The Flash – “Null And Annoyed” Recap – Season 4, Episode 17

Crystal
10 Min Read

This hiatus has been hell, but The Flash finally returned with the episode, “Null and Annoyed,” directed by the incomparable Kevin Smith.

The tone for the episode is set right away. Barry and Ralph are at odds again. With the weight of the world on his shoulders, Barry has no time for Ralph’s jokes and constant improving of their plan.

While discussing how they have no idea where the two remaining metas are, Gypsy’s dad, Breacher shows up. He says he was in a battle with Lord Crucifer, a vampire, when his powers stopped working. Considering that, it’s a little odd that he was able to breach there, but plot holes are par for the course. He asks Cisco for help who of course jumps at the chance to win over Gypsy’s dad.

Devoe 4.0 is not doing so well. The dark matter is overwhelming the host body and will only last a week. Marlize says she can make adjustments to his floaty-chair, but finds plans for the changes already started. Devoe brushes it off as something he started, but needed Marlize to finish with her engineering know-how. He has a minor slip-up when he mentions going after the last two metas and she reminds him that there are three because The Weeper is still at large.

Side pic of Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes – https://i.imgur.com/KUHDstL.jpg

Making me squeal with excitement, we see Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith) as museum security trying to move a heavy crate. When they go off to get a dolly, Janet Petty, aka Null, shows up and touches the crate, sending it up and away. When she lets it hit the ground, the crate smashes into smithereens and she’s able to steal a crown from the inside.

Breacher is going through training, but failing miserably. Thinking maybe Cisco needs more incentive, he promises that he will give Gypsy time off if Cisco can fix him. Kaitlyn tells Cisco that there is no problem. Breacher has just gotten older and that vibing takes a lot of energy, energy that older people do not have. Cisco is naturally terrified of telling Breacher that knowing that he could very well never get to see Gypsy again, assuming he lived through the telling.

Marlize is busy making changes to the floaty-chair and gets distracted as she sets her coffee mug aside, missing the table. As she’s cleaning the mess, she realizes there’s something odd in the liquid. A chemical analysis lets her know that Devoe has been drugging her with The Weeper’s tears to keep her happy and complacent.

Meanwhile, using facial recognition software, Team Flash gets a hit on Null and head out to talk to someone in the area. That someone turns out to be Ralph’s old PI buddy, Earl. Ralph morphs into Joe and questions him like he’s a 1920’s copper. Earl swears he hasn’t seen her, but a slew of jewels on his desk says otherwise. Turns out, she’s hanging out near the ceiling. She hops down and uses her power to send Barry floating up.

They learn that Null can alter the density of something’s cells. Kaitlyn likens it to being filled with helium. The alteration eventually wears off, causing Barry to hit the floor of the lab with near zero warning. Ralph continues to make jokes, but Barry’s had enough and decides to sideline Ralph until he can get it together.

With no possibility of “fixing” Breacher, Cisco decided to do the next best thing and lie. He offers him an antihistamine, saying it was the answer to his problems. When he takes the pill and immediately tries to use his powers, Cisco shoots from behind him, making him think it worked.

They get another hit on Null and Harry uses his Thinking Cap to realize that Null cannot anti-gravitate what she cannot see, meaning Barry needs to vibrate past the speed of sight, making himself invisible to her. It works and he gets the cuffs on her, but she’s a smart cookie and had insurance. A minivan is currently hurtling towards the ground with a man inside. Bound by superhero code, Barry lets her get away so he can save the man.

Cisco goes off with a bottle of tequila to find Breacher. What he finds is an empty bottle of antihistamine. He vibes it and sees that Breacher is facing off against Lord Crucifer. Again, not sure how he got there since his powers don’t actually work. Cisco breaches over with a sunlight gun, but quickly finds out that sunlight doesn’t hurt that type of vampire. They breach back to the safety lab. Cisco tells him the truth and apologizes for lying. Breacher tells Cisco he hates him and then walks off….through a breach…created by…I don’t know, the fairy breach-mother, I guess.

Marlize records herself a video to remind herself that she is being drugged and that she needs to escape. When she tries to save the file, she learns that there is already a file with that name. When she opens it, it’s a video just like the one she recorded. It’s obviously not the first time she had found out about being drugged.

Devoe 4.0 shows up and says she always saves it under the same name. He says with tears from The Weeper and Dominic Lance’s powers, he alers her memory every time. That’s when she learns that The Weeper was not created for Devoe to wear. He was created specifically to keep Marlize happy because her humanity would destroy everything Devoe was trying to do. She gets sedated for the umpteenth time.

Barry talks to Ralph and says that it didn’t seem like Ralph was taking anything seriously. Ralph admits to using comedy as a coping mechanism. Couldn’t see that coming a mile away.

Null heads back to the Central City Museum since they’re having a gala complete with rich people bedecked in their finest bling. When Ralph and Barry show up, she manages to once again send Barry floating away. This time though, they’re outside. There’s no ceiling. Ralph’s stretchy arm can’t stretch enough to grab him and Cisco can’t create a breach that far off. Barry tells Ralph to do what he does best and improvise. Since Null is distracted by the sparklies, he puts the cuffs on her ankles. This somehow ends the effects that she had over Barry and leaves him falling down from on high. In a moment of lame comedy, Ralph turns himself into a giant whoopee cushion, catching Barry and protecting him from smashing into the ground.

Breacher shows up again (magically) wearing his retirement gear of a Hawaiian print shirt, board shorts, socks, and flip-flops. He says that with his retirement there was a spot open at the Collection Agency and he wanted Cisco to replace him. It would allow him and Gypsy to see each other more.

Marlize wakes up…again. She and Devoe 4.0 play through their parts as Devoe steers her towards completing the floaty-chair modifications. This time Devoe doesn’t make the same mistake as before when he says they have two metas to capture since Team Flash now has Null.

Harry goes into the secret room and plugs his hat into charge. He turns on Gideon who says it has been over 3 years since they last spoke. Interesting. I wonder what this could mean.

Next week, Team Flash and the Devoe Duo collide and it looks to be a hellish battle! Check out the promo to see for yourself.

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By Crystal
Crystal joined the Nerds and Beyond team in 2018. Three years earlier, she tripped into the Supernatural fandom and decided to stay. It's where her passion for writing was reborn. Her free time is largely centered around creative writing (okay, it's fanfic), providing editing for others, and binging makeover shows. The DC Universe is her other fandom of choice and she lives for the crossover extravaganzas. The main joy in her life is her young son whom she homeschools and takes to Disney World as often as possible.
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