The fourth season of the American television series ''

The Flash The Flash (or simply Flash) is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date ...

'', which is based on the

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

character

Barry Allen / Flash Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 1950 ...

, premiered on

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

on October 10, 2017, and ran for 23 episodes until May 22, 2018. The season follows Barry, having returned from his self-imposed stay in the Speed Force, as he faces down the Thinker Clifford deVoe and his wife Marlize. It is set in the

Arrowverse The Arrowverse is an American superhero media franchise and a shared universe that is centered on various interconnected television series based on DC Comics superhero characters, primarily airing on The CW as well as web series on CW Seed. ...

, sharing continuity with the other television series of the universe, and is a spin-off of ''

Arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

''. The season is produced by

Berlanti Productions Berlanti Productions is an American film and television production company founded by screenwriter, producer and filmmaker Greg Berlanti and producer Mickey Liddell. History The company was founded in 2000 as Berlanti-Liddell Productions by ...

Warner Bros. Television Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...

, and

DC Entertainment DC Entertainment is an American entertainment company that was founded in September 2009 and was based in Burbank, California. The company is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery that manages its DC Comics units and characters in other units, ...

, with

Andrew Kreisberg Andrew Kreisberg (born April 23, 1971) is an American television writer, producer and comic book writer. He is best known as the creator of the television series ''The Flash (2014 TV series), The Flash'', ''Arrow (TV series), Arrow'', ''Supergirl ...

and

Todd Helbing Aaron Helbing and Todd Helbing are American sibling screenwriters who had formerly worked as a team. They are known for their work on the Starz series ''Spartacus'' and '' Black Sails'', and for The CW superhero drama '' The Flash''. They stop ...

serving as

showrunners A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also th ...

. The season was ordered in January 2017, and filming began that July.

Grant Gustin Thomas Grant Gustin (born January 14, 1990) is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his roles as Barry Allen (Arrowverse), Barry Allen / The Flash on The CW series ''The Flash (2014 TV series), The Flash'' as part of the Arrowver ...

stars as Barry, with principal cast members

Candice Patton Candice Kristina Patton is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Iris West-Allen in the television series ''The Flash'' (2014–2023), which earned her a Saturn Award from four nominations. Early life Patton was raised in Pla ...

Danielle Panabaker Danielle Nicole Panabaker (born September 19, 1987) is an American actress. She began acting as a teenager and came to prominence for her roles in the Disney films '' Stuck in the Suburbs'' (2004), '' Sky High'' (2005) and ''Read It and Weep'' ( ...

, Carlos Valdes,

Keiynan Lonsdale Keiynan Lonsdale (; born 19 December 1991) is an Australian actor, dancer, and singer-songwriter. He is known for roles such as Oliver Lloyd in the ABC series ''Dance Academy'' (2012–2013), Wally West/Kid Flash in the CW series ''The Flash'' ...

Tom Cavanagh Thomas Cavanagh (born October 26, 1963) is a Canadian actor. He is known for a variety of roles on American television, including starring roles in '' Ed'' (2000–2004), ''Love Monkey'' (2006) and '' Trust Me'' (2009), and recurring roles on ...

, and

Jesse L. Martin Jesse Lamont Martin ('' né'' Watkins; January 18, 1969) is an American actor and singer. He originated the role of Tom Collins on Broadway in the musical ''Rent'' and performed on television as NYPD Detective Ed Green on '' Law & Order'' and ...

also returning from previous seasons, and are joined by

Neil Sandilands Neil Joseph William Sandilands (born May 1st, 1975) is a South African actor and filmmaker, known for roles in both film and television and for his versatility in filmmaking. In 2016, he had recurring roles on Sundance TV's ''Hap and Leonard'' a ...

. The series was renewed for a fifth season on April 2, 2018.

