The Flash – Lose Yourself

By: Stacy Miller

Barry (Grant Gustin) and Ralph (Hartley Sawyer) use the new scanner Cisco (Carlos Valdes) made to check Central City Bus 405 for clues to help find the last bus meta Edwin Gauss (Arturo del Puerto). On the bus, Ralph finds his Big Belly punch card and comments that he’s only five punches away from a free kid’s meal. “If I live that long,” Ralph says thinking how DeVoe (Neil Sandilands) will probably get to him before then.  Barry assures they won’t let that happen. Ralph says that if they can’t take DeVoe down there’s always the other option, which is sending him to that big super villain place in the sky.  It is then Barry gives Ralph the most important lesson to being a superhero: “We never have to kill. For people with our abilities, there’s always another way.” Cisco’s scanner picks up something off one of the seats on the bus. Ralph remembers talking with the guy, (who is revealed to be Edwin Gauss) that sat at that seat; the man paid Dibny’s fare when Ralph was short on cash. “The residue of dark matter reads that he was here one second and vanished the next,” Barry tells Ralph.  Barry gets a text from Harry (Tom Cavanagh) who has something important to show them and wants them back at Star Labs.

At Star Labs, Harry gives Joe (Jesse L. Martin), Iris (Candice Patton), Barry, Cisco, Ralph and Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) a demonstration of his latest gadget, which utilizes Izzy Bowin’s (Miranda MacDougall) sound wave ability, the only thing they know that can hurt DeVoe. “One strike incapacitates The Thinker, two strikes no more Thinker. I call it Sonic Scepter,” Harry tells Team Flash. It looks like a big tuning fork, but may be the most powerful tuning fork in the world.  And the good thing about it is that it doesn’t operate on technology, which makes it Kilgore (one of The Thinker’s obtain Meta Human powers) proof. After Harry leaves the room, Joe says to Cisco that it seems like Harry is relying on that thinking cap more.

In another area of Star Labs, Caitlin explains to Iris that she (Caitlin) found what makes her turn into Killer Frost mode besides being frightened or made angry by Cisco or Harry. It seems that a high concentration of dark matter is located in Caitlin’s adrenal gland. So, Caitlin has created a pen that will allow her to activate her Killer Frost powers at will. “I can’t wait to tell her,” Caitlin says, explaining to Iris that she (Caitlin) and Killer Frost often talk. Okay, not creepy. Suddenly, a pocket dimension opens. It looks like Team Flash has located DeVoe. “Get that pen ready,” Team Flash leader Iris tells Caitlin.

Soon, Vibe, The Flash, Killer Frost and The Elongated Man open a breach and arrive where the pocket dimension opened. But it’s not DeVoe that comes out of the pocket dimension. It is a man whistling and carrying a letter which he drops in the mailbox. “Edwin Gauss?” Barry asks. Startled, Edwin Gauss falls backwards into the pocket dimension and vanishes.

Back at Star Labs, Iris gives Team Flash information about Edwin Gauss. It seems that Gauss has everything he owns strapped to himself in a backpack. Gauss was awkward even before he became a Meta Human. Whereas DeVoe uses his chair to create pocket dimensions, Edwin Gauss’ abilities allow him to create his pocket dimension. Team Flash realize that if DeVoe gets Gauss’ power, he will be able to create his own pocket dimensions.

Joe questions Harry about Wells’ use of the thinking cap. Harry has been using the cap for non-related DeVoe problems like when he wanted to make the perfect omelet. When Joe asks Harry whether he (Joe) can borrow the thinking cap, Harry refuses explaining that the thinking cap is synched to the specific user’s (Harry) brain chemistry which makes it dangerous. And yet, Harry used it to make an omelet. Harry realizes what Joe is doing and assures that Cisco worried about the same thing, which is whether Harry was addicted to the thinking cap. Harry promises that he’s not…just like he promised Cisco that he wouldn’t use dark matter to power the thinking cap. Joe apologizes for his questions, commenting that it’s sometimes hard to turn off his cop brain.

