The hammiest moments undoubtedly came from Amunet and Goldface, both of whom burst back onto the scene by dealing with a messy breakup as all supervillains do... a crime spree. I've never found either character to be particularly compelling, but the two work quite well together as vengeful exes. In the past some of the more one note villains Weather Wizard or Trickster have fared better when paired up, as it gives them something else to react to other than the Flash foiling their schemes and that seems to still hold true here as the two pop with personality. Even if the conversations are goofy arguments about each other’s annoying bedtime habits, Barry as the awkward third wheel in a fight is more fun than another standard Flash stopping a robbery moment. Plus, it's nice to know that even with the Crisis reset leading to recasting characters like Mirror Master or Doctor Light, the door is also still open to try new things with some old faces.
It would probably seem like an easy bet that a Valentine’s episode would also take some time to catch up with the series’ main couple, Barry and Iris. And it did! But it also didn't really. The episode did feature Barry and Iris spending far more time together than we’ve seen this season, but the kicker is that this is actually happening with Mirror Iris — a seemingly evil doppelgänger created by Mirror Master. That's not a bad idea for an episode in theory, but the actual execution is remarkably frustrating.
Barry and Iris ostensibly have a marital squabble regarding Barry’s overprotective reaction to Iris going out into the field during Amunet and Goldface’s gang war, and then reconcile after he apologizes for not respecting her agency. Yet there is undoubtedly something pretty uncomfortable about the fact that Mirror Iris is teaching Barry not to treat her like a damsel in distress... while the real Iris is, fact, trapped and in desperate need of rescuing. I can understand the desire for a juicy cliffhanger to end the episode, however, I suspect that most viewers will deduce early on that there was a switch made, which just makes things even more irritating. Mirror Iris makes some great points about how she deserves to be more than just encouraging voice in Barry’s ear, and those arguments feel undermined because the original Iris, Barry’s real wife, never actually gets to weigh in. And yet the twist that we’re sacrificing this character development for is obvious from a mile away. It's the best of no worlds.
lf Mirror Iris has some type of psychic connection or special link to Iris other than looking like her twin then I may be able to get on board with the new direction. But as this directly episode referenced, Iris was able to deduce Barry was being possessed by Bloodwork after a few minutes with him, and it feels terribly uneven for Barry then to go so long without realizing his wife is missing. The wacky hijinks Amunet and Goldface get up to manage to still keep the episode fun, but sidelining Iris in her own love story really kills any genuine romance the Valentine’s theme may have had going, and at this point, it certainly is hard to imagine a way moving forward for Barry not to have noticed his wife was kidnapped without looking like oblivious or an ass.
Written by Kaitlin Roberts, THE FLASH Beat Writer
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