Episodes

Cast and characters

Main

Iris West Iris West is a fictional character, a supporting character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She has been the main love interest and later wife of Barry Allen, the alter ego of the Silver Age version of the superhero The ...

as Caitlin Snow / Killer Frost * Carlos Valdes as Cisco Ramon / Vibe *

as Wally West / Kid Flash *

as Clifford DeVoe / Thinker *

as Harry Wells *

as Joe West

Recurring

Danielle Nicolet Danielle Nicolet (born Danielle Diggs; November 24, 1973) is an American actress. She has made appearances on shows such as ''3rd Rock from the Sun'' (1996–2001), ''Second Time Around (TV series), Second Time Around'' (2004–05), ''The Starte ...

as Cecile Horton *

Kim Engelbrecht Kim Suzanne Engelbrecht (born 20 June 1980) is a South African actress. She is the recipient of two South African Film and Television Awards as well as a nomination for an International Emmy Award. She is known for her roles as Lolly in the soap ...

as Marlize DeVoe * Mark Sweatman as Matthew Norvok *

Jessica Camacho Jessica Lisa Camacho (born November 26, 1982) is an American actress. She is known for her recurring role as Gypsy in The CW superhero series ''The Flash''. Camacho also starred on the second season of the NBC drama series '' Taken''. Early l ...

as Cynthia / Gypsy *

Patrick Sabongui Patrick Sabongui (born January 9, 1975) is a Canadian actor, stunt performer, theatre actor, and drama teacher. He is also known for his role as David Singh in the CW series ''The Flash''. Personal life Born to an Egyptian family, Sabongui obt ...

as David Singh * Donna Pescow as Sharon Finkel *

Richard Brooks Richard Brooks (May 18, 1912 – March 11, 1992) was an American screenwriter, film director, novelist and film producer. Nominated for eight Academy Awards, Oscars in his career, he was best known for ''Blackboard Jungle'' (1955), ''Cat on a ...

as Gregory Wolfe *

Hartley Sawyer Hartley Sawyer (born January 25, 1985) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Kyle Abbott on the CBS Daytime soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'' and Ralph Dibny / Elongated Man on The CW series ''The Flash''. Career In Ma ...

as Ralph Dibny / Elongated Man and Clifford DeVoe / Thinker *

Katee Sackhoff Katee Sackhoff (born April 8, 1980) is an American actress known for playing Lieutenant Kara "Starbuck" Thrace on the Sci Fi Channel's television program ''Battlestar Galactica'' (2004–2009), Niko Breckenridge on the Netflix series '' Another ...

as Amunet Black *

Jessica Parker Kennedy Jessica Parker Kennedy (born October 3, 1984) is a Canadian actress. She played Melissa Glaser on the CW series ''The Secret Circle'', Max on the Starz original series '' Black Sails'' and Nora West-Allen / XS on ''The Flash'', and has also app ...

Nora West-Allen ''The Flash'' is an American television series developed by Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, and Geoff Johns, based on the DC Comics character the Flash. The series premiered on The CW television network in the United States on October 7, 2014, ...

Guest

Production

Development

The series was renewed for a fourth season on January 8, 2017, earlier than usual for the series. Executive producer

said on this, "The great thing about our dear friends at

and

Mark Pedowitz Mark Pedowitz is the former chairman and CEO of The CW. He replaced Dawn Ostroff in 2011, who had been the Head of Entertainment since the network's inception in 2006. Pedowitz oversaw all aspects of The CW, including programming, sales, marketing ...

picking the shows up as early as they did has allowed us to start building the schedules for next season." In May 2017, it was announced that

Aaron Helbing Aaron Helbing and Todd Helbing are American sibling screenwriters who had formerly worked as a team. They are known for their work on the Starz series ''Spartacus'' and '' Black Sails'', and for The CW superhero drama '' The Flash''. They stop ...

would not return as an executive producer for season four, with only

Greg Berlanti Gregory Berlanti (born May 24, 1972) is an American screenwriter, producer and director of film and television. He is known for his work on the television series ''Dawson's Creek'', '' Brothers & Sisters'', ''Everwood'', '' Political Animals'', ...

, Andrew Kreisberg, Sarah Schechter, and

returning from previous seasons. Todd Helbing and Kreisberg were slated to serve as the season's

showrunner A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also th ...

s. In November 2017, Kreisberg was suspended from his role as executive producer and showrunner on ''The Flash'' over allegations of sexual harassment. By the end of the month, he had been fired, with his name eventually being removed from the credits from all shows he worked on. In addition, Berlanti would take additional responsibilities working with Helbing to co-showrun the season.

