The Flash – Null and Annoyed

By: Stacy Miller

In a training simulation, Barry (Grant Gustin) and Ralph (Hartley Sawyer) battle DeVoe (Miranda MacDougall), now using Izzy’s body as his host. “Watch this Dr. Oct…Turtle Power,” Ralph says pushing his head inside his Elongated Man suit. “Shut it down,” Barry tells Iris (Candice Patton) and Cisco (Carlos Valdes). Iris tells Ralph that they are going to run the program again and asks him to follow Barry’s plan. “You know the one where I spend hours of my time programming realistic holograms for you,” Cisco says sarcastically. In the simulation, Ralph was to morph into Barry to confuse The Thinker so he wouldn’t have known which one them were The Flash.  Ralph explains that he was doing a little improvisation comedy and that Barry should try it too. Barry reminds Ralph that they are trying to protect him. “DeVoe is coming and we need to be ready.” But Ralph thinks his plan is a good one. “I hide my head, I protect my ass,” Ralph says.  Barry tells Iris that he wishes that Ralph would take this seriously and not make a joke out of everything. Iris reminds that is just the way Ralph is. Meanwhile, Harry (Tom Cavanagh) is trying to use his brain booster to help located the last two bus metas. Iris pulls up a record for Janet Petty (Bethany Brown), who goes by the handle Null.  Her last known address was Iron Heights where she was locked up for breaking and entering. Team Flash realize that they still don’t know what her power is and have to find out. Harry says that he’d be able to get answers quicker without all the distractions. Speaking of distractions, Breacher (Danny Trejo) suddenly appears through a breach.  He grabs Cisco by the collar and tells his daughter’s boyfriend that he needs his help.

Breacher explains to Cisco and Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) that he was battling the head vampire of The Tenth Circle and was surrounded by hundreds of other vampires when his (Breacher) powers gave out. As Cynthia a/k/a Gypsy always said that Cisco was a smart man well versed in the science of Meta Humans, Breacher came to him for his help. Cisco says that it would be an honor to help Breacher; they will run some tests to see what’s going on with Breacher’s powers.

Meanwhile in The Thinker’s lair, DeVoe tells Marlize (Kim Engelbrecht) that the dark matter is weakening this host’s body. “How long do we have?” Marlize asks her husband. “At the presence rate, just over a week,” DeVoe answers. Marlize thinks she may be able to make a design that will extend the host’s life.  But when she looks on the computer system, a beginning of such a program around exists. DeVoe explains that he attempted that same thing, but his talent for engineering is nowhere near hers. Marlize assures that he already had a good start so she’ll be able to complete the program.

Bob (Kevin Smith) and Jay (Jason Mewes), two museum security guards are attempting to move a two hundred pound steel crate. As they are unable to lift it, Bob and Jay go inside to get a dolly. That is when Null appears. She touches the crate, which elevates it into the air. When it comes crashing down and breaks, Null takes the crown of the ground and places it on her head. Then, she walks away.

Barry and Ralph arrive at the scene of the museum robbery to question the security guards. Joe (Jesse L. Martin) appears and tells them that according to the security guards, the steel crate was there one second and gone the next along with the priceless crown. They wonder if they are looking for a Meta Human with super human strength; maybe it was Null and this is her power.

Breacher trains with some card board cuts out of Cisco but is still unable to vibe blast them. Breacher assures Cisco that if he helps him get his powers back, he’ll make sure to give Cynthia time so she can spend it with Cisco. Then, he tells Cisco that he is hungry, so Cisco suggests Breacher try the donuts in the break room encouraging him to check out the naco donuts (which sound disgusting). Once Breacher leaves the room, Caitlin tells Cisco that her medical tests doesn’t reveal anything medically to account for the loss of Breacher’s vibe blast powers. Because using vibe blasts require a large amount of energy, Caitlin reasons that Father Time is the culprit for Breacher losing his ability. Meaning, Breacher is getting old. Cisco laments that if Breacher’s powers are gone forever, Gypsy’s father will never let him see her again.

Marlize knocks over her cup of tea. While picking up the shards, she touches a strange substance on the floor. Placing her finger on the computer, she runs a chemical analyzes. It looks like DeVoe has been drugging her!

