What I’m Watching: The Flash

The Flash: Season 8, Episode 17 “Keep It Dark” (B)

Are we still looking for someone who’s starting fires? I thought that was earlier this season, but instead we got what appeared to be an ally in the form of Dr. Meena Dhawan, who I’m honestly not sure if we’re supposed to remember or if she’s a completely new character. But that unusually post-ending-swoosh sequence was almost entirely positive, even if we’ve learned before not to trust those who seem entirely kind and helpful. I’m not disappointed to still see Harrison Wells on this show but I am perplexed since I remember hearing so many times that actor Tom Cavanagh was leaving. With Iris entirely absent and that apparently forgotten for the course of this hour, the focus was on Allegra, a character who hasn’t always had the best spotlight but here got one that allowed her to show how much she’s able to contribute and, most satisfying of all, enabled her to impress her archnemesis who was set on taking her down. It’s always interesting to me to see when villains just give up because the heroes suddenly have the upper hand, and Allegra managed to do that by keeping Sunshine and Dr. Light distracted long enough for Lydia to go on-air and identify them. This is a positive development for Allegra that affirms her confidence in being part of Team Flash, and now she’s turned Taylor into an ally. Caitlin has apparently come to terms with Barry’s actions and may be taking it quite well, though I’m sure things will be more complicated than that when we see her again.