A new teaser has left some fans of CW’s The Flash puzzled — and they might need their thinking caps to figure this one out. The new trailer for the upcoming episode “Therefore I Am” focuses on the villainous Thinker, played by Neil Sandilands. This week’s episode, “When Harry Met Harry,” introduced the mastermind supervillain as a wheelchair-bound everyman — hardly the threat Team Flash was expecting, and nothing like previous episodes had viewers to believe. Appearances aren’t all they’re cracked up to be, though.
Perhaps the best evidence of that old idiom is the Thinker’s Cap briefly glimpsed in the teaser. The cap is a classic DC Comics callback. What might look like an upturned cullender is actually an incredibly sophisticated device used by one of Barry Allen’s most devious enemies. The cap is capable of both telekinesis and mind control. Judging from the content of the video, it seems like its powerset won’t be veering too far off course from the original.
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The video sees Barry completely beset with paranoia, while the rest of Team Flash can’t fathom his obsession with a kindly old man in a wheelchair. This is a classic struggle with the Thinker, best illustrated by an interaction between the two in which Flash, as fast as he might be, can’t seem to grab hold of the Thinker. Thinker is, of course, psychically manipulating Flash through his Thinking Cap, making it look like he’s everywhere he isn’t.
If the Thinker is able to impose his will on others, like making the Flash paranoid or turning his allies against him, he might be one of the most dangerous villains Team Flash has ever faced.
Starring Grant Gustin as the Scarlet Speedster, The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW. The series also stars Jesse L. Martin, Tom Cavanagh, Carlos Valdes, Candice Patton, Danielle Panabaker, Keiynan Lonsdale and more.