'The Flash' Season 6 Episode 17 Review: Bloodwork's return, Mirror Iris-Barry showdown serve up all the action
Spoilers for 'The Flash' Season 6 Episode 17
We were all waiting with baited breath for a grand West-Allen reunion because let's face it, it has been long enough. Unfortunately, that didn't happen, though a whole lot of other stuff did, including a phoned in the plot for Caitlin and her dual frost personality. And hey, Bloodwork (Sendhil Ramamurthy) returned! For a handful of minutes, but nevertheless it was great to see that super-eerie and troublesome villain back.
The episode begins with Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) trying to piece the glassy puzzle together that the person who hasn't been living with him isn't Iris, but some sort of mirror-clone of hers. He convinces Cecile, and they try to expose Miris (Mirror Iris, like the fans call her). But boy, does she have her own plan and using expert emotional blackmail and manipulation, she makes everyone else believe that Barry isn't Barry. So, he gets locked up for a bit. But Cecile knows it in 'her heart' and bails him out. Meanwhile, the real Iris stumbles upon Eva McCulloch's (Efrat Dor) truth and she isn't pleased either. Eva needs Bloodwork's blood to be liberated, and after much hassle and fight, she is liberated at the end, with Iris still stuck behind the mirror.
Barry's failing speed causes him to almost lose combat with Miris and he has to use his emotional range to get through to her. At this point, that's his best strength. And we finally see a slightly less stony side of Miris. She wants to be human too, she wants to be alive. And Barry is able to understand this. That's all great and fun, but the real Iris has still not been liberated. Even though Barry and Iris try talking to each other and share a one-sided and heartbreaking conversation, you really did just want the whole Mirror business to be wrapped up soon and a West-Allen reunion. This has dragged on long enough.
The good part of the episode was the action sequences and the tears that Barry sheds (because honestly 'The Flash is the best when Barry cries) for his wife. Yet, despite the resolution of the mirror plot, the episode did seem a little rushed and many of the dialogues felt rather contrived. Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) deserves a better storyline than just a half-hearted 5-minute plot, come on showrunners.
In the promo for the next episode, we see another villain back on the scene. Can Barry please figure out his speed first and get Iris back, rather than running headlong into dangerous villains? Just a thought.
'The Flash' airs on Tuesdays at 8 pm on The CW.