Writing

In March 2017, Kreisberg confirmed that the main villain for the fourth season would not be a speedster, like the previous three seasons. Executive producers Aaron and Todd Helbing also mentioned that there would be less time travel in the season, with Aaron saying, "We like playing with the timelines and the different time periods and future and past. For now, I think we're going to focus on the present." In June 2017, Clifford DeVoe / Thinker was reported to be the main antagonist of the season. He was first hinted in the third season episode " Abra Kadabra" when the titular villain mentions him among the Flash's greatest

enemies Enemies or foes are a group that is seen as forcefully adverse or threatening. Enemies may also refer to: Literature * ''Enemies'' (play), a 1906 play by Maxim Gorky * '' Enemies, A Love Story'', a 1966 novel by Isaac Bashevis Singer * '' Enem ...

, and again in the season finale " Finish Line" when

Savitar Savitar may refer to: *Savitr, or Savitar, a Vedic solar deity associated with the Aditya class of divinities *Savitar (comics), a supervillain published by DC Comics *Savitar, a character from Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark-Hunter series *''Savitar'', th ...

mentions facing DeVoe but states that the Flash has not dealt with him yet. At the series'

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...

panel, the speculation was confirmed, with Todd Helbing saying, "With three Speedsters in a row, this year it's the fastest man alive against the fastest mind alive." He added that the writers were "making a conscious effort this year to get the fun quotient back up". Regarding the possibility of

Wally West Wallace Rudolph "Wally" West is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics as the original Kid Flash and the third Flash (DC Comics character), Flash. His power consists mainly of speedster (fiction), superhuman speed. ...

taking on the mantle of the Flash in

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 19 ...

's absence,

said that "It's not something that's on my radar. I feel as though there is so much story to tell and Wally has so much growing to do... We need to see how these characters realistically get to where they are headed for." With the action picking up six months after season three, Kid Flash and

Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down productio ...

are left to protect

Central City In urban planning, a core city, principal city metropolitan core, or central city, is the largest or most important city or cities of a metropolitan area. A core city is surrounded by smaller satellite cities, towns, and suburbs. A central city i ...

, with Carlos Valdes saying "the team is sort of clutching at straws to keep the city together,... there is a unanimous feeling amongst the remaining members that it's just not the same without Barry... So in light of that, Cisco does whatever it takes to get his friends back." Valdes also confirmed the return of Cisco's more lighthearted joking manner.

explained

's larger role within Team Flash as "a way of distracting herself," adding that " risis forced to deal with that anger and resentment and abandonment by kind of focusing on protecting Central City... We're seeing a very different Iris, almost a very hardened Iris." Kreisberg also hinted at some major growth for Iris this season, and noted that "the season premiere is all about Iris and Cisco, not Barry". In July 2017,

Sterling Gates Sterling Gates (born March 1, 1981 in Tulsa, Oklahoma) is an American comic book and television writer. Early life Gates, whose father owned a used book store with a large selection of comics, became a comic book fan at a young age, describing h ...

comic book writer A script is a document describing the narrative and dialogue of a comic book in detail. It is the comic book equivalent of a television program teleplay or a film screenplay. In comics, a script may be preceded by a plot outline, and is almost ...

, joined as a member of the fourth season's writing staff. At the

Television Critics Association The Television Critics Association (TCA) is a group of approximately 200 United States and Canadian television critics, journalists and columnists who cover television programming for newspapers, magazines and web publications. The TCA accepts app ...

press tour in August 2017, Pedowitz stated that the fourth season of ''

