Catching Up: The Flash Episode 413, "True Colors"

The plans of The Thinker (currently played by KENDRICK SAMPSON) are further revealed, and further complicated, in this episode of THE FLASH. With Barry's powers having been revealed to Warden Wolfe (RICHARD BROOKS), he's been locked away in an "off the books" metahuman wing. It's off the books because the warden has secretly been selling metahumans to Amunet Black (KATEE SACKHOFF), and now he knows that Barry Allen (GRANT GUSTIN) is The Flash and locks him away with his most recent captures: Becky "Hazard" Sharpe (SUGAR LYN BEARD), Mina "Black Bison" Chayton (CHELSEA KURTZ), Sylbert "Dwarfstar" Rundine (DEREK MEARS), and Ramsey "Kilg%re" Deacon (DOMINIC BURGESS). But when Barry learns that they are up for sale to Amunet Black, he begins working on a breakout. This is a great scene for Barry, as he's working without powers and showing what he's capable of as a scientist going full MacGuyver.

Unfortunately for those of us who think about it, he makes an acid that eats metal but not the thin plastic water bottle that holds it. But let's not dwell...

Meanwhile, Iris (CANDICE PATTON) comes to visit Barry in prison, with Cecile (DANIELLE NICOLET) in tow. The warden tells them that Barry has been moved to isolation because he was in an altercation with other prisoners. But remember, Cecile is a mind reader while she's pregnant, and she knows that Barry has been moved and is being prepped for sale to Amunet Black.

Team Flash goes into overdrive to find a way to stop the sale, and when they learn by accident that Ralph Dibny (HARTLEY SAWYER) can not only stretch, but also reshape his body to look like other people, they get him to impersonate the warden and go see Amunet to hold off on the transaction. Unfortunately, Ralph loses control during this meeting, and barely escapes with his life. Knowing that he always screws up and lets people down, he bows out of the next attempt to save Barry, prompting Caitlin to go visit him for a pep talk -- and when he won't listen to her, she brings out Killer Frost instead. Ralph confesses that he doesn't want to screw up and have people leave him again, particularly those he now considers friends -- something he hasn't had in a long time. Frost tells him she's screwed up many times, and they always keep standing up for her; and Ralph hasn't even tried to kill anybody, so he'll probably be okay unless he goes "full villain" on them. That gives Ralph an idea.

As Barry leads the fugitives under Iron Heights, he learns that Becky Sharpe is truly repentant about her past, and doesn't want to hurt anyone anymore with her powers. But when they finally leave the confines of the metahuman dampeners, they run headlong into Warden Wolfe and the guards. He instantly shoots a power dampening bracelet onto Barry's ankle, and before the others can attack he redirects their rage by revealing that Barry Allen is the one who put them all behind bars--The Flash! They all turn on him, save for Becky, who accesses her luck powers to stop them. I've got to say, I really love how her powers are shown to work, like little event dominoes toppling into place. She takes out all the villains in one swoop, just in time for Amunet Black to arrive. But Becky's powers aren't finished, and soon they're all down.

At that moment, The Thinker appears in his flying chair through a warp. We've seen a little of him this episode, and have seen the chink in his personal life as his wife, Marlize (KIM ENGELBRECHT) is beginning to have doubts. She particularly resents that he is now using Brainstorm's powers to read her mind, and has been trying to block him out with a song playing on repeat in her head. The Thinker blasts all the prisoners with something that negates their powers, then uses his chair's tentacles to reach out and grab them all by the head, transferring their powers into him and having them drop like flies. Flash runs to save Becky, but only at normal speed, and arrives at her just at the moment that Devoe chooses to occupy her body. So now The Thinker has all their powers, and is now played by SUGAR LYN BEARD. She then kills the warden and leaves.

Moments later, Vibe and Frost appear in a warp, ready to take Barry out. But he won't leave. He only did the breakout because they were going to be sold. Now that they aren't, he wants to do things the legal way. So they bust his dampening bracelet, and he speeds back to his old cell in gen-pop.

At the Devoe household, Marlize is more distraught than ever, now that her husband is a woman. So we see The Thinker / Becky dump a powder in Marlize's drink, and quickly learn that it's the love potion of The Weeper's tears. When we leave them, they are slow-dancing together to the song in Marlize's head.

The good news is that Ralph's brainstorm of a plan works. When Cecile goes to file for an appeal for Barry, the courtroom goes into disarray when in wheels Clifford Devoe (NEIL SANDILANDS). Since Devoe is supposed to be dead -- the whole reason behind Barry's incarceration -- the judge has no other option than to call for his immediate release.

At the welcome home party at the West household, however, Barry realizes that Devoe could have stolen the powers of a lot more metas at Iron Heights, but only went for the ones who were on the bus during the second Dark Matter incident. He just wants their powers, killing them and taking over their bodies in the process. And the team knows one of the bus metas personally.

Ralph Dibny.

It's a good time for Ralph to have friends.