Will 'The Flash' Reveal Barry's Secret Identity When Season 4 Returns?
All signs point to yes.
When we last saw Barry Allen on The Flash, he had been arrested for murder, and Tuesday night’s mid-season premiere, “The Trial of the Flash,” is all about Barry on trial for killing Clifford DeVoe.
We know that The Thinker and Mechanic framed Barry for the whole thing, but the real question here is what Team Flash is willing to do to prove Barry’s innocence. All signs are pointing towards Barry’s big secret getting out to the public, especially because of several scenes we’ve already seen from the episode.
In a behind-the-scenes promo for the episode, The Flash executive producer Todd Hellbing talks about the episode. In addition to calling the case a “slam dunk case for the prosecution,” he also teases an interesting dynamic that emerges between Barry and Iris when Lucille suggests that Barry testify and tell “the truth” to the world. She says it’s the “only way” for him to avoid going to prison.
Could Barry Allen face The Thinker later this season with all of Central City behind him?
Barry remains oddly calm about potentially going to prison, totally resolute that he’ll accept whatever the justice system delivers as the verdict. He also refuses to lie under oath, which makes sense because he’s always been the noblest hero in The CW’s lineup. Meanwhile, everyone around him, including Joe and Iris, freak out about the prospect.
In an extended trailer for the episode that released last week, Iris makes dramatic entrance into the courtroom, saying, “Your Honor, there’s something you need to know that will alter the outcome of this case.” When the judge says, “I have no idea what you think you’re doing!” her response is, “What my husband won’t.”
Whether or not The Flash follows through on the obvious implication that Iris is about to publicly reveal that Barry Allen is The Flash remains to be seen, but it’s compelling to think about what Central City might look like in the wake of such a revelation.
Remember when Central City had a "Flash Day"?
The comics version of “The Trial of The Flash* is quite different than what we’re getting on The CW. The speedster is on trial for killing Eobard Thawne in combat, and nobody knows that Barry is The Flash. Though it’s much more complicated in some truly zany ways befitting of a comic, the climax of the story happens when The Flash is unmasked.
Sure, some gorillas gave him reconstructive surgery and Barry Allen wound up moving to the 30th century after a guilty verdict was found, but for all we know, the show could be following a vaguely similar trajectory.
The Flash has a habit of presenting big cliffhangers pulled straight from the comics only to undo them within a single episode.
Remember the Season 2 conclusion when Barry created Flashpoint and was back to reality by the end of the Season 3 premiere? Or how about his return from the Speed Force midway through the Season 4 premiere?
Barry submitted to the Speed Force prison in the Season 3 finale.
Chances seem pretty high that the actual trial will be over by the end of the mid-season premiere, and the simplest way for Team Flash to achieve just that is to out Barry Allen. Whether or not Barry himself wants to do that, it seems like he might not have a choice.
“The Trial of the Flash” airs January 16 at 8 p.m. Eastern on The CW.