Barry, Cisco, Caitlin and Ralph arrive at a pocket dimension that looks like a hippie commune. “Unwashed flower child, have you seen this man?” Ralph asks, showing a picture of Edwin Gauss. Hippie Guy (Andrew Barber) tells Ralph that he’s seen Gauss’ aura. Around there they call Edwin Gauss the ‘Folded Man’ because he’s everywhere, yet nowhere. Barry and Ralph again have the discussion about killing DeVoe. “Even in self-defense?” Ralph asks. “It’s not self-defense if you’re thinking about it,” Barry answers, “We’ll find another way.” “I hope so rookie,” says Ralph. Caitlin spots Edwin Gauss, but he takes off running.  Gauss is fast for not being a speedster. He’s tackled to the ground. Barry assures that they aren’t there to hurt him but to protect him. “Is that why you brought your ninja friend?” Edwin Gauss asks as a ninja robot stabs Caitlin and throws her across the air. Barry catches her just in time and tells Ralph to meet them back at Star Labs. The computerized voice of DeVoe in the robot warns Ralph that he’ll cut down the entire Team Flash and Dibny can’t stop him.

Back at Star Labs, Caitlin’s Killer Frost abilities have helped her heal quickly. Ralph angrily reminds Iris and Barry that they’ve been unable to stop DeVoe because The Thinker has been one step ahead of them. They’d can defeat DeVoe if they are able to make the hard choices i.e. killing DeVoe when they get the chance. Iris tells Ralph that she understands where he’s coming from but they won’t kill DeVoe, they’ll capture him and put him in the pipeline.

Ralph sarcastically says that DeVoe will always beat them because ‘Mr. and Mrs. Star Labs’ are in agreement and afraid to end DeVoe. Ralph then goes to see Edwin Gauss and learns that Gauss has been to DeVoe’s pocket dimension. Even though Cisco said that each pocket dimension is specific to the person, Edwin Gauss has trained his mind and can enter other pocket dimensions.

Harry can’t find his Thinking Cap and confronts Cisco about taking it. But Joe is the one who has it. He tells Harry that he’s seen the signs of addiction before with his late wife but didn’t do anything to stop it because he didn’t want to admit it to himself.  Joe tells Harry that although he can’t stop him (Harry) from using The Thinking Cap, he wants Wells to think about what it’s doing to the people he cares about.

Ralph and Edwin prepare to go to DeVoe’s lair but Barry stops him. Ralph puts The Sonic Scepter inside his body.  But Barry is able to knock Dibny out. “Sorry Ralph.” When Ralph wakes up, Barry apologizes and offers an olive branch. He tells Ralph him understands that Ralph is scared of DeVoe. Ralph angrily tells Barry that he doesn’t understand anything; Ralph isn’t afraid of what DeVoe can do to him, he’s afraid of what DeVoe can do to Team Flash. DeVoe has gotten rid of everyone in his way and Team Flash is in his way. Ralph tells Barry that besides for his (Ralph) mother, Team Flash is the closest thing he’s ever had to family and DeVoe is not taking them away from him. Team Flash decide to use Edwin Gauss’ power to open DeVoe’s pocket dimension.   But unfortunately when Team Flash arrive in DeVoe’s pocket dimension, they face a hologram because the real Devoe and Marlize (Kim Engelbrecht) opened another pocket dimension and are at Star Labs. Joe battles the ninja while Harry has Gideon increase the dark matter in the Thinking Cap. Iris faces Marlize and the two fight it for the love of their men. And Ralph has a rematch with an enlarged dinosaur. “I hate sequels,” Ralph says. Dibny beats the dinosaur and then faces DeVoe, who has taken over Edwin Gauss’ body. Ralph pulls The Sonic Scepter from his body.  He’s ready to make the hard choice to end DeVoe once and for all.

When Barry gets to Ralph, it looks like Dibny didn’t kill DeVoe after all.  But DeVoe has one last trick up his sleeve. “When you cuff a meta, you better make sure the cuffs are the right color,” DeVoe says breaking from. He immobilizes Barry, who urges Ralph to fight it because he’ll (Barry) save him. But it’s too late…DeVoe now has Ralph’s body and after tossing around Cisco and Caitlin. DeVoe taunts Barry that all the training he gave Mr. Dibny has made Ralph’s body his (DeVoe) best host yet. DeVoe then disappears back to his pocket dimension.

Team Flash laments that they failed to protect Ralph and Edwin Gauss. And because Caitlin touched DeVoe, all the dark matter in her body is gone and so is Killer Frost.  Iris finds Barry at Ralph’s PI office where Allen is putting away thing he knows Ralph wouldn’t want people to discover. After Iris leaves the office, Barry promises Ralph that he’ll keep them (Team Flash) safe for him (Ralph).

In their pocket dimension, DeVoe uses Ralph’s abilities to change back into his (DeVoe) original face. He tells Marlize that he’s whole and with her once again. DeVoe also managed to lift some of the dark matter Harry was using to power his thinking cap and tells Marlize that the fire that will burn down Team Flash will be used to light The Enlightenment.