TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews The Flash Season 7 Episode 4: Central City Strong

Well…that got very packed at the end, didn’t end?

“Central City Strong” dared to tell a very different kind of Flash storyline, one about aftermath and the trauma of loss. Something that many superhero shows often don’t deal with in a meaningful way as the timing won’t allow it. But that’s what made this episode so strong for the most part. It asked the question of what it was like for those people in the Mirrorverse who had to watch their “Mirror Versions” take on their lives and they were helpless because of it.

This obviously included Iris, who was in there the longest and had the most to cope with as she was there for three months (in official Flash time). Seeing Iris struggle with it was a very powerful thing, as was her speech at the end about having all those feelings and ALLOWING HERSELF to feel them. Candice Patton really did a good job conveying the various emotions of Iris in this story and it’ll be interesting to see what she does with this story.

Also important was Barry doing everything he can to “sweep Iris off her feet” in her return him. A very clear and obvious overcompensation, but one played perfectly by Grant Gustin. Because he showed the pain he was feeling because he felt he should have known about Mirror Iris right from the outset, but didn’t and felt horrible. It’s good that these two are back together and can support each other because apparently, this wasn’t supposed to happen in Season 7 originally pre-pandemic, but thankfully that changed because these two have been through enough.

The real question was that of Abra Kadabra and why he was back (when he was allegedly executed in Season 3). Turns out, he was another victim of Crisis and lost his family because of the timeline shift and Multiverse remake. It is a LITTLE ODD that they’re still playing the Crisis card but it did work for the overall storyline some cheesy lines aside. Including Barry almost losing it after being “tricked again”.

Him using his mind and heart to get Felipe to release his anger and try to move on was very Flash, and something that speaks to the overall nature of the episode. But…

…that…whatever it was showing up and killing Abra Kadabra and beating Flash ‘just enough’ before jumping away? That was not just random, it was lame, and kind of killed the feeling (literally and figuratively). And seriously, what was that thing? It was very bad CGI and it doesn’t resemble any DC Comics character I know (and I know a lot of them). I’m sure this has to do with the Chronarch (who IS a DC Comics villain…albeit a very thin one in terms of story…) but this wasn’t the best way to introduce them.

Also, while the Frost twist was interesting…it’s curious how it went from a headache to a duplicate and THAT was the cliffhanger. Some more build-up was needed for that.

Still, “Central City Strong” for the most part was a very fun episode that many will enjoy, and hopefully things will continue at the good pace they’re going.