TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews The Flash Season 8 Episode 17: Keep It Dark

The beginning of this episode was a very poignant one in a variety of ways. No, not the “new speedster” bit, the part that came after that. When Joe and Cecil were prepping Jenna to go to Kindergarten. Why was this poignant? Because as me and my friends had been noting for weeks…Cecil seemed forget she had a daughter with Joe, and was doing all sorts of things revolving around not being a parent with Joe. And even when Joe was alone…there was no mention of Jenna even though she was clearly in the house with him. Cecil even had a line “what am I forgetting?” to which Barry said, “Jenna” and she left. I don’t know if that was a realization that the writers suddenly had, or just a bit of perfect timing, but that pretty much reflects what has been going on in The Flash this season. A lot of “forgetful storytelling”.

In “Keep It Dark”, we had a two-pronged story that could’ve been really good on various levels, but only one of them panned out. Care to guess which one?

If you said the “new speedster” storyline, you’d be correct. Because that storyline showcased a lot of things, including a gripping performance by Tom Cavanaugh in his “depowered form”. Dealing with the pain and loss of not having his speed and having his anger arguably be at an all-time high. Barry playing him like a fiddle was a bit odd, but I’ll give it a pass given the back and forth we got…and now knowing why he was smiling at the end of that conversation. Meeting the new speedster “Fasttrack” (who is indeed a part of DC Comics lore and was part of DC Rebirth at the beginning in the Godspeed arc) was interesting due to the “speed battle” we got and hopefully a new hero…potentially. Given next week’s teaser, it’s hard to say at this point.

Sadly, the other storyline with Allegra didn’t pan out. I was more than happy with her hooking up again with her former gang member that she helped earlier this season as that was a good progression. And them working together to take down a gang was great in her own right. But naturally, and unsurprisingly, it escalated in a way that was both unbelievable and annoying. Because of COURSE their former gang was suddenly turned evil because of two villains from the past that we haven’t seen in a long time…naturally. And of COURSE all of this went down while Barry was “off grid”…even though that’s unbelievable given how short a period of time he spent with Thawne and how fast he’s allegedly able to go now.

Then, there was the “crisis of confidence” that Allegra had about “being a leader” even though she had already proven her mettle before, and the very wooden and over-the-top acting of two of the CCC reporters during the event didn’t help either. Also, like a lot of episodes recently, Allegra apparently “leveled up” enough to take on two master assassins and even save herself from a killer bullet. At this point? Sure, why not?

Not unlike a certain Superman & Lois episode last night, I didn’t mind the ending, but there were better ways to get there. As was the “reveal” of Caitlin apparently “going away again, but for real this time”…sure. Also, remember when Mark said “this better work” and now he’s…nowhere to be found?

In the end, “Keep It Dark” was just…decent. It had beats that worked, and ones that didn’t, and at this point in time, that just…isn’t enough for a show that should really know how to make things work with its cast and story.

3/5