'The Flash': Did The Thinker Have a Secret Role in "Crisis on Earth-X"?

The Flash left audiences with one bombshell of a winter finale, leaving fans to wonder exactly what happens next. And now that it's clear just how much Clifford DeVoe/The Thinker (Neil Sandilands) can pull the strings, we can't help but wonder -- did he have something to do with the events of "Crisis on Earth-X"?

As fans will remember, "Crisis" saw the Arrowverse's heroes teaming up to fight their Nazi doppelgangers. But prior to that, the casts of each show were caught in the middle of some sort of conflict, as they coordinated their RSVPs for the coming wedding. In the case of Barry Allen/The Flash (Grant Gustin), he was put in the middle of a rematch with fan-favorite villain King Shark.

But the thing is, we never really learn exactly how King Shark got loose on Central City in the first place. The last time that audiences saw King Shark, he was being held in an A.R.G.U.S. facility, serving as a sort of guard dog (guard shark?) for them.

The Arrowverse has certainly established how strong A.R.G.U.S.' security is -- so much so that Team Arrow had to go out of their way to break into an A.R.G.U.S. facility just a week later. With that in mind, it seems a little odd that King Shark just casually ended up loose on the streets, after seeming to be controlled in the A.R.G.U.S. facility for about a year and a half.

While it's never explicitly said, and it wouldn't really have a major impact on The Flash's season four plot, it isn't too much of a leap to assume that DeVoe was somehow involved with King Shark's escape. Granted, in the episode before, DeVoe hinted that he would let Barry and Iris enjoy their wedding, but it's clear that that didn't really happen anyway.

If DeVoe is so many steps ahead of Barry to be able to successfully frame him for his murder, it certainly is plausible that he helped break King Shark out of prison. Ultimately, it would be enough of a thorn in Barry's side leading up to his wedding day, and leave Team Flash with a giant shark/human hybrid to deal with.

Who knows? Maybe King Shark will play a role in DeVoe's grand plan. Granted, he's not one of the villain's "Bus Metas", but he could end up being a good source of muscle for them. Plus, come on, you know you want to see DeVoe ally Amunet Black (Katee Sackhoff) share the screen with a giant shark.

The Flash returns from midseason hiatus on January 16, 2018.