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The Flash Season 4, Episode 1 Recap: The Flash Reborn

This article contains spoilers for the premiere of The Flash Season 4, 'The Flash Reborn'.

The Flash is back in more ways than one. Producers promise that the new season will lighten up a bit and get back to some of the things that made Season 1 great. And while they still have some serious things to deal with in the premiere, it does set things up for more fun. Let's hit the highlights of the episode.

It's been six months since Barry went into the Speed Force, and the rest of Team Flash have been doing a passable job protecting the city. Iris has become the de facto leader, with Joe, Kid Flash, and Vibe dealing with the baddies. We see them working together to capture Peek-a-Boo, and it's messy, but they get it done. Iris is a bit strict and seems to be throwing herself into running Team Flas — or is it Team Kid Flash, or Team Vibe?

The city is then attacked by the Samuroid, who calls out the Flash specifically and blows Kid Flash and Vibe off their feet like it was nothing. Cisco decides they need to bring back Barry — something he's been working on the whole time he's been gone. He's even consulted with Harrison Wells, Tina McGee, Tracy Brand, Felicity Smoak, and Curtis Holt. Iris says no, that Barry could be dead, and they need to find away to stop Samuroid themselves. Of course, Cisco doesn't listen.

He has to bring in Caitlin Snow to help, who is back to being Caitlin — but there is something else going on with her, too. It works, but the Barry that comes back is mentally scattered and spending time writing symbols on everything (reminded me of Kryptonian). While they work on him, Wally tries to take on the Samuroid and ends up with a sword in the femur (OUCH!).

Nothing seems to be getting through to Barry, so Iris gives herself to the Samuroid as a hostage and Joe tells Barry that Iris is going to die. This snaps Barry back to reality as he takes off running faster than any speedster has before — and he grabs the new suit Cisco made on the way. He saves Iris and takes out the Samuroid, discovering that it's an android. We end with a Barry that is more powerful and less burdened by his past. And we see that there is something going on with that bar Caitlin was working in. We get a glimpse of the Mechanic and the Thinker at the very end, too.

As season premieres go, this one was spot on. It cleaned up ties to the previous season, set up the new storyline, and had some fun moments. Seeing Barry in the new suit was a get-up-and-cheer moment; something the show had almost none of last season. The reveal of the Thinker was nicely done, but the Mechanic refers to the android as the Samuroid — a name Cisco gave it. Did they not have a name for it before?

As for what Barry was saying when he came back, I think it was a mix of both past and future. At one point he says a line from the show's first episode when he was talking to Oliver on the roof — which makes me think that anything he said that we don't recognize will be coming up in future episodes. The line "This house is bitchin'" will likely be said by somebody soon, for example.

The best thing I can say about this episode is that The Flash is back.

We can see that the fun is back as the next episode seems to be focused on the new suit that Cisco put together for Barry — which comes with a large user manual and a bunch of added features. (It can become a raft.) And, of course, the suit malfunctions probably at the worst possible time. I have to admit, though: I kind of like the yellow lenses over the eye slots. They look cool.

https://youtu.be/oeOoDdV5SWM

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