Last week, we learned that Wolfe was a bad guy who had taken to selling metas to crime boss, Amunet. Things did not exactly go how he hoped
Wolfe’s plan was immediately revealed when Iris showed up for her scheduled visitation with Cecile in tow. Using her new baby-induced telepathic powers, Cecile knew exactly what was up and the team set about to make a plan of their own.
At least they would, but Ralph shows up throwing a fit over his former friend/PI partner, Earl, a shady man with an awesome accent. As Ralph goes on and on, he starts to change, inadvertently discovering a new ability – shapeshifting. He can look and sound like anyone. While it seems as random as Cecile’s powers, it’s at least more plausible. The ability conveniently appears the day they need it, so Ralph is tasked with looking like Wolfe to meet Amunet and end the deal.
Barry is not one to just let himself get taken though. Through a series of Bill Nye-style experiments, he manages to make acid that eats through the lock on his meta cage. After that, he and his new BFFs, Becky, Mina, Killg%re, and Rundine, take off on a fun journey through underground tunnels that lead to the old prison. Fun times.
They aren’t the only ones keeping busy. When Marlize learned of Wolfe’s plan, she asked her husband what they should do. Devoe, holder of infinite wisdom, said, “I don’t know.” I guess he’s not reached god-like status…yet. Using his own psychic powers, he realizes Marlize has doubts. Unappreciative of the mental intrusion, she begins to constantly think of a song to keep him from her true thoughts.
Having mastered shapeshifting (almost), Ralph poses as Wolfe and badasses his way to an early meeting with Amunet. However, his form doesn’t hold and he rushes out, narrowly escaping her metal shards of death. She gives chase, but he manages to get out of sight. While sounding weirdly like Empty!Cas from Supernatural, she demands her righthand man get the real Wolfe on the phone. Despite staring at empty cells, he assures her the metas are right where they should be. Liar, liar, pants on fire!
Since tricking Amunet didn’t work, Cisco and Caitlin gear up to go fight Wolfe, Amunet, and their guards to save Barry. Depressed by his failure, Ralph declines to join them and heads to his office to drink and sleep. Caitlin tracks him down and decides he needs some tough love, so she brings Killer Frost out to play. In a complete out-of-character moment, Frost goes soft and is able to convince Ralph that friends don’t leave friends. He gets an epiphany and takes off.
Making their way through the old prison, Barry and Becky, Lady Luck, begin to bond. She doesn’t want to use her powers for bad anymore and Barry assures it’s possible to help people. I have to say, I was excited about the possibility that she would end up on Team Flash because she’s adorable and she and Ralph would be too cute together.
Once they were free and powered up, the escaped metas were quickly discovered by Wolfe and his men. Smart man that Wolfe is, he shoots a meta-dampener on to Barry’s ankle and informs the other metas that he is The Flash, the one who put them in jail and would put them back in jail afterwards. Mina, Rundine, and Killg%re are obviously still pissed and decide that Wolfe’s suggestion to deal with Barry first is a good idea. Thankfully, her heart-to-heart with Barry won Becky over and she uses her unnaturally good luck (aka bad luck for everyone else) to thwart them, knocking them out. Their original captors fair no better and only Wolfe and Amunet are left alive.
Luck did not protect them when Devoe showed up in his new and improved floaty chair, knocking Becky and Barry on their rears. Amunet manages to take off, not wanting to deal with whoever the new man is. The other metas come to and learn their powers aren’t working. This makes it easy for Devoe’s chair to lock onto them, sucking up their powers, and letting them drop dead. Barry tries to get Becky, but alas, he is too slow because of the dampener. Even worse is that Devoe decided to drop his consciousness into adorable little Becky. I would say I hope his wife digs chicks, too, but it seems Marlize isn’t fond of Devoe 3.0 at all when he murders Wolfe and then disappears.
Fashionably late, Cisco and Frost show up to save the day only to find out the day has already been destroyed. Despite that, they’re at least happy to bring Barry back with them, but he refuses to go. He won’t leave the prison unless it’s done legally. Heroes and their morals. With the Warden gone, Barry phases back into his old cell with no one being the wiser.
He doesn’t have to stay there long because Ralph had been working on his epiphany. At Barry’s appeal hearing, Original Devoe shows up. Or, rather, Ralph shapeshifted into Original Devoe, shows up. It was a surprise to the court and especially to Marlize. She was probably wishing it was real and she’d have her original husband back. With the man Barry was accused of killing obviously alive, Barry was set free.
In true Team Flash style, they have a little get-together at the West house to celebrate. Barry bums everyone out though when he points out the Devoe only wants to steal the powers from the twelve bus metas. As it just so happens, they know a bus meta – their very own Ralph Dibney.
Having a celebration as well, Devoe 3.0 is quite pleased, but Marlize is most certainly not in the mood. Making a toast, Devoe 3.0 gets her to drink from a glass that he spiked with Amunet’s love drug. Content and in love, they dance their cares away.
Having Neo’d their way out of a multitude of metaphorical bullets, the team is back and ready to find more bus metas. Looks like they’ll be going a little bit country next week as their search continues.