Amac Productions

Iris is one of my favorite characters.

I love Iris because she’s not a superhero. She’s a regular person who just wants to do something good with her life, help the world, and make it a better place. She’s what anyone watching can be. Someone who can help others.

She’s the kind of hero kids watching can aspire to be when they get older. It’s an unfortunate reality they won’t be able to become the Flash himself. But they can be a reporter, a CSI, or a detective.

This episode let shine through what makes Iris so great. She’s the little voice in the back of Barry’s mind reminding him he needs time for himself too. Burning the candle at both ends won’t get anyone, anywhere. Hard fact of life. No matter how hard anyone pushes themselves, everyone still moments to breathe.

Moments to grieve. Moments to relax.

As a writer myself I know exactly how awful it is to be stuck in one place on a story. Unable to find the next word, the next step, and become so frustrated. But the best thing anyone can do is walk away and take a break. Let your mind forget what you were trying to solve and the answer will come. Trust me.

Barry and Iris in this episode juxtaposed Mr. and Mrs. Thinker from the previous episodes nicely. The Thinker is in complete control of his relationship with his wife. His voice is the only one heard out of the two of them. He even went so far as to drug his wife to carry on his wayward plan.

In Tuesday’s episode Iris told Barry he needed to give it a break. Take a moment for himself and spend it with his wife. Maybe then, the answer will find him.

Here’s the kicker: He took her advice. 

Iris made a valid point and Barry listened. He decided to go to dinner and enjoy a romantic evening with his wife.

Thanks to some horrible people their night was interrupted by a nuclear explosion. But hey, it’s the thought that counts.

As for Barry and Iris’ relationship the moment Iris helped him figure out how to stop the explosion was important aside from obvious reasons. In season one Barry heavily relied on the advice of his mentors to make it through situations. He relied on Harrison Wells, Joe, then ‘Jay Garrick,’ Harry, Stein, Cisco, Caitlin, the real Jay, even HR, among others I’m missing I’m sure. He relied on them to give advice for moments when he was unsure what to do, where to go, and how to save the day. They’ve gotten him through some tough moments.

Until now.

He went to everyone for help. Jesse, Jay, Harry, Cisco, Caitlin, and none of them were able to help.

As his power started to wane and he believed they would all day Barry started for Joe until he stopped.

Over the show’s four seasons, Iris has evolved into the person closest to Barry. They were close when the show started, sure. But now? They’re like one person.

In that moment, when he went to grab Joe, Barry considered it before changing his mind. He apologized and went to Iris. She’s his home. His everything. And in that moment he needed to talk to her. He needed to ground himself because he was losing his mind. He was watching time start to run out, he had no help left, and he was getting ready to face watching everyone he loves in his hometown die.

Have you ever had such a horrible day that the only thing that will make it better is being held or being with the person who loves you? Someone who will hold you together, no questions asked, and love you. I have. It’s a good feeling. And it helps to not shoulder it alone.

Then lo and behold she discovered the answer for him. Together, as the Flash they saved the city. Alright!

Then they cuddled together very cutely in sweatpants and with power bars for a stay home at Star Labs date night because just being together is better then any fancy dinner.

Aw.

Tuesday’s episode was a great episode of Flash because it did something none of the other DC shows I’ve never seen. Flash basically has to find an answer to a problem in a few seconds stretched across what seems like 45 minutes to us. It also took us away from The Thinker for a week.

Maybe it was his doing, maybe it wasn’t. I don’t know and I don’t care because he wasn’t the direct enemy of the episode. It let us breathe.

This episode also marks a first for Flash. For most seasons Barry’s goal is to get faster. Be faster then the other guy. Be fast enough to stop the bad guy. In this episode Barry realizes he’s already more then fast enough. His own speed and power are not the problem. He clearly out did two other speedsters and managed to get people to move as fast as he is in Flashtime. He’s got the power and the speed.

That’s not the problem.

The problem is being smarter then The Thinker.

And I believe Barry will win for the same reason he saved the day in this episode. He has Iris.

Having all the brains in the world can sometimes be no match for good old fashioned common sense or simplicity.

Iris didn’t tackle the problem with brains last night. Barry handled the brain by knowing a lightening bolt with enough power could defuse the situation. Iris just pointed him to the lightening. She took using the Speedforce a different way.

Iris offers a different perspective because she’s not a genius. The others try using science to figure problems out and miss the obvious answer which is usually the easiest and most effective. Iris often points out the obvious answer because why not?

The Thinker believes their brains are no match for his and it’s probably true. But brains aren’t everything. Try watching the Big Bang Theory sometime. On that show Sheldon is the smartest guy in any room but tends to miss doing things the easy way because his mind just doesn’t work like that. Penny, a non genius, often points out easy ways for him because it’s how her brain sees things.

As for the rest of the plots happening I know I asked last week for Harry to work things out with his daughter because I know it’s effecting him more then he wants to admit. I’m glad it’s finally come up. Not being right with people in our lives can make doing other things harder. It’s always on your mind, it’s consuming you. And it seemed to be what was bothering Harry.

Apparently, it wasn’t just her.

The death of his wife. Pain from a love lost that’s never quite healed over correctly. Now he struggles to get close to anyone anymore because he lives in fear of suffering like that again. He’s walled himself off so much he even struggles to convey his deep sadness to his own daughter.

One thing that’s always been a problem between them is Harry going too far to protect his daughter. At least now, we have more insight into why. He can’t cope with another loss.

Clearly illustrated by his inability to even deal with not speaking to his daughter.

I hope the two of them are on the road to recovery together. Seeing them fight was awful. But the moment at the end as Harry shared his memories of happiness about his wife with Jesse was beautiful. Kudos to the actors as well since they had no lines and had to convey feelings with expressions and body language.

Now Jay’s off to his world to retire and train a new speedster, a female speedster. I hope we get to meet her!

All in all, it was a great episode! I’m looking forward to the power swap next week. I hope someone explains the purple lightening and suit. Not that it’s not cool. But we’ve never seen that color before.

Those are my thoughts! Let me know yours!

Read on!