TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews The Flash Season 04 Episode 11: The Elongated Knight Rises

Ralph Dinby has been one of the more curious additions to The Flash, as he was very much an opposite to Barry on the heroic scale without being a villain. Yet, any who know his comic book roots knew it was only a matter of time before he became The Elongated Man. Turns out, that was tonight via “The Elongated Knight Rises”…yeah, they ruined a Batman title on this guy…*sigh*.

Don’t get me wrong, this episode was actually very good, great even, and part of it was because of Ralph. I liked how they showed Ralph doing solo missions, which led to him getting his own “rival” via Trickster II. It was a nice little progression that led to a typical “Crisis of Conscience” moment, but one with a nice twist. But more on that later.

I thought it was very interesting for them to bring in Trickster II back into the fold. He hasn’t been seen since “Tricksters” in season 01, and given that Hamill was shown again in Season 02, it was going around that we might not see the son again. Turns out, not only did we, we met his mother, Prank. This was a nice twist on things, however, it did lead to some oddities. First off, the actress who played Prank was fine, but she also had a dual personality with the character. First she came off as a female Trickster, but then, she melted into more of a motherly “this isn’t who you’re supposed to be” personality. And then, right after, she became the female Trickster again…with a potential not-so-motherly love for her son? Really?

Also, they kind of contradicted the season 01 lore with the dialogue. In “Tricksters”, Trickster II didn’t know that the original Trickster was his father (Hamill told him that in the episode). Yet here, Prank talks about how he idolized his father in his youth…which isn’t right. Now, yes, the “Flashpoint” event could’ve changed things in that family…but…that seems too convenient.

Anyway, back to Ralph, his first confrontation with the Trickster was well done, as it showed that Ralph could take anything thrown at him…short of acid. Which led Ralph to run to Barry in order to “break him out”. But, leave it to Barry to not only take the high road, but inspire Ralph to be the hero he needs to be. It was a really good speech, and it perfectly tied into his current prison arc.

The final showdown was a bit short, but, we did get to see Ralph in his new Elongated Man outfit, and it looks pretty sharp on him

A great sidestory here was Barry in jail, we could see the stress and pain that the incarceration was doing to him, and yet, he can’t help but help people when the time is right. On a personal note, it was EPIC how Bill Goldberg (the legendary wrestler) appeared on the show, and had a great connection with the late Henry Allen. This cameo is to go for a little longer, and I think him and Barry are going to make quite a team.

Aside from the Prank confusion, the only other major drawback was the fact that Cisco stayed on the sideline for the first battle with the Trickster. Why did he do that? The two of them could’ve easily taken him down, end of story. But he only showed up when Ralph got injured. And it wasn’t clear what those handcuffs did to Cisco and Killer Frost. Did it negate their powers? If so, how did they do that?

In the end though, “The Elongated Man Rises” brought Ralph to greater heroic heights, he’s still an arrogant jerk at times…but he’s getting to where he needs to be.