'' is "going to try to find the lightness... of the Barry Allen of the first two seasons," and said that the show was likely "done with Speedster villains". Later in the month, Kreisberg confirmed the return of Harry Wells from Earth-2, saying that "season 4 for Harry is really realizing what he's missing in his life and what it is he needs to become a better, more complete person, and so he's going to be going on a fairly epic emotional journey this season that is tied to the Thinker's plan," in addition to confirming the introduction of a new version of the Wells character. In September 2017, Helbing noted "There's a lot of love in the air this season," and compared Barry and Iris' reunion to "somebody going off to war for six months and coming back. There's a lot that Iris experienced that Barry didn't when he was gone, and it's really

bout Bout can mean: People *Viktor Bout, suspected arms dealer *Jan Everts Bout, early settler to New Netherland *Marcel Bout Musical instruments * The outward-facing round parts of the body shape of violins, guitars, and other stringed instrumen ...

the fun and the emotional component of making up that time when they weren't together." Helbing also explained that the Speed Force "let

arry Arry is the name of the following communes in France: * Arry, Moselle, in the Moselle department * Arry, Somme, in the Somme department 'Arry is also a nickname, an example of H dropping ''H''-dropping or aitch-dropping is the deletion of the ...

deal with all of the baggage rom the past three seasons When he comes out, he's sort of left that all behind." That month, Kreisberg also confirmed that Barry and Iris will be getting married this season, while also revealing that the pair will be going to couples therapy since "

hey Hey or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980 * ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...

keep comically clashing inadvertently because oth areused to being in charge, and so they wind up going... to work through it." He added, "The two of them with the therapist is some of the funniest stuff we have ever done on this show, but it also leads to a deepening of their relationship."

Casting

Main cast members Grant Gustin, Candice Patton,

, Carlos Valdes, Keiynan Lonsdale,

, and

return from previous seasons as Barry Allen / The Flash, Iris West, Caitlin Snow / Killer Frost, Cisco Ramon / Vibe, Wally West / Kid Flash, Harrison Wells, and Joe West, respectively. Cavanagh primarily portrayed Harry Wells from Earth-2 in the season, in addition to several other versions of Wells in smaller roles: Herr Wells of Earth-12, Wells 2.0 of Earth-22, H. Lothario Wells of Earth-47, Wells the Grey of Earth-13, Sonny Wells of Earth-24 and H.P. Wells of Earth-25. Also returning from earlier in the series is

Gypsy The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

. It was revealed that

Tom Felton Thomas Andrew Felton (born 22 September 1987) is an English actor best known for playing Draco Malfoy in the film adaptations of the ''Harry Potter'' fantasy novels by J. K. Rowling. Born in Surrey, Felton began appearing in commercials and ...

, who joined the cast as Julian Albert in the third season, would not be a series regular in the fourth season, and that there were no plans for him to appear. Julian's absence will be addressed "pretty quickly — there's a reason why he's no longer with the team," said Helbing. In the season premiere, it is revealed that Julian has returned to London. Kreisberg also confirmed that he had put on hold the planned return of

Violett Beane Violett Beane (born May 18, 1996) is an American actress. She played Jesse Wells/Jesse Quick in The CW's ''The Flash'', as well as Markie Cameron in the 2018 horror film ''Truth or Dare''. From 2018 to 2020, she starred as Cara Bloom in the CBS ...

Jesse Quick Jesse Chambers is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Chambers, who first used the superhero name Jesse Quick and later Liberty Belle, is the daughter of Golden Age heroes Johnny Quick and Liberty Belle. She inh ...

due to the high number of speedsters on the show, but did not rule out a possible return in the future. Beane eventually appeared as Jesse on the episode "Luck Be a Lady".

Britne Oldford Britne Oldford (born July 23, 1992) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for portraying Cadie Campbell on '' Skins'', Alma Walker on '' American Horror Story: Asylum'', Remy Beaumont on '' Ravenswood'', Regan on ''Hunters'', and as Fei Hargr ...

, who previously appeared as Shawna Baez / Peek-a-Boo in the first season and the web series ''

The Chronicles of Cisco ''The Flash'' is an American superhero television series developed by Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, and Geoff Johns, airing on The CW. It is based on the Barry Allen incarnation of DC Comics character the Flash, a costumed superhero crime- ...

