TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews The Flash Season 04 Episode 16: Run, Iris, Run!

The problem I’m having with Flash Season 04 right now is that they’ve got a great villain…but they’re not showing him off like they should. When Duvoe (via his proxy’s nowadays) is on screen it’s very good, but when he’s not, you wonder why he’s not. Despite that happening yet again in “Run, Iris, Run”, the episode itself did have a lot of good points.

This was another one of those “typical” superhero episodes. One where two characters find themselves swapped, usually in regards to their powers. Here, a new bus meta has the ability to swap the DNA of people, and that led to Iris getting Barry’s speed and Barry being powerless again.

Now, while Barry being powerless isn’t new, the situation itself was, as Iris has never had powers, and that allowed for some fun, albeit obvious, moments. Like her enjoying the rush of the Speed Force within her while Barry is lamenting losing something else in his life. I will admit though, I like that Iris had purple lightning when she ran. It’s odd that they didn’t explain the reason for that (recall that Zoom’s was blue because he was dying) but hey, it was still cool.

And it was great to see Iris save the day, and in the process, realize that the thing that makes her happy is being a reporter, and that she’s going to be jumping back into that. Which is great, because while her being the leader of Team Flash is fun, that won’t last forever.

Then there’s Harry, who is refusing to let Duvoe get the best of him, and created his own version of the Thinking Cap to try and outthink him. It’s a bold plan, and you can understand why Cisco didn’t want Harry to do it. After all, Duvoe was not a villain to start. He became one after the accident, and Cisco didn’t want that to happen to Harry. I’m curious to see how it all plays out with him because he’s dangerously close to becoming like a certain other “Wells”…

Sadly, some of the other aspects of the episode didn’t work out. Ralph becoming a wuss after promising to avenge the loss he suffered felt like a 180, and it’s annoying that the writers aren’t keeping consistent with Ralph’s characterization. It’s understandable that he doesn’t want to be caught, however, he’s proven that he can risk his own life to save others, so why not do that when it’s absolutely needed? Hopefully this fourth (or is it fifth?) change of heart sticks.

Finally, there’s the “villains” of the episode. While I appreciate an “OG Meta” showing up (and giving a great explanation as to where he was), the second guy who got the fire powers was as stupid and generic as previous “villains-of-the-week”. Question, how was he going to get money when he was outside where there was no money to be had? That’s what I thought.

What sucks the most is that the cliffhanger for the episode was great, and now we have to wait a month to get the payoff. I hate these breaks.

Still, “Run, Iris, Run!” was a fun role reversal episode that fastened certain characters on their paths. Let’s hope when the Flash returns in a month it won’t loss the momentum it had.