The Flash has gone in some complex and compelling directions with its big bad in Season 4. Clifford DeVoe, a.k.a. The Thinker, is a villain unlike any Barry Allen and Team Flash have ever faced before, and he's been ten steps ahead of them in his nefarious schemes for most of the season. To the good guys of the series (and presumably most of the audience), The Thinker's plan to use satellites and his formidable intellect to wipe the intelligence of most of the human population due to what he considers an over-reliance on technology is a very bad thing.
In an exclusive special feature video from The Flash Season 4 digital season pass, The Flash producers explain why there's more to consider when it comes to the man with the fastest mind alive and his motivations:
Before The Thinker became a supervillain with a plan to wipe the brainpower of the vast majority of humanity, he was a college professor who dealt in theoretical scenarios rather than proactive plots. That changed the longer he thought about the threat he believed technology posed to mankind, and he managed to win his wife Marlize's support. The Flash could have just presented him as a black-and-white bad guy whose motivation was to just do bad things; instead, The Thinker is motivated by a twisted sort of love and desire to do right by humanity. For more on The Thinker, be sure to get the season pass for The Flash Season 4 on digital retailers if you haven't already. The full special feature all about The Thinker will be available starting on May 16.
The time really is now to start considering what The Thinker has in store for Team Flash and the rest of the human race. The Season 4 finale of The Flash will air on Tuesday, May 22 at 8 p.m. ET on The CW. For the sake of Team Flash, we can only hope that they manage to defeat The Thinker before the very end of the finale. According to Flash executive producer Todd Helbing in the exclusive clip about The Thinker, the team behind the scenes at The Flash had to plot out the whole Thinker arc well ahead of time, and plot elements introduced way back in the Season 4 premiere will be revisited in the Season 4 finale.
We do already know that the Mystery Girl will have a part to play in the future, perhaps lending her speedster skills to help the good guys. Maybe the finale will also explain some of what Barry was talking about when he emerged from the Speed Force. Many of his seemingly random comments are still unexplained, and there has to be more to those symbols than what the show has revealed so far. It should be interesting to see how Team Flash makes their final stand against The Thinker and whether they'll finally be able to outthink the man who has already considered all possibilities for the future.
We'll have to wait and see. To rewatch all of The Thinker's episodes so far and discover more fun digital special features, check out the Season 4 digital season pass for The Flash on digital retailers like Amazon and iTunes now. The Thinker special feature will be available for viewing on Wednesday, May 16. For some reasons why Team Flash has hope now, check out our breakdown of 4 big advantages Team Flash has in stopping The Thinker's Enlightenment.
The final episodes of The Flash Season 4 air on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW. If you're in the market for shows to watch once The Flash is finished for the season, swing by our summer TV premiere guide. Not all shows are as lucky as The Flash to be renewed, and you can find them on our list of big network TV shows that were recently cancelled.
