The CW has released photos from the upcoming episode of The Flash, titled "The Fire Next Time." The Flash is back in full swing after a lengthy delay following the season-starting crossover event, Armageddon in the fall.
In tonight's March 16 episode, titled "Lockdown,” criminals invade the CCPD, forcing Barry (Grant Gustin) and Captain Kristen Kramer (Carmen Moore) to trust each other and work together to try to make it out of the police headquarters safely. Meanwhile, Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) learns a valuable lesson in a memorable situation while she’s out with Frost and Chillblaine (guest star Jon Cor).
In next week's episode (season 8, episode 8) titled "The Fire Next Time," Barry (Grant Gustin) trusts his instincts during a murder investigation, believing the suspect, despite the overwhelming evidence against him, while Iris (Candice Patton) gives Allegra (Kayla Compton) an opportunity to be a mentor. Check out the teaser photos below released by The CW:
It sounds as if we may actually get to see Barry do some leg work on a crime scene. Despite the fact that Barry is a crime scene investigator, he does very little actual crime scene investigating on the show. One would think that since Barry is frequently involved in storylines that include CCPD investigations, he would find the need to actually utilize his professional talents, but he rarely does. In fact, as most of the cases in which Barry has been involved have concern metas, he went as far as bringing Cisco in as a professional consultant, using tech he developed at S.T.A.R. Labs to assist in the investigations, leaving Barry with even less to do.
On the rare occasion when Barry has slapped down some C.S.I., the writers have been pretty cloudy about what the job actually entails. Barry has acted as both a crime scene investigator and a forensic scientist, which are two completely different occupations. Crime scene investigators are the on-the-scene professionals who are called to the scene of a crime to ensure that all physical evidence is properly collected, preserved, and documented according to a strict code of standards. These investigative professionals also ensure that all physical evidence is packaged and transported to a forensic laboratory.
A forensic scientist, on the other hand, analyzes the evidence gathered or received from crime scenes, and then utilizes scientific principles to support or negate theories surrounding said physical evidence. Forensic scientists rarely, if ever, go to a crime scene. However, throughout the eight seasons of The Flash, we have seen Barry do both, gathering evidence and taking it back to S.T.A.R. Labs (not CCPD headquarters, mind you) to analyze it. is Central City that hard up for cash that they have one person doing both jobs? At least season three gave Barry a partner (Tom Felton).
We'll find out how much C.S.I.-ing Barry actually does when "The Fire Next Time" airs on March 23.
Source: The CW