Warning! The following contains spoilers for The Flash's "Family Matters, Part 1." Read at your own risk!
While Barry Allen and Team Flash tried to unite the other Forces against Speed Force Nora, Joe West faced a reckoning at the CCPD. Kristin Kramer was back in the office after successfully winning her case against Killer Frost, but it turns out that was only the beginning. The trouble between the two resulted in Joe stepping down as captain of the force, and he may have hurt Barry and friends more than helped.
Joe discovered high-tech weapons ready to ship out to the CCPD police force, with the explicit task of taking down metas. The gear was courtesy of Kristin Kramer, who fully intended to distribute the weapons and take the fight to the villainous metas of Central City in a serious and potentially life-threatening way. Joe tried to protest, but Kramer informed him she still had the power of the state behind her, and it wasn't up to him. Joe told Kramer he'd stay on the "right side of history" and marched out of the office with a box holding his things as the force looked on.
Joe's decision was noble, without question, and I actually dug his stand against Kristin Kramer more than most things about Season 7 of The Flash. Even so, Joe was the only person who could've tried to push back on Kramer, and now he's out of the CCPD. Now Barry has to worry about everything happening with the Speed Force and a police force that could be dropping metas as well.
And, while the Speed Force seemingly "killed" Iris, Fuerza, and Psych, I have faith that the three will be on the mend eventually. If and when all three are back in action, Team Flash associating with the villain Psych could put them on Kramer's radar, and she'll likely send the CCPD after them as well. That is unless all three are really dead, but I'm not sure any fan of The Flash was fooled by that moment at the end of the episode.
Kristen Kramer will be a tough nut to crack for Team Flash, especially with her bias against Metas. Joe also noted that while Kramer may have a real ax to grind against those with superpowers, she's also someone who believes in the rule of law. Nothing she's done or planning to do to date has necessarily been nefarious or evil. As I mentioned earlier, she has the approval of the state to bring order to Central City, so it's going to be hard for anyone to convince her to ease up if they're operating with someone who's a known criminal.
The Flash airs on The CW Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET. This season has been a lot for fans to take in, to the point that it's hard to keep tabs on everything happening. For example, let's not forget that the series laid the groundwork for Cisco's departure and that he'll soon be gone from Team Flash.
