could not return, it was still very disappointing to see a replacement character that had no chance in coming close to Hamill’s superb interpretation as the clown of crime. Besides, who thought that anyone could possibly outdo the man who plays both Trickster and Joker? Hopefully, we will see him return in the future. The actor had previously stated multiple times that he would be willing to come back anytime and that he continually watches the show live, as shown by his recent Twitter post. At the very least, we got a reference to the classic television series during Ralph’s briefing that showed Hamill in his original costume.

Barry learned that some of the inmates in Iron Heights had high respects for his father. Before Henry Allen was proven innocent, he was able to help the sick inmates when the prison doctors were unavailable. While the characters story arch may have closed at the ending of season two, it’s always welcoming to see his name return. The character had saved the life of an inmate when he was severely injured overnight. The prisoner felt the need to repay Henry Allen by defending his son. The show has never shown what exactly Henry Allen did while in prison. The Flash continues to develop characters that are long past their due dates. This is a rather alarming situation. The episode helps build a character’s story, but the character has not been seen for over two years now. My one hope this season is that the writers do not continue this trend. Its older brother Arrow took a similar turn that built up to absolutely nothing.

The elastic hero certainly had a troubled week. Ralph Dibny received plenty of great development this episode. Overall this was an extremely disappointing episode. It was plain average, but not horrible. Besides some neat Legends of Tomorrow references and a questionable ending that will affect the show’s future, this was a dismaying episode. Ralph Dibny’s new outfit looks a little on the cheaper side and Prank’s costume should have been considered a prank. The costume design for this new villain was a joke. While I do not expect the one time character to have an incredible costume, I did expect something original and intriguing at the very least. The chemistry between the team was great as usual, but its villain and writing were very unsystematic. There was plenty of positive points within the episode, but its negative aspects stood out far greater.

Predictions

It’s become evident that the girl who has been stalking the main heroes is the daughter of Barry Allen from the future. The most likely person that the girl is has to be Dawn Allen or a completely new character, although I find it highly unlikely that this is not a character from the comics.

Next Week’s Teaser

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