After last week’s emotional breather, the tension ramps up in a BIG way. We are gaining clarity on a number of fronts. We finally understand Clifford DeVoe’s plan and how he and Marlize started this journey toward “the Enlightenment”. We get clarity on Cisco and Gypsy’s relationship, and what his decision may be on that job offer from Breacher. With Cecile’s help, we find more about what is happening to Harry…and we get a HUGE hint about that “mystery woman” who has been appearing throughout the season. Wow! Want to know more? Follow us after the jump!

SPOILERS AHEAD!

NOTE: This review is posting before THE FLASH airs in the Pacific Time Zone USA. If you haven’t seen this episode yet, STOP HERE and come back after you see the show! You’ll be glad you did!

The best way to break down this episode is to take the major storylines and follow them through to their end.  Let’s start with the secondary plot lines first and work our way up (I have my reasons, don’t want to spoil too much too early)…

• Cisco and Gypsy are not in sync. Gypsy keeps sending messages through the breach, asking if Cisco plans to take her father’s old job. Eventually, they talk about it and discover that neither of them really wants him to take that job, which is good news for Team Flash.  But, the bad news is…that Cisco can’t handle the relationship the way it is going.  He wants more – more time than Gypsy can give him. It’s a very sad break-up…but we may yet see more from her (just not right away). For now, it’s over for the two of them.
• Cecile is being distracted by a rapidly diminishing Harry so that Joe can set up a surprise baby shower – tough to do when Cecile can read minds. What she finds in talking to Harry is that his ideas begin to form…and disappear before he can hold on to them.  Thankfully, she can grasp those thoughts in his head and retain them. They make a great team and figure out DeVoe’s plan. More on that later in this post…
• Caitlin is continuing her search for restoring her Killer Frost  persona…without luck. She takes a huge risk while trying to stop DeVoe, but hopefully we will see more success (and Killer Frost) before the season ends.

And now…to more of the main plot…

• Much of the show is told in flashbacks, showing how Clifford and Marlize met and fell in love. Marlize was originally much more idealistic, believing in the value of technology and its hope for curing the ills of humanity. Clifford was very different, believing that technology was a curse and that the only hope for humanity would be to get rid of all tech…and return humanity to a time that they could no longer even remember that they ever had that tech in the first place. Eventually, after tragedy, Marlize begins to see the world Clifford’s way, and agrees to help him throw the world back to an age before technology.
• But, Marlize is becoming disillusioned. The more she sees Cliff’s willingness to kill innocent people, the less she believes in his cause.  He attempts to kill Gypsy at one point, and stops only because of Marlize’s insistence. This looks to be a turning point for her.
• Marlize realizes that Clifford wants to do more than throw humanity back in time…he wants to rule what’s left of humanity! His plan would be to rig a group of satellites to shoot so much dark matter at the earth that it would essentially rid humanity of its intelligence (the same process impacting Harry at a slower pace right now).  Marlize is okay with the “enlightenment” but not with Clifford’s cruelty or desire to rule.
• Marlize gets the now-infamous chair and uses it to leave Clifford. She has finally turned on him, and this looks to be THE major turning point of the season, at least in the battle against DeVoe.

Only one major twist left, and it happens in the epilogue:

• We finally see the surprise shower, with one gift delivered by the mystery woman that most of us believe may be Dawn Allen. She delivers the gift, accidentally babbling the exact number of days left before Joe and Cecile’s baby will be born. She changes expression slightly when she sees iris and disappears…and then…

…

…

…

She runs away at super speed!

SUMMARY: This is the episode we needed at this point in the season. The pacing has returned to an excellent level, the plot threads are beginning to come together, and the major turnabout we’ve been waiting to see with Marlize has finally happened.  The flashbacks for Clifford and Marlize were exceptionally well-done, and the interactions between Cisco and Gypsy, Cecile and Harry, and all the rest of the gang were right on point.  I cannot wait to see what happens next week, and that’s exactly as it should be (especially at this point in the season).  I’ll give this one a 9/10 – but that’s just my opinion. What do YOU think? Leave your comments below!

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