This week's episode ,"Liberated", showcased some of the magic that The Flash has always had but sometimes forgets to put forth. Fans were reminded that Barry pours his thoughts out on a murder board when he needs answers, and the West-Allen romance is one for the ages. Let's discuss!
Barry Allen
Hi Barry Allen! Long time no see. Though it was under tragic circumstances, it was truly cool to see the genius that is Barry Allen back at work. It was really hard to watch Barry slog through the past few episodes kinda feeling like something was off with Iris but not actually realizing that his wife was gone. Getting thrown out was the wake up call he needed to get cracking on the case. And boy did he do that. He got the murder board going with ALL the questions he had been harboring about the impostor Iris. He questions her cooking of course but also how much force it would have taken her to break that bottle over someone's head- he was down in the rabbit of a rabbit's hole. But who could blame him? The love of his life is missing, he feels guilty that she's out there without him not to mention that he's been shacking up with a fraud in more ways than one.
The saddest part of it all is that Barry's mind is thinking fast about how to save his better half, but his body isn't able to keep up. Since confirming that Iris is lost, he has been in a constant state of losing his speed due to the emotional turmoil of her being missing; poor Barry- it's time to find an answer and the scientist Barry Allen can do it.
Iris West Allen AKA Mirror Iris AKA T2 (The Liquid Terminator)
Before talking about the character,I would be negligent if I didn't say that Candice Patton served up this episode on a silver platter. She somehow makes the transition from one character to another look easy even though it surely takes much discipline and skill. She is consistently elevating her range, and it would be great if the show continues to let her reach for more.
Now, back to Iris. So, Mirror Iris wants to be a real girl. I can't say I bought that story line. What does she want to be alive for? Why does she have more of a heart than her other siblings? They all have emotional attachments- Singh is married and Kamilla has Cisco. Is it because she has been in the real world longer? That's the easy explanation. It's obvious (to me anyway) that what anchors Mirror Iris to the real world is her connection to Barry. If she is mostly Iris then this makes perfect sense and explains her slight hesitation to keep draining his speed, her sadness when Cecile FINALLY reads her thoughts, and jives with Eva's continued connection to her deadbeat husband. Barry is a dreamboat compared to Carver so if she still wants him, Mirror Iris would want to stay with Barry.
Though she has some inkling of feelings for Barry, it didn't stop her from beating his ass- and doing so brutally. It was very reminiscent of when Zoom broke Barry's back and held him up in front of everyone to gloat. Barry took stab after stab, but to his credit he didn't fight her-no matter what- she is still some version of Iris.
The real Iris had to watch in horror as he was beaten up, but she knew that he was fighting for her. So what did the real Iris do? She began to "fight" Eva. She brutalized her with words-basically with the truth. Her husband doesn't love her and wasn't coming to her rescue. Iris made Eva realize she would never have what she has with Barry. Bye bye Eva and Mirror Iris.
West-Allen
Just as I had to say hello to the Barry Allen we miss so much, it was nice to see West-Allen show up. Yeah, yeah, yeah, the hero always has to suffer, and the way to do that is to hurt the ones he loves. We get it, but Barry and Iris the unit have been missing for so long that it's hard to remember the last time we saw them happy. We usually get the staples of Christmas and crossovers to see them at their most loving, but their love and deep connection hasn't burned as bright as it once did. That being said, it was very satisfying to have them be apart but yet be so close- to be reminded that their love will be the thing that gets Barry his speed back, brings Eva down and ultimately brings them back to one another.
Other Things I Was Thinking As I Watched
*Cecile, ma'am, girl! Where were those mighty powers all this time? She stayed in Joe's mind unsolicited so why wasn't she able to read Iris before she asked? Why is she just now feeling that Barry is sad or concerned? She didn't have to use them to destroy the plot, however some continuity would be nice. I'm so over her powers.
*Eva wasn't the only one liberated. Barry was liberated from the Mirror Iris lie, Iris was liberated from Eva's lies- the episode title was working on a couple of different levels.
*When Mirror Iris flipped that camera around on Barry, I had to laugh. She straight up said "I threw you out and you didn't even try to come back" Barry had nothing to say.
*When Cecile slapped the cuffs on Barry he didn't even really protest. He's been locked up so many times by his team, he didn't even resist.
*Mirror Iris stabbing Barry through the mirrors was beyond evil but funny too. The Terminator arms had me!
*Throwing their intimacy in Barry's face was a low blow.
*Caitlin. Sigh. I hope that when she returns to the show they have something for her that makes sense. Her ice coma wasn't it.
*Where's Chester? Did I miss something?
*Bloodwork!!!!!!!!!!
*When Barry and Iris were being their best West-Allen selves, the music in the background took me back to The Vampire Diaries. Barry and Iris professing their infinite love even in the hardest of circumstances reminded me of some of the most romantic moments of TVD. Soundtracks are soooo important!
*And in TVD fashion, Barry and Iris deserve an EPIC reunion! Don't let us down!
What did you think about "Liberated"? Sound off below, and as always thanks for reading.
The Flash airs at 7pm Central on Tuesday nights on the CW.