At Star Labs, Team Flash discover that Janet Petty has seventeen other aliases she uses when she commits her robberies. Barry and Ralph leave Star Labs and go question fence Earl Cox (Paul McGillion) to see if Null came to him to scrub the crown for quick cash. Ralph morphs into Joe and pulls the ‘bad cop’ routine to get Earl Cox to crack. Suddenly, Null appears. “Deal’s off,” she tells Cox then touches Barry, which causes him to be suspended in the air.

Back at Star Labs, Iris has a robe tied to Barry’s ankle while he hovers on the ceiling; Barry is like a human balloon. “Babe, are you okay?” Iris asks. “I just want to get down from here,” Barry answers. Caitlin explains that Null’s powers seem to effect the density of Barry’s cells making it appears as though his body is filled with helium. Harry puts on his brain booster and tells Team Flash that Null’s power over Barry’s body should wear off soon. And with that, Barry falls to the floor with a thump. Ralph makes a joke about Barry’s landing. Barry is annoyed that Ralph continues making joke. And what was with turning into Joe back there?  If Ralph had just tossed him the cuffs, they would have had Null by now. Tired of Ralph constantly joking and not taking things seriously, Barry benches Ralph.

Finishing the chemical analyzes on the substance, Marlize realizes that she has been dosed with a narcotics that give people a sense of euphoria.

Cisco gives Breacher some antihistamine pills and lies that the pills will give him back his powers.

Harry explains that if Barry makes sure that he is out of Null’s eyesight, she’ll be unable to use her powers on him as they work along with her optic nerve.  But when Barry speeds out of Null’s eyesight and places the power dampening cuffs on her, she has a plan. “I call it my get-away car. Either you let me get away, or the person in that car dies,” Null tells Barry pointing to the car falling at a fast velocity from the sky.  Barry chooses to save the person in the car and Null makes her escape.

When Barry returns to Star Labs, Harry blames himself for not anticipating Null’s move. After Harry leaves the room, Iris and Barry again talk about Ralph cracking jokes. Iris explains that when Barry was gone, Ralph rose to the occasion and did the job the best way he knew how. Iris asks Barry whether he benched Ralph not because he was cracking jokes but because he didn’t follow his (Barry) plans.

Thinking he has his vibe blast power back, Breacher goes to confront the vampire. Cisco saves Breacher just in time. Cisco has to admit to Breacher that the antihistamine pills wouldn’t have worked because Breacher is losing his powers because of his age.

Marlize records a video file to remind herself that Clifford is drugging her and she needs to escape. But when she goes to save it into ‘New Lemondade Recipe’ Marlize discovers the file already exists. She plays the other file which talks about how Clifford is drugging her because he is a monster and she needs to escape now. DeVoe appears and tells Marlize that with tears from The Weeper mixed with Dominic Lance’s powers, he was able to create a drug to keep her docile. DeVoe explains that he knew that the thing about her that he fell in love with would also be their downfall. “Your humanity,” DeVoe tells Marlize. “Clifford, I am your wife!” Marlize shouts angrily. But DeVoe subdues her and response “And I love you but you are nothing without you.”

Barry goes to see Ralph, who explains that seeing Izzy get killed right in front of him did something to him. Ralph says that whenever he is afraid, he either hides or makes a joke. Barry takes Ralph off the bench. Then, they reach to Star City Museum when they get word that Null is there.

Null demands all the shiny and sparkly from the museum guests. When a woman refuses, Null uses her power to elevate her into the air. The Flash arrives and pulls her down to the floor. But Null touches the floor which would send all the museum patrons into the atmosphere. The Flash speeds everyone out of the museum just in time. But then, Null touches Barry. “Fly Flash fly,” she says. Barry is soon rising higher and higher. Ralph stretches his arm but is unable to reach Barry at ten thousand fight. It looks like when Null’s power wears off, Barry will fall to his death! Barry tells Ralph to do something Dibny-esqe. So, Ralph inflates himself. When Barry falls, he lands on a Ralph cushion.

With Null safely in the pipeline, Team Flash has one more bus meta to find. Breacher tells Cisco that he returned to his Earth and looked into the mirror and saw an old man looking back at him. So, Breacher has decided to retire, which meets there is an open position. “What do you say Vibe, want to be the new Breacher?” Will Cisco leave Team Flash?

Marlize returns from her nap and we get the same scene from earlier in the episode where she discovered the program design to extend Clifford’s life was already started.

Harry comes to the computer Gideon and tells her a lot has changed since they’ve spoken last.