# The Man in the Yellow Tie

"The Man in the Yellow Tie" is the 18th episode of the eighth season of the American superhero television series The Flash. The episode was directed by Marcus Stokes and written by Sam Chalsen. It is set in the Arrowverse, sharing continuity with the other television series of the universe, and is a spin-off of Arrow.
The episode features guest appearances from former Arrowverse series regulars including Brandon Routh, Tom Cavanagh and Matt Letscher. The episode was the first full appearance of Kausar Mohammed as Meena Dhawan.
"The Man in the Yellow Tie" met praise for its acting, though the resolution for John Diggle's story arc was critically panned. It originally aired on June 15, 2022, to an audience of 500,000 viewers.

## Plot

After Barry Allen catches Meena Dhawan, she shows him the Biometric Lightning Oscillation Chamber (BLOC), which grants her speed and introduces him to its co-inventor: the time remnant of Thawne from Flashpoint, though he does not remember his past or Barry. Barry tries to stop Meena from using the BLOC, but it connects her to the Negative Speed Force and she begins draining power junctions. The alternate Thawne states that he fell in love with Meena and had visions of the BLOC, but was unaware of the Negative Speed Force. He reminds Meena of their love and she disconnects from it.
Later, Ray Palmer informs Team Flash that the Flashpoint Thawne was revived by the Time Wraiths and Barry theorizes that he was revived again and brought to Meena. Meanwhile, Cecile's powers grow when she stops a bank robbery and mugging, but is stalked by a mysterious woman. Mark contacts Caitlin with a new plan to revive Frost.
John Diggle approaches the original Thawne imprisoned on Lian Yu for help in opening his box. Thawne recognizes the box and explains to Diggle how to open it but states that if he does he would be forced to leave his family. Diggle decides to remain with his family and the box disappears. Deon Owens visits the imprisoned Thawne and tells him that it is time to "fulfill his destiny."

## Production

"The Man in the Yellow Tie" was directed by Marcus Stokes.

### Writing

"The Man in the Yellow Tie" was written by Sam Chalsen. The episode concludes the story line revolving the mysterious box that John Diggle received in the Arrow series finale. While the original plan was for Diggle to end up becoming a Green Lantern, this was ultimately changed. Arrowverse co-creator Marc Guggenheim revealed that the reason for the change was because they were unable to get permission from DC Comics to use the Green Lantern IP.
The episodes title references the title of the season 1 episode "The Man in the Yellow Suit".

### Casting

"The Man in the Yellow Tie" features series regulars Grant Gustin, Danielle Nicolet, Jesse L. Martin, Danielle Panabaker, Kayla Compton, and Brandon McKnight. Candice Patton does not appear in the episode; she attributed her absence to COVID-19 travel restrictions between the United States, where she resides, and Canada, where the series films.
Kausar Mohammed makes her first full appearance as Meena Dhawan. While discussing her character, Mohammed stated that she was proud to play the character, as she felt that South Asian woman are largely unrepresented in media.
The episode features a guest appearance by Brandon Routh as Ray Palmer. Routh returned to the role after his character was written out of Legends of Tomorrow season five stating that it was easier to return for The Flash, rather than Legends of Tomorrow. Matt Letscher and Tom Cavanagh both appear as different versions of Eobard Thawne. Letscher's version of the character last appeared in the Legends of Tomorrow season 7 episode "Rage Against The Machines" where he sacrificed himself to save the Legends. The Cavanagh version last appeared in the five part season premiere Armageddon where he was nearly erased from existence. David Ramsey guest stars as John Diggle.

## Release

"The Man in the Yellow Tie" first released on The CW on June 15, 2022, to an audience of 500,000 live viewers. The episode finished last in its time slot and sixteenth (second to last) of the night overall. The episode was down around 80,000 viewers from the previous one.

### Reception

The resolution to Diggle's storyline was met with a negative response. CinemaBlend's Mick Joest described the ending as a disappointment that failed to reach expectations writing, "what I can't understand is why it took over two years to pay off a storyline that simply featured John rejecting the box". Writing for Screen Rant Charles Raymond felt that while the decision to have Diggle stay with his family was in character, it wasted the two years of set up the plotline had been given.
Letscher's performance in the episode was praise by critics. Writing for Comic Book Resources Anita Stewart felt that the episode did a good job at revitalizing the character of Eobard Thawne and enjoyed how it portrayed the dynamic between him and Barry. Den of Geek's Lacy Baugher praised the parallels between Thawne and Dhawan's relationship and Iris and Barry's. GameRant's Oliver VanDervoot criticed the return of Letscher's Thawne, feeling that it made the series seem as if it was running out of ideas. VanDervoot felt that the episode had too much going on while simultaneously neglecting Candice Patton and Danielle Panabaker's characters.