'', reprised her role in the season premiere. In July 2017,

was announced to be cast as Clifford DeVoe, a

metahuman In DC Comics' DC Universe, a metahuman is a human with superpowers. The term is roughly synonymous with both ''mutant'' and ''mutate'' in the Marvel Universe and '' posthuman'' in the Wildstorm and Ultimate Marvel Universes. In DC Comics, the term ...

genius who embarks on a season-long battle with the Flash in order to fix all that he deems wrong with humanity; while

was announced as Marlize DeVoe, DeVoe's right hand and a highly intelligent engineer who designs devices for him; and

Danny Trejo Danny Trejo ( ; born May 16, 1944) is an American actor. He has appeared in films including ''Desperado'', ''Heat'', and the ''From Dusk Till Dawn'' film series. With frequent collaborator and his second cousin Robert Rodriguez, he portrayed ...

as Breacher, a bounty hunter from Earth-19 and the father of Gypsy. Also in June, the series was looking to cast a role that "should put the visual effects department to the test", with the role later revealed to be Ralph Dibny / Elongated Man, a metahuman with the ability to stretch his body to superhuman lengths and sizes.

was cast in the recurring role that July as the fast-talking private investigator who after discovering his abilities will help Team Flash solve one of Central City's greatest mysteries. The character was previously mentioned in the first season, as one of the fourteen people who seemingly died as a result of the particle accelerator explosion. The next month,

was announced in the recurring role of Amunet Black, who operates an underground black market of metahuman supervillains.

Filming

Filming for the season began on July 4, 2017, in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, and concluded on April 21, 2018.

Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American filmmaker, actor, comedian, comic book writer, author, YouTuber, and podcaster. He came to prominence with the low-budget comedy buddy film ''Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, co ...

returned to direct an episode in January 2018.

Music

In August 2017, series composer

Blake Neely Blake Neely (born April 28, 1969) is an Emmy Award-winning American composer, conductor, and orchestrator. He has been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards for his work on ''Everwood'', '' The Pacific'', and ''Pan Am'', and won the Emmy (20 ...

and Nathaniel Blume began to compose the music for the fourth season.

Arrowverse tie-ins

In May 2017, The CW president Mark Pedowitz officially announced plans for a four-show

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...

event, crossing over episodes of the television series ''

Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. The character made her fir ...

'', ''The Flash'', ''

Legends of Tomorrow ''DC's Legends of Tomorrow'', or simply ''Legends of Tomorrow'', is an American Time travel in fiction, time travel superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg, and Phil Klem ...

'', and ''

''. The crossover, ''

Crisis on Earth-X "Crisis on Earth-X" is the fourth Arrowverse Crossover (fiction), crossover event, featuring episodes of the live-action television series ''Supergirl (TV series), Supergirl'', ''Arrow (TV series), Arrow'', ''The Flash (2014 TV series), The Flash ...

'', began with ''Supergirl'' and a special airing of ''Arrow'' on November 27, 2017, and concluded on ''The Flash'' and ''Legends of Tomorrow'' on November 28. Prior to that, ''Arrow'' actress

Emily Bett Rickards Emily Bett Rickards (born July 24, 1991) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her role as Felicity Smoak on The CW series ''Arrow'', her first television credit. She has also reprised the role in the Arrowverse shows ''The Flash'', ''Legends ...

appears as

Felicity Smoak Felicity Smoak is a fictional character appearing in comics published by DC Comics. Her first appearance was in ''The Fury of Firestorm'' #23 (May 1984), created by writer Gerry Conway and artist Rafael Kayanan. She was originally the manager of ...

in the fifth episode of the season. Following the crossover,

Katie Cassidy Katherine Evelyn Anita Cassidy (formerly Rodgers) (born November 25, 1986) is an American actress. Following several minor television roles, she came to attention as a scream queen after starring in the horror films '' When a Stranger Calls'' ...

(who has previously appeared on ''The Flash'' as both Laurel Lance and Black Siren) appears in the nineteenth episode as

Siren-X Dinah Laurel Lance is the name of several fictional characters in The CW's Arrowverse franchise based on the DC Comics character of the same name, created by writer-artist team of Robert Kanigher and Carmine Infantino, and adapted by Greg Be ...

