They writers spent a good amount of time fleshing out the relationship between Barry and Iris. In all honesty it would be hard to believe that after spending most of their lives with each other there wouldn’t be some feelings between the two of them. Det. West tells Barry that he knew all along that he was in love with Iris. He has just been waiting for Barry to tell Iris the truth. It’s good to know that it isn’t just painfully obvious to those watching how Barry really feels about Iris.
This show manages to sprinkle in some pretty iconic imagery and fantastic Easter eggs. Seeing Flash run up a building and later run on water had this writer and nerds everywhere doing backflips in their chairs.
The Plastique story arch was interesting, but Flash is falling into one of the pitfalls that Smallville did during its heyday: killing off villains before we get a chance to care about them. That’s not to say that Plastique would be the worlds greatest recurring villain, but it would be smart for the writers to stash her in their back pocket just in case. Her death was predictable, but it led to the aforementioned Flash running on water scene, so for that alone we can forgive the lameness of Plastique getting shot and that being the end of it.
One of the best things about this episode was the enviable confrontation between Iris and “the Streak” as she calls him. Flash did his best to get her to stop her blog, but even his impassioned plea was not enough. This confrontation carries over into the next time Barry speaks to Iris. She still refuses to stop and confesses the reason she is pushing so hard is to find proof that everything Barry has been saying all these years was in fact true: the impossible does in fact exist. Barry eventually tells Iris maybe that shouldn’t see each other for a while, which is a bit strange. How do you break up with a friend?
In another act of villainy, Dr. Wells convinces Plastique to try to assassinate General Eiling. Wells clearly sees the General as a threat to Barry. We all know how Wells deals with potential threats to his beloved Barry. Before Plastique dies she attempts to tell Barry that Wells put her up to it, but she dies before she can reveal Dr. Wells true nature. It is bound to come out at some point. The speculation of who Dr. Wells really is starting to weigh on this writer. Let’s all just hope that the reveal is as fulfilling as the lead up has been.
This week’s ending scene featured an argument between General Eiling and Dr. Wells. Wells tells Eiling that their partnership is over and he won’t be hurting “him” ever again. Wells then walks over to a cage with a Gorilla in it. The cage says Grodd on it. Wells tells the Gorilla, “Don’t you worry, I have a whole different future in mind for you…” Insert nerdgasmic squeal here! It seemed like an impossibility, but it looks like we are going to get the Flash vs. Gorilla Grodd at some point. It will be interesting to see how they handle animating the Grodd.
Episode Rating 8/10
All in all this was another in a long line of great episodes of The Flash. There was just the right mix of action and emotion. The maturation of Barry and Iris’s relationship will be interesting to see. How long will their “break” last? What will Dr. Wells do next? He put himself in a terrible position by trying to use Plastique as a weapon. His seemingly villainous plans almost unraveled right in front of him. Sty tuned folks!
