The Flash Review: The Fire Next Time (Season 8 Episode 8)

Barry Allen believes in a man’s innocence, while the rest of Central City assumes the worst. Even though his past seems to speak for itself, Jaco Birch reaches out for help from the Scarlet Speedster.

The Flash Season 8 Episode 8, “The Fire Next Time,” brings back a minor villain of the week that I nearly forgot about, The Hotness. 

The Hotness, aka Jaco Birch, is a run-of-the-mill guy who got caught up in all the potential his meta powers had to offer. Namely money and notoriety. Since things didn’t go as originally planned, Jaco worked like hell to get out of Iron Heights and back to a normal life with his son. 

Although he paid his dues in prison, Jaco finds out the hard way that the world isn’t always quite so forgiving of ex-convicts.

Once the world begins to see you one way, it has difficulty looking at you in a different light. As the saying goes, a leopard can’t change its spots.

With an honest job, Jaco sets out to be a loving dad and an upright citizen. Unfortunately, things go awry quite quickly. 

A business deal heads south giving Birch’s anger management issues a reason to flare. When his business partner winds up a rather burnt piece of toast, all fingers point to the elephant in the room.

Isn’t this the way life works? We set out with the best of intentions hoping to turn over a new leaf — only to find something stinky hiding underneath it. 

It has happened to us all at one point or another which gives us a lot of empathy for the character. The man just wants a fresh start, plain and simple. 

Without any eyewitnesses, Birch only has his word to go on. Sadly, his word doesn’t amount to much. Everyone assumes x plus y equals z.

But the truth is not everything is always so clear-cut. 

People are capable of all sorts of evil. We lie, cheat, and steal daily. Fortunately, that isn’t where humanity ends though.

The uniqueness of humanity is our duality. Although we are more than capable of doing horrendous things, we are also proficient in achieving greatness. 

The man who robbed the bank last week also has the potential to cure cancer this week.  The woman who cheated on you is also a loving mother to your child. The list of good and bad things we accomplish in a week can practically wipe each other out if looked at from the right perspective.

This example is expertly shown at the end of the episode when Birch is faced with a decision only he can resolve. Although he doubts himself at the moment, the faith Barry has in him is the stepping stone he uses to turn things around. 

Similar themes are explored elsewhere in the episode, especially with Allegra Garcia.

In case you forgot, Allegra was also a convict for a short time. Since life after prison has been kinder to her than to others, Allegra hasn’t necessarily seen the continued negative impact having a prison record can cause. 

When she runs into her former cellmate at CC Jitters, Allegra attempts a polite conversation with her friend who she hasn’t seen in quite some time. This friend isn’t as eager to catch up with her — she feels abandoned by Allegra and the world in general.

Allegra assumes her friend will be happy to see her. She also assumes that everyone received the same opportunities she was given. Allegra assumed wrong.

Once her eyes are opened to see the realities her friend had to go through, Allegra promises to do something about it. She does the right thing but at the wrong moment. 

Joe: If your heart tells you to not give up on Birch, then for Henry’s sake, don’t. 

Allegra was already given an assignment by Iris. She is supposed to help Taylor write an article on a social media influencer. Regrettably, Allegra assumed this assignment wasn’t worth her time. 

All these piled-on assumptions get Allegra into some pretty deep water where she has to struggle to reach the surface. If she faced the facts objectively, Allegra could have become fast friends with Taylor. 

After all, they have plenty of things in common. 

The fact of the matter is that assumptions hurt everyone. They hurt the innocent and the guilty. They hurt the victim and the criminal.

The best way to overcome these assumptions is to have an open line of communication. It isn’t until we mean what we say and say what we mean that we can conquer our misguided intentions. 

Allegra seems to have learned this by the end of the episode, but it looks like she may still have to pay the consequences for her actions. Apologies can go a long way, yet they often only serve as a bandage at times. 

These kinds of bandages only promote healing. They are not a cure-all. Work still needs to be put into the effort.

Overall this is a rather enjoyable episode. It is nicely balanced between the drama and action that we’ve come to love The Flash for.

The fact that it still feels like filler doesn’t matter all that much in the end, but hopefully we start getting some meat very soon. Without an underlying story arc, Season 8 could easily become quite forgettable.

What did you think of this episode of The Flash? Do you have any idea who the serial killer could be? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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The Flash airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW.

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