, an alternate version of Laurel from Earth-X. ''Arrow'' actor

David Ramsey David Paul Ramsey (born November 17, 1971) is an American actor, director, and martial artist, best known for his roles in The CW Arrowverse series '' Arrow'', '' The Flash'', ''Supergirl'', and '' Batwoman'' as John Diggle / Spartan, portrayin ...

appears as

John Diggle John William Diggle (2 March 1847 – 24 March 1920) was an English Anglican bishop. He was Archdeacon of Westmorland from 1896 to 1901, Archdeacon of Birmingham from 1903 to 1904, and Bishop of Carlisle from 1905 to his death in 1920. Early l ...

in the twenty-second episode.

Marketing

In July 2017, cast from the series appeared at

San Diego Comic-Con International San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...

to promote the season, where exclusive footage was shown. During the panel, a trailer for the season was shown, with James Whitbrook at

io9 ''io9'' is part of Gizmodo media since 2015, and it began as blog launched in 2008 by Gawker Media. The site initially focused on the subjects of science fiction, fantasy, futurism, science, technology and related areas but over the years has ...

feeling that despite the "grim" tone, there was "some fun signs of the team coming together to protect the city without

... Sprinkle in a few wacky things, like, say a goddamn Samuroid ripped straight from the comics, and ladies and gents, you've got a good season of ''The Flash'' lined up." Ben Pearson with

/Film ''/Film'', also spelled ''Slashfilm'', is a blog that covers movie news, reviews, interviews, and trailers. It was founded by Peter Sciretta in August 2005. Podcasts Six podcasts have run on the site. ''The /Filmcast'', hosted by David Chen, De ...

felt seeing Iris West deal with the absence of Barry was "a nice change of pace for that character", but anticipated that "Barry

ould Ould is an English surname and an Arabic name ( ar, ولد). In some Arabic dialects, particularly Hassaniya Arabic, ولد‎ (the patronymic, meaning "son of") is transliterated as Ould. Most Mauritanians have patronymic surnames. Notable p ...

be back two or three episodes in at the latest."

Collider A collider is a type of particle accelerator which brings two opposing particle beams together such that the particles collide. Colliders may either be ring accelerators or linear accelerators. Colliders are used as a research tool in particle ...

's Allison Keene also noted Iris "getting an actual storyline" with Barry gone, and similarly presumed that he "

be back in the fold by the end of the first episode" alike to Flashpoint in the third season. She added, "There are some new foes, lots of action, plenty of tech — it's great!"

Release

Broadcast

The season began airing on October 10, 2017, on The CW in the United States, and on CTV in Canada. The season concluded on May 22, 2018.

Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

acquired the rights to air the season in the UK & Ireland, airing it alongside the other

shows. The season premiered October 17.

Home media

The season was made available for streaming on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

in late May 2018, soon after the season finale aired. It was released on

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

on August 28, 2018.

Reception

Ratings

Critical response

The

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

reported a 80% approval rating with an average rating of 6.95/10 based on 19 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "After an unsteady turn in season three, ''The Flash'' returns to its roots with a fourth season packed with humor, spectacle, and a whole lot of heart." Reviewing the first two episodes of the season, Allison Keene writing for Collider.com, felt the premiere "wipes the slate clean, fixing a lot of the issues that plagued the end of the last season, and setting up a much more toned-down storyline. Most importantly, it's brought back some fun." She added that with a "streamlined team," the core characters now have time to interact and have meaningful plot lines. On the second episode, Keene described it as "truly a delight" with the show taking "the time to focus on character relationships, and not just romantic relationships" and each character "feeling like a refreshed version of themselves, with new narrative purpose". She also highlighted the setup of the Thinker "as an

Alchemy Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...

-like villain who manipulates evil metas into the Flash's path as part of some kind of masterplan", saying "''The Flash'' is a series that truly works best as a procedural, with the team finding creative ways to bring down Villains of the Week." In reviewing the finale,

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

's Jesse Schedeen gave the episode "We Are the Flash" a rating of 4.6/10, opining that, "As troubled as the series has been this year, it's disappointing but unsurprising to see ''The Flash''s fourth season end on such a bland note." Mike Cecchini of ''

Den of Geek! ''Den of Geek'' is a US and UK-based website covering entertainment with a focus on pop culture. The website also issues a bi-annual magazine. History ''Den of Geek'' was founded in 2007 by Simon Brew in London. In 2012, DoG Tech LLC licensed ...

'' similarly assigned the episode a rating of 2.5/5. In his review, Cecchini felt that the finale was "the weakest season finale 'The Flash''has ever produced," and that, "despite several high points, wasn't really enough to salvage the season." In a more positive review from ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'', Scott Von Doviak gave the finale a B+, praising the light tone and character moments, while adding that "None of this can make up for the long stretches of mediocrity this year, but at least it doesn’t leave me with a bad taste in my mouth."

Accolades

ranked ''The Flash'' the second-best superhero series of 2017. , - ! scope="row" rowspan="12" , 2018 , BMI Film, TV & Visual Media Awards , BMI Network Television Music Award , data-sort-value="Blume, Nathaniel" , Nathaniel Blume and

, , , - , rowspan="2" ,

Kids' Choice Awards The Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards (also known as the KCAs or Kids' Choice) is an annual American children's awards ceremony show that is produced by Nickelodeon. Usually held on a Saturday night in late March or early April, the show honors ...

, Favorite TV Actor , data-sort-value="Gustin, Grant" ,

, , , - , Favorite TV Show , data-sort-value="Flash, The" , ''The Flash'' , , , - ,

MTV Movie & TV Awards The MTV Movie & TV Awards (formerly the MTV Movie Awards) is a film and television awards show presented annually on MTV. The first MTV Movie Awards were presented in 1992. The ceremony was renamed the MTV Movie & TV Awards for its 26th editio ...

, Best Hero , data-sort-value="Gustin, Grant" , Grant Gustin , , , - , rowspan="3" ,

Saturn Awards The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...

, Best Guest-Starring Performance on Television , data-sort-value="Sawyer, Hartley" ,

, ,
, - , Best Superhero Television Series , data-sort-value="Flash, The" , ''The Flash'' , , , - , Best Supporting Actress on a Television Series , data-sort-value="Patton, Candice" ,

, , , - , rowspan="5" ,

Teen Choice Awards The Teen Choice Awards is an annual awards show that airs on the Fox television network. The awards honor the year's biggest achievements in music, film, sports, television, fashion, social media, and more, voted by viewers living in the United S ...

, Choice Action TV Actor , data-sort-value="Gustin, Grant" , Grant Gustin , , , - , rowspan="2" , Choice Action TV Actress , data-sort-value="Panabaker, Danielle" ,

, , , - , data-sort-value="Patton, Candice" , Candice Patton , , , - , Choice Action TV Show , data-sort-value="Flash, The" , ''The Flash'' , , , - , Choice TV Ship , data-sort-value="Gustin, Grant" , Grant Gustin and Candice Patton , , , - ! scope="row" rowspan="2" , 2019 , rowspan="2" ,

Leo Awards The Leo Awards are the awards program for the British Columbia film and television industry. Held each May or June in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the Leo Awards were founded by the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Foundation of British C ...

, Best Guest Performance by a Male in a Dramatic Series , data-sort-value="McGillion, Paul" ,

Paul McGillion Paul McGillion is a Scottish actor, who has worked in television, film and theatre. He is best known for his role on the television series ''Stargate Atlantis'' as Dr. Carson Beckett. Early life McGillion was born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Sco ...

(for "True Colors") , , , - , Best Visual Effects in a Dramatic Series , data-sort-value="Kevorkian, Armen V." ,

Armen V. Kevorkian Armen V. Kevorkian is an Armenian-American visual effects supervisor and television director. He is best known for his work on television series such as ''Ghost Whisperer'', ''Hawaii Five-0 (2010 TV series), Hawaii Five-0'', ''Banshee (TV serie ...

, Joshua Spivack, Marc Lougee, Shirak Agresta, Andranik Taranyan (for "We Are the Flash") , , , -

Notes

References

General references

* *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Flash (season 4), The 2017 American television seasons 2018 American television seasons The Flash (2014 TV series) seasons